Cap and Koh Tonsai are my only favorite places in Cambodia. Excursions to Kampot, Kep and Bokor

why go

Don't miss it in the city

Stroll through the sleepy streets of the city, imagining life in a French colony hundreds of years ago.
Rent a bike and explore the picturesque surroundings.
Visit Bokor National Park and admire the high mountain views.
Buy Kampot pepper, the region's most famous product and the pride of local farmers.
Check into a riverside lodge and spend a couple of evenings lazily watching the gorgeous sunsets over the river.

Sunset over the river. Photo credit: isabelle chauvel, Flickr

Picturesque landscapes, endless fields and farms, preserved colonial architecture, proximity to the Bokor National Park, the absence of a large number of tourists, silence and a relaxed lifestyle attract eco-tourism lovers to the city.

Kampot is a tiny town and can be easily explored on foot. To explore the surrounding area, you can rent a motorbike or bicycle. When renting transport, keep an eye on both your belongings and the transport.

On the streets of the city. Photo credit: Pierre Gazé, Flickr

Colonial city landscapes. Photo credit: Bental_3000, Flickr

Bokor

Bokor National Park and its main attraction, a French hill station with an abandoned casino and pagoda, are an hour's drive from Kampot. Any guest house will help you with visiting the park; an alternative option is to explore Bokor on a rented motorbike. The park is located 1.5 hours from the city, so set aside a day to visit Bokor. The cost of a tour from the city is about $10.

Immediately after breakfast, we took a minibus from beachside Sihanoukville to the city of Kampot in Cambodia. The road is not at all tiring and takes about two hours. It runs through small settlements, where life in which, from the minibus window, seems measured and leisurely.

Kampot is an old city with preserved colonial architecture of buildings. The bus dropped us off on the main street Old Market Street next to some hotel with a restaurant on the ground floor.

We decided to have lunch at this place and at the same time look at a map of the city to decide how to get to our hotel. We chose the hotel and paid in advance via the Internet (service booking.com ) more from Sihanoukville.

We knew that Kampot is a very small town - almost a village, so we decided not to use transport in the city itself. However, we noticed that some tourists were moving around the city on carts for two with roofs that protect from the sweltering sun.

After a delicious lunch we slowly trudged towards our 3-star hotel Borey Bokor Hotel outside Kampong Bay. Kampot Hospital is located across the street from the hotel. Room price for one night for two without breakfast was US$18. We deliberately chose this hotel because it has large swimming pool, the water in which warmed up during the day and by the evening became like fresh milk. In Kampot you can rent a room for $6 for two - the further from the embankment, the cheaper.

The location of our hotel was quite convenient - on a quiet street, not far from the central Old Market Street and the embankment Riverside Road, where there are many restaurants with very tasty food. On the first evening we visited one of them, sitting comfortably on armchairs with cushions. After the heat of the day, cool Angkor beer and refreshing cocktails like life-giving elixir, nourished our sun-weary bodies.

The beloved beef, cooked in traditional Khmer style and served with a bunch Kampot pepper, was so great that we ate this dish. called Lok Lak, and in the following days that they lived in Kampot. In general, Kampot pepper is considered one of the best peppers in the world. Here it can be bought on the market in any form and quantity.

Walking around the city is interesting, despite sweltering heat. A combination of old dilapidated houses built by the French and cheerful colored rags, neatly hung after washing, evokes the sweetest feelings. P growth and spontaneity in everything – this is what captivates many in Asia.

In some places in the city you can find graffiti on the walls.

During the day, there is almost no local population on the spacious streets of the city. Occasionally there are tourists loitering around. Vehicles on the roads are also not a frequent occurrence, especially at noon.

In some gateway we found local women washing dishes after a big morning meal and immediately preparing lunch for the whole family.

It's nice to live in a warm climate - you can walk around all day pajamas or home clothes.

If, when you arrive in Kampot, you want refresh part of your wardrobe, this can be done in one of Laundry, there are enough of them in the city.

Somewhere after four o'clock, plastic tables appear on the sidewalks - restaurant owners begin to prepare for the evening stream of hungry guests.

Women prepare food.

Almost next to the Borey Bokor Hotel where we stayed is central square of Kampot, in the center of which is erected monument in honor of durian- the king of fruits.

They meet right there vacationing rickshaw pullers.

On the square there is supermarket, where locals come in expensive cars. There are not many shops in Kampot that can be called supermarkets. Most trade comes from small and private shops.

