The Lovely Town of Kampot

Welcome to Kampot, a locale that is all that a river town should be. It's laid-back without being boring, quaint without being provincial, and it makes good use of its picturesque river-front (i.e. many restaurants and bars from which to enjoy the breeze and the view). We were a bit skeptical before arriving due to the disappointment we were left with after seeing Batambang - the most heralded of "charming river towns" per lonely planet - but after spending three lovely nights and two exciting days exploring the town and province, consider us converted!

A Gratuitous Photo of Us

We booked 2 full-day tours of the area, the first consisting of a visit to Bokor National Park, a nearby unnamed waterfall, and finally a sunset boat ride along the river and the second included visits to a temple located inside a cave, one of Kampot's famous pepper farms, and finally the seaside resort town of Kep. Our guide on the first day went by the nickname "Tree" and how he acquired that tite is an interesting story which we will get to later. He drove us up to see the biggest attraction of the park - a deserted former French getaway stationed atop a hill with an abandoned church and the ruins of a hotel/casino that look very eerie in their constant shroud of heavy fog. The resort was built by French expats in the 1920s and was popular because its altitude allowed for the closest approximation to their homeland's climate (leave it to the Europeans to move to a tropical locale only to search for the nearest chilly, foggy spot). However, when the Khmer Rouge stepped in in the 70s, the area was abandoned and eventually became a base for the radical Cambodian Communist group. The history of the place along with its ominous atmosphere should theoretically combine to give the hill station a strong spooky vibe, but the whole mysterious aura is very quickly deflated by the buzz of development projects going on all around - a contradiction that gives the place the dichotomous distinction of being the most populous ghost town we have ever visited. While the development of the area has brought with it certain advantages - such as a newly paved road that makes the ascent to the hill station a quick and relatively comfortable ride (although those of us with a tendency towards motion sickness *ahem, Rachel, ahem* may find the tortuous ride to be akin to torture) - it is unfortunate that the current plans of building a multi-hotel casino complex is threatening to wipe out almost all of the nature surrounding the park. After about 30 minutes of exploring the area by foot, we retired to the comforts of the A/Ced van to get an impromptu lecture on the history of the park from our guide. Tree is a native of the Kampot province and his experience with the French hill station is as interesting as it is sorrowful. Like most Cambodians we have met, Tree has experienced loss at the hands of the Khmer Rouge regime. However, his tale actually starts before their rise to power in 1975. Tree's family was forced into the heart of the forest in the late 60s and early 70s by US bombings attempting to cripple Viet Cong supply routes that extended into Cambodia. A brief lull in violence was quickly followed by the rise of Pol Pot and his cadre and Tree, along with his entire immediate family, was arrested under the guise of being a CIA informant. He was bound and blindfolded and was led towards execution at one of the Khmer Rouge's killing fields when he managed to escape death at its doorstep and flee into the forest once more. After a few years of living in the forest, surviving on the skills he had acquired during his first stint there, he was picked up a Vietnamese army unit and shuffled across the border into Vietnam. Since his father was a former soldier in the Cambodian army, he had obtained proficiency firing certain weapons and this training allowed him to return to hill station on a mission to liberate the old casino/hotel, which had since been transformed into a Khmer Rouge prison. He rose through the ranks of the army and eventually became the commander of the military unit that ousted the Khmer Rouge forces that had taken up post along the old church. After leaving the army he went to work with the UN relief effort and it is there that his coworkers - after hearing his incredible story - bestowed upon him the nickname Tree. To hear this amazing story, especially in the casually stoic tone with which Tree told it, gave us a good historical context for the hill station and more insight into the war-torn past of the country, a suffering that extends beyond just the Khmer Rouge genocide. After a short lunch break we moved on to the waterfall and then the boat cruise down the river, we'll let the pictures do the rest:

A View of the French Hill Station and the Omnipresent Fog

The Abandoned Church-Turned-Khmer Rouge-HQ

A Group of Monks Visiting the Park

Rachel's Favorite Part of the Tour :)

A Long-Exposure Shot of the Waterfall

Our Riverboat Captain - Mr. Boom Boom

Our second trip was much less Schindler's List and much more Benny Hill as it began with our driver, a lovely woman her driving deficiencies notwithstanding, taking over 5 minutes to back up out of the 10-foot driveway and on to the street. Perhaps it took her that long because she made it a point to bump into any and all inanimate objects found within a 15 foot radius of her back bumper. After a some nervous glances and a few quick prayers being whispered, we were on our way to our first stop - a small temple situated within a cave at the heart of a large hill. The climb up to the cave's entrance afforded us some spectacular views of the surrounding country side and we also got to do some rock scrambling on our way out. From there we moved on to visit one of the many pepper plantations for which the Kampot province is famous. We got a brief description of the pepper growing and harvesting process and were able to sample some high-quality peppercorns. Our final stop was the beach-side resort town of Kep. Our driver dropped us off in front of a mini-mart store and then proceeded to hop behind the counter to resume her job as the shop's cashier (we were surprised not to find her operating as a waitress at the restaurant we visited!). We're not sure if it was due to it being the low season for tourism, or if it was just some weird Twilight Zone moment, but there were absolutely no other people in the town save for a few people sweeping the grounds and a waiter at a restaurant who was way too enthused by the possibility of having some potential customers (we didn't eat there - it was too overpriced). It was really odd to walk down a wide avenue, flanked by the ocean on one side and hotel after hotel on the other, with a well manicured and lush lawn in its median and the only lane divisions we have seen thus far in Cambodia, and encounter nary a fellow traveler or even a car on the road. We guess that our visit to Kampot left us privileged to encounter not only the busiest ghost town but also the quietest tourist "hotspot" in SE Asia. Nonetheless, we shook off the cobwebs and took our sumptuous lunch of peanut butter and stale baguettes to the ocean for a quick nosh and a dip. Overall it was a pleasant if head-scratching experience.