Of all places I had traveled in Cambodia, I have to say, Kampot was one of those places which is quite bland and all seams normal, however it was also a place where I felt most relax, at peace and enjoyed day to day without planning too much ahead.
First sign of being in Kampot was witnessing the “Durian Roundabout”. That's when you know you are right at the middle of Kampot landmark wise and for the next few days I was at Kampot, this Durian became my guidepost whenever wandering around Kampot.
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| The Durian of Kampot |
Riding around Kampot to the outskirts gave me a glimpse of something different from paddy fields which is usually the staple plantation in Cambodia. Salt farms lined the coastal lands miles after miles and local fisherman boats line up along the Preaek Tuek Chhu river.
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| Colonial Building's in Downtown Kampot |
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| Fishing Boats by the River Kampot |
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| Salt Farms on the Outskirts of Kampot |
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| Riding around the Outskirts of Kampot |
Preah Monivong Bokor National Park
Without a doubt, the must do thing in Kampot was to visit the Bokor National Park which was like a highland plateau at roughly 1000m altitude. The roads up to the park was fully paved, sealed with no potholes.
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| Entrance to Bokor National Park |
It was without a doubt the best ride I had in the whole of Cambodia going up from sea level to 1000m elevation in an hour, riding though forest then rocky cliff cutting around the mountain path which was beautifully constructed for the thrill ride, twisting at every corner and just perfect to leaning the bike cornering at slow speeds.
Along the way up to Bokor National Park, one could feel the temperature drop slowly from sweltering heat to a cool breeze which just makes the ride even more lovely. If Thailand had challenging mountain roads, this was the perfect relax ride that is never boring all the way up seeing landscape change with every meter up higher into the sky.
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| The ride up to Bokor National Park |
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| The Ride Up to Bokor National Park |
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| The Ride Up to Bokor National Park |
At the top of the plateau was some development, scattered buildings that seam to be there ages ago but without a hint of residents other than the visiting tourist. That's was the nice thing about this Bokor National Park, it was not just a ride into the wilderness and as I was greeted with the treasure map signpost, I carefully considered the loop.
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| Tourist Map of Bokor National Park Attractions or Rather, Old Abandon Buildings |
Going clockwise, the first stop was Thansur Sokha Hotel which looked grand at first looking from afar but riding up closer, it was a run down building that seamed falling apart. I find the humongous car park amusing for the hotel as there was barely a soul around.
Going into Thansur Sokha Hotel revealed my greatest friend .... The mythical Bokor Old Casino. I had a long inner debate with myself and decided to visit the park first and only after to going for the punt. Needless to say I spend most of my time in the national park inside the casino playing USD2 Blackjack.
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| Thansur Sokha Hotel |
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| Thansur Bokor Casino on the 2nd Floor of the Hotel |
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| Thansor Bokor Casino |
Most of the park places of interest are like a stop-look-go outpost but my favorite one was Sampov Pram Pagoda the temple on the top of Bokor National Park.
The Buddhist temple buildings looked a little like Thai style temple’s yet it was different and unique in a way. The temple grounds at the back offered beautiful panoramic view of the coast of Kampot and with the cool breeze it was a great spot for picnic lunch which most locals had planned and prepared for.
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| Sampov Pram Pagoda Temple |
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| Sampov Pram Pagoda Temple |
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| Sampov Pram Pagoda Temple |
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| Sampov Pram Pagoda Temple |
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| Panoramic View at the Top of Bokor National Park |
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| Panoramic View at the Top of Bokor National Park |
Le Bokor Palace was an obvious stop for photos as this exquisite and expensive Hotel just stood out beautifully at the side of the road, hard to miss and impossible to skip by.
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| Bluey with Le Bokor Palace |
Traveled on : December 2018
#bokornationalpark #bokor #bokorcasino #kampot
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