By sunset there are more people on the streets. A lot of locals gather along the embankment rivers with magical views of the sun setting behind the horizon.

Sunsets Here beautiful.

The current in the river is quite fast and, apparently, it’s not worth swimming in it. From the central part of Kampot to the other side leads old bridge.

Somewhere in the bridge breaches are visible, so it is only used by pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists. When entering the bridge, a vehicle height limiter is installed. In the evening twilight, when there are almost no pedestrians or vehicles on the bridge, the creaking of a lonely green lantern above the holes in the road surface of the bridge evokes eerie feelings, forcing you to think again and quickly leave this place before the bridge collapses right under you.

Another part of the old bridge, apparently, has already collapsed, as it looks renovated. Fresh and strong metal flooring seems durable.

Some residents of Kampot, all in the same colorful pajamas, are doing race walking, walking along the embankment back and forth. At the same time, they wave their arms funny.

The next day, while walking around the city, we decided to visit market. Along the way we met many different interesting buildings.

One of them was surrounded by a high fence and looks like administrative. It was built in 1956.

The whole of Kampot, like many other cities in Cambodia, is studded with billboards with political advertising.

The garbage bins on the streets in Kampot are made of rubber. This is what they look like.

Approaching the city market, the streets are getting busier. There are people rushing to the market for provisions, and there are many motorcyclists.

The market is surrounded by parked motorcycles, there is some kind of construction work going on right there or they are just selling sand.

The market itself is a labyrinth, protected from the sun by metal flooring and rags.

Trade is on smartly.

Fresh fish carefully laid out on the floor, right under the feet of passers-by.

Rows of jewelry look more civilized. Decorations are displayed on glass display cases. They are produced right there.

Here comes the famous one Kampot pepper. The freshest goods sell out quickly.

These cheerful locals laughing, probably because we just bought half a bucket of different things from them Kampot pepper.

Peppers are sold both fresh and dry. Dry pepper comes in green, red and black varieties. This is all one type of pepper, which is collected at different periods of its ripening. The climate in Kampot is favorable for this crop. In my opinion, Kampot pepper is a great souvenir from Cambodia!

If traders don’t have their own place at the bazaar, then it doesn’t matter - you can position yourself in any passable place so as to be closer to the main flow of people. Came for jewelry I also bought some vegetables and other related products. It's comfortable!

Tent near the house, on the opposite side of the road from the market, is wedding catering. In Asia, people have large families and many friends, but you can’t invite everyone to your house. And that’s why weddings are celebrated like this, right on the street - in a tent.

In this heat all the time thirsty. Chilled milk coconut– the most pleasant natural drink and costs up to 1 US dollar.

The atmosphere of Kampot is so relaxed that staying in the city seems like a vacation after running for many kilometers between the temples in the Angkor Valley. The city does not have any special attractions that you must visit or see.

Can be rented bike for $5 and roll down to Kep to the sea and crabs. In Kep, it seemed to us, there was nothing to do at all except lounging in a hammock and contemplating the sea. On the way from Kampot to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, our minibus stopped in Kep to pick up two American teenagers. On this day it rained all day in the morning, the sky was busy and it seemed that it would never end. Probably in moments like this you plunge into melancholy and there is nothing left to do but play backgammon on the terrace and drink local beer while snacking on crabs.

In the evening in Kampot you can buy excursion for two by boat, for the same $5, and go watch fireflies.

I haven't seen these before huge fireflies, colonies sitting on the branches of huge bushes growing along the river. We caught them and laughed, watching them crawl all over us. If you don’t mind spending five dollars on such an excursion and don’t mind wandering at night, then you can take a walk along the river yourself. From the main street Old Market Street you need to go in the opposite direction from the old bridge along the embankment, after about 2-3 km you will find bushes completely dotted with luminous insects. Just remember to take repellent with you.

On the other side of the river, if you move towards the sea, you can visit famous salt fields Salt Fields. Sea water flows through canals into these fields; after evaporation, workers collect salt with special sticks. People work here all day, manually collecting salt under the scorching sun. It is believed that this one of the lowest paid jobs in Cambodia.

What is also interesting about Kampot is that many residents here specifically swallows are bred. Note that there are no other birds visible in the city. Local residents breed them on purpose. Then they clean up swallow nests from garbage and sell it for money to companies that produce drinks and medicinal preparations based on swallow's nests. Have you ever tried it? Very tasty and refreshing drinks considered an excellent antioxidant, they can be bought in many Asian countries in regular stores. In the hotel where we lived, an entire wing was dedicated to these cute birds, chirping so loudly in the morning. Throughout our stay in Kampot, we observed how the hotel employees, located in the lobby, wielded tweezers from morning to evening, sorting through swallow’s nests. Apparently this source of income is quite good.

