Kampot and Kep and a border run

My next stop was Kampot, a sleepy little town along a river. Mia, Kristine and I stayed in a small bungalow in a guesthouse set right on the water, which was really nice. The girls rented motos and we spent our first full day exploring Kep, a nearby "city" known for its fresh crab and pepper plantations. We ate at the renowned Crab Market and had fish as fresh as you can get--aka we ate while  sitting on the riverbank watching the fishermen at work! We also went to a pepper plantation and tried the different varieties that they grow: red, white, and black. I wish I didn't have to carry everything on my back, I would have loved to bring some home to cook with! And it would have made a great gift. Ah, well...
The countryside here is really beautiful so we had a nice time just riding around and taking it all in.

The rest of the time in Kampot was pretty relaxed, as the town is known to be. Another moto ride up through a national park, swimming in the river, a sunset river cruise, relaxing on rocks and swimming by some rapids, chilling at the guesthouse...just a nice couple of days.

We didn't know how long we would stay but we kept extending, and ultimately stayed for 4 nights. I could have gotten stuck there for longer, but my Cambodian visa was set to expire in a few days (I can't believe I've been here for almost a month already!! Wasn't it just New Years?!) and I already knew I wasn't ready to leave. I'm not too keen on overstaying visas, so I knew I needed to extend. Kep is pretty close to the Vietnamese border, and my Vietnam visa is still valid, so I decided to do a quick border hop so I could get a new visa for Cambodia. So this morning I came back to Kep,
found a place to stay for the night, dumped my bags, hired a moto driver to take me to the border and back, and off I went! It was actually really painless, and $20 and an hour later I had my new Cambodian visa! I'm really falling hard for this country, and I'm so glad I have more time to spend here.

Tomorrow I'm back to Phnom Penh for a few days, then I think I'll head to eastern Cambodia next. I'm looking forward to it all and I'm having a really great time. Thinking a lot about what comes next, post-travel, but also trying to live in the moment and enjoy the time I have here.

Ill leave you with this gem from my evening. Adding salt to the wound, this is the most money I've spent on a room in weeks and I was SO looking forward to my own room, big bed, and private bathroom. A splurge for one night, right?

A Tale of Horror and Devastation:

Wait weeks for hot shower.

Acquire guesthouse with hot water.

Euphoria.

All day anticipation.

Evening comes.

Enter bathroom.

Turn on shower. 

Watch approximately 10 cockroaches scurry out of the drain.

Feel, and then see, the largest cockroach run up leg.

Exit bathroom.

Im still waiting for my hot shower.