With the long weekend in place (as Monday June 1st is International Children's Day in Cambodia), I spontaneously decided to skip town and explore a new place in Cambodia. Kampot came to mind (first as a dish I previously had, "Kampot rice noodles salad", and second from their peppers I saw in Phnom Penh's grocery stores). I did a quick research and found a ride to the quiet riverside town in southern Cambodia, famous for her salt, peppers, and, the king of fruit, durians. The 3.5 hour direct minivan ride from Phnom Penh (longer than usual due to peak hour traffic) cost just US$8/pax each way on Kampot Express. The highlights of the bumpy ride were the beautiful sunset to my right and the brief pit stop at a gas station (somewhere in the mid-point) for the 15 of us to relieve ourselves, stretch our legs, and buy some snacks.
As a laid-back, small town, Kampot's pace was definitely slower than Phnom Penh. I stayed my first night in town at the Magic Sponge guesthouse for US$10/night, which I thought was pricey considering that it was fan-only with a private bath that was separate from the bedroom. There was no hot shower and the water pressure was low to the point of trickle. The American owner blamed it on the drought which he claimed the town has been suffering from for months on end and that he had to resort to buying water from the water trucks. Whatever. There were no signs to forewarn me of this, so I didn't appreciate the belated explanation. I actually thought his ebullience was over the top and pretentious.
After checking out of the Magic Sponge the next morning, I walked to the Old Market to look for Kampot's world-famous durians. A lady inside the market quoted me US$2.50/kilogram which was half what I was quoted outside the market. So, gamely, I bought one to try. Turned out it wasn't a Kampot durian but a sub-par import from (very likely) Thailand. I learned this from a tuk-tuk driver whom I shared the durian with at the riverbank. He said the Kampot durians usually sell at US$5/kg - pricier because they were usually harvested from the trees when fragrant and not picked prematurely like the foreign ones. Those foreign young durians were said to be transported on trucks to Cambodia and en-route, sprayed with water so that they would "cook" in the heat. He's probably right because those durians definitely didn't taste like "the world's best". So what can I say? Live and learn.
I hired a tuk-tuk to take me to the GreenHouse guesthouse up the river as I heard it was a splendid place to relax. Unfortunately, it was closed for the day; so, my driver, Mr. Chak, took me to another riverside guesthouse called Samon's Village, which was an idyllic retreat. It felt about 10 degrees cooler there than in Phnom Penh (perhaps due to its proximity to the river). I paid for a night's stay in a double bed bungalow with a very basic private bathroom for US$15/night. I loved its rustic feel, including the 2 resident brown frogs (one adult, the other just a baby) that sat silently still the whole time I was there.
I enjoyed a leisurely day of eating, drinking, and grading papers in Samon's Village's mellow restaurant/bar, built right on the riverbank with a panoramic view of the Kampot river. I couldn't imagine a more perfect setting - sounds of branches waving in the gusty air, sights of surface ripples on the river blown by the wind, sight of an occasional swallow flying by, and the calm sensation of being surrounded by swaying coconut, banana, and palm trees. The place was decorated with wooden tables, chairs, papasans, tree stumps, hammocks, and wooden floor planks; bare feet was the way to go. With the exception of one crass and foul-mouthed staff, everybody else was super-friendly and laid-back.
As a riverside town, I had to experience the Kampot river for myself. So, at 5:30 pm, I went on a sunset boat ride up the river and caught amazing magenta and orange hues to the west of Bokor Mountain and silhouettes of riverside vegetation at dusk. It was such a zen-like moment. Post-sunset, the captain took me to a quiet spot on the river to see fireflies and boy, were they magical! I was lucky to see them as like everything else with nature, their behavior was unpredictable and labile. There were hundreds of them flying and buzzing around within two bush trees. From a distance, they looked like flickering Christmas lights on a tree. Unfortunately, I was violently attacked by ferocious mosquitoes that completely stole the thunder away from my magical experience with the fireflies. The mozzy bites were gnarly and I scratched like a mad woman in a futile attempt to tame the itch - I could not stay a second longer and asked the captain to take me back asap. Goodbye fireflies! Darn you, mosquitoes!
Despite a few mosquito bites in the night, I slept really
well under the tent of a mosquito net (which obviously wasn't
foolproof) and awoke to a beautiful and lively melody of birds
singing and chirping outside in the morning - music I haven't heard in ages, certainly
not in chaotic Phnom Penh. Kampot is truly a tranquil place to be and one I envision returning to often to visit. Next time, I plan to take one of those countryside tours to see cave temples, salt fields, fishing villages, pepper and durian plantations, waterfalls, Kep beaches, and the forest. Thanks be to God for a wonderful retreat of a weekend. Until next time, peace out.
Above left: This is how they roll in Cambodia; Above right: Scenes from the minivan (en-route to Kampot)
Above left: The Durian roundabout is a major landmark in Kampot
Above: Tuk-tuk ride to the GreenHouse
Above right: Durian trees on the way to the GreenHouse
Above right: A bungalow at Samon's Village, Kampot
Above: Lush vegetation in Samon's Village
Above right: My bungalow at Samon's Village
Above left: The front porch of my bungalow; Above right: The bedroom in my bungalow
Above left: The basic private bath in my bungalow; Above right: The front porch
Above left: Views from the porch; Above right: The resident frog in my bungalow
Above left: The water amount and pressure were greater at night; Above right: My bed under a mosquito net
Above: View of the river from the restaurant/bar
Above left: Khmer vegetables noodle soup (US$2.00) at the restaurant/bar
Above left: Aye, aye, my captain! Above right: Samon's Village restaurant/bar as seen from the river
Above left: Stir-fry tofu with eggplant served with rice (US$2.50) and mango lassi ($2.00); Above right: Pancakes with banana and natural palm sugar (US$3.25) and tropical bliss shake (coconut juice, pineapple juice, and passion fruit juice; US$1.75)
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