In a couple of days you can see main attractions of Kampot. If you don't mind what's not happening around you absolutely nothing and you like it, then you can stay here longer.

Every week we offer you a new route for independent travel. from you4travel and you will be the first to know new route with special offers from airlines valid for the current week, and other news.

Kampot is a cozy Cambodian town with a funny name, located in the south of the country.

In principle, you can easily walk around all the streets of Kampot even in an hour, but people here prefer to take their time: Cambodians lie lazily in their tuk-tuks, scratching their bellies, and a few tourists relaxingly walk along the embankment or sip drinks on the balconies of a few local establishments, admiring the sunset. The real resort of the Krasnodar Cambodian region :)

Despite the fact that there is no sea or beach in Kampot, The atmosphere here is really quite resort-like: a wide, beautiful embankment with romantic benches, many small establishments that light up colorful lanterns on wooden facades after sunset, old houses in the French style (and in some places, according to Cambodian tradition, fairly destroyed), rare shops with souvenirs, the smell of fried fish in the evenings... Quiet, calm and extremely sweet :)

It’s very pleasant to run along the city embankment in the morning: we started there every day and always came to see the city’s main evening entertainment - the sunset)

There is no nightlife in Kampot, some restaurants are open until 10-11 pm, but they are in the minority; usually all life comes to a standstill, just like a pensioner - no later than 9 :)

It’s nice to come to Kampot after an exhausting trip to the large-scale Angkor and, for example, before starting a beach holiday in the party (as far as possible in Cambodia, of course) Sihanoukville: the relaxed atmosphere here will quickly restore strength and set you up for a good rest.

Kampot is famous for its pepper, which is grown on numerous plantations in the vicinity of the city; pepper is the local pride and the main souvenir for tourists (and its prices here are expectedly inflated). We visited the farm closest to the city - Farm link . Peppers are not grown directly at Farm link on a large scale - they are brought there for processing from surrounding plantations - but on its territory there is a mini-plantation where you can admire the process of pepper growing and ripening) Young peppercorns look simply charming.

Young black pepper

Red long pepper (piper longum)

The most interesting thing on this farm is getting to know the process of drying, painstaking selection and subsequent processing of peppers - this work is really difficult and very tedious :) First, the peppers are collected and dried naturally - under the bright southern Cambodian sun

Then the fun part begins - the careful selection of first-class peppercorns, which will later become the famous aromatic Kampot pepper. Second-class ones are filtered out and sent for use in the kitchens of middle-class restaurants, for sale in markets, etc.

Probably, after a week of such classes you can comprehend Zen))

Kampot pepper can be bought here. It is sold in several types - red, white and black, they differ in aroma, intensity of taste and sweetness. By the way, one of the nice factory employees will be happy to give you a mini-tour :)

In the vicinity of meditative Kampot you can also visit the local nature reserve - Bokor National Park. It is located 40 kilometers from Kampot - we got there on a scooter and managed to spend a fair amount of time)) If you are going to the reserve, be sure to dress warmly - it is much colder at the top than in the city. We, as experienced travelers, went to the park in shorts and T-shirts - halfway we had to return for jackets, teeth chattering))

The park is not small and covers an area of about 1500 km2. In 1917, the French (who at that time imposed their patronage on the Cambodian authorities), fleeing the stifling Asian heat and admiring the beauty of Bokor (in particular its main plateau, from which excellent views open - Bokor Hill), built everything here for a beautiful and comfortable life: good roads, a post office, a Catholic church, a hotel and, of course, a casino - “Bokor Palace” - so that you have somewhere to go in the evening after a tiring day 😉

When the French left the picturesque reserve, local residents quickly developed Bokor Hill and moved into the buildings left over from the colonists. Later, these places managed to survive many shocks: US bombing, the madness of the Khmer Rouge (the crazy Pol Pot completely mined a huge reserve) and their own bloody battles. Until 1997, Bokor was not marked on maps, and only in 1998 was total demining carried out here. Bokor has become a national park and Cambodian pride.

There are rumors that It’s still not safe to move around the park on your own(no maps or plans of mining the territory by the Khmer Rouge troops have survived, and no one is safe from unexpectedly stepping on a surviving mine), therefore you should only go deep into the reserve with an experienced guide. We decided to visit the remains of former French luxury, the ruins of a casino and a church, access to which is completely open.

