CAMBODIA – Battambang – Cardamon Mountains – Kampot – Kep –

Monday 9th December, 2019 – Battambang

Not a very pleasant drive as the road is being enlarged to a dual carriage way and this creates lots of dust on long stretches of unpaved road. It is also very busy with lorries. Once in Battambang we had a walk through the old part of the town. There are a few colonial type houses but not so many.

Tuesday 10th December, 2019 – Pursat – Cardamon Mountains.

Took the N5 out of Battambang down to Pursat where we were pleased to get off the busy road and take a smaller road going through the Cardamon Mountains. The road was asphalted initially but we soon hit dirt roads. The earth here is a deep reddish brown and the trees and bushes were so covered in dust that they lost all their colour. There are plenty of small rivers and we had to cross on some rickety bridges. One of them had lost its planks and only the supporting logs were left. We had to aim the car carefully so as to avoid getting stuck!

There was no suitable areas for camping along the road but luckily we drove by the Osoam Cardamon Community Centre, where we asked if we could park in their compound for the night. This is a project designed to encourage eco-tourism. People can come and stay the night and go trekking in National Park.

Wednesday 11th December, 2019 – Koh Kong

The road goes around the various “tentacules” of a massive reservoir. We passed 4 dams, built and managed by the Chinese who appear to have quite a number of projects in Cambodia.

The town of Koh Kong is nothing special. We walked through the market, quite dirty, meat and fish are on display in the open air with flies swirling all over. We have noticed a lot of rubbish is lying everywhere, alondside the roads, near people’s houses, outside shops…. People do not seem to mind and just drop their litter wherever they are. Rubbish collection is probably non-existent but still… People seems to sit around a lot too, or just lay in hamacs or on makeshift beds, even in the shops, waiting for customers.

Thursday, 12th December, 2019 – Kampot

We drove south, through the “Koh Kong conservation corridor”. This area includes the most extensive mangrove forests on mainland Southeast Asia and 16 distinct eco-systems.

We stopped at the Tatai Waterfalls on the way to Kampot.

Other scenes on the way:

Kampot

This town has a pleasant setting on the bank of a river. It’s known for its pepper plantations and salt fields. Many buildings date from the colonial period, and it has its charm. There are lots of guest houses and a good range of restaurants serving different cuisines and the town comes to life in the evenings. The french influence is palpable.

There are a couple of so-called “supermarkets ” in town but they are geared to tourists with imported goods on the shelves and very expensive!

Friday 13th December, 2019 -Pepper PlantationKEP

Kampot pepper plantations were practically wiped out under the Khmer Rouge regime but interest has been rekindled and there are now a few plantations producing pepper for both local and export markets. We went to one called simply ” La Plantation” run by a franco-belge couple. The setting of La Plantation was carefully selected to ensure a high quality end-product ( combination of soil, water and protection from the heat/ wind). Free tours are on offer where the basics of the growing and harvesting are explained ( all done by hand as machinery would damage the peppercorn). This is followed by a tasting session, where you munch on a selection of green, black, red and white peppercorns as well as various mixes. (a total of 15 combinations at least!). All excellent!

We moved on a bit further down the coast to the small fishing town of Kep. This town is reknown for its crab and we went to the crab market.

There are some salt fields in the area too but the one we saw did not seem to be still in use.