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Published: March 15th 2009
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A short tuk tuk journey into town and at first glance its not as pretty as Kep. It's much bigger than its sister town and has a more cosmopolitan feel to it. Locals are out in the street doing daily stuff. Street corners are hugged by moto drivers, traffics islands have gas stations on, the day we arrived was the start of a 3 day wedding!
We initially struggled to get somewhere to stay,and after a longish hike across town we headed to the riverside. This pretty part of town has a line of guesthouses and restaurants, pays host to a bridge made up of four sections - each one being repaired after a bombing in the war. We secured a room at a place called 'little garden'.. top floor.. in the sun all day.. which made our non air con room rather difficult to sleep in.
Much to our relief after checking in a storm began to brew, clouds were black but it was still very hot...with a strong smell of rain in the air... and then the heavens opened. On the 2nd floor of the Guesthouse was an open area with the most comfortable chairs ever.. so
we both sat read our books and watched the storm. We were right in the middle of it, and lighting was striking right in front of us. After a few hours it passed and we headed out for some much needed grub.
We stumbled upon the Rusty Keyhole pub...(which was to be our 2nd home while in Kampot) and had an amazing Khmer curry and some home made jacket spuds!! Another well timed happy hour and more Angkor beer Lee was in his element when Christian the owner (who is originally from Manchester) flicked on the footy. After watching Everton trounce West Brom and almost losing a dollar bet it was all enough for one night and we both retired to our warm beds.
The next day we decided to hire some mountain bikes and headed to the fishing village the other end of the town. In the morning we had managed to sort out our rucksacks and had a bag of stuff to get rid off. Knowing the villagers are extremely poor and live in bamboo houses on rotten land with nothing but a few personal items we knew that any gifts would bring a smile. After
cycling for around an hour and suddenly finding ourselves in the middle of nowhere, we decided to bike straight into the heart of the village and after convincing ourselves that there was enough kids about we started giving stuff away!! and then things got a little bit mad.... kids appeared out of nowhere, mums with baby's ran from their homes shouting 'please mister'... 'thank you madame'!!!.. we gave away our hats (that we purchased in North Laos when it was freezing) and gloves and a few other bits and the smile on their faces was something money could not buy... we managed to get a few snaps and we both felt very rewarded in what we did. The heat was stifling, but here in some little village kids were smiling as if we had gave them a million pounds... we had in fact given them warm clothing!!
A couple of Kiwis we had met earlier in the day had given us a great idea. One thing you miss about home is a cuppa in the morning!!.. by the time you get up get ready and head out for brekkie that mid morning cuppa just isn't the same!!.. so after
a little chat with the Kiwis about tea (being British and all that) they showed us their heating cup!! Basically a very small device that you plug into the wall and warm some water.. easy peasy. They costs a couple of pounds and we could enjoy our morning brew. We hurried to the market thinking about that glorious morning drink and paid 3 pounds for our cheap Chinese made water warmer. Back at the apartment, both really excited.. Lee plugs it in.. light come on .. it works. As Lee reads the instructions Michelle murmurs.. 'I wonder if you can screw it off and wash it'..Lee screws the cup away from the element.. and click... Ok?? .. sounds a bit dodgy ..unsure if still works or not Lee plugs it back it and... BANG...a blue spark comes out flashes up the kettle .. Lee throws it across the room in shock!!! Lesson learnt... READ THE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST!!!
We since have another mini untwisted kettle and are now enjoying our morning brew.. electric shock free.
Oh and we did try the Kampot pepper and its amazing. Tough to describe how nice pepper tastes.. its that tasty that we have
decided to send some home.
We head to the capital next and are just off out to sort out some transport!
Bye for now..
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fran
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hiiii
HI SHELL AND LEE HOWS IT GOING? GREAT BY THE LOOK OF IT. I LOVE READING YOUR BLOGGS YOU TWO SHOULD BE REPORTERS HAA . WELL YOUR TRAVELS LOOKS AND SOUNDS OUT OF THIS WORLD YOUR BOTH SO LUCKY WHISH IT WAS ME . THE SUNSETS ARE AMAZING. WELL TAKE CARE OF EACH OTHER I,LL KEEP INTOUCH LUV TO YOU BOTH XXXXXXXXXXXXX