Abandoned Church

Both ruins look very picturesque, especially in combination with gray gloomy clouds overhead that periodically replace the blue surface of the sky, the Martian landscape around and sudden sharp gusts of wind.

Mold-covered walls and broken windows of the casino, rickety lonely rusty benches next to the church, an altar overgrown with cobwebs, a roof covered with thick moss - very cinematic :)

Former hotel and casino building

Despite its small size and tranquil atmosphere, Kampot is definitely worth a visit - Cambodia feels completely different here.

After a three-day stop in Kampot, we moved further to the sea - to the tiny resort town of Kep.

Kep is located on the shores of the Gulf of Thailand, but the “sea” and “beach” here are very arbitrary - the water is muddy, grayish sand is mixed with small black pebbles, and the entire coastal sea area is covered with a dense network of fishing boats fishing the famous Cape crabs are the main attraction and element of attracting tourists to this town :)

Kep's central (and only) beach

Crabs cooked in any form (steamed, fried, grilled, stewed in a special sauce made from Kep or Kampot peppers - a dozen options for every taste) can be found here in every coastal cafe, but it’s best to go to the central one (and, in principle, the only) market that is open all day long. You definitely won't pass by the market)

In addition to crabs, you can find huge squids, tuna, shrimp, and other unknown inhabitants of the sea there - they will be cooked right there, in front of you, on one of the many braziers. White rice on the side is free as always - after three months in Asia we can no longer see it))

The atmosphere in Kep is even more sleepy and relaxed than in Kampot: the town is very small, provincial, even cute and rustic.

What can you do in Kep?

Get enough sleep, get enough sleep and get enough sleep :)

Kep is very quiet and calm, this is a great place for a short and extremely lazy holiday :) There are many pleasant and inexpensive guesthouses with large green areas, surrounded by flowers, palm trees and other vegetation (and, of course, silence:).

We stayed in a great guest house Bacoma Guesthouse : very convenient location (within walking distance of the crab market and the promenade with the beach), hospitable French owner, smiling staff who speak excellent English, cozy atmosphere, excellent breakfasts, large shady area (during the day it is very pleasant to hide from the relentless Cambodian heat) , charming bungalow houses, birdsong...Total relaxation :)

Bacoma has several accommodation options: we spent the first night in a round stone bungalow with a thatched roof, very similar to a real hobbit's home)) Here is a photo from the hotel website:

There is practically nothing inside except a large (and incredibly comfortable!) four-poster bed, but, nevertheless, it is very comfortable to be in the bungalow (except for the fact that you are constantly in twilight)

The main disadvantage for us is the lack of a private bathroom and a desk for work; it is because of this that the next morning we moved to a more spacious bungalow opposite

Although, to be honest, it was difficult to work in this oasis))

There are crabs. Lots of crabs.

Yes, as I wrote above, local crabs are the main attraction of Kep. I’m a vegetarian and haven’t tried them myself, but Roma ordered them several times in different establishments - and this particular dish was always top notch. Take crabs in a special sauce made from local peppers - you won't go wrong.

In addition to the arthropods themselves, in the market and in any cafe in Kep you can find a huge assortment of any fish or seafood - they are all fresh, just caught and very tasty.

Enjoy the sunsets

Grab fresh crabs from the market with sticky rice on the side, fruit from a smiling grandmother nearby, and go to one of the many benches on the embankment to enjoy the sunset.

You can sit right in front of a local landmark - a monument... well, of course, a crab)) Local Pushkin, or rather a symbol of the city)))

The sunsets in Kep are not as picturesque as, for example, on the Vietnamese island of Phu Quoc (that’s where we went straight from Kep - more on that later), but it’s very pleasant to have picnics here and admire the scarlet disk of the sun.

Most of the tables in cafes on the same embankment also look out to the sea, so combining a delicious dinner with watching a lazy Cape sunset is as easy as shelling pears. Of all the central establishments, we liked it the most Kimly restaurant – delicious, everything is fresh, lightning-fast service (it’s better to come in advance - the establishment is very popular and is often filled to capacity, which, however, does not affect the quality of the food in any way).

We liked having dinner at the restaurant

Intent to visit the town Kampot in the province of Cambodia of the same name appeared long before the trip to the “Kingdom of Wonders” for two main reasons: the original name and the monument to Durian, against which I wanted to take a photo,

and in general, I felt a desire to wander the streets of the town with a “delicious” name and see with my own eyes this culinary and geographical miracle (meaning the city and the monument, and not the fruit itself - there is a lot of it in Thailand. Those who have tasted Durian , I believe, will agree with me that only those who have ever eaten it can discuss or evaluate this very taste).

