Blogs from Kep, South, Cambodia, Asia
February 4th 2012
Kep is just a short trip from Kampot and used to be thebeach destination for Cambodians prior to the devleopment of Sihanoukville. It's now a shadow of its former self and is famous for its crab market and for it's easy acces to nearby Rabbit Island. I sampled the crab with green Kampot pepper which was pretty good. Although I've not really eaten crab much and forgot how much hard work it is to actually get a meal from whats on the plate. Some friends who's just come for the day from Kampot headed back in a tuk-tuk while I sat in a carpark, drinking cans of Angkor with the local drivers for an hour or so, before decided which was the least drunk to be able to take me back to my lodgings. I took ... read more
Kampot Pepper, Kep Crabs , Luxury Spa's & The Rugby Grand Final!!
Published: November 25th 2011Asia » Cambodia » South » Kep
October 29th 2011
Kep is a coastal fishing village famed for its spectacular sunsets and fresh seafood (specifically crabs). It was founded as a colonial retreat for the French Elite in the early 1900's and Cambodian high-rollers have flocked here to continue the tradition ever since. The Khmer Rouge were known to harbour a particular hatred for this town and during their reign they destroyed the town. Today, Kep's luxurious pre-war villas are still just blackened shells with bullet holes riddled throughout the walls, poignant reminders of the Khmer Rouge. The remnants of the mansions left behind have a post-apocalyptic feel to them, showcasing the violent end each one met. Kep is now rising from the ruins and has become popular with the wealthy elite of Phnom Penh, expats and slowly but surely, Western tourists. Exploring the Countryside by ... read more
August 31st 2011
Kep was going to be my final stop on the Cambodian trail before heading back to the big bad city. The seaside town was even sleepier than Kampot, which meant it near enough in a coma, it is famed for it's crab market and super fresh sea food that literaly jumps out of the sea and onto your plate and the famous pepper is always on hand. All this set with the backdrop of prestine mountains blanketed by a mass of multi-coloured greens. Well one can only imagine, again when I first arrived the top of the mountains disappeared into the mist and the whole time I was squinting out to the coast and got excited whenever I got a glimpse of the sea and the islands, only to heave in disappointment when it disappeared through ... read more
July 24th 2011
... and it's back to the beaten track, but not for trying. After a brilliant time in remote Myanmar and a grueling day and a half of buses, planes, more buses and taxis with a bit of curb-side napping, we finally reached Siem Reap in Cambodia but not without the obligatory border scam. We had been warned ahead of time but I'd like to think that even if we hadn't, this scam was insultingly amateur. Our bus actually dropped us off at the Thai border town a few kilometers away from the border and we took a tuk tuk the rest of the way. Rather than proceeding right to the border itself, our driver took us off to a side road and parked in front of a small roadside shack where we were greeted by a ... read more
July 4th 2011
We were dropped off at Kep and straight away bought return boat tickets to Rabbit Island as well as bus tickets to Siem Reap for the day we were returning. We had around 40 minutes to kill so got some breakfast before a tuk-tuk came to take us to the jetty, and then a boat to take us to the island. We quickly found ourselves a little hut on the beach for $5 a night – just a bed and mosquito net and a hammock hanging outside. The beach is beautiful and there were hardly any tourists there. Many tourists come for a day trip so at night it feels deserted except for the few families sitting together watching TV. We dumped our bags and spent the whole morning swimming in the sea. By lunch time ... read more
June 28th 2011
Hmm ok, also „Weiteres in Kürze“ war gelogen – ich geb´s ja zu. Wir sind mittlerweile in Kambodscha angekommen, ich muss also ein bisschen nachholen.. Von Hoi An nahmen wir wie gesagt den Nachtbus nach Nha Trang, ein Küstenörtchen weiter im Süden, wo wir um 5.30 Uhr morgens nach einer laaaaaangen Nacht ankamen. Der Bus war der bisher Schlimmste – wie Sardinen in der Büchse lagen wir gequetscht im hinteren Bereich des Buses und die Straßen waren sowas von schlecht, dass ich mir mehrere Male den Kopf stieß – und das im Liegen. Ich glaube von den 12 Stunden habe ich ungefähr eine halbe Stunde geschlafen. Der dicke Franzose neben Tom half leider auch nicht, da er furchtbar schnarchte. Aber genug beschwert! Nha Trang hat zwar einen wunderschönen Strand, komplett mit Kokospalmen und Bambushütten, sowie zahlreiche ... read more
June 26th 2011
Our last night in Kep, a lovely and lazy coastal town hugged against the Gulf of Thailand. We originally thought of staying in Kampot and just doing day trips to Kep, but it turns out I hate Kampot. The dreary rain didn't help, but neither did getting ripped off and manipulated by our guesthouse proprietor's son and his friends, overpriced and uninspired food, and a bank experience that I won't get into for fear that it will snowball into a rant worthy of Barney's Version. To be fair, the town did have it's nice qualities. The lovely French colonial architecture, although badly in need of a coat of paint and a good de-rusting, was beautiful, and the river was quiet and serene, especially in the more tourist-centered areas, where the garbage is thoughtfully hidden. We had ... read more
May 23rd 2011
Today we headed off to Rabbit Island for a day at the beach. We were picked up by Boun Thorn our tuk-tuk driver from yesterday for the ten minute ride around to the boat dock. So we could be flexible with our time we opted for the private tour ($25 for the two of us) as opposed to the group tour which would have been $18. The boats are an open dow type powered by the very strange looking but effective petrol engine with the propeller at the end of a very long shaft. The tide was out so the first challenge was to get Kim on to the boat with out losing her over the side. That done we headed for the island about 15 minutes away. Arriving at the island was a bit of ... read more
May 22nd 2011
Another wonderful day in Kep. Breakfast at the Veranda is great, back into my SE Asia favourite - omlettes. Organised a Tuk tuk driver through the hotel to do a tour of Kep and in particular all the old villas. Kep used to be the playground for the well off with rows upon rows of villas This all changed with the Khmer Rouge and there are now hundreds? of villas in total disrepair with everything except solid concrete removed. There are conflicting stories as to whether the Khmer Rouge destroyed the villas or they were stripped by the locals who sold the materials in Vietnam. Needless to say it is a photography heaven. so a couple of hours later we were dropped back at the Crab Market for a wonderful lunch of Kep crab with green ... read more
May 21st 2011
Finally back in Cambodia after 4 years. Trip to Phnom Penh was uneventful and then a 2 hour car ride to Kep. The road was largely in good condition and the traffic thinned out fairly quickly as we left PP. Still amazed at the driving skills of people in this part of the world - they have the ability to make 4 or 5 lanes of traffic where there are supposed to be two. Still very much a case of the only road rule is "the bigger you are, the more you rule". I was pleasantly surprised when I looked at the speedo and saw the driver was only doing 70 while weaving in and out of traffic blowing his horn every two seconds. Then I realised the speedo was in Miles per Hour - time ... read more
