| Quicklinks | |
|
» Orientation » Accommodation » Food & Drink |
» Sights & attractions » Getting there & away » Buy a PDF travel guide! |
Sleepy Kampot sits on the east bank of the Kampot River and enjoys spectacular views across to Bokor and Elephant Mountains, which make up the sizeable Bokor National Park. The town was once a trading centre and until the establishment of a deep sea port at Sihanoukville in the 1950s, Kampot was Cambodia's primary port. A smattering of small fishing boats can still be seen unloading every morning a short walk south of the main town on the dirt road parallel to the river. Given Kampot's proximity to the Vietnamese border, fish often isn't the only catch being unloaded, with smuggling -- particularly of cigarettes -- a handy extra earner for the fishermen.
Today, Kampot is best known for its pepper, which is truly excellent. Pepper plantations as well as a few low-key sites can be visited from town, which also forms an ideal base for trips up to jungle-clad Bokor (when possible), a highlight of any visit to the Cambodian coast. Atop Bokor are a church and a casino, remnants from Cambodia's French colonial period. Today they're both in a seriously decrepit state -- the Khmer Rouge and Vietnamese spent a long stretch shooting at each other here, with one team in the casino and the other in the church.
Kampot is both somnolent and pretty, in a rundown kind of way. Plenty of villas and old shopfront trading houses, especially along the river road, make it a pleasant area to wander through -- thankfully Kampot hasn't lost too many of its older buildings to the glass and brass brigade. Given time and sufficient interest from travellers, many of these buildings will hopefully be retained.
Along with its relaxed ambience comes a host of friendly locals and an excellent selection of places to stay, from cheap backpacker-orientated guesthouses through to some fine flashpacker and midrange hotels. Kampot also boasts plenty of decent places to enjoy Cambodian and Western food and just hang out.
Here are some discussions off the Travelfish forum, perhaps related to Kampot. You can find the full forum here.
This site was constructed out of 100% recycled electrons -- if you don't, you should recycle too!
All material copyright Travelfish Pty Ltd ACN 107 758 985 -- please don't steal our content
Thailand FAQ | Cambodia FAQ | Travel related links | Jobs with Travelfish | Press
For ZoneAlarm Users | Contact Travelfish | Privacy statement | About us
Advertise with Travelfish | How do I get my business listed on Travelfish?
Yahoo! FareChase
Last updated pretty recently ;-)
There are 118 visitors online, idreamofdurian, kkym, Captain_Bob, and your boss!
Travelfish | Blog | Fourelephants | AsiaNewsDesk | BangkokMetro