Published: 21.02.2025
Today there was a guided tour on the agenda again. The pickup was scheduled for between 10:45 and 11:00, so I could take it easy and write down some travel memories, have a hearty breakfast, and look for new travel destinations... In a German accommodation, there was also dark bread for breakfast once again; it really tasted good after a while ... But then it was time to go. At exactly 11:00, my guide for today arrived. I was a bit surprised that he came in a tuk-tuk, as I was expecting a small travel group in a van; however, I found that quite nice. Mitch had already taken his place in the tuk-tuk, and I joined him. Mitch was Australian and had only one toe left on each foot, yet he travels the world as a backpacker. His 15-kilo luggage, as he later told me, includes over 6 kg of shoes. Mitch was quite a funny guy, even though he admitted to being a Bayern Munich fan. Occasionally, I had trouble understanding his Australian English; it was somewhat similar to my occasional struggles with the local German in deep Bavaria, but with just a two-man travel group for eight hours, it was quite pleasant not to have a grump at my side ... So we set off, and our - not particularly talkative - guide informed us early on that due to some rainfall in recent days, the visit to the salt production facility would be unremarkable ... This was then moved to the last item on the agenda. First, we headed towards Phnom Chhngok. This is a cave temple made from a brick temple dating back to the 7th century (Funan period); thus, it is still a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva. Before we ascended the 203 steps to the temple entrance, there was a small temple at the foot of the ascent to enjoy - extensively used by several locals for midday rest ... During the ascent, we had a brilliant view over the adjacent fields of the region and even across the borders to Vietnam ... Continuing on - always passing various local farms - we arrived at the Brateak Krola Lake. This was artificially created during the time of the Khmer Rouge, primarily to further their goals of agrarian communism in the region. There wasn't much to see there that could showcase its historical significance, and since our guide only provided sporadic information regarding why we stopped at certain locations, I would occasionally look up information online ... Then we continued to the pepper plantation; the highlight of the day. Before tasting the famous Kampot pepper produced on-site, we first gained insight into the production and harvesting processes during a tour of the plantation. A German couple, easily recognizable by their various peculiar questions unrelated to the topic, stood out particularly ... Then we moved on to tasting about 20 different varieties of pepper; a delight; also for the nose ...
After this interesting insight, we got back into the tuk-tuk and drove over roads that only loosely deserved that name to Kep, to the local crab market. A true paradise for fish and seafood lovers, which I am not ... but despite that, the impressions were still brilliant; the variety of seafood on offer; everywhere it was sizzling, different aromas wafted, and the mere hustle and bustle of the local vendors was very interesting ... After taking his stomach medication - a preventive ritual in Asia, as he told me - Mitch enjoyed plenty of seafood and was thrilled ... He merely remarked that I would probably starve in Kep with my eating preferences ... and when I looked at all the stalls in the area, he was probably right :-) ... Then we briefly drove near the beach, where we enjoyed a cool coconut drink to refresh ourselves in over 30-degree heat, before heading to the last stop of the tour back to Kampot for salt production ... And in fact, it was so that there was little to see of the salt production, as there were no workers and the fields had a lot of water ... I read up a bit on the salt production process online, and then we strolled - with Mitch - across the fields ... In the meantime, the sun was low, and during the time by the salt fields, it set ... After that, we returned to the accommodation, where I finally found something to eat that didn't contain seafood ... In a relaxed conversation with hardly any new insights gained, as I already knew everything that Andi and Gerhard could share, I let the evening wind down pleasantly at the bar ... Kampot is very cozy and has charm. I could have stayed here for another day or two, but tomorrow (20.02.) I will head to the capital, Phnom Penh, late in the morning ...
