Into Cambodia

Leaving Phu Quoc wasn't easy. I felt like we could have stayed for weeks if not longer. Fortunately, Lisa reminded me, that there was so much more to do. We took a boat to Ha Tien, Vietnam where we then hired moto taxis to take us across the border into Cambodia. Our next stop was Kampot. The trip took about an hour. It was an amazing ride, mostly dirt roads allmost all the way into town. The countryside was amazing, unlike anything I've ever seen before. The sun was setting the entire way. Motorbikes aren't the most comfortable way to travel, after an hour of bouncing up and down on bumpy dirt roads your ass hurts a little, but it was soooooooooo worth it. It wouldn't have been nearly as fun in a car or bus.

Kampot was a sleepy, crumbling little place, full of dilapidated old buildings, many abandonded. (Cambodia is in the process of recovering from the madness of Pol Pot and the Kmher Rouge.) It sounds weird, but it was cool. It oozed charachter. The heat there was intense. Everything, people, dogs, cats, lizards, moved either very slowly or not at all. As always, the locals were friendly. The children took an interest in us.

The following afternoon, we took a trip out to the countryside to visit a cave temple. The temple itself was mildly interesting. The trip there was awesome. Cambodia is a very warm and friendly place. The land is beautiful and the people are as well. . . . Everyone here smiles and waves. Most of the children here speak English and are eager to talk with foriegners. As we approached the cave temple sight, we were pursued by a kid on a bike who wanted to show us around. Once we stopped, kids started coming out of nowhere. . . . next thing we knew, we had a whole gang of very eager good natured young people who wanted to take us up to the cave and show us around. We told them that we couldn't afford to pay them. They insisted that it was no problem. They really were cool kids and we did end up giving them each a dollar before we left. The kids led us through some rice fields, up the suide of a hill, and into the cave. The cave itself wasn't all that exciting, but the views from the top of the hill were awesome.

Afterwords we went back into town, had some coffee, and relaxed. The following day we headed north to Phnom Penh, the capitol.

Vietnam/Cambodian Border:

From the back of a motorbike:

Kampot:

Another Gas Staion. . . . I might open one like this in Hamden:

On the way to the cave temple:

Our guides:





The view:

Back in Kampot:



Prison. . . . I bet this place really sucks on the inside!