Kampot

Our bus to Kampot already left at 8 o'clock. The journey was not so pleasant as we were in a small van full of people and luggage. But we endured the 4 hours. In Kampot, a beautiful hostel awaited us right on the river, consisting of tree houses and with a natural feel. The atmosphere was like paradise. Hammocks and slides leading into the river were everywhere. However, we did not dare to swim in the very dirty river.

After resting in the hammocks for a while, we went on a search for the supposedly nearby kayak rental with our scooters. The scooter ride turned out to be a little adventure. Since it had rained in the days before, the paths were muddy and therefore slippery. We had to walk the last part to the kayak because we couldn't get through the deep puddles of mud with the scooters. Finally, when we arrived at our destination, we were rewarded with a beautiful sunset on the river while kayaking. Before it got too dark, we paddled back. We had dinner with the nice people from the kayak rental next to loud karaoke singing. By now it was pitch dark and we had to walk back on the slippery paths. A man where we had parked our scooters advised us to take a different route because the one we came from was too dangerous in the dark. We were all slightly panicked, but despite the little light and almost no battery left on our phones, we arrived at the hostel dirty but in one piece. Exhausted, we all went to bed after a game night together.

The next morning, we slept in. After a delicious breakfast, we decided to take a scooter trip to the national park and go for a hike there. The journey there was uncomplicated and extremely exciting as we saw many monkeys and baby monkeys on the roads or at the edge of the forest. That was an experience! Just as we arrived at the first stop of our tour, it suddenly started pouring rain. Fortunately, we were able to buy rain ponchos there. Hoping that the rain would stop soon, we still went up to the Buddha statue. Unfortunately, our plan did not work out and the rain got stronger and stronger. For a while, we huddled together with a security guard under his umbrella. After some time, we ran into a nearby abandoned hut and waited there in vain for the rain shower to end. But because we wanted to return before it got dark, we set off. In the small shop, we each bought a second rain poncho because we were already freezing. We drove back down towards the hostel through the rain and fog at a snail's pace, trying not to freeze. When we arrived in the city below, there was no sign of rain or cold anymore. In the hostel, we warmed up with a tea (hot water or showers are hard to come by here) and ended the evening comfortably.

The next morning, we took tuk-tuks to the city, from where we were driven to the port in Ream by car. We teamed up with two other travelers to make it cheaper for all of us. From the port, we took a boat to the island of Koh Ta Kiev, where we will spend the next few days.