Cambodia - Day 18 - Arrival in KampotMar 26, 2012
|
|
| Mini bus picked us up at 12noon and we were on our way to Kampot. It took a little less than an hour and a half to get there, our driver was a little aggressive. Most of the road here was paved and in good condition but the closer we got to Kampot it turned into a pot hole filled dirt road for 15kms - just to make things interesting I guess. Kampot Province is endowed with an alluring combination of old colonial towns, abundant natural attractions; Kampot produces some of the world’s finest pepper. It is a charming riverside town with a population of 33,000 and is a breath of fresh air from the rest of Cambodia (that we‘ve been to), hardly any traffic, less tourists, more jungle and mountainous areas and the locals are very friendly and welcoming. Once dropped off we found a guest house, registered and went out for a walk to seek some ice cold beer to quench our thirst from the heat of the afternoon. We happened upon the “Magic Sponge” guesthouse owned and operated by William who just happens to be Canadian, actually his waitress Sophie and George (a man at the bar Jason made friends with) are also from Canada - first time this has happened. We ordered two cold Angkor draft beers and sat up at the bar. Met an older gentleman by the name of Brian who hales from Manchester, New England. He has been living in Thailand for the past 8 years and now has a year visa for Cambodia. He lives in a small apartment, recently built and pays $100 per month for rent. He plans on moving here for an extended amount of time - he has fallen in love with Kampot and its people. He is 68 years old and man does he have stories. I had a great chat with him for well over an hour, Jason and George did the same amongst themselves. Soon enough we were off to walk around town and check the place out. We ended up going back to “Magic Sponge” and have some supper. At 8pm, Shawn Miller (an older musician) setup his gear and started to play some awesome ‘old time’ music. As we sat and enjoyed the music, William approached Jason and I and asked if we would help him out with some advertising exposure for his guesthouse - of course we accepted. We were seated down at a table containing a lot of food from Williams restaurant, supplied with a glass of wine and sat with a couple from Austria (Liza & Eugen). We posed for a lot of photos for Williams website, once done we could dig into the food and drink our wine - all free - on the house as “Thanks” from William. Wondered back to our guest room around half passed midnight. Tomorrow we are going to sleep in and explore the town a bit more |
Advertisement 
|
