Before we start, here is a brief intro you’ll find at the start of all of my blogs!
This is a story-style travel blog featuring my adventure through Southeast Asia in the fall of 2024. I spent 1 week on my own in Laos, then joined a 14-day tour called Ultimate Cambodian Adventure from the company G Adventures, and a final 3-day solo stop in Singapore. You can read the blog in order, or about whichever destination intrigues you! Within my stories, I’ll offer some recommendations and some tips and tricks for a smooth journey. When I travel, I mostly do group tours and the reasons are:
* As a solo woman traveler, it is much safer especially if traveling long distances or to countries that can be dangerous in some areas
*The itineraries are amazing and usually include all of the things you’d want to see and do…and if not, there is free time to do as you wish
*You don’t have to worry about booking transport, finding hotels, etc. Sometimes that can contribute to the adventure, but it’s also nice to sit back and relax and let your Tour CEO be in charge
* And finally…the new people you meet on your tour become your family, and I’ve made lifelong friends in these journeys. For myself, this has equal importance with exploring new countries.
Cambodia is located in Southeast Asia; it is a land of ancient wonders and vibrant traditions. The history is rich, and the country is abundant with temples – the most famous being Angkor Wat which is the largest religious monument in the world. Here you’ll find lush jungles, stunning natural landscapes, beautiful beaches, and the most kind and welcoming people you will ever meet. The population is around 17 million, with the majority being ethnically Khmer. In the mid 1860’s, Cambodia became a French protectorate, and gained independence after World War II. You’ll still find a lot of French influence in the country. The country became involved in the Vietnam war, which brought in a takeover by the communist Khmer Rouge in 1975. During this time, Cambodia experienced one of the world’s largest genocides, carried out by the Khmer Rouge. I have talked more about this in previous blogs. Life isn’t easy for Cambodians today, as there are still much corrupt practices in their everyday lives. Another problem has been the many unexploded landmines, but luckily the country is expected to be clean by the end of 2025.
This morning, we have breakfast at Smile Restaurant, beside the hotel. This makes it a record…we have had breakfast, lunch and dinner at this restaurant here in Kampong Cham!
And…we are back on the road again this morning and our first stop is going to be a real treat, as Ratha promises. We get to try some authentic Cambodian cuisine at a large roadside market stall. Today, we are eating bugs and creepy crawlies!!!
I am absolutely drawing the line here, but I’m excited to watch everyone else try these delicacies. Vic will eat pretty much anything, so I know he’s down. And Ratha, since he’s from Cambodia. Our third MVP is Jason. First, the tarantulas…..Ratha says we can hold one, and I am NOT A FAN OF SPIDERS OF ANY KIND. But…..I travel to get out of my comfort zone and try new things, so here we go.
It’s actually not that scary, the spider’s little legs feel soft and tickly on my skin and it doesn’t move much so that makes it much less freaky. And now we get to eat them!! Haha…I break down and try a leg…it’s got a nice taste(I’m shocked!) and is a bit crunchy..no big deal at all. Vic goes for the full spider. The guys also snack on crickets, beetles, silkworms (as Jason describes- it tastes like a really bland pus ball).
Vic also grabs some quail eggs. Overall, a really fun stop and quite the experience.
Our lunch stop today is at a restaurant (I have no idea what it’s called) and it looks like a popular place for large groups of tourists to stop for a bite to eat. Except this place is a mess, organization wise. They don’t have all the items listed on the menu, so I have to change my order a couple of times. I settle for the seafood pasta, it’s not bad.
Then, they don’t bring us the drinks we’ve ordered. Dave doesn’t even get his food; it’s mistakenly taken to another table.
This afternoon we arrive in Kampot, and check into the Sunny Hotel. The rooms are nice and spacious, and it’ll be a comfortable stay for 2 nights.
We have a bit of time to explore the town…
Kampot is a charming riverside town in southern Cambodia, with a relaxed atmosphere, amazing scenery and lots of cool things to see and do. It is most famous for its high-quality peppers, and also known for its durian. There’s even a giant durian statue on a roundabout in town. Haha.
This evening, we head down to the Preaek Tuek Chhu River for our sunset cruise.
The only thing that sucks is we have to wait over an hour before we start the cruise; we’re just sitting here on the boat.
We can order some beer and snacks, which makes the wait much better. When the sun sets…it is beautiful, and we finally take off down the river.
We are sitting on the top deck of course, so when the boat goes under a very low bridge, we all need to stay seated. It’s that low, and pretty cool. The destination is to an area where there are a bunch of glow worms up in the trees.
FUN FACT: When you see glow worms, they are mainly female, and the light is used to attract males. So, we are essentially watching the intro to firefly porn.
