Kampot

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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.

 

Within town, activities include taking a walk over the once-bombed but now repaired river bridge for a view of the town, enjoying a sunset boat cruise up the Kampot River or just hiring a bicycle and meandering about. You also, of course, need to enjoy at least one sunset over Bokor by the river with a drink in hand.

A small but growing number of people are also attracted to Kampot to spend some time with a volunteer project. Choose from a range of options, including teaching English to children through to longer-term projects working with disadvantaged groups. Blissful Guesthouse and the Little Garden Bar Guesthouse are two good places to start with enquiries.

Further afield are some caves just off the road to Kep, some salt fields and a small waterfall.

Text and/or map last updated on 29th August, 2009.

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Further reading
 » Five special hotels in Cambodia
 » Sihanoukville's beach lifestyle lure expats
 » Ko Chang to Phu Quoc Island
 » Beach hideaways in Asia

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Fresh off our Asia travel forum

Here are some discussions off the Travelfish forum, perhaps related to Kampot. You can find the full forum here.

Topic	Replies	Views
Kampot -> Ha Tien + Phu Quoc ferry schedule  In Vietnam: by Mikko, last reply by hoteltravel	2	969
Kampot to Ha Tien through Prek Chak-Xa Xia border  In Cambodia: by o_kaija, last reply by oasisbarhatien	2	773
Direct from Kep/Kampot to Siem Reap?  In Cambodia: by 45baht, last reply by 45baht	3	363
The Magic Sponge, Kampot.  In Cambodia additions: by BongRoy, last reply by appro	4	741
Kampot/Kep to Phu Quoc - ferry?  In Vietnam: by GeorgeScott, last reply by somtam2000	1	546
Route between Can Tho and Kampot, Cambodia  In Cambodia: by maliamaui, last reply by eastwest	5	2180
Ha Tien to Kampot?  In Vietnam: by emmryss, last reply by KenJP	5	2334
How much can we expect to pay for taxi from PP to Kampot?  In Cambodia: by ibon, last reply by ibon	6	804
Sihanoukville or Kampot/Kep  In Cambodia: by gillerz960, last reply by Saphir	1	1121
Kampot or Kep?  In Cambodia: by TheGoose, last reply by rubic	7	2716
What's Hot in Kampot  In Cambodia additions: by whatshot, last reply by tuktuk82	2	1380
Kampot, WunderBar  In Cambodia additions: by wunderbar	0	839
New Travelfish Guide Kampot & Kep  In Travelfish Guides: by somtam2000, last reply by somtam2000	4	1682
Kampot updated  In Cambodia: by somtam2000	0	977
Mea Culpa Kampot  In Cambodia additions: by meaculpakampot, last reply by chinaski	2	2190

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