Cambodia (Part 2)

From Phnom Penh, we took a long rainy bus ride south to Sinhanoukville and transferred to a tuk-tuk for a short ride to Otres Beach. We met an English couple on the bus, Amber and Ben, and decided to head to the same bungalows on Otres Beach. While we are sure the White Sands Bungalows are just fantastic when the weather is good, it kept raining and raining all day and all night.  October is Cambodia's rainiest month, but rain usually rolls in during the early evening after clear days. Otres beach is undeveloped with the exception of shack bungalows and open air cafes along the beach. The rain usually wouldn't have deterred us, but the thatch roof bungalows were soaking wet. The generator was out most of our stay, which also meant the water pumps were not working. No power. No water in the sink or toilet...ugh. The place next to us had beach dorm beds in a pavilion (also the bar)... Picture a few cots on the beach. We were fascinated by the bug identification chart that hung next to the beds. Luckily our place was a little more private, more substantial. We stayed one night and enjoyed the delicious included breakfast with Amber and Ben while getting soaked under a straw umbrella. So much for our Cambodian beach week. Otres Beach has great views, a beach that stretches for miles, and lots of cool beach bars which are probably rockin with good weather. The little Cambodian children were not phased by the rain and spent the day playing in the waves while it poured.

Rolling with the punches we got a last minute bus to anywhere, but here... which turned out to be our favorite stop in Cambodia, Kampot! Even better, Amber and Ben came along! We got a room above a bakery called “Kampot Pie & Ice Cream Palace.” Lauren saw a solitary review of the place online and insisted that we check it out. I mean... what's better than a pie and ice cream palace!? Our little “palace” had three nice rooms for $6, $7 and $8 per night. It is the low season and none of the rooms were occupied. We are all just amazed with the comforts and homeyness of our accommodation. The smell of breakfast, bread, and pastries coming through our window in the morning can't even be put into words. Ben had three slices of different pies for breakfast this morning. The staff is very friendly and we have not felt this “at home” since Amed in Bali. 

We rented a motor bike for 2 days ($5/day) to explore the countryside. The first day we scooted up to Bokor Mountain National Park. The park is home to ruins of a Catholic Church and Bokor Palace Hotel, which a has beautiful view of the Gulf of Thailand. The station was built as a place for the French to escape the Cambodian heat. It was abandoned during the Indochina War and abandoned once again for good during the Cambodian Civil War. We went on a little trek in search of a waterfall, but only found a small one. Later we learned that sticking to the trails is advised because there are tigers on the mountain. Oops. That was probably written on one of the many signs we can't read. Little ponds scatter the area and are known as “American Ponds,” which are really where American bombs were dropped and the depressions were eventually filled with water. I'm sure the Cambodians are thrilled with the generous geographic alterations provided by the Americans. The second day scooting we visited a pepper farm in the countryside. It's weird to say, but the pepper on the food in Kampot is really really good and locally grown. It is renowned world wide for being high quality pepper. Black, red, white, and green pepper come from the same plant. No chemicals, pesticides needed and every peppercorn is picked by hand. Our next stop was at at the caves of Phnom Sorseha. The caves are crawling with kids and many of them offered to show us around and in turn practice their English. Later that day, Brian found a coin with a hole in it, which is a sign of luck. 5 minutes later he was walking and the sidewalk caved in. No injuries but lucky coin was swiftly discarded.

We've eaten quite a bit of Cambodian food and like all of the noodle dishes, red soup, and amok. Fresh coconuts are 50 cents and sold on the street throughout town. Besides the Kampot Pie and Ice Cream Palace (where we lived) we enjoyed meals at Street Pizza (literally $3 pizza made on the street by a happy Italian) and Epic Arts (staffed by deaf and disabled Cambodians.) It seems like every family owns a dog in Kampot. During the day dogs are pets, but at night owners put them outside the house as guard dogs. Well the night guard dogs have formed packs and get into trouble all night.

Next stop Vietnam!