Kampot: A Cambodian City You Should Not Miss

Taking a train out of Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh, I have landed in the city of Kampot for a few days. With fewer than 50,000 residents, this is a charming place situated right on the river about five kilometers from the Gulf of Thailand. My goal here is to explore the city, see what it has to offer, and show you the results. That will allow you to determine if Kampot is a place that you'd like to visit if you ever come to Cambodia. At the very least, it will show you a small part of the world that you've probably never seen and possibly have never even heard of. Let's go! Kampot sits in far southern Cambodia and has a population of around 50,000 people. The Phrak Thuk Chhu River divides the town and is its primary feature. This place attracts a good number of tourists and there are many shops and restaurants to cater to them. Some of the primary attractions are a bit outside of the center. The main product for which Kampot is known are the peppers grown in the surrounding countryside. I was told that up to 10,000 acres of land is used to grow several varieties of peppers. I had the chance to visit one of the numerous plantations located near the town. This is La Plantation. It is quite the operation and has developed an informative experience for the tourists who come to see the farm. The centerpiece here is a shop where all sorts of pepper products can be purchased. Peppercorns are sold in black, green, white, and pink forms, but they all come from the same plant. This is a good place to pick up some of what chefs and food experts often say is the best pepper in the world. It provides a pleasant kick for any food to which it is added and it is regarded for its fragrance as well. At the plantation, guests are offered a free hour-long tour which includes a tasting. I joined one of the groups for a look at some of the pepper plants in the fields. We saw peppercorns and some long peppers too. It's said that peppers have been cultivated in this region since at least the 13th century. La Plantation is relatively new to the scene. It got a start here in 2013. Apparently, the climate in this part of Cambodia is just right for growing peppers and there's quartz in the soil which is also thought to be beneficial. Kampot pepper is essentially trademarked. It has to be grown in a specific way to be called that. There's also a location factor. It can only be grown in one of two provinces, either Kampot or Kep, which is right next door. Exploring one of the pepper farms is a top activity for tourists who visit Kampot. Inspired by my trip to the plantation, I went in search of dishes made with Kampot peppers. That was an easy task in this town. At Vana Restaurant, I had the national dish known as Lok Lak. A big component of the plate is the lemon pepper sauce and here they of course used Kampot pepper. There was another variation in the ingredients as well. When I first tried this dish, I had it with the traditional beef. Then I saw the smoked duck breast on the menu here and thought that might be pretty good. Boy was I right. And a special bonus is the sauce. I guess it's befitting of this region, but it is peppery and it is bold. It came together to create one of the best meals that I had while in Cambodia. At Kampot Seafood and Pepper, I took a chance with the ceviche. I did so mainly because it featured fresh green Kampot peppercorns. My decision to go in that direction paid off big time. I've never really given pepper that much of a thought. Of course, I use it on most things, but here I've really leaned in and there's good reason because it takes a dish that is really good and pushes it over the top. The ceviche, out of this world. I wouldn't say that the peppercorns were the star of the dish, but they stood side by side with the fish. At this same restaurant, I got a mojito. You guessed it, the mojito featured fresh green Kampot peppercorns. Just look at this drink. Often when you get a drink or a dish that contains a special ingredient, you will hardly notice it, if at all. This is so much different. This mojito has actual peppercorns in it. You get one with almost every sip. Normally, a drink doesn't elicit too much excitement, but getting a peppercorn through every pull on the straw made this an event. I tried one more item that featured this town's favorite ingredient. This was in a scoop of Kampot pepper ice cream from Artisans. The first couple of bites I really didn't get anything, and then it arrived. There is crushed pepper throughout the scoop. It creates a taste sensation that I've never had with ice cream before. This was such a treat. The cold and creamy base, then the flavorful punch and mild heat of the cracked dried peppercorns. Several of the plantations had shops in the middle of town where customers could buy a little or a lot of the pepper to take with them, while Plantation had one such store. Not far away was the Kampot Pepper Shop. This spot featured products from Bowtree Farm, another of the plantations in the region. There are added value products through all of the retail outlets. Those include smoked pepper and salted pepper. For my trip to the pepper plantation, I went via tuk-tuk. It was a fantastic way to see the more rural areas outside of the city. This is a popular mode of transportation throughout