We had offered a lift to Florentine, who is a friend of Niall and Billy. A 73 year old American living in Phnom Penh. Fluent in French and earned a living translating and teaching languages. Has had a colourful life so far and once dated the Irish poet Seamus Heany. She has been thinking of moving to Kampot and with the recent addition of a German run hospital it is a possibility. I can see the appeal. With a nice breeze and expat community it is my favouri...

We had booked to go back to Phnom Penh today but got the bemused hostel owner to change it to tomorrow. Sometimes you find a place that is special. Spending days in a place soaking up culture and atmosphere is worth sacrificing seeing a guidebooks checklist. We were told about a North Korean restaurant in Phnom Penh from Niall last night. Cambodia and NK have links and I will be interested to hear the propaganda and happy to skip a Wat or 2. Apparently the st...

A lazy day and decide to relax in Kampot. We go to the ice cream and pie for the worlds greatest hotdog. Relaxing I catch up on my notes. I'm finding the off exploring website a pain, but keep my notes up to date on my phone for an easy transfer when WiFi presents itself. We go sit at Tiki's out of the sun enjoying the breeze and the riverside view. For dinner we head to Victoria's for some decent Khmer food. I have the Kampot chicken. Spicy with the pepper...

Craig knocks on my door around 11am. I'm moving like a sloth. We look for breakfast and end up at the rusty keyhole. Breakfast baquette and mug of coffee on the way. The French influence being the staple start to my day. Back out on the bikes we head to Kep along the tarmac highway. Starts off fine but the road changes to a a small strip of tarmac along the middle, with the mopeds being shunted to the dusty borders. Kep is about 30km away and glad to see th...

An American who Craig met in Vietnam on a previous trip, has been in Kampot for 2 months and meets us at Rusty's. Finishing our beers, Billy takes us to a tiny roadside Italian which is remarkable for such a setup. Great pizza, gnocci with blue cheese and creamy pasta. Billy had previously bought cigarettes from a corner shop here. He discovered that the grumpy owner used to be one of the main Khmer Generals. Currently lower operatives are being trialled, but...