We had seen Eden Eco Village advertised in the Sihanoukville local guide whilst we were in our hotel and emailed to book 1 of their bungalows/huts by the river. They were all booked (they only have 6) so we had their tall hut just set back from the river for 5 nights and went on to a riverside bungalow for a further 2.
Eden Eco Village is a small place a 30 minute bike ride from town along a very dusty road. It uses solar panels, compost toilets and recycles - which is very rare around here! The huts have no electric points and therefore no fan or a/c which didn't take long to miss - we would have a cold shower and once we had dried off would start sweating again!!
Over this last week we have been taking it easy....ish. We took the small boat across the river with bikes and cycled to the local spa where we both took part in yoga, Emma had her nails done and I had a massage. We were able to relax on their big overhanging deck looking onto the river and had some lovely smoothies and lunch before cycling back and calling our boat back with a 'whoop woop'! - It's a very small wooden boat with a lady standing in the middle as she rows across.
We also also had a Stand-up paddleboarding/SUP lesson which was very cool. We paddled through the mangroves then back out onto the main river - and neither of us feel in! 😊 .....something else to save for when we get back!!
We cycled into town 1 day and by the time we got to a cafe that had good reviews we were covered in red dust! But washed off a bit in their toilets and lazed there for 1/2 a day chilling and eating before cycling back along the dusty road.
Kampot is famous for its pepper and as I love pepper so much I thought we should visit the local pepper plantation. We agreed $17 for a Tuk Tuk to take us there and back (45 minutes each way). The pepper plant naturally climbs up trees, but in farming it they use brick towers to get more growth. Black, red and white pepper all come from the same plant but the colour varies due to the treatment of the pepper. Anyway, we tried some fresh off the plant which was very spicy and bought a few packs of pepper to take back home.
Our last day now at Eden and in Kampot and we are chilling in our riverside bungalow. We have our own little deck, a hammock and steps down into the river so we can swim off from 😀 .....although the owner said a few days ago she saw a 3 meter long snake swimming in the river 😮 ......We've been in already luckily but if I go in again I may try to put that to the back of my mind!!!!
We spent new years eve relaxing in our riverside bungalow with a few beers and a bottle of wine, watching the fireflies flit around and splashing the water to see the phosphorescent glow!
This brings our blog up to date again so Happy New Year everyone!!!!!! We miss you all, hope you're all well and very best wishes for 2015!!! Lots of love xxxxx