Cambodia. The price is generally less expensive than taking a car, and in many locations they can be secured through the rideshare app Grab, although I didn't see much evidence of Grab in Kampot. My driver Vandi and I stopped at several locations in addition to La Plantation. I particularly enjoyed the time we spent at the Kabal Rumi Cave and Prehistoric Site. This is a small mountain in which the interior is riddled with passages and larger chambers, naturally carved out of the rock. It was a total surprise for me, finding this in southern Cambodia. I had a blast, grambling through the rocks to find one new space after another. The size of some of the openings was impressive. There is quite a history with this site, going all the way back to Neolithic times. The sign on the outside says that they have evidence that people inhabited the cave anywhere from 3,000 to 5,000 BC. That of course is 5,000 to 7,000 years ago. It's a bit mind-boggling to think that our ancestors sheltered in this place so long ago. This actually has a religious component that predates Cambodia's famous Angkor Wat temple complex. It's this little shrine, which sits in one of the first chambers that you encounter after entering the cave. Made of bricks, this feature has stood here for well over a thousand years. At least that's what people who know such things have said. All the brick here was made from around 5, 6, or 7th century, and after that, like Angkor Wat, was made from the sandstone, like 12th century. There are a handful of other shrines and paintings inside the cavern. These though, have only been part of the picture here for a few years. There is an outfit called Klymbodia that uses this spot to give its client a heart-racing moment or two. One guy was prepping to tackle that adventure as I entered the cave. The deal is that people climb up through the interior of the mountain, then exit to the outside, and rappel down to the bottom. I'm guessing that is an exhilarating way to spend the morning. Pepper production tops the charts in this district, but there is also an industry that turns seawater into salt. These are the salt fields. Unfortunately, time for the harvesting of salt had already passed when I stopped by. This is not the ideal time to see the salt fields. I am here in May, which is the start of the rainy season, and as you can see, it has already begun. Dry season won't begin again until October, and salt production won't kick back up into gear until December. In the Kampot and Kep districts, about 10,000 acres of land is devoted to producing sea salt. Water flows from the gulf through channels and is contained within basins. The sun then evaporates the water, and the salt is left behind. During the season of harvest, many individuals are needed to collect the bounty. In each of the days, there will be hundreds of people working on the salt farms. I'm sure it is quite a spectacle to see all those people work in the fields. The industry is endangered by climate change and rising sea levels. All of the salt storage sheds were locked up, but I was able to catch a glimpse inside through an opening. All the way from town, we made a couple of stops near a man-made body of water. This is called Secret Lake. It was created during the Khmer Rouge era in the 1970s. The lake was created in 1977. Essentially what it does, it captures rain that falls during the rainy season and holds onto it through the dry season to supply rice farms that are in the area. The size of the lake changes dramatically from one season to the next. Vandi and I took a break by the shore of the lake. We lounged in hammocks and had some refreshments. It was a nice bit of downtime during a busy morning. Aside from the tour of the surrounding area, I discovered plenty about Kampot on my own. Several times during my stay, I walked along the Prak Tok Chu river. There was a wide promenade to the north and east of the channel. I didn't see a lot of activity on the water itself, but walking along the river's bank was pleasant enough. At one point, there was a wider plaza as a part of the promenade. A key component there is this seahorse sculpture and fountain. It faces the river and spews water. The town installed this just recently in 2024. It is designed to add an attraction on the riverfront and draw people to the area. One of the only buildings actually on the promenade is an architectural beauty. I've seen some accounts saying that this was constructed anywhere from late 1920s to the 1940s. It was built during the French colonial period and is usually referred to as the Old Fish Market. There is a ton of history in this place for a building that has been here for less than a hundred years. It started as the Fish Market. Since then, it has been a radio station, a police station, a restaurant, a nightclub called Alaska, and now it's a Starbucks. At some point along the way, the building lost its original look, but has since been restored to appear the way it did when it was new. Only a hundred meters or so away from that building is this structure. It's the Intenue Bridge, sometimes called the Rainbow Bridge. This was also built during French colonial times. It has been damaged and repaired on a number of occasions. My guess is that it stretches for a couple hundred meters to connect the eastern and western portions of the town. For me, this is