All the attractions of this place are a large mountain with many caves, manholes, passages, etc., in one word, “caverns,” through which curious travelers pass with flashlights on their heads (those who are prepared, of course) - and come out somewhere far away in other places. Apparently, it’s funny - Europeans are running around like that. I didn’t go into the cavern, therefore, after examining the cave, which is more than ….. years old, I returned back to the entrance and we set off on the way back to Kampot. By the time we returned, the clock showed 12 hours and minutes, that is, before the departure (or at least arrival) of the bus, something had to be done. But there was nothing to do. Within another hour, the supermarket on Durian Square (I didn’t bother to find out the real name of the square) was visited by me 2 more times, several types of Cambodian and Vietnamese beer were drunk, and time still passed slowly. After wandering around the center of Kampot for some more time, I landed at a certain catering establishment that offered French pastries, ice cream and, of course, all types of alcoholic drinks.

Since Kampot has a river, but no sea, the air temperature seems higher than in Sihanoukville (maybe I shouldn’t have gone to Cap - it’s still on the seashore - they would have fed me crabs, again). Having patiently sat in the cafe until 15-20, I decided to walk towards the bass station, fortunately, the map with a bold arrow was confirmed by the data from the map of the guidebook that I found in the counter near the table at which I was sitting. Of course, the maps differed somewhat in scale and degree of linearity of the roads, but both gave approximate information about where I needed to go to arrive at the meeting point with the bus.

In general, at 15-25 I left the cafe and, having asked the owner of the cafe which way to go in order to arrive at my destination as quickly as possible, I set off. It must be said that Kampot is built on a parallel-perpendicular plan, so a normal tourist will have absolutely no problems finding his way around. However, after a 10-minute voyage, I discovered that I was quite far from the place to which, in fact, I was heading. And, it seems, with the method of travel on foot, I just can’t make it to the bass station I need by 4 p.m. It is worth noting that Kampot is not Siem Reap or Sihanoukville; there are no tuk-tuks or motorbikes crowded here at every step. Therefore, when I decided to use (urgently) the services of at least one of the indicated vehicles, they simply were not in the foreseeable vicinity. Another 500-600 meters on foot - and I finally came across a kind of street cafe, in which several men of Cambodian (more precisely, Khmer) nationality were sitting and doing nothing. There were no motorcycles or tuk-tuks seen near them or nearby. Nevertheless, I decided to ask where I could quickly find some kind of transport. Immediately there was a motorcyclist on the opposite corner of the intersection, who promised to take me to the place marked on the map as the bus departure point for $3. Although the situation was noticeably reminiscent of delivering a guest of the Russian capital by taxi from Yaroslavsky to the Kazansky station in Moscow, there was no time left to think, we had to move - and we moved forward, to the bus that promised to arrive and leave at 16-00. We arrived quickly. Time – 15-49. In my opinion, the bus should arrive any minute and in a few minutes, having safely loaded me into it, head off to Sihanoukville.

The picture is as follows. As soon as I got off the motorcycle, a tuk-tuk pulled up with two Norwegians, whose kayak backpack haunted my neighbor and me on the way to Kampot. The Norwegians invite me to take a taxi with them to Sihanoukville and leave Kampot. Allegedly, today there will be no more buses in the direction I and they need. I quickly (despite my very average knowledge of the English language) find out that they (Norwegians) do not have the opposite ticket and they count on random seats on buses heading in the right direction, with a royal gesture I take it out of my pocket ticket to Sihanoukville (at 4-00 PM) and declare that for me, guys, unlike you, everything is OK and I don’t need a taxi to Sihanoukville at all. “The guys,” without saying another word, depart in an unknown direction, and I remain waiting for “Four o” clock (there are still 7-8 minutes left). These same 7-8 minutes pass quite quickly, no bus appears, nowhere and in no direction. Well, I'm waiting - you never know what happens on the wild roads of Cambodia! Another 10 minutes pass - nothing changes, NO bus.

I turn to the boy at the bass station (luckily for me, he speaks some English, it seems even better than me). He says that if I have ticket, then everything is OK and the bus will arrive sooner or later. Okay, I'm waiting. About 15 minutes later I repeat the question on the topic “where could my bus be now?” The boy babbles something about how the bus is going somewhere, somewhere from Phnom Penh and could now be anywhere. The information is not reassuring. I really want to get to Sihanoukville and really don’t want to stay overnight in Kampot. The boy suggests going to the nearby bass station and getting information there. We're getting there. It's very close, just around the corner. There are some people sitting there who speak only Khmer, so the amount of information does not increase.

