A couple of hours away from Phnom Penh lies the sleepy town of Kampot. All the guide books and online travel sites tell you of ‘quite little Kampot’ and ‘quaint sleepy Kampot’ so i thought i better go and check it out.

The town itself is not very big but it is situated along the banks of a river. It is best known for its French colonial architecture but about half are run down if not just derelict. It is also known for its world famous Kampot black pepper and its Durian production. The durian is so well liked they made a roundabout dedicated to it !! –

 

I had booked two nights at Kampots Pie and Ice Cream shop, a fabulous little bakery with some rooms above. It was worth staying there purely for the nice smells that would waft up from the kitchen below.

During my first two days there i struggled to see the appeal of the place, nothing much happened, it was quiet therefore relaxing and it was a town that had fallen into decay. But that was the charming thing about the place, nothing much happened, people quietly went about the lives at a slow relaxed pace, many people come from the capital to have a break and be by the river. Many cafes and bars are owned by ex-pats who arrived here and just never left, there are many stories of people coming here and settling down but they just can’t tell you why they never left. I stayed another 4 days there just doing much the same as everybody else, nothing much.

Views of the river –

 

Kampot Prison, open to all. Apparantly you could actually wonder in and meet the inmates although i decided against it –