Kampot and Kep

Our last stops in Cambodia were the riverside town of Kampot and the refreshing seaside town of Kep.

Kampot is a laidback town that is mainly known for growing pepper and durian. But for tourists the riverside is the nicest part of the town.

We took a sunset cruise on the river to admire the mountains and to see some fireflies.

We also rented a motorbike and headed up the hills to Bokor National Park. Unfortunately it was quite cloudy so the views weren't as great as they could have been but then again it felt quite magical driving up through the clouds in the morning. We also went for a short walk in the jungle and were lucky enough to see (and hear!) some endangered Pileated Gibbons (below is a video just for their sound)!

After Kampot we headed off to lovely seaside Kep to enjoy some of the famous seafood. 

Kep is especially famous for their blue crabs so we went to the crab market to have our share. Here they keep them alive in cages in the sea until you buy them. Then you can ask to have them steamed and ready to eat. We bought 1 kg and they tasted so amazingly fresh and wonderful it might be hard to find something equaly good back home!

Here, too, the sunsets were amazing!

Koh Rong

As it had already been more than a week since we left our riverside holiday in Si Pha Don, we decided it was time for another vacation. So from Phnom Penh we headed straight to Sihanoukville and from there to the beautiful island of Koh Rong. We settled in on Coconut beach for four nights and were very excited to find it was more or less like a small paradise on earth. Stunning turquoise waters, beach with sand as white as snow on a beautiful, green island. Imagine seawater more than 30 degrees warm! And it was just so nice to see the sea again.

Here we didn't do much else than swim, snorkel, read in a hammock and swim and snorkel some more. We also enjoyed watching these peculiar small, flying lizards we had only seen on TV before. Even though they were only some 15 cm long, they could glide at least 5-10 m in the air from tree to tree!

We slept in a tent right next to the sea, so we could here the waves all through the night. But the best part was the view from our tent:

Since the beach was looking east, we could also see some nice sunrises from there.

Twice we had a campfire on the beach in the evening.

And during our last evening we walked into the sea to see glowing plankton that looked like underwater stars. We also got the chance to send up some traditional paper lanterns into the sky. That was really nice!

Phnom Penh

We didn't stay long in the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh. We didn't like it as much as the other capitals we visited and the crime rates towards tourists are higher here than in many other places so far. But that said, especially the riverside area was very cosy.

Once we arrived we happened to notice there was the restaurant Dine in the Dark right next to our hotel. We had been wanting to try this already for a while so now we took the chance! The experience of dining in complete darkness was very interesting and fun and the food was delicious (though not fancy) too.

The next day we strolled around the city, visiting Ta Phnom, the temple that has given its' name to the city.

Then we enjoyed the late afternoon down at the river, sipping some drinks and reflecting upon the world at the FCC - Foreigners Correspondents Club.

Our last day at Phnom Penh was the mentally toughest one as we visited the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum to learn about the rough recent history of Cambodia. Tuol Sleng used to be a high school but was converted into the secret Security Prison 21 by the Khmer Rouge. The crimes against humanity committed here are simply horrifying. And to think it happened only 40 years ago.

Temples of Angkor

It's a holiday in Cambodia!

And there's really no better place to start than Siem Reap. Why? Because here you can see the wonders of Angkor! We spent 3 days exploring the breathtaking temples of Angkor, and this was by no means too many days. Quite the opposite, actually.

Photos really can't do this place justice. You simply have to experience it by yourself. It's just so different to look at pictures than climbing through the ruins and standing right next to the enormous monuments. But here's a small selection of some of our favourite photos. Unfortunately we had some problems with our memory card, so we don't have any photos from the day we visited the main temple: Angkor Wat. So you'd better come here to have a look at it yourself. It's truly beautiful.