But, after about 10 minutes, a Toyota Camry arrives, packed with passengers beyond belief. A boy speaking English suggests that I join the “herrings in a barrel”, that is, the passengers of this car, and move together towards Sihanoukville. I, of course, am interested in where exactly to load - on the laps of those sitting or in the trunk? I don’t receive an answer and the Toyota driver quickly engages reverse gear and drives away. Probably to Sihanoukville. I'm staying in Kampot.

Time passes, it will definitely get dark soon, after all, the equator is not that far away. A few more minutes pass and the boy, who speaks English, politely makes it clear that he is tired of my stupid questions regarding my not arriving bus. He tells me that he can recommend good options for overnight accommodation in Kampot, but it’s still impossible to leave today. I already realized that trying to find a passing bus is useless, I ask about where to look for a taxi here - the answers follow in the style of “nowere” & “nothing”. In short, fuck off and do what you want.

I head towards the well-known Durian monument, believing that this is where the center of this city and the province as a whole is located. On the way, I ask the locals where I can find a taxi, or at least a police post or station. The answers are negative, there is nothing here, especially at such an evening time (and the time is only 17-20).
On the way to Durian I meet one of the many ticket offices. I come in and ask if there is an opportunity to leave Kampot for Sihanoukville now. A young man sitting in a huge office says that his dad, the owner of the office, will come up now and will probably help me with something. Dad comes 10 minutes after his son’s call, very cheerful and sociable. He tells me that getting to Sihanoukville by taxi is easy and right now! It even indicates prices. In Cambodia, apparently, riding in the back seat is not cool, but riding in the front seat is great. According to dad, the cost of a taxi with a ride in the back seat is $15, and in the front seat – $25. I agree with the latter. Dad, in a good mood, leaves for some mysterious station, warning that he will arrive back in 3 minutes.

He returns 15 minutes later in a different mood than he was in. He tells me that there will be no buses until the morning, but there are also no taxis that would be from Sihanoukville. There seem to be local, Kampot taxi drivers, but you have to pay a double tariff for their services (they have nothing to do in Sihanoukville, and they can’t find passengers back to Kampot at night). In short, the price of the trip will be 60 dollars, and if you haggle a lot, then 50. I answer that I agree to pay no more than 30. He takes out a pack of business cards and starts calling potential taxi drivers who want to go to the sea and come back.
It takes about 15 minutes for calls and conversations, after which he offers me a trip to Sihanoukville in a car without companions, in the front seat for $35. I agree. He says that the car will arrive in 3 minutes. Knowing how long their minutes last, we go with him to the supermarket, talking on the way about flights from Russia to Cambodia, I buy beer for the road, and - oh, miracle! A taxi in the form of an old Camry is already standing near the office and waiting for me. To the surprise of those present, I loaded myself into the back seat (not cool!) and departed from hospitable Kampot.

After 1 hour 40 minutes we arrived in Sihanoukville. Before going to the hotel, I asked the taxi driver to stop at the office that sold me the ticket from Kampot. As one would expect, the employee present there said that “I’m not me and the horse is not mine either.” That is, the ticket, of course, is his, but the transport company that owns the bus is a completely different matter and the one who sells the tickets is completely unaware of what the one who directly transports passengers is doing. For clarity, I even pulled the taxi driver out of the car and asked him to inform the ticket magnate about the cost of transporting me from Kampot. The taxi driver said no problem. The question “Where did the bus go?” and why I didn’t find him at the appointed place at 4-00 PM were discussed briefly and decided to leave it until tomorrow. While they were arguing, the taxi driver drove away, but my Golden Sand hotel was just a stone’s throw away, and I safely reached it on foot.

