Unfortunately I am writing these retroactively as it appears that I either did not take the time in the moment to write my thoughts, or I've lost them, but the rest of our time in Cambodia is worth sharing.
After taking the night bus, we arrived in Kampot to a hostel that didn't quite fit what we were looking for. The last post alluded to the bug bites, but the vibe also just wasn't the same friendly upbeat vibe that we normally seek to find in a hostel. We decided to switch to another hostel called the Mad Monkey, which is a rather famous chain in SE Asia, and it fit our needs a whole lot better! We had a blast playing cards with people there, enjoyed a river boat party cruise with the other travelers, and had some good food together. Neil went on a motor bike tour from the hostel while I went rock climbing with a group called "Climbodia". He had a really good experience, and I had an absolute blast climbing, abseiling, and caving just outside of town.
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| Arriving in Kampot after a long night bus during monsoon season |
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| At the top of the first climb with Climbodia |
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| Nervous about abseiling down into a cave! |
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| Ended my adventure with some climbing |
Kampot was special for a number of reasons. The expat community was strong, so there was an exciting blend of familiarity and unknown in the city, and it was easy to meet and befriend expats and hear about their experiences living in Cambodia. The food was also amazing, and we went to a cafe called Epic Arts every single day. The cafe was a non-profit that employed and taught skills to Cambodians with disabilities, and it had the best breakfast in the country.
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| Breakfast bagel to die for. I miss this. |
We could have stayed in Kampot for a while, and I understand why so many expats decide to stay! Kampot is in the south of Cambodia, so we ended up deciding to take a ferry to one of the Cambodian Islands with friends we met at the hostel and cafe. It took us a while to get there - 4 hours on a bus through bumpy roads, and a 2 hour ferry, but we immediately knew it was going to be worth it when we arrived. Koh Rong Samloem is a tiny, beautiful island. We were planning on staying for 3 nights and ended up staying for six glorious nights of playing cards and and days full of scuba diving, body surfing and sand volleyball.
We couldn't leave Cambodia without going to Phnom Penh and learning about the country's recent history and paying tribute to its tragic past. From the island we took a bus into the city and went straight to the Prison 21 museum. The prison was a place of interrogation and sentencing for thousands of Cambodians considered enemies of the communist party led by Pol Pot, or Brother #1. It was an incredibly moving experience, and I'd recommend the visit to anyone going to Cambodia. You can find out more here:
http://tuolsleng.gov.kh/.
The next morning we went to the killing fields, where most of the people who passed through Prison 21 met their deaths. It was a hard experience and you can still see shreds of bones throughout the grass and in the mass graves. It's a reminder that evil exists throughout time and across geographies, and it is our responsibility to educate ourselves to how and why it is allowed to occur so that we may better resist it in the future.
