07.12 - Day 327 - Kampot, KHM
Saturday 7th December - Kampot (Day 327)
The last thing we hear at night and the first thing in the morning is the chirping of birds, except it’s not real; speakers on the roof across the street are playing the sound 24/7. And we’ve heard it elsewhere in Battambang - apparently it’s to encourage swiftlets to nest here so that locals can make the delicacy of Birds Nest Soup. Not one we’ll try.
We're splitting up today, so after a visit to a secondhand bookshop. Kate and Sienna get a lift from Deva Cafe to Bantang Srei - a women's only day spa and accommodation.
So whilst Kate and Sienna are making their own body scrub with one other German, before massages and sauna, Seb and I are playing mini-golf, eating burgers for lunch and watching on TV Formula 1, American Football and Cricket. No stereotypes here.
It does feel even more humid; Seb has Nadal-esque sweat dripping from his brow just playing mini-golf so the air con is a welcome respite.
Meanwhile Kate and Sienna are the only guests for the overnight stay in ‘rustic’ bamboo huts with a porch leaning our over the central pond. Thankfully Sienna’s love of animals means 2 frogs in the small swimming pool makes her happy.
Kate insert - The spa was a social enterprise for rural women’s empowerment, providing opportunities to rural women in need. A remorque took us from a cafe in town to the spa, a good 25 mins out of town. We were given drinks for the ride from the cafe, definitely orange / mandarin base, with a hint of chocolate after taste. But incredibly tasty and refreshing served in reusable cups with ice.
There was only one other guest called Sarah, from Germany. She can’t have been much older than 18. Good english and lovely to chat to.
The spa was in the middle of nowhere, the main road maybe 5 mins away. The accommodation was set around a pond, then the ‘spa’ area was behind.
First we got to eat some sour fruits and drink some tea. That was when Sienna first met ‘Story’ and ‘Grammar’, the resident cats, who love a cuddle - a match made in heaven for Sienna.
Then having filled up it was time for lunch we sat (me quite awkwardly) on the floor at a low table with the ‘sister manager’ and a couple of the other sisters who worked there. They refer to all women as sister instead of names or even mum, grandma etc.
The enterprise was created to help local women learn usable skills whilst teaching visitors about the local traditional Khmer culture. Originally they taught the sisters some English, however they realised that for rural Khmer women, English was not needed.
The lunch was prepared fresh by the sisters that morning. We had a delicious chicken curry (relatively mild) with noodles and various leaves. There was plenty to eat and all immaculately presented and prepared.
After lunch we helped set up the steam room. Behind the stone hut a bamboo pipe comes out the wall and they use mud to seal it to a boiling pot with various herbs in creating the scented steam.
Whilst that was warming up we went and prepared our own body scrub with a pestle and mortar. All fresh ingredients including P’lai, Fingerroot, Galangal, Ginger, Turmeric, Tamarind, Coconut Oil and Rice Powder. We then headed down to the steam room, which was incredibly effective.
Whilst inside with one of the sisters we rubbed our scrub on, then the sister gave us each a back massage. Sienna and I left the steam room, I think after about 25 mins when we got to go and lay on a massage table outside.
We then had a face and head massage and then cupping on our backs (Sienna deciding not to experience the cupping). We then had a shower (all made from bamboo complete with a coconut showerhead) water was outside temp, so not super cold, but not hot either. In the shower they had another coffee scrub and face cleanser for us to use.
Afterwards we went for a dip in the small pool (think jacuzzi size, but no bubbles and cold) with two small frogs to Sienna’s delight. Sarah only stayed for the day and left around 5pm, so it was just Sienna, sister manager and I for dinner and bed.
The bamboo huts for sleeping were basic with a mattress on the floor and a fly net. What more do you need? An ipad with a pre-planned movie downloaded helped Sienna. A very peaceful day and night indeed.
Breakfast was then brought to our hut so we could eat it on the verandah overlooking the pond. The same remorque returned us to the cafe the next morning, ready to start the same cycle again.