Cambodia

Kampot - Countryside and Kep Tour

Susan Neil

07 Feb 2024 — 5 min read

Bridge to Mountain Temple

I am picked up from my hotel by car and dropped off in town to wait for my Countryside and Kep Tour.

Street view while I wait, kampot, cambodia — Street view while I wait

I get picked up in a car and there are 2 Italian Ladies and 1 Russian Lady on this tour with me.

Our first stop is at Kampot Natural Salt. It is pretty interesting and very heavy work for those carrying the salt into the sheds.

Harvesting the Salt, kampot, cambodia — Harvesting the Salt

Carrying the salt to the shed, kampot — Carrying the salt to the shed

Our next stop was to a temple in a mountain. There were lots of steps and we each had to pay extra for a guide. The bridge was hideous considering that this is a major tourist hotspot in Kampot.

Bridge to mountain temple, kampot, cambodia — Bridge to Mountain Temple, Kampot

I know that these people are poor but that is no excuse for such poor workmanship. A bus arrived while we were there and I made sure that no one else was on the bridge with me. Some of the boards were not even secured down … gives a new meaning to floating flooring. Anyway I will stop wingeing … I survived.

I think that the temple is called the Elephant Temple … it got lost somewhere in translation … I don’t know why we had to pay for a guide. I think this is because some of the rocks look like elephants.

Budha at the base of the hill, kampot, cambodia — Budha at the base of the hill

Concrete serpent, kampot — Concrete Serpent

There is a concrete serpent all the way up along the hand rails. We stop half way up to admire the gardens below and to rest … it is quite a climb.

Gardens view, kampot, cambodia — Gardens View

Walking down into the mountain temple, kampot — Walking down into the mountain temple

Inside the mountain temple, kampot — Inside the mountain temple

Inside the mountain temple, kampot, Cambodia — Inside the Mountain Temple

Inside mountain temple, cambodia — Inside mountain temple

View through the ceiling, mountain temple, elephant temple, kampot, cambodia — View through the ceiling, mountain temple

It was lovely inside, beautiful rock formations and the light shining through to light our way.

Seven headed serpent, cambodia — Seven headed serpent

This seven headed serpent was displayed along the path and I have seen it in other places in Cambodia.

I read that Cambodians believe that they are descendants of a reptilian race - Naga. This serpent was supposedly half serpent and half female and she married the king of ancient Cambodia and became the mother of Cambodian people.

There was a toilet here where you had to pay some money to go. It did not look that inviting so I gave it a miss.

Toilet at the mountain temple, Cambodia — Toilet at the Mountain Temple

Next we stopped briefly at a secret lake before heading to the Pepper Farm.

Secret Lake, Kampot, Cambodia — Secret Lake, Kampot

Bo Tree Pepper Farm, Kampot, Cambodia — Bo Tree Pepper Farm, Kampot

We do a tour of the Pepper Farm with a French girl who is working there as a workaway volunteer. I found this interesting as I am also a member of workaway.

It was an interesting walk around the pepper farm and learning about how they are trying to move towards the more traditional ways of growing.

Pepper growing on bricks, kampot pepper, kampot, cambodia — Pepper growing on bricks

When we got back to the cafe we taste tested the various peppers. I was impressed … they do have a much better taste than what comes in a pepper shaker in Australia … I will remember Kampot Pepper for ever more.

Pepper growing on traditional poles, kampot — Pepper growing on traditional poles

Pepper Tea, kampot, cambodia — Pepper Tea

Green peppercorns, kampot, cambodia — Green Peppercorns

We learned about getting the different peppers off just one plant. The green peppers were particularly yummy.

I was interested in the workaway experience. Most work away volunteer experiences are 4 or 5 hours a day for 4 or 5 days a week. For this you get room and food.

I questioned this french lady about what she worked and she said pretty much 8 hours a day and 6 days a week. But she did add that they do relax in between tours. She also said that there was currently only 4 volunteers but if they had more it would be better for time off.

When I got home I looked online and they are not accepting any more people for the next two months … so I do not fancy their chances of getting more help.

When I questioned her about giving more to the situation than she should she said that sometimes when you travel for long periods of time you lose your sense of purpose and workaway experiences help to ground you. Too much holiday, too much fun … it all gets a bit same same … I could relate to what she was saying.

The volunteers have signed the wall in the bathroom.

Workaway volunteers, Bo tree pepper, kampot — Workaway Volunteers

Next we went to the Kep Fish Market and had lunch. This trip is taking a long time but only because the roads are so bad.

Fish Market Restaurant, Kep, Cambodia — Fish Market Restaurant, Kep

Beef and Noodles, Kep Fish Market, cambodia — Beef and Noodles

I ordered beef and noodles which were only ok … not very tasty. The other ladies ordered crab which is a speciality of the area and they said that it was just ok too.

Next we went to Kep Beach. I liked the look of it and again wondered if I should have stayed there instead of Kampot.