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Kampot
Kampot () is a city in southern Cambodia and the capital of Kampot province. It is situated on the Praek Tuek Chhu River, southeast of the Elephant Mountains, and around from the Gulf of Thailand. Kampot was the capital of the Circonscription Résidentielle de Kampot under French rule and Cambodia's most important seaport after the loss of the Mekong Delta and before the establishment of Sihanoukville. Its center is, unlike most Cambodian provincial capitals, composed of 19th-century French colonial architecture. The region and town are known for high-quality pepper, which is exported worldwide
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Place details
- Locality
- កំពត
- Region
- ខេត្តកំពត
- Country
- ព្រះរាជាណាចក្រកម្ពុជា
- Population
- 22,691
Travel guide
Understand
Kampot's main draw is its relaxing riverside setting. While there is a sizable town (population approximately 40,000) set back from the river, most tourists will spend most of their time enjoying the river. Most tourist businesses are scattered along the riverside promenade or are within one or two blocks of it. The riverside's main reference points are the "old bridge", a mongrel of various styles and temporary parts thrown together after its breaching in the Khmer Rouge days, and the French-built market building, which is being restored. Back from the river, the town is centered on the bizarre "durian roundabout" featuring a huge statue of a durian. From where the buses drop passengers, walking down the wide boulevard leads towards the river and the French-built market.
Kampot in the 2020s has grown to attract a certain crowd, namely older white men from various western countries, and the town has developed to serve this market. You might call them sex pests, and they are everywhere. Girl bars have sprung up along the boulevards. If you are male and foreign, expect to be catcalled on the street in the evening. It is still a charming river town with fantastic architecture, but not quite the family or young persons' destination it once was. It has a Starbucks now.
Get around
Getting around Kampot is easy on foot or on a bicycle, given the town's small size and flat terrain. Or, hire a motorcycle (100-125 cc scooter or 250 cc dirt bike, from US$5 per day) or bicycle (from US$1 per day) from hire shops near the durian traffic circle, or from just about any guesthouse or tour shop.
You can hire a tuk-tuk or a taxi using the PassApp app on your phone. (As of 2023, Grab isn't used by drivers in Kampot like it is in Phenom Penh). Unless you somehow have a Cambodian ABA Bank account, you'll be paying cash. Exact change helps but good luck with that.
It used to take about 2 hr by motorbike from Kampot to the Ha Tien border with Vietnam. The scenery is beautiful. If you start early you can catch the 10:00 ferry to Phu Quoc Island. The border procedure is hassle-free.
See
The most impressive sights in Kampot are the river and surrounding hills, which grandly frame views from the riverside promenade. Kampot retains many of its colonial buildings and there are many interesting old structures in various states of repair. The two cinemas stopped screenings long ago but the buildings represents a charming, art deco vision of the future. The market, an angular structure similar to Battambang's, is undergoing renovation.
~3 min read
Article
16 sectionsContents
- History
- Khmer breach between Siam and Ha-Tien since 1771
- Uprising of Oknha Mau in 1841
- First international seaport of Cambodia (1841–1860)
- From French protectorate to insurrection (1863–1886)
- French colony (1889–1940)
- Khmer Rouge
- Contemporary history
- Climate
- Demographics
- Administration
- Crime and security
- Gallery
- See also
- References
- External links
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==See also== Battle of Kampot Svay Rieng City Prey Veng City
Gallery (14)
On the map
3 mapped locations