After the cruise, we are all pretty hungry so we have dinner at a place called Happy Special Pizza. Yep, I’m having another pizza. I’m not complaining.
It’s getting late so there will be no drinking for us tonight (although it is briefly considered). We stroll back to the hotel through the small night market, which also has a small amusement park in the center, with rides that look super old and could break at any second. There are some fun knockoffs here too.
This next morning is a jampacked day of fun as we explore some cool spots around Kampot. Our guide, Saranth, picks us up and this guy is all kinds of awesome. He calls this tour the “full of shit” tour. He is completely goofy and hilarious, and is a jack of all trades. In addition to running tours, he’s also a kayaker and a singer.
The first stop today is a giant salt field; nothing is being mined today and I ask Saranth where I can purchase this salt. He says – hang on a minute – and brings us into a shed beside the field. He opens a bag and asks if anyone has any Ziploc baggies on them.
Well, that’s because we’re just gonna take the salt!! We load up a couple of bags…. the salt is chunky but wow, what an amazing taste. This is about as raw as you can get for salt.
Fun Fact: Salt is what Kampot is really famous for. The water is let in from the ocean into the fields, and then the fields are blocked which allows the water to evaporate, leaving the salt crystals.
The next stop is La Plantation, which is probably the biggest attraction in Kampot.
This pepper farm was founded in 2013 by a couple from Belgium. The Kampot pepper is one of the best in the world, and we get to sample different types. Who knew pepper tasting could be so much fun! There is SO much awesome stuff to buy here that I have a hard time not buying everything! Haha. I pick up white and black peppercorns, and a really cool product they have created here – fresh salted Kampot pepper. It’s the green pepper variety mixed with Kampot salt in ground form. Omg so good!!
We also have a chance to tour the pepper farm, and it is hot hot hot. Just in case we don’t have one, they offer us these cool sunhats to borrow.
We have a look at a few different pepper trees and our farm guide tells us all about the history and the processes here at the farm.
Next on the agenda, a drive to the temple in a cave and it’s a bit of a hike up to it. As usual. I am not sure I want to do this today, but the gang convince me to join in on the trek. Ok fine!!!
We have a local guy who is taking us into the cave and once we get to the top of this hill, we have to go back down some steep and slippery steps into the cave.
I’m not feeling very confident, so I ask Saranth if I can turn back and just go back down the way we came. He says no. Well, then I guess I’m stuck finishing this cave hike. This turns out to be, by far, the worst part of my entire trip.
I’m trying hard not to slip and fall on the rocks in the cave, and then when we finally exit the cave, we are swarmed by mosquitoes.
The local guy disappears and we have no idea which way to go as we push our way through the branches and slippery muddy ground. I’m starring to get panicky, I am so hot and sweaty, I’m worried I’m going to fall or hurt myself, I’m getting eaten alive by bugs. I just want out. At one point, there is a steep step and due to my short legs and slippery shoes, I cannot clear it. I have to tell one of the boys to grab my ass and push me up and over. Hey, we’re all friends here. When we finally get to the path, turns out it’s the same path where we first started. I am SOOO pissed. I could have turned back when I questioned going forward.
As pissed as I am, I’m not going to let it ruin my day, but seriously. Worst experience ever. But Vic is impressed I did the whole thing in a dress. Haha
Now it’s time for lunch and we drive to a town called Kep, famous for its crab.
We are dining at The Crab Kitchen, which of course, is mostly seafood. We have a table right by the water, and the waves lapping against the building provides the perfect atmosphere.
I order the crab amok; it’s like the traditional amok curry/soup dish but with crab instead of fish. It comes in a giant coconut shell, and I scoop it out onto a bed of rice.
This is by far the BEST meal I have had in Cambodia. I can’t even describe how amazing it is!!
We arrive back in the late afternoon, and a few people have decided to go kayaking. I’m not a fan of kayaking, plus it’s absolutely pouring so I opt for a relaxing afternoon before we all meet up again for dinner. I decide to go back to the market and pick up one of those knockoff purses. I need to own an original Wang bag.
We meet up at RikiTikiTavi for dinner. It’s on the main road along the waterfront, and is one of the best restaurants here in Kampot.
I order the Kampot pepper chicken sandwich, and for dessert, pepper lime ice cream.
We have some beer and cocktails and Dave secretly orders a Singapore Sling for Vic. The look of disgust on his face when the server puts it down in front of him is priceless. I don’t think he will be drinking any more cocktails on this trip. Haha.
Tonight, we debate finding a sky bar after dinner, but we settle for a quick beer back at the hotel. Kampot has been super awesome; so much to see and do here! Tomorrow, we depart for the final destination on this Ultimate Cambodian tour….
Everywhere On Earth With Erin 