Kampot

As we did for longer travel distances in Vietnam, we took a sleeper bus to get from Siem Reap to Kampot. It was not as comfy as in Vietnam but it was still fine. We were basically laying ass to ass next to each other as if we were sleeping in a tiny double bed. Cozy, tight, but not so restful. Anyway, we got to Kampot safely, that’s all that matters, right?
After a sleepless night, we went straight to our hotel and took a nap. Fortunately, the room was already prepared so that we could check in already in the morning. We stayed for four nights at “The Square Kampot Hotel”, which is ten minutes away from the city center. The rooms were modern, the breakfast was tasty, and the staff was very friendly and helpful.

Kampot itself is a little riverside town without many attractions so it was easy for us to explore the city by foot on our first day. The number one attraction in the city center is a giant seahorse statue spitting water out of its mouth. Also, the railway bridge over the river is a sight to see and a walk along the river with its floating bars is a must. The real adventures, however, start outside the town.

The day after visiting the Kampot city center, we rented a scooter for the coming days from a laid-back American guy named David with whom we had some interesting talks before getting on our way. Our first stop was “La Plantation”. Kampot’s most famous pepper farm. The plantation is huge. They have 150 employees, 22’000 pepper plants, a restaurant, a café/bar and a shop. We booked a paid tour which gave us more insights into pepper production than their free tours. A young guide walked us through the fields and explained the difference between green, black, red, and white pepper. Actually, they all come from the same plant, but are harvested and processed differently. We even tried pepper straight off the vine. They are surprisingly fruity and spicy at the same time. After the tour, we had a tasting of pepper in different aromas. The pepper with salt was so delicious, we couldn’t resist buying some to send home for our families. After our pepper education, we drove to Kep where we were lucky enough to see some people harvesting salt from their salt fields during sunset, which made for amazing scenery.

The second day, we drove a long way up to the Bokor national park where we enjoyed lovely views over the sea. You can even spot Phu Quoc from there. Up there we found a Buddha statue, waterfalls, temples and a lot of abandoned buildings. On our way up and down we have seen plenty of monkeys sitting around, eating, and jumping around on the road.

On Marina’s request, the hotel organized a school visit for us by calling some friends. On our last and third day in Kampot, we visited the Chum Kiel school. Chum Kiel is a Cambodian NGO. Their mission is to give children from poor rural families education and a brighter future. Mr Soti, the passionate school director, took us around the school and showed us everything. We were very impressed by the big but generally simple facility with a school garden, a sports area, a computer room and a lot of classrooms. Everyone from pupils to teachers was so friendly and always smiling at us. It was inspiring and the perfect way to wrap up our time in Kampot.

Cafés and Restaurants we can recommend:
- Epic Arts Café (Good & healthy food options. A place where people with disabilities work. When you eat at the café, you help to fund education and training for children and young people with disabilities.)
- Dany’s Pizza (The restaurant is very simple and doesn’t look like a place you would go and eat but the pizzas and the garlic bread are pretty good though.)
- Masala Twist Indian Halal Restaurant (You get big portions. Try the “Veg Thali”. We went to this place twice because it is so delicious. )
- L’Osteria in Kampot (Italian food)Læs mere