There're 2 public holidays this week (told ya there're hols every month in Cambodia) and so the centre is closed for 3 days. I made a trip to Kampot yesterday and stayed a night by the riverside.
Arrived in Kampot nice and early at 10am after the 2-hr bus ride from S'ville. Kampot is a quaint little town which seems to have been stuck in the past, which to me is really nice. French colonial buildings dot the street and you can't find any tall buildings here at all. The town is quite small and everywhere is within walk-able distance. The motodups (motorcycle drivers) and tuk tuk drivers are also less in-your-face. The whole time I was there I was only asked twice if I needed a moto ride. It also feels like the locals there are more soft spoken and genial. It's quite safe to walk around even at night, although there're hardly any street lamps.
I hired a tuk tuk and headed out to the rural countryside to one of the caves and pepper plantation. For the price of 20 USD for the trip, the people at the guesthouse wanted me to use a moto instead, but I politely refused, which turned out to be a wise choice as it was blistering hot at 1pm and started raining at 3. My driver could speak some English so he also acted as my guide. The White Elephant cave was alright, nothing spectacular but you get to see rock formations of a big and small elephant, rice fields and many bats. After climbing up and down the steep steps carved out of rocks, trying to prevent myself from slipping into the dark abyss below (an exaggeration, but u get the picture) and squeezing through crevices, I was panting like a dog. The pepper plantation was quite unexpected - I thought it was gonna be a commercialised tourist attraction but it turned out to be a family-run mini plantation, which was even better in my opinion. I saw how pepper was grown and put out in the sun, and bought a bag of it from the nice khmer 'auntie' who spoke no english but was very friendly. Kampot is famous for its pepper so I had to get some.
After the day trip I visited a traditional music and dance school which teaches disabled/orphaned children traditional musical instruments and dance. For dinner I chilled at a small cafe along the river, admiring the sunset while savouring my delicious grilled eggplant and goat cheese baguette (2 of my fav foods!).
Kampot is worth a visit if you're sick of crowds, honking motorists and white people. Plus you get plenty of nice scenery of mountain ranges and rivers too!
