Journey to the Secret Lake, Kampot, Cambodia
Journey to the Secret Lake, Kampot, Cambodia
The Secret Lake is located not too far out of Kampot but far enough to keep the backpackers away. They may go to the pepper plantation far on the other side of the lake but rarely make it to the side where I go. My English friend Dave told me the spot to meet him at. I'd met Dave over 10 years ago in Gokarna, India. That's an entirely different story hehe. So we'll stick to Cambodia for the moment. Let's just say Dave is quite a character with loads of stories to tell beginning with hitchhiking from London to India at the age of 16 at the beginning of the hippy movement. His father owned the first porn shop in London. An interesting guy to say the least. But I do digress so back to the Secret Lake which is Brateak Krola Lake in Khmer. The way there is simple enough once you learn the way. Half of the ride is tarmac and the other is dirt roads of varying quality through small farms and a few villages along the way. You even cross the train tracks.
Before setting off time for some jet fuel coffee in the market. I love markets in Asia as they are the heart of the society. This is actually the green tea that comes with the coffee and some banana buns from the vendor next to the shop.
A friend from the road. Her mother sold sandwiches in front of their wooden house on the outskirts of Kampot town.
This is the road to Kep and the Vietnamese border beyond. Quite good condition and very little traffic. A bit dusty from the mud which turns to dust when dry.
I love clouds even though there's a good chance the dusty dirt road will turn to mud...
Oh the lovely dirt roads of Cambodia. Make sure your teeth don't chatter haha. Either mud or dust. Luckily rarely are there any vehicles but when they are you understand why the scarf is so essential in Cambodia. Easily the dustiest country I've been in.
Cows have to be one of the most peaceful animals. This guy was contentedly chewing his cud enjoying the moment. I had to stop and take this shot.
Normally, Cambodians do field work by hand. I was surprised to see this modern machine. I reckon they hire themselves out to cut the fields.
There's caves in those hills.
Finally reaching the Secret Lake. Not only secret, but very deep and big. I tried to ride my bicycle around once but failed... Very nice for swimming though and getting that dust off of you.
The Secret Lake has to be one of the most relaxing places I've been. There are a few restaurants with basic gazebos on one shore. The owner of this place used to live and work in Thailand so we were able to talk quite a bit in Thai. Of course his Thai is better than mine ;)
One of the bamboo gazebos with my local bicycle. I rode my road bike to Kampot from Phuket but bought a cheap local bike for around town and the rough roads. Usually I spend most of the day there and head back to town when the afternoon heat lessens.
Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed the post. If you ever visit Kampot make sure to go to this lake if you want peace and quiet except for weekends and holidays. The Cambodians know about it ;)
Please upvote and reblog!
I still remember this not-so-secret lake very well. I hope it never gets a casino built on its shores. Thanks for sharing @chrisinphuket. We'd love to see you post some of this SouthEast Asian content within the ASEAN Hive Community.
⋆ ᴀ ʜɪᴠᴇ ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴜɴɪᴛʏ ғᴏʀ sᴏᴜᴛʜᴇᴀsᴛ ᴀsɪᴀɴ ᴄᴏɴᴛᴇɴᴛ
⋆ ғᴏᴏᴅ, ᴛʀᴀᴠᴇʟ, ᴘʜᴏᴛᴏɢʀᴀᴘʜʏ, ᴘᴏʟɪᴛɪᴄs, ᴀʀᴛ, ᴍᴏᴠɪᴇ ʀᴇᴠɪᴇᴡs & ᴍᴏʀᴇ
⋆ sᴜʙsᴄʀɪʙᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴀsᴇᴀɴ ʜɪᴠᴇ ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴜɴɪᴛʏ ʜᴇʀᴇ
⋆ ғᴏʟʟᴏᴡ ᴏᴜʀ ᴀsᴇᴀɴ ʜɪᴠᴇ ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴜɴɪᴛʏ ᴠᴏᴛɪɴɢ ᴛʀᴀɪʟ
Hey @justinparke I'll try to post over there next time :) Yes quite a funny "secret". I went there a quite a few times and only saw other foreigners once besides the friends I went to meet. Good times there. I think your tuk tuk wouldn't have enjoyed that road though... Thanks for the reblog :)
Nice post i love seeing different parts of Asian countries i have not been directly into the Cambodia cities only for visa stamp and out again but i must explore more of this country in the near future 😊
Yes Cambodia is an interesting country. Very easy to get away from people and find peace and quiet. The people are quite friendly and the country has some lovely spots!
I actually had planed a trip there with a couple of mates then covid-19 hit and we had to put it of but it's still on my bucket list 👍