Kampot

The guidebook précis was ‘charming riverside town’ and true enough Kampot did just enough to justify ‘town’ status with a population of 30,000 and it is true the poor b*stards were languishing at the side of the Kampong river. ‘Charming’ is stretching the point though with nothing to do but munch on the bloody good local pepper that is keenly sought out by the top French chefs. Apart from that it was dirty, smelly and hot with a sh*thole of a ‘top restaurant in town’ (the WC certainly was as well as being infested with mosquitoes so badly that I had to take Harley to the ladies which was just as bad but more interesting). After traipsing around in the heat with an increasingly disgruntled couple of kids we got back to our ‘charming’ hotel next to a building site and run by a scouser with a penchant for bloody sheets. Things improved slightly in the evening at the Kipling inspired Rikki Tikki Tavi restaurant with a good view of the sunset at a more scenic part of the river. Even here we were kept waiting for over an hour for average ‘tucker’ and were glad to be leaving in the morning.