Kampot, Kep and Kratie: Cambodia’s quiet side

These were our 3 final stops in Cambodia, small and pretty sleepy they were a good spot to prep for the jam packed Vietnam itinerary we’re about to embark upon.

Kampot

First up, we travelled to Kampot from Phnom Penh on a 5 hour minibus. Here’s what we got up to...

La Plantation

La Plantation is both a Kampot Pepper farm and a social and sustainable agritourism project. It’s sat in beautiful surroundings looking out onto Bokor Mountain and the secret lake (though the journey there is quite the rollercoaster, and if you get travel sick I suggest you take precautionary measures because that ‘road’ takes no prisoners. At one point it was so bad we had to get out and walk.)

They offer free tasting and tours around the farm and have a shop where you can buy their products too. The pepper is well good. Honestly. They give you baked banana chips with mixed Kampot Pepper on them, and they were life changing, so we bought a massive bag.

Added to the fact that it tastes banging, is that they also support the local school, kitting out 100 pupils with school supplies and bikes. Good pepper and good values. Nice. Plus, free isn’t it.

Salt fields

Kampot also produces salt which is shipped around Cambodia. When we visited there wasn’t a lot to see on the farm itself because of the stage in the farming process they were at, but a very enthusiastic lady told us all about the different types of salt, showed us a video on the farming process, and showed us some of the equipment they use. It was a short stop but pretty informative, and I got some salt out of it, so win win.

Fireflies and sunset

We’d heard that you could hop on a boat at sunset and cruise down the river to see the fireflies that play in the trees lining the river, so we gave it a go. For $5 we got 2 beers and a 2 hour boat ride down the river. It’s a pretty cool spot to watch sunset from- the sky was mad the night we went. As you move down the river there’s several low bridges, meaning that if you’re sat on the top deck you need to lie down to fit, which was good entertainment. When the boat reaches a certain spot it turns all its lights off, and if you look carefully you can see the fireflies twinkling in the trees. There weren’t millions of them, but it was pretty cool nonetheless.

Bjorn the Boatman

Yes, that is his name. We’d heard good reviews about this guy and were at a loss for what to do on our final day in Kampot, so we pinged this guy a message. For $20 we spent the afternoon on the river, beer in one hand, pomelo in the other, being told all about the ecosystem on the river- this sounds pretty nerdy, but was actually really interesting. We also stopped at a fruit plantation to learn about how fruit is grown and sold in Cambodia. He times the float back perfectly with sunset and that night the sky really was beautiful, pinks and oranges streamed across the sky.

Sleep: Mea Culpa- highly recommended, helpful staff, big clean rooms and freshly baked bread in their wood fired pizza oven each morning. What’s not to love?

Eat: Aroma house- banging falafel wraps and the best hummus in Asia.

Ecran Noodle- when you need cheap as noodles dinner. Plus, freshly handmade.

Gringos- When you fancy Mexican- the vegetarian enchiladas are well nice.

Drink: Couch Potatoes- if you need beer and sport this is your jam. We caught the Rugby World Cup Final here. Shame England lost though isn’t it. SA did smash it though.

Kep

If we thought Kampot was sleepy, Kep is next level. A 40 minute tuk tuk ride away it doesn’t even have a town centre.

Kep beach

This is 100% a local hangout. You’ll see families pitched up next to the beach with their deck chairs and their lunch, children giggling happily running down the beach, and monks frolicking in the sea. It’s a pretty clean beach and the weather was all blue skies, but if you want to join in on the beach vibes you need to wear some form of cover up- that means wearing your dress even in the sea. Guys are all good in their shorts and no top, but females in bikinis is just an absolute no. It was lovely to see the locals really enjoy their weekend though, just make sure you don’t forget your sea dress!

Rabbit island- Koh Tonsay

Now you can get your bikini out! A 20 minute $8 round trip gets you to Rabbit Island. A little blob of jungle and beach, it’s the perfect chill out spot for the day. There are a few family run food shacks along the beach, and the terribly uncomfortable wooden sun beds are free to use. The main beach (where the boat drops you off) is clean and lined with palm trees, and the water is bath-water-warm. There aren’t so many locals here, so it’s appropriate to get that bikini out and your tan on!

Sleep: Unless you want a damp everything I would suggest swerving the Bird’s Of Paradise Bungalows...

Eat: La Baraka sits looking out to sea and does some pretty decent and cheap pizzas. They also have a cute kitten.

Drink: Kep is 100% not the place for anything more than a quiet beer. Kampot is only 40 minutes up the road though if you’re after something a little more.

Kratie

What a mission this was to get to! A 4 hour bus took us back to Phnom Penh (Why?!) and then we were left to fend for ourselves. The man at the bus station ticket counter happily told us there were no more buses to Kratie today, so we bargained a lift with a local in his minivan. We spent 5 hours in this minivan which leaked when the monsoon rain decided to hit. I had to take everything out of my bag and it spent the next 2 days drying. Lovely.

Mekong turtle conservation centre

About an hour away from the centre is this little place. It’s home to the rare Cantor’s giant soft shell turtle which was only rediscovered along this area of the Mekong in 2007. One of the largest freshwater turtles, it can grow up to 2m in length and it’s bite is strong enough to break human bone. The turtles are nurtured here for 10 months, at which point they have a better chance of survival in the river. The centre also works with locals living along the river, offering them incentives to look after both the turtle eggs and the turtles themselves.

100 pillar pagoda

On the same site as the conservation centre is this pagoda. Supposedly it has 100 pillars, but I lost count. It was a nice added bonus to our trip out. It also sits opposite a particularly beautiful part of the Mekong which is worth look.

Sleep: River Dolphin hotel is about a 20 minute walk from the centre, but it’s rooms are clean, the shower is hot AND it has a pool. Yes.

Eat: The River Dolphin hotel actually has its own restaurant with a pretty good (and cheap) menu. No need to walk to dinner. Winner.

Drink: Again, like Kep this is a sleepy part of Cambodia. The hotel does do pretty cheap cocktails though.

And just like that our time in Cambodia has come to an end. So here’s what it has taught me:

-Humans are capable of horrific things. But, they’re also capable of remaining kind, hopeful and determined in the aftermath of evil.

-It is acceptable to wear pyjamas all day every day.

-Sunsets never get old. Nor do sunrises.

-Old stuff is cool.

-Banana and pepper is a winning combination.

-Salt doesn’t grow on trees.