Ghost Town

Terrace of the Casino at Booker Hill Station, Kampot, Cambodia
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I decided to take the local bus to Kampot at 2pm.  Since the guesthouse owed me $10 in change, I was given a ride to the bus station, arriving just as another downpour came down.  Once on the bus, I ended up talking to a Brit from Manchester.  He had come to Sihanoukville to get a visa for Vietnam where he was heading to next for 5 days after finishing up teaching English for the past month in Kampot.

We arrived in Kampot in and hour and a half, half an hour sooner than I had anticipated.  The guesthouse I had chosen was within walking distance from the bus station.  My room at Blissful Guesthouse was nothing special, but it was clean and quite large.

The Main Room at the Casino, Booker Hill Station, Kampot, Cambodia
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For dinner I decided to check out a place that the guy on the bus had suggested, Jasmine's.  I entered the small restaurant and was seated at one of the two tables for 6.  I ordered a beer and my food.  As I was waiting, a very pregnant woman came in, looked at me and stated that they were supposed to be closed as she had just come back from Sihanoukville.  I was a little taken a back since my order had been taken.  I offered to leave, but she told me it was OK.  She then prepared my meal of steak with pepper sauce (Kampot is very well known for its fine pepper).  As I started to eat, the lights went out, quite a common thing in Kampot and so eating by candlelight it was a very romantic setting.  Too bad I was all by myself!  The lights came back on and the woman sat down and started talking to me.  It turned out she was Jasmine and was married to a guy from Santa Barbara and had actually taken a cooking course in San Francisco.  Her baby was due near the end of November and when I asked how long she was taking off, she said only a couple of days.  I suggested that maybe at least a week would be better.  I did find out later that she had thought about what I had said and was planning on taking off a couple of weeks.  After a very tasty meal and an excellent hostess, I made my way back to the guesthouse.

Front Entrance of the Casino, Booker Hill Station, Kampot Cambodia
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The next morning the guide for a tour that I had booked to Booker Hill Station said that the trip was off because of fallen trees blocking the road.  I was a little frustrated because I had planned to leave the next day and going to Booker Hill Station was the only reason to come to Kampot.  There was another traveler who was also supposed to be on the same tour who was also leaving the next day.  She argued with the guys about going especially since another group at the guesthouse had just left to go to the exact same place.  After a lot of song and dance, the tour guide finally said that maybe a car could go.  Although having to pay $5 extra each, we agreed to be picked up an hour and a half later.

Outside of the Casion, Booker Hill Station, Kampot, Cambodia
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We took off and the entrance to Booker Hill Station was about 15 minutes away.  Booker Hill Station contains a handful of buildings deserted back in the early 1970s.  We started the climb up the hill on an extremely bad road that had once upon a time been paved, but now was full of potholes and was flooded in quite a few parts.  It didn't make for a very smooth ride at all.  We ended up catching up with the other tours only to find out they were crammed into the back of pickup trucks in the rain.  So I think the guy canceling our trip was a blessing in disguise because all the others looked quite miserable.

Inside the Church, Booker Hill Station, Kampot, Cambodia
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After about an hour and a half we finally made it to our first two buildings.  The first building was the Grand Palace where you really had to use your imagination just to see how grand it might have been.  Back in the car we continued on the bumpy road, now on top of the hill.  Our driver stopped and said "church" and pointed.  We couldn't see anything, but still ventured out.  Hoping this wasn't a cruel trick to just leave us there, we headed up a small hill.  Suddenly, through the fog, we saw the outline of a church.  We wandered through the empty shell that only had the altar left.

The Church in the Dense Fog, Booker Hill Station, Kampot, Cambodia
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Back down the hill, the car was waiting for us.  We took off again, this time for the casino.  As we got out, it definitely gave you the chills with the fog all around, the hollowed out windows, the rain drizzling down and the wind whistling through the empty building.  As we wandered from room to room it definitely gave you a feeling like the movie "The Shining".  From the terraces, you could only imagine what the views must be liked on a good day but we could hardly see 20ft in front of us.

The Grand Palace, Booker Hill Station, Kampot, Cambodia
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Ready to head back down, another driver asked us if we would be willing to give a free ride to a woman.  We were hesitant at first, but when we learnt that she had a baby, we couldn't say no, especially since the front seat was free.  Heading back down the hill took longer than on the way up and between being very bumpy and hungry for lunch we both felt a little car sick.  We were both very happy once we got back to the guesthouse.

As we ate lunch, I realized that I didn't even know my fellow traveler's name. I found out it was Ellie, who was from Australia.  Given my bumpy ride, I decided to treat myself to a massage.  I had read in the LP about a massage place that only has blind masseurs, so for $4 for an hour, I decided to check it out.  It was definitely an interesting experience.  It was my first shiatsu massage so I am not sure if that is how it is supposed to feel or if it wasn't a very good massage.  All I know is that the next day, I felt very beaten up!

A Main Street in Kampot, Cambodia
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A few hours later, I joined Ellie for a drink at the guesthouse and ended up spending the night hanging out with her and then with four doctors from Vancouver, Canada.  As it turned out Ellie was a resident.  We hung out until about midnight, but then had to call it a night since both Ellie and I were heading out at 7:15am to Phnom Penh.