Kampot

Just spent a few days in Kampot, a small fishing village near the South coast. There wasn't much to do there, except walk up and down by the river and quench your thirst in the Rusty Keyhole - an English pub with the best BBQ spare ribs ever! Or so I thought until I winessed a pig murder today. We were on our way to Sihanoukville, when a pig's desperate cries alerted me to it's final moments. It's head in a wicker basket, it was literally having it's head kicked in by a kindly butcher. Now, I'm no expert, but surely there is a more humane method? Even Andy the Pork Fiend was affected by the ordeal and ordered beef for lunch. Other than this atrocity, Kampot proved to be a peaceful place, with friendly inhabitants.

Kampot, bizarrely, is famous for it's pepper. I can confirm, it was good pepper. The only reason for staying was to visit Bokor, an abandoned Hill Station set within National Park. The park itself is said to be home to tigers and elephants aswell as numerous birds and mammals. However, they are never really seen, as the growing number of tourists ensure. Visitors go to see the ghost town Bokor has now become. It was once a thriving village with a tea plantation, casino, Catholic church and a hotel, but due to Khmer Rouge activity, has been abandoned ever since. Due to it's altitude of just over 1000m, it was lovely and cool, allowing for a spot of trekking through the jungle. The swirling clouds of mist add to the spooky atmosphere in a 'Shining' sort of way and you are free to wander around the buildings. We did come across a nasty looking yellow snake..apparently not poisonous, but I wasn't taking any chances.

The slight drawback being that it involved a total of 6 hours journey on the worst roads ever - in the back of a 4x4! Somewhat bruised and battered, it was a good day in all and we rounded it off with a boat trip down the river, allowing us to compare bruises with our fellow travellers. Our tour guide assurred us Bokor will improve for tourists once they build some shops and hotels up there - they haven't quite grasped the idea of conservation yet. Don't even get me started on the litter problem!

Sihanoukville was a couple of hours by car from Kampot (if you include the tyre change). This place has lots of potential, but haven't explored too much yet. All I need to say is that there seven beaches here, one of which is on our doorstep. Andy has been on a mission for weeks to get me to aggree to staying in cheap- as- chips accommodation. He finally succeeded today. I've forgone my A/C and my hot water and we've holed up in a beach hut for $5! I think he might change his mind when he wakes up with a spider on his face. I can only hold out for our dear friends, Emma & Andrew who are coming to visit us in Malaysia. They are in desperate need of a luxurious holiday, so for their sake Andy will have to cope with palatial...