The next morning, before going to the beach, I again visited the mentioned ticket office and made a claim on the merits of the complete absence of the promised vehicle for the trip to Sihanoukville at the time indicated on the ticket. My main question was the following: The ticket says departure time: 4-00. Where was(if there was one at all) bus at this time? The ticket magnate argued with me for quite a long time, then finally called the owners of the bus and supposedly found out everything. He spoke to them, of course, in Khmer, so it was impossible to understand the essence of the conversation. After that, in English, he told me something like this:

If your ticket indicates the departure time is 4:00, then you should definitely be at the station and wait for the bus to arrive not at 3:50, but at least at 3:30. Well, that is, the bus supposedly arrived at the appointed place at 15-30, did not find passengers with tickets, picked up passengers without tickets and safely departed to its destination. I, of course, objected that if you had such rules here, you would have written on the ticket, for example, 2:00. I would have arrived, no problem at all. As I expected, as a result of a 50-minute argument, I managed to get the cost of the ticket back ($5), and, of course, I had to forget about compensation for taxi expenses. As an argument, the ticket agent expressed the idea that if the passenger (that is, me) is such a slob, he could stay in Kampot for another couple of days, but the office that sold a good, valid ticket is not obliged to pay for a taxi, nor the accommodation of such a passenger in a guesthouse in Kampot, as well as any services provided to him, examples of which he also gave quite colorfully.

👁 Do we book the hotel through booking as always? In the world, not only Booking exists (🙈 for a huge percentage of hotels - we pay!) I have been practicing Rumguru for a long time, it’s really more profitable 💰💰 than Booking.

👁 Do you know? 🐒 this is the evolution of city excursions. The VIP guide is a city dweller, he will show you the most unusual places and tell you urban legends, I tried it, it’s fire 🚀! Prices from 600 rub. - they will definitely please you 🤑

👁 The best search engine on the Runet - Yandex ❤ has started selling air tickets! 🤷

Kampot (Cambodia) is a small settlement where a tourist destination is actively developing. Tourists from all over the world and wealthy locals come here. The town has many attractions, the most popular are the sacred caves and the ruins of ancient buildings. Not only Kampot is of interest, but also its surroundings, where there are pepper farms, Bokor National Park and a water park.

general information

Kampot province is located in the southeast of Cambodia. The 80 km long coastline is washed by the Gulf of Thailand. Kampot is the main town, located next to the Elephant Mountains and the picturesque Bokor Hill.

Good to know! Compared to Sihanoukville, which is noisy and crowded, Kampot is quiet and peaceful.

Tourists come to see ancient French architecture, which has been perfectly preserved to this day. This part of Cambodia has beautiful beaches and picturesque nature. Among the attractions are architectural monuments of the pre-Angora era; in addition, agencies offer fascinating thematic tours:

through the jungle;
bicycle;
fishing;
on a pepper plantation.

Gourmets from all over the world come to the city of Kampot, because here, in addition to a huge amount of fruit, you can buy unique black pepper and sea salt.

The city is located on the banks of the Tuk Chhou River, the distance to the sea does not exceed 5 km. Local residents are engaged in fishing and farming. The settlement has all the conditions for this - a sea rich in fish and seafood, fertile soil, and a wonderful climate.

It is important! The transport infrastructure in the city consists of buses, motorcycles, tuk-tuks and taxis. There is a train station, but it has been closed for a long time.

Sights of the city and surrounding area

The city will surely appeal to those who are sincerely interested in Cambodia and the local people. If you prefer passive relaxation, be prepared for the fact that most of the attractions of Kampot in Cambodia are located within a radius of 40 km from the settlement.

Black pepper plantations

The owners of the pepper plantation are a married couple – Natalie and Guy. While traveling around Cambodia, they found a plantation that attracted not only its fertile land, but also its natural beauty - the site is adjacent to the mountains. On one side of the mountain slopes there is a beautiful view of the Secret Lake and Mount Bokor, and on the other - the sea and the island of Phu Quoc.

A team of local residents led by Nick Hanon helped the couple develop agriculture. Today, the La Plantation pepper plantation covers an area of 20 hectares. Peppers are grown without the use of chemicals, using only organic methods.

It is important! Pepper is not the only product of the farm; you can buy turmeric, chili, vegetables and fruits here.

During a tour of the farm, tourists are invited to watch the harvesting process - peppers are picked by hand, about 150 people work on the plantation from February to April. Then the peppers are sorted, washed, boiled and dried for three days in the sun. When visiting the farm, guests are offered home-made juices.

Helpful information! You can visit and see the farm daily from 9-00 to 18-00. The Khmer House brand store is located on the premises of La Plantation. The tour is conducted in English and French free of charge.

Farm Link pepper production and store

The farm was opened in 2006 by emigrants from Europe. During their first trip to Cambodia, they noticed that many local residents are excellent farmers, and the fertile lands and comfortable climate contribute to the development of farming. This is how the pepper plantation appeared. Pepper from Kampot (Cambodia) from Farm Link is sold under the KADODĒ Kampot Pepper brand.

