Trivia

Les Manguiers is a fantastic family-run place on the river in Kampot that I've visited a dozen times. It's welcoming and relaxed, so it doesn't matter when the creaking stairs in the main house come alive with drunk French voices in the early hours or the squid boats roar up the river at 5am after a night out fishing. Somehow I still usually wake up refreshed here.

Adam and I decided to take a return ticket on the 'crab shuttle' between Kampot and Kep, which is down the coast towards the Vietnamese border. This is very cleverly named after Kep's main draw, its crab market, which is interesting enough and more comfortably browsed if you are below 4ft10 and can slip between the canopies with ease.

The boat ride skirted the eclectic mix of ugly coastal developments and serene mangroves, and was a good time for chilling out in the sun. On arrival we got a bite at the crab market, shunning the stingray with tamarind for unadventurous spring rolls. The marine produce at the market was copious, pleasantly reminding me of the bounty of the ocean. Everything I learnt about marine conservation in Cambodia was that the waters were horribly overfished. Nature has an amazing capacity for resilience.

After a short jaunt of the track that encircles the lush Kep National Park, we took the slow chugging boat back to Kampot during late afternoon. Sounding like the manufacturer of inspirational tea towels sold in naff gift shops, Adam reminded me the joy of travel is in the journey and not just the destination. He is of course, right.

A good piece of trivia to remember is that Cambodia is the only nation to have a building on its flag. Knowledge worth dredging up at a pub quiz.