Haunting reminders of the civil war

Trip Start Nov 01, 2006

Trip End Apr 10, 2007

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Flag of Cambodia Kampot, Cambodia
Saturday, March 17, 2007

At the Phunom Pehn bus station I struck a conversation with a tourist. Greg was heading the same direction and had the same idea of strolling around the Bokor National Park near Kampot.

Kampot's wide streets and deserted and derelict shops and markets are stark reminders of a delightfully beautiful town mercilessly ravaged by the civil war. Kampot is slowly "developing". Cafes and restaurants are popping up along the river.

Many tourists combine a jaunt to Kep - 25km to the east of Kampot. Preferring seclusion, I hired a bike and headed west, checking out a few beaches.

Greg and I tried to organise a trip to the Bokor Hill National Park. Greg did a lot of research and negotiation. Tour operators keen to push a one-day tour: drive to the hill, check out the sites, come down the hill and get on the boat along the river. But then we wanted to go up to the hill and stay a night there, and come back the day after. Greg persevered (thanks). We managed to get a ride. Tortuous three hour ride in a cramped Toyota sedan. We walked around the hill. The hill was home to a hill station during the French colonial days and became a Las Vegas of Cambodia in the 1950s. But the plan did not come to full fruition and fizzled away. What we see are deserted hotel, casino, church, post office, etc. A quirky aura wrapped us all.