Being Goofy in Kampot - Cambodia blog entry #10

Wednesday, I took you on a tour of some of the sites in Kep, along the Gulf of Thailand. Today, I’ll introduce you to Kampot, which is a few miles inland. Wikipedia says that the population is 49,600, but it didn’t feel that big to us. 

It’s an adorable town along the Preaek Tuek Chhu River, with many old French colonial buildings which have been converted into guesthouses, bars or restaurants. 

Among other things, the town is known for its durian fruit. But I kept referring to the statue of one in the roundabout near our hotel as a pineapple. 

After checking into our hotel, D and I set out on a mission. Between leaving the house in the morning, riding the tuk tuk, then switching to the minivan, I lost my umbrella somewhere. We were told there was a great possibility of rain the next day, so I thought I better buy one, somehow, somewhere.

We left the hotel and walked the two blocks to the night market, which like other markets in Cambodia, sold anything and everything. Inside were even several kids’ amusement rides. 

We wandered around a bit. None of the sales persons knew much English, but D had brought her umbrella to show them what we were looking for. The first one we found was a long Mr. French umbrella. It might be handy if I needed a cane, but would be cumbersome when not in use. The vendor dug around and found a collapsible one, but it still wasn't short enough to fit in my purse.  

I kept wandering and found some kids’ umbrellas in several different colors. When I asked the woman to see them, she just opened the pink one which would not be the one I would pick. But when I saw it, I fell in love. It had an adorable hippo in the jungle on it, and for six US dollars I couldn’t pass it up.

I was so happy. I’ve never even owned my own umbrella. I basically hate them and think they are highly overrated and don’t even protect you from the rain that well. But there I was, the proud owner of Hippo. 

Our hotel for the two nights we were in town was called the Neakru guesthouse.  Our room on the second floor was large and clean, with a large window overlooking the city and a balcony just outside our room. 

The beds were comfy. 

And the bathroom was – shall I say – adequate. There was a leak in the ceiling above the toilet which made relieving oneself disconcerting.

I woke up in the middle of the night and had to go to the bathroom. I lay in bed for the longest time trying to figure out what was in the room which I could use to protect my head from the dripping ceiling. My vinyl folder holding my trip paperwork? Did they have a tray under the ice bucket like many hotels have?

Think, Chris, think! 

Duh! There was Hippo sitting so happily in the corner, waiting faithfully to be put to work! 

I was so proud of myself and so relieved – and dry – when I crawled back into bed.