DECEMBER 11, 2000 VOL. 156 NO. 23

Detour
By KAY JOHNSON

TRAVEL WATCH Get Insured: No One Plans for a Shark Attack Having your appendix removed can really spoil a vacation. Web Crawling Don't know the difference between a deductible and a co-pay, let alone which travel insurance plan is best for you? Detour With its crumbling colonial mansions, languid riverfront and pristine waterfalls, Kampot seems like the perfect vacation hideaway. Travel Watch Archive Browse hundreds of Asian travel tips

With its crumbling colonial mansions, languid riverfront and pristine waterfalls, Kampot seems like the perfect vacation hideaway. So what has kept the southern Cambodian town off the tourist map? Khmer Rouge guerrillas with a nasty habit of kidnapping visitors. Contested for years during the country's long civil war, Kampot is better known as a battleground than as the French colonial playground it once was. But that may change. With the end of the war, visitors to Cambodia's southern coast can finally see what the rebels were fighting over.

What they find is a sleepy riverside getaway in the shadow of towering mountains. These days, the biggest news in Kampot is probably its succulent crab dinners and nature trails. For breathtaking views of the coastline, have your hotel arrange a four-wheel-drive excursion up Bokor mountain ($40). After a refreshing break at Popokvil waterfall, be sure to investigate the eerie ghost resort nearby. Now a burned-out ruin, the Bokor Palace Hotel was once an exclusive casino for French colonists. Later, it was the site of fierce battles between the Khmer Rouge and government forces. Guides are only too eager to point out the artillery mountings atop the shell-pocked hotel.

Besides the local history, there is plenty of nature for visitors to explore. Take a four-hour boat trip up the Jade River ($40) or a day-long excursion to the colonial beach resort of Kep ($60). Dinner at a riverfront Khmer restaurant is a must: be sure you drop by early to pre-order fresh crab. Boray Bokor Hotel has air-conditioned rooms for $15 and will arrange tours with an English-speaking guide, tel: (855) 33-932-826. But there is little need to call ahead. Kampot will remain a quiet hideout as long as the bumpy, four-hour taxi ride from Phnom Penh ($20) and the town's fearsome reputation keep the tourist hordes at bay.

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