The Wobbling Sprocket

We visited the market in Kampot this morning.  Wow!  It is a good one as far as sensory overload.  Packed, dirty, tarpaulins overhead, meat, fish and everything you can imagine for sale.  We were looking for Kampot pepper to take home.  We didn’t have an easy time finding it, but we finally did.

I also managed to have some glasses repaired by a guy on the street with a little repair stand.  The interesting part is that the guy sitting next to me at the stand started talking to me…in good English.  He told me how he fought with the US Special forces…..back in 1966.  He was 66 years old…so he would have been 20 at the time.  He mentioned quite a few names of US army officers, but none rang a bell for me.  He told me a lot of his friends were killed.  For someone like me, who remembers the Vietnam War quite well, it was an interesting conversation.  No charge for fixing my glasses.

I took some pics of Kampot.  I have to say I really do like Kampot.

We got on the bikes late.  The ride to Kep is only 30k so time is not much of an issue.

Kep is right on the water. Not much of a town in Kep.  We stopped by a strip of restaurants for a beer on the way in.  We found a wonderful place on the beach called the Breeze for lunch and decided to come back for dinner.   It is Chantal’s birthday today so I talked to the owner and arranged for a little birthday cake for dinner.  They have very nice French wine too….an added bonus.  Life is good…. at the moment.  I think that can change fast in Cambodia though.

I have to say my conversation with this gentleman was COMPLETELY unexpected. He fought with US Special forces in Cambodia in 1966 near the Vietnam border....which is not that far away.

Chantal's Birthday Cake

Crab with Kampot Peppercorns

Stuffed squid...we had to order more.

We rode up to the old French Hill Station of Bokor. It’s in a national park but a HUGE development is going in.  The road up is 38k and it is probably the nicest road in all of Cambodia.  108o meters above sea level.

The hill station provides a commanding view of the coastal plain below.  Strategically it has been important in past conflicts.  The free Khmer overran the French here in the late 40′s when they were fighting for independence and in 1979 the Vietnamese fought their way up here when they invaded Cambodia in 1979.   At one point the Vietnamese and the Cambodians were shooting at each other….one side from the Catholic Church and the other from the old French Hotel….about 500 meters apart.

Anyway, we rode our bikes up and then back down.  The locals clearly thought we were nuts…..we got a lot of looks from the construction crews who are still working on the roads.

The Old French Hotel on Bokor is being refurbished

WHAT A GREAT PLACE this is.  A great setting along the river.  A lot of interesting architecture.   A hill station within reach.  What more could you ask for?

The ride here was none too easy.  We battled a headwind the whole way.  Plus my shortcut out of town didn’t turn out so we turned 105k into 125.  What else is new?  We were both pooped.  I think panniers make a big difference.  Nothing is easy with panniers.

No place had a room along the river, so we checked into NY NY.  It was spotless….for $15.

US 15000 can get you a place on the Cambodian Riviera

See. I wasn't joking. Would anyone come visit?

This is the express line.

On the other side of the road you have to transfer over to the local line.... It's actually great the line is being upgraded. The old tracks were all warped. No train could go over 20k per hour. You can do better on a bike.

Not sure if you can see this. We ate a the Rikitikitavi...which had a fantastic view over the river.

This was the Guesthouse across the street from us. I can't remember ever having seen a place named ""The Magic Sponge"....and I've been around.

This is out of order, but we passed a bunch of little fishing villages like this. There weren't any beaches along the coast....just mangroves.