Day 254: Kampot

From the capital we headed south towards the coast, stopping at the town of Kampot. Kampot is most famous for its pepper and salt, both of which you have to leave town to see. To accomplish this, we hired a local company to give us a tour through the countryside to see some of the interesting spots of the area. Overall, the tour was probably my least favourite of the trip. The bus wasn't very comfortable, or air conditioned, and the distances between the stops compared to how long we spent at most of them really didn't make it feel worthwhile. That being said, there were still some points of interest along the way.

The first stop was at the salt flats where they harvest salt. Nobody was around working when we were there, so it was mostly just stopping by some sheds where they stored salt, and, at least for me, not terribly interesting. Next was a visit to some hills with caves, and this caught my attention somewhat since I always enjoy a good cave. The parking spot was a good distance away, and as we pulled in we were joined by a talkative group of young kids who came along for the company. Since I haven't explicitly mentioned it yet, the children in Cambodia are the most wonderful of any country I've been. In some of the touristy areas they can be a bit of a pain pestering you and trying to guilt you into buying things, but for the most part they are all very friendly and just seem full of happiness. On our bicycle and motorbike trips through the countryside you get a constant stream of children droppng whatever they are doing and rushing out towards you waving madly and yelling "Hello! Hello!" (including, in at least one case, jumping out of a bath and running down the laneway way dressed only in soap bubbles). The ones we met in Kampot were among the best. Some spoke very good english, and all were friendly and helpful, wanting to point out things and trying to take over the tour guide's role. Best of all - they never once asked for or expected anything, which is refreshing after being badgered most of the way through Asia. The caves were part way up the hill, so we had to climb some steps which gave us a good view of the surrounding farmland.

The part of the cave we had easy access to wasn't all that deep, but it had a nice atmosphere as the light shone in from the entrance and the children were eager to point out all the animal shapes hidden in rock formations.

Our next stop was a very brief one at a small fishing village on the river. This was followed by another long drive to get to the pepper farm. The guide gave us a bit of an explanation at each place, but none of it was anything I couldn't easily just look up on my own, and it would have been nice to have a bit more of a walkthrough by the people who actually worked at each place, or at least a bit more interesting information.

The restaurant the group was going to for dinner was another solid drive away, and after spending all afternoon uncomfortable in the van I just didn't feel like more time travelling so I just stayed in town for the evening.