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Published: November 5th 2009
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“There is no corruption in Cambodia, none at all! The country, like all of its neighbours, is commission based, that’s why it’s so easy to do things here, everybody will help you because they earn a small fee for their effort.” Kampot Survival Guide (KSG)
After arriving back in Ha Tien from Phu Quoc we went back to the travel agency to arrange our Cambodian visas and transport to Kampot a town on the South Coast of Cambodia. Our visas were $25 (inc $5 charge for doing it in half an hour) and we paid $20 each to get to Kampot 2 hours away, rather expensive but G wasn’t sure on how we’d fit all our stuff on bikes which were half the price!!! While we waited for our visas we made the mistake in thinking that it wouldn’t take the travel agency woman long to make omelettes….it took her over an hour!!!! This woman seriously needs some help in the kitchen department!!!!
Two hours after we arrived in Ha Tien we were finally bundled into a minivan with a bunch of other people and were took to the border. This border was like a ghost town, we were
the only westerners there. Plenty of locals wheeling their bikes through, apparently if you are Vietnamese you don’t need a visa if visiting Cambodia for 10 days or less. By the looks of things this is well used to transport cheaper petrol and things across with the help of a few backhanders to the Guards of course!!!
It was astonishing to see the difference of each passport control. Once at the Cambodian border, we were waved through not having our temperature checked and didn’t even have our bags scanned, the Cambodian guards were all lying in their hammocks, or playing cards and there was the odd cow loitering around too. After about 15 minutes we were in Cambodia, country 15 for us on this trip.
A few hours later after noticing another thing different to Vietnam - The Condition of the Roads or lack of them, we were dropped off at Blissful Guesthouse in the extremely sleepy town of Kampot. Our home for the next two nights was lovely and for $5 a night how could you complain even if there was something wrong!!!! Its ran by a Danish couple and an English man and all we can
say is that it was brilliant, the food was divine and G even enjoyed a delicious fry up each morning during our stay!
Kampot was gorgeous with its rather run down French architecture and sleepy roads with no street lamps whatsoever. It used to be a bustling small port until Sihanoukville (a town 2 hours away to the West) was founded in 1959.
Our plan here was to visit the Bokor National Park where up on the top of the hill are eriee ruins of a French hill station. But we were disappointed to find that the tour cost $30 each and didn’t include everything it promised because the money is used to bribe the rangers to let you in as its currently closed to the public for some unknown reason to us. After spending 12 hours on a trip in Vietnam for $15 each we felt we were somehow being ripped off so we purchased bus tickets to the next town (Sihanouville) for the next day.
We spent the rest of our time in Kampot pottering around, avoiding the blistering heat of the sun and eating the best food we have had in a long time,
T had some massive BBQ pork ribs that even included the chops, he was very impressed!!!! And of course in true G & T style we naturally sampled the local brew….Anchor Beer 75 cents a glass, BARGIN!!!!
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