At long last, almost exactly 1 month after The Trip, we
have reached the 3rd and final blog entry on my adventures in
Cambodia. Admittedly, the last leg of my vacation was likely the least
adventuresome/ancient, but also the most enjoyable, so I will try to convince
you of the amazingness of Kampot, not with danger and intrigue, but with tales
of recreation & relaxation and, of course, more pictures. Off we go…
With the beauty of Angkor Wat thoroughly recorded on my
camera, it was time to get my relaxation on, Cambodia style. I was tipped off
to the glory that is the Southeastern Cambodian town of Kampot by a close
friend who will remain nameless for no particular reason (love the phrase “who
will remain nameless”) and decided that I would spend 3 days experiencing what
it had to offer before spending the last 1.5 days of my trip in Phnom Pehn,
Cambodia’s capitol and my point of departure. So I organized an overnight
“sleeper bus” from Siem Reap to the coastal town of Sihanoukville,
where I would connect on to Kampot. I was promised a “bed” on the bus, but as I
don’t usually consider buses a suitable place for a suitable bed, I was
skeptical regarding the actual comfort level of the seating (or bedding) situation.
My skepticism, as usual, was validated upon boarding the bus..
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| My cell for the evening... |
The beds resembled crudely welded racks, rudimentarily secured
to the bus floor which had clearly not always housed this supposed “sleeper”
furniture. The noise we endured while driving down the Cambodian highway
resembled the sound of… crudely welded racks, rudimentarily secured to the floor
of a bus which clearly had not always housed this furniture, squeaking and
rattling cacophonously into the night, making any attempt at actual sleep a
merely hypothetical option. Thankfully, we transferred buses in the middle of
the night, and the second vehicle, despite lacking “beds,” actually allowed a
bit more sleep than the first. On the whole, still not the worst bus ride I’ve
endured in Asia by a long shot, and I’ve survived to tell the tale; that’s all
I ever ask for really.
The van from Sihanoukville to Kampot was also an
interesting experience; when we first set off, I noticed that even the
slightest bump or dip in the road yielded a frightening creaking sound from the
vehicle’s suspension, which was clearly shot. I soon found out why: the road we
traveled was so thoroughly littered with potholes that certain parts of the
highway were simply impassable at speeds higher than 10 or 15 KPH. Even the
most rugged high-occupancy vehicle would have trouble navigating these roads in
a normal manner. In fact, many historians suggest the word “pothole” takes its
genesis from the term “Kampot Holes”, such is their abundance in this area
(NOTE: That’s totally not true, but could you imagine if it was?!)
Once I arrived in Kampot, I went straight to the
guesthouse my unnamed friend raved about, the venerable Bodhi Villa, whose very
appropriately chosen mantra is simply: “Chill Out.” I planned on following this
instruction to the letter, and proceeded to do just that, without venturing out
of the friendly confines of the Villa for my first 48 hours in Kampot. And why
would I? They delivered what they promised, with a comfortable relaxed
atmosphere, delicious food (which included both bread AND cheese, luxuries I
don’t get to indulge in much in Thailand), and their location right on the
shore of the river yielded the ideal atmosphere for settling in, watching
some bootlegged movies, talking with some like-minded and different-minded
travelers, and gettin ma chill on.
During my second day there, I’d already decided to nix my
plans to spend a day seeing sights in Phnom Pehn, and stay in Kampot an extra
day. I did end up getting out and about town with some new friends, which
yielded some snazzy photos right away. Here’s a small sample of day 3, which
was spent exploring the surrounding area with an Israeli chick I’d befriended
the previous day:
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| Yes, the grass looked that green. |
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| Storm's a-brewin' |
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| Bokor Mountain: more on that later |
During our first temple stop, we met a guy who invited us
back at 7 AM the following day to participate in a Traditional Khmer Music
lesson, which was an invitation I was more than excited to accept. The
following day we got up at the crack of dawn, went for an early morning romp in
the river, had coffee and breakfast, and made our way over to the temple. The
lesson didn’t end up happening, which was probably the biggest bummer of the
trip, which, all things considered, is not too shabby. We took advantage of our
early rise to make our way up Bokor Mountain, a nearby peak & national
park. We had to drive through clouds (which was fun) and a torrential downpour
(which was decidedly NOT fun) to get there, but all our effort was rewarded by
the views we got to enjoy:
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| You can see what's left of an old casino on the right. What, didn't get a lot of walk-ins at the top of a mountain?.. |
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| Here we can see: the ocean |
The last hurrah in Kampot manifested itself in one of the
most awesome meals I’ve had since leaving home, taking place at a restaurant
whose specialty was barbecued beef, cut off of a young cow rotating on a spit
over charcoal by the entrance. It was glorious, both for the quality of the
meat, and for the deliciousness of the accompanying vegetables and sauces.
Truly a perfect ending to an amazing vacation, fully enjoyed right down to the
very last bite of Kampot Beef.
The Israeli and I woke the following day again at the
crack of dawn, and boarded a bus to Phnom Pehn. Once we arrived, we bid our
farewells, as she continued on to Siem Reap, and I headed for the Airport. I
probably should have explored the city a bit before going, because I ended up
spending about 7 hours there, before flying in to BKK. When I arrived I took an
outrageously expensive taxi straight to the bus station, and boarded an
overnight bus back to Chiang Mai. Around 10 AM the next day, 27 hours after
leaving Kampot, I arrived safely back where I started. For the first time, I
actually had not been itching to get back home from a trip away from CM, and
could’ve stayed in Kampot for another 3 weeks at least. My trip to Cambodia had
delivered everything I was hoping for, and the time had come to remove my
“Travel Boots” and put on my “Job Search Penny Loafers.” After all, SOMEbody’s
gotta bring home the bacon in order to fund my lifestyle, and it continues to
seem as if that person is me… for now… until I can find a suitable Sugar-Mama
to pay my bills…
Until next time, remember: There’s no substitute for a
good, quality toothpick. Try not to be caught without one.
Thank you reader, see you again next time!
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