Kampot

I left the island to come to Kampot, a town on a river that is known for the beautiful countryside that surrounds.

I took a tour of the local national park, which was very nice in parts, but was also very odd. The Chinese are building here (of course) and they are building houses, hotels and even casinos within what is a beautiful green and natural place. None of their buildings have anyone in or around, beacause who wants to place bets when exploring a national park?!

It is such a shame that Cambodia needs the money, because I think the whole country is going to be ruined by the Chinese developers. Everywhere I have been has Chinese owned construction. If you look beyond the construction the country is very beautiful.

In the evening the tour took us on a boat to do a river cruise. I met some locals and shared some beers with them. It was very interesting to learn about their experiences, one of them was a woman who felt repressed and controlled by her society. And one of them had moved to USA 35 years ago and had plenty to say about here and there. I had got a bit fed up on the tour-being with tourists and carted around from place to place, so I was really glad to meet these people and have some stimulating conversation. The boat journey was very beautiful, the river is clean and surrounded by lushious green jungle. We saw sunset and fireflies.

I've decided to move from Kampot to Kep because my hostel is full of gap year kids who wan to get drunk and stoned. So I've booked myself a private room in a guesthouse in Keep, which is a small fisherman village famous for crabs. Now I can tell I have grown up!Read more