Kampot was the last segment of our Cambodia trip that we booked, filling in three days between Siem Reap and the islands. The geography of Cambodia is such that you have to circle around the large central lake (Tonle Sap) to reach the coast, so the drive (which we did in a private car during the day rather than risk the perils of an overnight coach) took us 9 hours. Road surfaces in Cambodia are not good, the final two hours were incredibly bumpy, the many potholes made worse because of recent flooding.

Kampot is a really pleasant place and worth the journey. Like parts of the UAE and Oman it has distinctive roundabout sculptures – the main one a large Durian fruit. Located on the north bank of the Teuk Chhou River, the river runs through its heart, the French quarter where the buildings around the old market run down to the river bank.

Upon arrival we picked a cruise boat to sail down the river for the sunset, which was beautiful. Sitting on the roof of the boat, you get scarily close to the 4 bridges you pass under, able to reach up and touch them while sitting down. Supposedly a trip to see the fireflies, we didn’t see any, but it didn’t matter.

We stayed at the lovely Mea Culpa guesthouse, located close to the river and lotus pond. It doubles up as the best woodfire pizza restaurant in town and is a great place to stay. Run by Irish Ben who stopped off on a gap year 17 years ago, the name is a coded apology to his dad for never returning to Ireland to complete his PhD.

Located close to the Elephant mountain range, it was the perfect spot for MoJo to put all their practice climbing at Adventure HQ in Dubai into a real outdoor climb. Climbodia operate from the caves at Phnom Kbal Romeas. We chose to do the shorter two-hour option which was fantastic, including climbing, abseiling and traversing the often small tunnels in the cave complex. The three guides were brilliant at keeping the girls safe and at ease, we would highly recommend the experience.

We returned to shower and lunch at a local café Epic Arts, which employs people with and without disabilities, supporting grassroots projects and serves up a mean gluten free raspberry and polenta cake.

Afterwards we took a moto-tuk-tuk out to Champa Lodge, a Belgian-run guesthouse on the river, where we rented two kayaks to do the 45-minute Green Cathedral mangrove loop. As usual our trip turned into a rubbish collection, filling both kayaks with bits of plastic.

A sunset drink on our return on their terrace offered us an alternative, stunning sunset view.

We went to the funnily named Rikitikitavi for dinner (it’s from the Jungle Book) with a nice terrace and just next to the pub ‘Oh Neil’s’!

For our last day we took a car out to La Plantation for a late lunch and tour of their pepper plantation, as that is what Kampot is famous for (Kampot Pepper was renowned worldwide until the 1960s and is making a comeback). It was fascinating to learn about the farming techniques, especially for the fresh green peppercorns that can’t be dried and must be consumed soon after being picked. They are delicious on top of a beef luk-lak, a local speciality.

Less rewarding was the seaside resort of Kep, by far the best bit of it is a giant crab sculpture in the sea! Its beach is second-rate and the crab market was unfortunately too far a walk from where our driver dropped us off. The girls quite enjoyed playing with some local kids on a blowup slide on the beach.

Our experiences in Cambodia often seemed to be like this: we would find a complete gem of a place that we never want to leave and then go to another place recommended in a guide book or by someone we meet and are disappointed. It is a country that is clearly still finding its way when it comes to tourism – but one that certainly warrants further exploration.