Piece of crab

We did one more stop before finally getting to the beach, in the riverside town of Kampot. The town doesn't look like much but what we happened to like the most of Southeast Asia are these small, unassuming places that have enough charm, Internet access and good food for us to stick around. Kampot had everything we wanted, Internet cafes, cheap restaurants, motorbike rentals (of course...). And we found here the best guesthouse of our trip so far - large double room with a huge bathroom, hot shower and wifi for just 6 dollars!

Plenty of time for another haircut. Soldier style!

Local gas station

The weather forecast for our next destination (the small Koh Ta Kiev island) wasn't too good so we decided to stay here for a few days, until the clouds would clear, and spent most of the time reading guide books and trying to figure out our route for the next few weeks. Since we had changed our plans and skipped Vietnam, we now have a lot more time before flying out of Bangkok in February and we might actually make it all the way down to Malaysia.

One of the reasons I insisted on going to Kampot was... to hire a motorbike and go for a ride! D is starting to hate it but I'm still hoping to turn him. Our destination was the once famed sea resort of Kep that lost most of its glory during the Khmer Rouge regime, but is still notorious for its excellent fresh seafood served with the also famous Kampot pepper. And that's what we were after.

Cloudy Kep and crab traps

Checking the daily catch

The crab vendors

If you -like me- come from a country that does not have a sea and no one ever explained to you how to eat a crab, than you are in for a very long and very frustrating lunch. But at least what I eventually managed to dig out tasted awesome!

It is delicious but soooo much work!

The ride Kampot-Kep was supposed to be beautiful, passing by the salt fields and along the shore. But it was the worst ride we experienced so far, broken, potholed road with tons of dust from the speeding trucks. It was a great opportunity to learn some more extreme riding skills, but I sure was glad we made it back in one piece.

After the bumpy ride we needed a treat

Kampot is famous for its sunsets but the sky didn't clear up while we were there so this is the best we got.

Still pretty nice

But the forecast started to look more positive at last and it was time to move on. We had a Robinson Crusoe adventure ahead of us!