First of all, the drive from Kratié to Kampot…
It was a 9hour trip, with a stop and bus change in Phnom Penh, from Kratie to the next destination, a city called Kampot.
In Malaysia, the buses we took had newly upholstered seats with fold out foot rests and functioning air conditioning, not to mention the paved smooth roads and relaxed driving style. This was so many comfort levels below that. The first bus wasn’t as bad as the second. On the second, we shared a row of what should be 3 seats with two other western visitors (= wider butts than local butts) which means 4 western butts in a row. I, being on the far right side of the seat, almost fell out anytime the door was opened. The rest of the seats got filled by locals, standing by the road and getting picked up along the way, carrying bunches of bananas and sugar canes as well as luggage. We were sure no more could possibly fit in the 16 seater van. We were 14 passengers with all possible seats taken and the luggage of so many people taking up one of the foldable seats in the way back. We were all literally crammed in, all but sitting on top of laps. BUT about 2 hours into the 5hour journey, he stops in the middle of nowhere for 2 MORE people who were standing on the side of the road WITH a baby. So he pulled some out and played a bit of human Tetris, and made it fit, with one poor woman had to stand/crouch behind us, holding on to our seat for dear life on the rocky, unpaved country back roads. All I kept thinking (and sometimes saying) was NO WAY!! …and I need to remember this experience. So that’s why I’m sharing it here. 😁
Next, let me tell you about some of the drive-by sights in Cambodian countryside…
- Scooter with front-trailor holding 2 large (I assume dead) pigs upside down, 8 hooves in the air
- Salespeople at every stop run to the cars & vans with maggots, crickets and roaches fried with red peppers and green onions in a bowl (see pictures!)
- Child sleeping with her forehead resting between the handles of a driving scooter
- Naked children at a roadside gas station
- Two puppies getting rescued from underneath a truck in the middle of the road, stopping traffic in both directions
- Guy eating corn on the cob while driving scooter 1-handed
- Scooter with about 200 mattresses strapped down, making his load about 3 meters tall and 2 wide.
- 2 live chickens hanging from handles of a moving scooter by their feet, with heads about 2 inches from the ground
So now we are in Kampot, a decent sized riverside town with a beach only 30 minutes away. We stayed here for 6 nights. We really enjoyed the waterside sunset drinks, the 0.50$ beer, our favorite breakfast spot, the hotel, and of course the food!
Noodle soup with duck and pork dumplings YUMMM 
favorite breakfast spot: Epic Arts Cafe 
passion fruit mojito with sunset view
We took a scooter up to the Bokor mountain in the Preah Monivong Bokor National Park to see some of the sights we heard of. There are waterfalls, generally gorgeous mountainscapes and some abandoned buildings that look something like a haunted ghost town now, with the overgrown brush and vines taking over. We love looking at old stuff, so we headed up the mountain to check it out.
The first buildings we stopped at was a former residence (one of many residences) of King Sihanouk of Cambodia. Some of the buildings were built in the 30s and then abandoned, and some were built in the 60s and then abandoned, so they’ve been sitting up there empty for many decades. It was super neat and a bit eery to walk around the place. I like that you can see where the pipes used to be but have been looted and ripped out of the walls. Also the graffiti was really great!
Then, we came across some other buildings that had been built by the French for the colonial generals and people of importance. Obviously these were also eventually abandoned. Recently, some of the building have been selected to be rejuvenated into hotels… which we think will also probably go abandoned eventually. Side note: it was here, near one of these building, that some local kids, having a family picnic, asked to take a selfy with me… First time that happened so far.
Bokor Hill Station in distance 
former hospital 
church, now mostly abandoned 
Former casino, stores, etc. now abandoned.
The fighting between the Khmer Rouge and the Vietnamese made its way all the way up this mountain. Apparently, one of the sides took the church as their post and fought against the opposing side, who was posted up at the post office across the way, near that lake in the distance.
On the decent back to the city from the mountain top, we saw what looked like smoke out in front of us crossing the road. We have seen alot of burn piles here so we didn’t think anything of it. UNTIL We realized it was clouds!! We were driving through the clouds! On a scooter. On a Cambodian mountain!! Stuff like that makes you stop and appreciate the little things in life.
As I mentioned, there is also a beach near Kampot, called Kep beach where there is also a crab market, called Kep Market. We drove out to the beach twice and we had a delicious lunch one day at the crab market.
This was probably the most picturesque part of Cambodia we’ve been to. The city was charming. The views from the mountain were amazing. I would say it was pretty clean as well. We were definitely sad to leave this town, also because it meant leaving Cambodia. But next up is Vietnam and I am OH SO EXCITED to share that with you!! See next post!
Stories of Exploration and Travel 
Great post! I love the pictures and all your bizarre descriptions of things you have seen! Very odd, 8 hooves in the air! Lol
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Thanks momma!
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