Golf Competition, Chillin and Cycling in Kampot

Trip Start Aug 02, 2009

Trip End Feb 18, 2010

Loading Map

Map your own trip!

Map Options

Show trip route

Hide lines

Where I stayed

The Magic Sponge Guesthouse

(Kampot hotels)

Flag of Cambodia Kampot, Cambodia
Friday, January 22, 2010

Having met up with our friend Dan, he drove us to Kampot. Although the journey was nearly 4 hours it was very scenic and interesting to watch the locals going about their daily lives and see all the stilt houses. The children here are so happy and get really excited to see you. They jump up, shout hello and wave until you are out of sight.

We met Dan at University, where we were in halls together. After uni, Dan went travelling, loved Cambodia and moved out here. He ran a bar for a while before opening the Magic Sponge Guest house in Kampot. When we arrived we were very impressed... The building itself is an old villa, which was a bank for a while before Dan converted it into the guest house. They are currently putting the finishing touches to a 9 hole mini golf course, which is great fun. We spent our first evening in Kampot relaxing in the bar at the guest house, catching up and of course having a few rounds of mini golf

Cycling around Kampot.

.

The next day, we left Dan pottering about and installing lights and hired two bikes from the guest house to go and explore the town. Kampot is far smaller then Phnom Penh and much less touristy. We cycled about 8km, waving at local children and avoiding occasional trucks and motorbikes. At the end of our ride we called in at a guest house and bar called Utopia for a drink and a rest. The bar is set right on the river with no other houses in sight and is very chilled out. We cycled back the same route and I managed to develop some lovely tan marks down my back. After the cooler weather in Vietnam, Cambodia is very hot!

That afternoon Dan drove us to a holiday resort with a private beach. We ordered some drinks and headed out along the bamboo pier to a wooden bungalow at the end. From here we had an excellent view of Bokor Mountain and we watched the sun set over the sea. I think this sun set is now winning best sun set award... as the sun dropped lower and lower it got bigger and bigger and redder and redder, beautiful. We did have a random moment when two fisherman sailed by and threw sea weed at us!

Knowing someone local is great as they know all the best places and restaurants. So that night Dan took us to the Rusty Keyhole to sample their famous ribs. Neither me nor Jon are that keen on ribs but they were absolutely amazing and the sauce was out of this world!! It is possibly the best meal we have had since leaving the UK, and cheap too. There was so much meat on the ribs that even Jon struggled to finish them.

We returned to the Sponge and all improved our golf scores while drinking beer and cocktails

View of the river - Kampot.

. Jon and Dan also tried their hand at a spot of badminton and then pool... my bum was killing me after all the cycling so I had a rest!

24th January - We had a bit of a lie in before ordering a taxi back to Phnom Penh. We asked the taxi driver to take us through Kep, which is a small town on the coast, and then stopped at some local caves. Here two children showed us round, pointing out rocks that looked like crocodiles, sharks and rabbits.

We had a really relaxing time in Kampot, it is very laid back and provides a real insight into Cambodia and the people. It was great to see Dan and we loved the guest house.

Slideshow