Have spent the past week around the towns of Kampot & Kep. Firstly me and my best friend stayed in the lovely Hotel Old Cinema. It is recently restored and opened 6 months ago. They have a small swimming pool and cooked fresh breakfasts, so it was very relaxing.

There is not much to see in Kampot town itself. With some sights in the surrounding countryside between Kampot & Kep to visit. It is easy to hire a scooter or tuk tuk to make a small day trip. We took the scooter to drive ourselves, but be warned about the poor quality roads. Once off the highway the roads are dusty, rocky and uneven.

First stop was the small elephant cave, Phnom Chngok temple. The cave is set in a rocky outcrop, which gives good views to the countryside and fields below.

Next we passed by the ‘Secret’ lake, not sure why it is named a secret. It was artificially created after a dam was constructed nearby. Here we stopped for lunch at a local place, and tasted Kampot black pepper chicken with rice. We then took a tour at La Plantation, a large pepper farm that offers free guided tours. Was interesting to see the different plants and processes to grow the pepper.

About 20km from Kampot is Kep, a sleepy seaside town with a small beach. It is famous for its crab market. The town is spread out, but my guesthouse had free bicycle hire to get around easily. One day I hiked in the national park here, with good views and nature. The most pleasant spot was watching sunset at the Sailing Club. It has a good restaurant and bar lounge for drinks whilst watching the sea.