Our journey to Kampot may have been more interesting then Kampot itself. Our minivan took us to the oceanside town of Kep where three of the six people on board got off. At this point realizing it was no longer profitable to continue on to Kampot our drive pawned us off on a nearby tuk-tuk driver. About 5 min into our tuk-tuk ride it began to pour rain. At this point our tuk-tuk driver cut his loses and pawed us off on yet another tuk-tuk driver. This tuk-tuk driver was faced with ankle deep red clay mud and broke down every 3 km’s for the rest of the journey. All and all from Kep to Kampot took us 2 hours, a distance normally covered in 30 minutes.

Drive from Kampot to Phnom Phen

We entered Kampot in a monsoon and we left Kampot in a monsoon, but not before having a little fun. Breakfast at Captain Chim’s was a truly worthwhile experience, especially for around 2$ each. Due to the fact that not only was it a Sunday but a Holiday Sunday catching a bus to Phnom Phen was not an option (told that “i-bus” is a good choice). So stuck for one more day we rented a motorbike and headed to Teuk Chhou Rapid’s. The road was surprisingly paved the entire way. Entrance fee was 1$ and the river was packed with locals having a holiday picknick. We stopped into a local restaurant for some water and ended up staying for lunch thanks to a persuasive young lady. With no tables or chairs we took off our shoes and were ushered onto a bed frame with a mat over it and a bunch of live chickens under it. We were handed a menu in Khmer so it might as well have been blank. I pointed to the top one thinking it said 4,000 riel or around 1$. Around 20 minutes later I realized that it actually said 40,000 riel! What meal in Cambodia could possibly cost 10$! Turns out one fully roasted chicken with vegetables and rice costs 10$ in Cambodia. And so sitting over our lunches live brethren we feasted like we have never feasted before.

Heading up to Bokor National Park

The rest of the afternoon was spent driving to Bokor Hill Station. A newly paved road makes access by motorbike pretty straight forward. By the time we got to the top the fog was tangible and the rain relentless. The only thing that we managed to find was the new billion dollar casino which for some reason was built on top of this god for saken mountain. So with numb hands and accomplishing nothing we turned around. If you are planning to make this trip make sure the weather is bright and clear because it was miserable!