Knai Bang Chatt, Cambodia launches ‘Royal Train Experience’

New for Summer 2018, boutique Cambodian coastal retreat, Knai Bang Chatt in Kep launches a ‘Royal Train Experience’ in collaboration with Royal Cambodian Railways, providing access from the bustling capital of Phnom Penh to Cambodia’s rural region for the first time in over a decade.

The Royal Cambodian Railways has reinstated a passenger train service after 14 years, which will transport travellers from the colonial Grand Old Phnom Penh Train Station to the salt fields and pepper plantations of Kampot, with plans for the train to make a stop along the Southern coastline in Kep by the end of the year.

What you can expect

Guests will be able to take a prime seat soaking in every day scenes of local life as the train passes through Phnom Penh’s inner-city areas and the impressive new developments interspersed with colonial architecture, moving into the countryside where urban streets give way to brightly coloured lotus flowers and rice fields lined by sugar palm trees.

As the train traverses deeper into rural Cambodia, limestone mountains start to rise, surrounded by an abundance of wildlife including livestock and birds. A short stop in a nearby village Pnh-Takeo gives passengers the opportunity to purchase local delicacies from street vendors, such as freshly cut pineapple and dried river fish.

The train passes through an abundance of rural villages including Kep and after 5 – 6 hours, the voyage ends in Kampot.  The colonial town of Kampot is located along the Praek Tuek Chhu river and only one hour away from Kep.  It retains a certain charm and character that has a laidback, bohemian feel.  Travellers are taken through the enchanting streets, where some of the best and last remaining unspoilt colonial architecture in the country remains.  

Accommodation

Guests will then be privately transferred to Knai Bang Chatt – a chic modernist boutique hotel in nearby Kep sur Mer, and one of the last remaining hidden unspoilt gems on Cambodia’s South coast.  Once the premiere coastal retreat for the wealthy elite in the 1960s, Kep offers visitors a picturesque, peaceful holiday experience.

Boutique retreat Knai Bang Chatt is the perfect base from which to explore the undiscovered coastal town and discover the ‘real Cambodia’ of today through authentic cultural, coastal and rural destination experiences in Kep National Park and the surrounding region.  Guests who just want to relax however, can treat themselves to traditional Khmer treatments at the spa, while yoga and meditation is also available upon request.

The Royal Train Experience package at Knai Bang Chatt starts from $400 (approx. £301) per person and includes:
Two nights’ accommodation in a spacious Garden View room at the hotel
One-way train ticket from Phnomh Penh to Kampot
Transfers from anywhere in Phnom Penh to the train station and from Kampot train station to the hotel
A delicious picnic lunch including wine is to enjoy on the train
Welcome beverage upon arrival into Kampot

For more information please contact Perowne International:
kbc@perowneinternational.com / +44 (0)20 7078 0295