Kep - A tiny piece of paradise

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It took us just over 4 hours to get from Phnom Penh to Kep, which is exactly what we were told. Once out of the city the road was good for a while before we turned onto a sandy unmade track which took up the rest of the journey. It was slow and dusty but we got to see some incredible countryside. On arrival in Kep we took our bags out of the hold and they were covered in red dust. It's a good job we remembered to put our covers on our rucksacks!

A tuk tuk driver offered to take us to our hotel for the princely sum of $2, but we didn't realise just how close it was. $1 would have been too much. We didn't have the right change anyway and he ended up with just a dollar plus a handful of Cambodian Real. It's quite strange operating in a dual currency with Dollars forming the bulk of your money and Real making up the loose change. The Spring Valley Resort was an instant hit as we were upgraded by the manager to a lovely room with an amazing view. The swimming pool is fabulous and the gardens are great too.

That evening we walked along the coastal road for about an hour. We got some fabulous sunset views over Vietnam's Phu Quoc island along the way. Our destination was Kep's crab market where we had decided to eat. Trish had the prawn curry which was superb whilst Russ fiddled around for a long time with some Kampot pepper crab. Delicious though it was, it's an awful lot of hassle for not a lot of meat. Quite why it is called Kampot crab when the market is in Kep we will never know. A beer by the ocean and we were ready for a tuk tuk back to the hotel where we chilled out on our balcony until our eyes began to close.

The next morning we set off early to walk around the Kep National Park. Unfortunately the hotel manager had other ideas. He had now decided that we had to change rooms as our upgraded room was already booked. We were shown some lesser rooms and also asked to pay MORE money. Naturally we refused. Standing firm, we left our stuff in the room and went to look at some other options nearby. None of them came up to scratch really so we went back to negotiate. We ended up with a nice ground floor room and paid LESS money!

Somewhat hot and bothered, we made our way into the National Park. There is a small entry fee but it was insignificant. The 8km circuit takes you through the trees and gives views of the surrounding area which were quite incredible. It was very hot and sticky though, so we were thankful that it was flat and easy going. Water and mosquito repellent are essential! We didn't see any snakes or monkeys but there were loads of butterflies and Trish says she saw a bright red squirrel. We took a wrong turning near the end and found ourselves at the seafront. There we saw Kep's crab monument and a few French colonial villas which are ruins following their abandonment under the Khmer Rouge regime.

After an afternoon by the pool we ate at nearby Kep Beach. It's not much of a beach, indeed most of the sand is in piles covering the road ready to be put back onto the beach. The sea doesn't look too inviting either which is why we were so keen to have the pool. Brise de Kep turned out to be a wonderful choice of restaurant and this was not our only visit during our stay. Their pumpkin soup is delicious and their Khmer curries are amazing.

For our final day in Kep we hired bicycles. Ok, so they were wrecks, but we'd like to see Bradley Wiggins and Lance Armstrong travel much quicker than we managed on them! Our first port of call was the crab market where trade was in full swing. It was very interesting to see the women fondling the crabs to find the best ones then negotiating their prices. The local restaurants keep their crabs in basket pots which are anchored about 10m offshore. Some poor soul then has to go out and get some crabs if a customer orders them. Dressed in their pyjamas they get very wet!

From there we rode out on a hot, dry, dusty road which is currently being built. The construction was never ending so we turned back and went the other way towards the small town which is really Kep. On the way we saw a lone monkey by the side of the road. Nobody seemed to be bothering him at all. We paused by the jetty to admire the fishing boats then relaxed in some free hammocks by the side of the beach. Thankfully they were in the shade, even if they were not really in tip top condition. At one stage, a woman approached us and asked for a dollar each to use the hammocks. Bearing in mind they were wrecks, we had already been there for an hour, and we were ready to leave, we took it that she was just trying to pull a fast one and fleece some tourists of some cash. Needless to say, she didn't get any!

Another relaxing evening ensued and the next morning we took a tuk tuk all the way to Kampot. That was 25km along the road which is being constructed. By the time we got there we were covered in dust but it had been an adventure, albeit a very bumpy one!!!!

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