Buzz
It's not the fame of Angkor Wat or the glamour of Sihanoukville's beaches that captivates in Kampot, but rather its slow-paced way of life.
Explore the peaceful town of Kampot on your trip to Cambodia.
At first glance, Kampot in southern Cambodia may not seem appealing. It's a quiet town with wide streets and dilapidated buildings. Yet, it's where a group of foreign tourists found themselves lingering the longest in Cambodia, initially planning for a few days, then a week, and finally 12 days. Only when their visas expired did they reluctantly depart this remarkable town. What captivates these tourists and perhaps many more in Kampot isn't the famous landmarks like Angkor in Siem Reap or the beautiful beaches of Sihanoukville... but rather the slow pace of life and the sense of relaxation.
Slow Living
The quietness is the charm of Kampot. With sparse traffic, you can easily explore the wide streets by bicycle, motorbike, or on foot. Life here moves at a leisurely pace, free from hustle and bustle. You can lazily lounge on a hammock or swim in the river right within the city to unwind, even if the weather sometimes fails to cooperate fully.
Architecture and Scenery
The architecture here may be crumbling and unattractive, yet it exudes its own allure. Shops with a blend of French colonial and Chinese styles are coated in light yellow paint with windows of green and silver wood. Kampot isn't a pristine town, but on some streets, the pink hue of bougainvillea provides a pleasant sight for onlookers.
The riverside beneath Elephant Mountain is a highlight of Kampot. The riverfront promenade attracts tourists and locals alike for leisurely strolls and sunset cocktails.
Many opt to stay at one of the peaceful riverside guesthouses a few kilometers from town. Alternatively, you can choose to stay within town or venture to the serene GreenHouse hostel for lunch, kayaking, paddleboarding, and swimming.
Yoga Classes
A favorite activity in Kampot is cycling along the river to attend yoga classes at Banteay Srey, a spa exclusively for women. It serves as a training center, providing accommodation and support for underprivileged young women. The upper floor of the wooden house with open space overlooking the garden and river is the perfect spot for yoga practice.
The cost for a yoga session is quite affordable, only $5 (or $30 for 10 sessions). Classes usually take place at 11 am and 5 pm daily, with the morning sessions being more lively. The spa provides a particularly relaxing experience, and the gym space is a great place to enjoy massage services or therapy, followed by lunch at the vegetarian cafe, and sitting by the river.
Places to Visit
There aren't many activities in Kampot, but there's plenty to explore in the surrounding rural areas. You can join a tour or rent a tuk-tuk to get there, or even travel by motorbike. Just a few minutes away, you can reach the countryside. Asphalt roads with potholes gradually turn into dirt roads, and concrete houses make way for bamboo huts and wooden houses. Here, there are rice fields and coconut trees stretching out, water buffaloes and humpbacked white cows.
Kampot is a region known for salt and pepper production. The salt fields lie just outside the town. Saltwater from the sea 5 km away is brought into the salt fields and left to evaporate until salt crystals form. Every morning during your jog, you'll see farmers harvesting salt and carrying it in heavy baskets. The salt fields become a beautiful sight as the sunrise approaches.
Further towards the seaside town of Kep are pepper plantations producing some of the finest pepper in the world. Green pepper is sun-dried to make black pepper, while ripe red pepper is boiled to remove the outer shell to reveal the white pepper inside. It's also worth visiting Vine Retreat, a hotel and restaurant within the pepper plantation. It's a great place to enjoy lunch with organic food from the farm and relax by the pool.
From Kep (a 30-minute drive from Kampot), you can take a boat ride (rental fee of $25) for 30 minutes to Rabbit Island and immerse yourself in the warm blue sea, recline on beds and hammocks, drink beer and fresh coconut water at $0.75 per coconut.
Accommodation in Kampot
Kampot offers affordable accommodations compared to other places in Cambodia. You can choose to stay in town or along the river a few kilometers away in simple wooden houses with beautiful locations.
Mea Culpa could be a suitable choice for you. You can opt for spacious rooms for multiple people, fully furnished with air conditioning, a small work desk, sofa chairs, a dining table, and a large balcony overlooking the river... The hotel also has a good wifi system, free bicycles, complimentary drinks such as tea or coffee, a garden, and even a wood-fired pizza oven in the restaurant. The hotel staff is very friendly and can help you rent a motorbike in just 5 minutes ($5/day) without complicated paperwork or deposits. The rental fee will be included in the hotel rent.
Dining Spots in Kampot
Kampot is an easygoing place. Initially, you might think of it as a lesser-known city, but in reality, it has quite a few foreigners, mostly working for non-governmental organizations in Cambodia. Therefore, you can easily find restaurants with delicious food, cool cafes... You can find everything from pizza, veggie burger sandwiches, apple pie... to stalls on the street selling French baguettes, sugarcane juice, sweet potato and corn...
Small cafes with modern styles not only serve coffee but also offer delicious food. The breakfast menu here is very diverse and some options for vegetarian lunch such as veggie burger sandwiches. Don't miss out on homemade pasta if it's on the menu or other dishes like pumpkin and blue cheese tortellini. You can check out cafes like:
– Epic Arts Cafe – An inclusive community arts organization providing employment opportunities for the deaf and disabled. Western dishes include pastries, sandwiches, and some interesting choices like purple sweet potato rolls with couscous salad, feta pie, and duck confit tart with mango chutney.
– Mea Culpa – Fantastic wood-fired pizzas, with delicious accompaniments like salads and garlic bread.
– Divino – A newly opened restaurant by an Italian. The bruschetta, pesto tagliatelle, and pizzas are all delicious.
– Ecran noodle shop located inside a movie theater is where you can buy freshly made pulled noodles right in front of you. They also have vegetarian dishes, and we tried vegetable stir-fried noodles and vegetarian steamed buns priced at $2 each.
– Rikitikitavi – A great spot to enjoy cocktails and sunset viewing (5-7 pm) over the river. The food here is more expensive than elsewhere but quite tasty with some vegetarian options like red curry, vegetarian burritos, and vegetable crepe with pepper sauce.
– Sisters II Bakery – Chocolate cake or pumpkin pancakes and some other types of cakes are also quite delicious.
Getting to Kampot
It takes 3 to 5 hours to travel from the capital Phnom Penh to Kampot by bus. Currently, Giant Ibis is the fastest with ticket prices at $8. From Otres Beach, Sihanoukville, you can also take a car to Kampot in 2 and a half hours, priced at $7.
By Esther/Star
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Reference: Travel Guide from Mytour
MytourJuly 14, 2017