one of the coolest spots in town. It's closed to traffic with cars and trucks and such. Motorcycles obviously are allowed. There's a tuk-tuk or two every once in a while, and pedestrians can come out here, although I've only seen one other person do this. It's a really sweet spot. The short span is incredibly busy and is especially popular with scooters and motorcycles. It might not be the safest to walk back and forth across the bridge, but I must admit it is a bit of a thrill. Late one afternoon, I grabbed a beer and a seat at a place called We Are Back Restaurant and Bar. It's one of a number of spots where you can eat or drink at a table with a good view of the river. The beer is nothing special. It's just a basic draft. The setting is what sells this. We've got the street and then the river beyond, and sunset happens in just a few moments. I watched the activity for a while from my seat until my beer was finished. Before the sun went down, I crossed the street and got closer to the river. It wasn't the best sunset that I've ever seen, but it was still nice. Regardless of the condition of the sky, this was my favorite time of day on the promenade. I did not spend many hours on the west side of Kampot. One morning, I crossed the river to check out a couple of sights. This is the Clock Tower of Kampot. It is meant to be viewed from the main business district of town on the other side of the river. Going to the land on which it is situated doesn't provide very good angles for getting a solid look at it. The structure is 35 meters tall and the clock face is nearly 10 meters across. A short distance from the Clock Tower is one of the main religious sites in Kampot. This is Wat Trai Kev. It features a lot of the same beautiful architecture seen in many Buddhist temples. Enjoying the space early in the morning with few others around was a treat. The combination of the temple and associated shrines with the water and garden areas produces a deep feeling of serenity. This was built in 1970. While on the subject, I visited another Buddhist site in Kampot. This is back on the east side of the river. The name is Wat Petchudong. There are more attractive shrines and a grand main prayer hall. This is older as it was originally constructed in the 19th century. I went to this spot to see a mermaid statue but ended up liking the location more than I imagined. The statue itself was okay but nothing special. There were a few other pieces of public art in the vicinity as well. What caught my attention the most here was the lotus pond. It was a large expanse of water and it was covered from bank to bank with lotus flower plants. There weren't too many blooms at this point but I'm sure it looks amazing when each plant supports a blossom. A short distance away is the Cambodia Vietnam Friendship Monument. This commemorates cooperation between the two countries. Cambodia assisted Vietnam in its reunification effort and Vietnam helped Cambodian citizens during the Khmer Rouge regime. There are monuments similar to this in cities all across the country. There's an odd tribute at one of Kampot's main traffic circles. This is a sculpture of a durian fruit. Some people praise the fruit for its taste while others reject it for the way it smells. This exists here because Kampot is considered the durian capital of Cambodia. As with peppers the climate and soil here are ideal for growing the fruit. The place where I stayed in town was just off of the traffic circle. This is the Naina Villa guest house. My room was fantastic and it featured a nice little balcony. The rest of the property was sweet too. My three night stay totaled $70. I found a couple of nice spots for coffee. This is Le Corner where I had a drink on my first day in town. The look and feel of the place was just right. This provided me with a good first impression of Kampot. On another day I found the Blend House Cafe and Zen House. There was quite the vibe at this little shop. To find this place it is necessary to be looking for it. It is down an alley which is just off of another alley. I found a microbrewery in that same alley. This is called Project Taps. I stopped in one afternoon for one of their handcrafted beers. The small establishment featured several of its own brews on tap. For Kampot getting there was part of the fun. I took the train from Phnom Penh to the town. It slowly made its way through the stunning countryside of southern Cambodia. This journey took well over four hours. Taking a bus or van will cut the travel time by more than an hour on most days but I would still recommend doing the train either to or from. For anyone spending a week or more in Phnom Penh, I think a couple of days in Kampot is a good choice. There is quite a difference between the city and the town. The slower pace here is appreciated even more after being in a more crowded and more frenzied environment. I had not heard of Kampot until I arrived in Cambodia. It took just a little research for me to figure out that this was a place that I wanted to visit. Others have discovered this city too as tourism has taken off during the past 10 to 15 years. I've had a great time here and I'm guessing you would too if you ever get the chance. It might be worth it for the taste of Kampot pepper alone. There's more from Cambodia in the coming weeks right here on Old Alone and From Home.