Kampot to the coast

After a couple of days in Kampot we've skipped on going back to Kep and consequently Rabbit Island too. The weather has taken a bit of a turn. After two months of being blessed with a not so rainy 'rainy season' the precipitation is finally upon us. We had a chat with a couple who had returned from Rabbit Island and she had been bitten by either fleas or bed-bugs whilst staying there. Then she informed us that the roof was leaking during the storm the night before. He then told us that the crossing was a bit rough there and back. They then proceeded to tell us that we shouldn't be put off going out there, that despite all of the above it was rather lovely. However, what they told us was enough to convince us that we might find a nicer island experience somewhere else.

Kampot itself was another pleasant surprise. Despite being filled with bars and restaurants run by the expatriate community its quite a nice town. It retains a lot of the old colonial shopfronts and a few derelict villas to boot. It also has one of the most archaic looking prisons that I've ever seen. The place was crumbling and if you really wanted to escape you could probably just kick a whole in the wall and walk off. They're busy restoring the old market building by the riverside but like most of their building efforts here in Cambodia they rarely seem to get round to finishing the job. You can see how nice it will be if they do ever get around to completing it. Meanwhile the newer market could do with a bit of a scrub, its in a jocker.

We took a taxi to Sihanoukville this morning hoping to make it out to Koh Rong island. Unfortunately all the accommodation was booked so we've spent this afternoon looking around the town and having a swim. Its a bit of a mad place here to be honest - where Bray meets the Costa del Sol. Lots of beach bars, burger joints and foreign middle-aged men with their young Cambodian brides/girlfriends. We'll head out to the island tomorrow for better or worse - we've heard mixed reviews from different folk. Some loved it, some hated it. Given that we'll be on an island that only has electricity between 6pm and 11.30pm I somehow doubt that they'll have wi-fi there. As such this will be my last posting for a few days. Hopefully I'll then be able to tell you how fantastic it all was.

P.S. - It's nice to smell the sea after spending so long inland.