We had breakfast at our hotel this morning. We ate at the outside bar area, we had egg, cheese (tasted like havarti), tomato, and bacon sandwiches on a baguette. It was huge I could only eat half, and we remembered to take our malaria pills with our meal. After we ate we negotiated with some of the staff of the hotel about a tour. Kyle finally convinced me that we should rent a moto, and follow the guide to some of the sights around town. It took me a good 15 mins to agree. We got our old helmets on and I hopped on behind Kyle. We started to leave the property when the guide gave Kyle some additional tips on driving the moto, and then I decided it would be better to ride with the guide than with Kyle. That way Kyle wouldn’t have to listen to me in his ear all day “Kyle! Kyle! Kyle!” or “Slow down!” So I rode with the guide and we set off to see a cave in the nearby mountain.
I do not do well on motorized vehicles, other than enclosed cars. So I was very nervous, and in my head kept imagining myself flying off the back and landing in a pile of twisted limbs on the side of the barely paved Cambodian road! Well, this did not happen. Out guide, whose name I can’t remember, drove very cautiously, and took great care over the bumpy parts.
Once we got to the location of the cave we followed him to a little building that looked like a small church or something. He pointed out a pile of bones in the back corner, and said they were from the Khmer Rouge era. I am not sure I believed him, but it was kind of creepy. We walked through a rice field, and then paid a $1 each and climbed up some steps to then go back down some other steps and into the cave. I don’t think I had ever been in cave before. I had all these ideas of it being like the serious caves they explore on TV. This was more like a small hole in the side of the mountain. Inside there was a small temple carved into the side of it with a candle burning inside. There was another tourist with a guide in the cave, and they headed out in the same direction that we had come in. I could tell Kyle was disappointed with the cave, but then our guide wanted to take us out the other way. This made Kyle very excited, and me, very nervous. But just like when we hiked with Andy, since there was a guide with us I could not complain or show my weariness. So down we went. I knew we were going to a cave so I had brought my headlamp, and Kyle usually always has his flashlight. Our guide was wearing flip-flops, and pulled out a lighter to see his way. This did not give me anymore confidence in him! Kyle tossed him his flashlight, which almost immediately went out, we later figured out the batteries went dead. Just like a movie, now we only had my head lamp, but it wasn’t that dark. So it was not very far to the exit, but as we were going along, our guide noticed the bottom was filled with water. Oh and I forgot to mention there were bats hanging out on the top of the cave, and bat poop everywhere, and I put my hand in it many, many times! So we had to very carefully jump from rock to rock and avoid the water below! Kyle finally had to take my bag so I could get around and under the rocks a little bit more easily. Eventually we came to an area that seemed impassable without getting wet. I looked at our guide, and he looked at me with this goofy grin, like “oops look what I have gotten us into!” So I just looked back at him, and said “So…shoes off now?!” So off came the shoes and socks. I tied them together and handed them to Kyle, and eventually to the guide who threw them safely out of the cave. It was not very far to the exit, but the water was probably up to my chest if I had fallen in or had to walk through it, and it was laced with bat shit! I made it through the first tough part, and Kyle was nimbly, prancing from one wet rock to the next with his long, strong legs. So they figured out a way for Kyle to crouch down so I could kind of use him as a stepping stone, and then take the guides had and hop over. This sounds easy but by the time I got out of the cave, my entire right side from my ribs to my foot was wet in bat shit water! Oh so fun. Of course Kyle loved every minute of it, video taped it and got lots of pictures!
Back onto the motos, and off to the pepper plantation. There we got to see the plants and how they grow. Kampot is famous for its pepper, and we picked up a couple of bags. We even got to try it fresh from the vine/plant before it is dried. Gosh, we are like Anthony Bourdain, hehe. We saw pigs, chickens, and I think cows at this farm. They also had some durian trees but they were not ready to harvest. Kyle has been dying to try durian ever since we entered SE Asia!
After the pepper plantation we set off for Kep, a seaside town near Kampot, to have lunch. I guess I started to get crabby because once we got there I was all annoyed again with having to pay to use a horrible bathroom. I would have much rather squatted in the middle of town for all to see than use these bathrooms. And I was so sick of the open air, plastic chair, dirty little “makeshift” restaurants, where I worry about the food making me sick! Oh well, we had lunch there. It was actually really good. We had fried crab with peppers (kampot pepper actually) and fried rice with shrimp. The crab was really messy, but yummy. Some of it seemed like it needed to be steamed a little longer, but we just avoided those pieces. Our hands were a mess with having to crack the shells and dig out the crab. Usually I wouldn’t put the shell to my mouth and suck out the meat, or at least try to, but it a situation like this, it seemed appropriate. The rice was good as well. I am sure there are pictures of it posted as well.
After lunch we had to hurry back to the hotel to catch the sunset boat cruise, which sounded rather rinky-dink with a free beer included with your ticket but it turned out to be perfect. One other couple rode on the boat with us, they were from Sydney and have traveled extensively, just like everyone else we have met! The boat was long, and easily tipped a little to one side or the other if someone moved from one side to the other. It had a canopy over the main part of the boat. Out guide came along as well, and then another guy manned the motor. The cruise was amazing, like a movie. We didn’t know how long it would last or what to expect and that made it all the more fun. After passing fishing boats, and naked children in the water and waving to us from collapsing docks we stopped at a small beach. They told us we could swim, but I had seen oily streaks in the water, and it didn’t seem safe. Kyle did however decide to swim. When our guide did a back flip off the boat into the water, and asked Kyle if he could do that too, Kyle said yes and did a back flip off the boat as well! We did walk through the water to get to shore, where we used the toilet, and met a man who lived there, and invited us to have some grapefruit with him. This was so refreshing, ever since we left Korea we have had to worry about everyone being out to rip us off or steal from us, and to have some genuine interaction with a local person was so nice. The grapefruits were not quite ripe but he was so excited to share with us that he cut some down, and then cut them open for us anyway. I ate it, and the whole time I kept thinking about my grandma telling me you get the runs from eating fruit that is not ripe. Oh, me and my bathroom woes! The man who shared his grapefruit with us later pointed out a huge log under the water right near where Kyle jumped in that had just drifted there recently. Kyle could have cracked his head open, the dumb fool! Well we will have to be careful for the next couple of weeks, since I think Kyle used up all of our luck with that back flip!
Back on the boat we headed back up river. Kyle and I went back to the room to shower and then went to dinner at what the guidebook claimed to be the nicest hotel in town! The restaurant was very nice, I ordered a glass of red wine which took forever to get there, and Kyle ordered a long island iced tea. He ordered a burger and I got the crunchy cashew chicken. Everything was very good, until shortly after we finished eating. I started to feel very ill. I quickly ran to the bathroom, thank god it was nice and clean. I used the toilet, and in the middle of doing that, I felt like I was going to puke. And puke I did! It was horrible. Well I won’t go into too many details, but it was bad. I found Kyle chatting away with the couple from the boat ride who were also eating there. I explained that the food didn’t sit well or something and the poor girl got all worried because she had ordered the same thing! Well I am not sure if it was the food or riding on the bike the whole day or what, but it was not good whatever it was. We headed back to our room so I could get some sleep.