Interesting fact! During the excursion, tourists will definitely be offered other unique products - salt flower, palm inflorescence salad, long red pepper.

Production on the farm is exclusively environmentally friendly, using manual labor. The owners of the farm have special respect for nature and maintain the quality of the vines. The staff consists of 40 people; during the tour, the guide will show all the stages of collecting and producing pepper.

Helpful information! Farm Link is located at Tooy Khang Cheun Village, Angdong Khmer Area, Kampot. You can visit the farm daily from 7-30 to 11-30 and from 13-30 to 16-30. The duration of the excursion is 1 hour. There is a store on the plantation grounds where you can purchase any type of pepper.

Phnom Bokor National Park

Bokor National Park covers an area of approximately 140 thousand hectares. The attraction is also called Pre Monivong Park, where jungle and mountains are intricately intertwined.

This park is considered the main attraction not only of Kampot, but of the whole of Cambodia. People come here to see the main secret - the abandoned city of Bokor Hill Station, which resembles a settlement from a horror movie and gives the area a rather sinister impression. The city was built for French aristocrats.

Interesting fact! The Elephant Mountains, which are part of the National Park, are named so for a reason. The jungle is home to a large number of elephants. Also in the park there is Mount Kamtyai, almost 1100 meters high.

What to see in the National Park.

Popokvil waterfall consists of two tiers - 14 and 18 meters; the attraction is revealed in full power during the rainy season.
The Black Palace is a luxurious building that belonged to the monarch Norodom Sihanouk.
Sampov Pram Temple is an active Buddhist temple, built at the beginning of the last century in honor of the coronation of the monarch. The silence here is broken only by the cries of birds and animals. There is a ledge next to the attraction, from where it offers a stunning view of the surrounding area.

Sampov Pram Temple

The distance from Kampot to the park is 8 km. The main entrance is 1 km from the main road. In 2012, a high-quality, modern road was built to the top and the journey takes only 1 hour.

A guided tour organized by local agencies will cost $20, and tourists are offered lunch during the trip.

Buses depart from the bus station in Kampot at 10-30 and at 16-20, return flights depart from 8-30 and at 13-30. Ticket price is $5.

You can also visit the attraction by SUV; rental costs from $20 to $30.

To get there by taxi, you need to pay from 50 to 60 $. In Kampot you can rent a scooter or motorbike.

Entrance to the park is free.

What to see in Kampot (Cambodia)? Visit an amazingly beautiful cave located 10 km from Kampot. There are several rooms inside; in the main room there is a stone temple. Construction dates back to the 7th century AD. The caves are so intricate and huge that to this day they have not been fully explored. There is a legend that secret passages can lead to Vietnam.

In addition to the main cave, there are two more:

“White Elephant” - to the right of the entrance there is a formation resembling the figure of an elephant, inside the cave is divided into three rooms, a beautiful temple is built in the central one, and in the farthest one tourists can see huge colonies of bats;
“Phnom Sorsiya” - people come here to see the numerous Buddha statues installed in the cave.

All three caves were built during the heyday of the ancient state of Funan.

It is important! To explore the caves you will need a flashlight and comfortable shoes.

You can get to the attraction by moped or auto-rickshaw, the cost is from 3 to 5 $. Entrance to the cave is free.

In Kampot, you can book a sightseeing tour, during which you can see Bokor National Park, a pepper plantation, the largest crab market and amazing caves. The ticket price depends on the number of people in the group, ranging from $60 to $130.

Vacationers have kayaks, boats, ping-pong, darts, volleyball, bicycles, billiards and, of course, a water park on the territory of which there are many hammocks. You can relax in the bar, where live music is played and refreshing drinks are served. The kitchen is open from 7-00 to 20-30.

Entry to the water park is $7 for the whole day. For this amount, the vacationer gets access to all the attractions and entertainment - a water slide, a diving site, a climbing wall.

How to get to Kampot from Phnom Penh and Sinuaville

You can get to Kampot by car or tuk-tuk.

Travel in a minibus costs $5, but the trip is not very comfortable, since there are too many passengers.

Taxi costs from 30 to 35 $

Find out PRICES or book any accommodation using this form

Those who come to Kampot can expect to interact with friendly and welcoming people and take a walk through the pepper plantations. The city of Kampot (Cambodia) is remembered for its special atmosphere and leisurely pace of life.

A very interesting video from the city of Kampot - you need to be prepared for this. Judge for yourself.

It might be useful to read: