Kampot

It’s funny how some places seem to subtly bring out a certain side of you. I found I Koh Phangan that I was much more of a party person than usual and I found in Cameron Highlands that the hiker in me was itching to get walking. Here in Kampot, I became someone who sits in cafes, lies next to a pool and takes pleasure in having read a big chunk of a book today. I just felt compelled to rest and take it easy, and while some of that might have been my body telling me to slow down after the energy expended in Siem Reap, and some of it might have been the influence of Lil and Lil (both short for Olivia, don’t ask) working their way through the city’s cafe scene, some of it was definitely the energy of Kampot.

My adventurous side wasn’t completely shut off. A tour visiting the salt fields (where they extract salt from seawater by evaporation), the mangroves nearby and the beautiful Kampot pepper plantation (where we received an excellent tour and a pepper tasting, all for free) filled one day, and kayaking through the green cathedral - a beautiful, tranquil river loop with huge palm leaves overhanging from both sides far enough to touch in the middle - gave purpose to another. But most time was spent not doing much. Lying by a pool. Occasional dips. Night time wanders around the town. Sitting in cafes, chatting with friends. 

I didn’t come halfway across the world to sit and watch the world go by. I came to do things. But sometimes the thing to do is sit and watch the world go by. So I did.