With only two nights and one day in Kampot, we had to do an all day tour to get everything in that we wanted. We hired a tuk tuk driver for the entire day and started at the salt farm. At the salt farm, they create shallow pools out of claylike mud to hold a few inches of seawater that has to be trucked in. After 5 days of drying, most of the salt can be scrapped into piles, and then hand carried to a storage shed.

Our next stop was a local cave. The cave was very unique with huge ceilings, and cracks along the top lighting the majority of the way with natural light. Years ago, it used to be a place where monks lived, hiding during some of the rougher times in the country’s history. Sadly several were killed there.

Following the cave we visited the Kampot pepper farm. Rows upon rows of brick columns stood with pepper plants draping over them top to bottom with some of the world’s most famous pepper. We wandered around through the field of pepper plants before tasting and purchasing some to take home.

Next stop on our tour was the crab market. Fresh crab is brought in hourly and the specialty, Kampot pepper crab! The seasoning was the best seasoning I have ever had on seafood. The dish had fresh Kampot pepper, still on the stem, garnishing the sunset colors of the perfectly cooked, halved crabs. It was one of the best dishes I have had in a while, with a perfect view of the ocean as we sat less than 10 feet from the water’s edge.

To end the day, we grabbed a few beers with our tuk tuk driver and tried our luck with durian again. Durian is an Asian fruit that is considered to be a delicacy by many, and its price suggests the same. It is a VERY strong smelling fruit that can smell like a rotting carcass, making it banned in many public places in Asia. The first one we tried was in Malaysia and it was awful. This time, I think we got a better fruit, but it was still nothing impressive. I guess I just don’t have the Asian pallet for a fruit that smells like death, but I’m ok with that.