Kampot

We travelled four hours to Kampot by mini van along a road which had definitely seen better days. The holes in the old asphalt revealed the dry, red dirt beneath and our driver did an excellent job manoeuvring around these, often on the wrong side of the road. Other drivers were not so careful, taking small gaps to overtake huge haulage trucks. We were terrified for the tuk tuk and motorbike riders!

Kampot is a sleepy, riverside town which is only just getting used to western travellers. We were really impressed with the hospitality and took a sunset boat cruise along the river on our first night. We cruised under several bridges, making us realise why there were no proper tables or chairs on the upper deck! 🙃

The second day we visited a pepper farm called La Plantation. This farm was established by a French couple who produce peppercorns for local use and export. They employ over 100 staff, some of which are provided housing and meals as well as funding the local primary school which teaches 90 children. Every child gets given books, pencils and a bike to ride to school. We were surprised that after hearing all of this that the pepper farm tour was free. It was an excellent 45 minute showcase of the farm to see how the fruit grows and how it is picked. It finished with a pepper tasting to try the green, red, black, smoked, salted and pickle pepper corns. Fresh pepper is spicy but fruity. We can see why Kampot pepper has the reputation of being one of the worlds best. As the tour was free we were encouraged to make purchases from the shop and as we can’t lug around packets of pepper corns for the next 9 months we bought some ice cream. Vanilla and red pepper and dark chocolate with black pepper, super yummy.

Next, our tuk tuk driver took us to Kep, a small beachside town about half an hour from Kampot. Travelling by tuk tuk was really enjoyable as he drove us through some small villages so we could see a bit of the countryside. We headed to Kep for the crab market. Here the crabs are caught fresh and sold to the restaurants nearby or cooked at the market. Famously served with the Kampot pepper corns, we budgeted to spend up large on crab meals so opted for a restaurant. We ordered crab cooked in coconut and butter, crab with Kampot pepper and fried rice with crab. All three dishes were incredible. I photographed the coconut crab but our hands soon got too messy to take any other photos. After Matt went for a swim at Kep beach we were well and truly ready to be tuk tuked home.

Our guest house owner told us about some kayaking through what is called the green cathedral, a glade of palms that creates a tunnel through the off shoots of the main river. The only catch was the only way to get to it was by motorbike, or walk. Walking a 15km round trip in 37 degree heat was not an option so we asked our host to organise us a moto. For $5 a day we got a sweet 125cc scooter which Matt drove us around on. We even got to take the motorbike ferry across the river back home.

In the evening we took some photos around the town. Particularly of the famous durian roundabout that Kampot is known for. Returned the moto, had some more Angkor beers and pepper corn dinner dishes. Currently loving this relaxed side of Cambodia!

Sunset boat cruise