Wanderings in Cambodia - 1 - Kep & Koh Kong

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Accommodation - Veranda Natural Resort - Kep

Accommodation - 4 Rivers Floating Lodge - Koh Kong

Weather - Hot & sunny with blue skies and occasional clouds 32c



On our transfer from the Cambodian border to Kep we stopped at an interesting cave temple of Wat Kirisan built into the base of a small mountain. Walking through the caves revealed steep limestone cliffs covered with foliage and occasional hidden shrines with gold and silver buddhas.



Kep is a somewhat sleepy seaside town, on the Gulf of Thailand, famous for its regional green fresh peppercorns, blue crabs, prawns and other seafood. Kep was Cambodia's first seaside resort, founded by the French in 1908. Fine french-style mansions now lay deserted, burnt out and abandoned following Khmer Rouge invasions during the civil war. We were staying at the Veranda Resort, up the hillside, with views over palm trees, the town and to the coast.



We spent a restful and relaxing couple of days in Kep. We had walks along the sea front and through the crab market where we watched local women bartering and haggling over the price of fresh blue crabs! Lunch and dinner at small restaurants in the crab market, consisted of prawn fritters, crab spring rolls, fish and prawns with kampot pepper - all delicious! Many of the roundabouts, and also along the seafront, had statue figures from ancient Cambodian legends and old warriors, together with Hindi deities and even a white lady by the sea. The most prominent statue, however, was a welcoming massive Kep Blue crab in the bay!!



We now travelled north, through the Cardamom Mountains, on relatively rough roads which had been washed away and badly damaged in the previous monsoon. The mountains, more like rolling hills, were covered with verdant tropical vegetation, trees large and small, palms and vines. In some areas, the forest gave way to farm land with small villages in which cows and water buffalo walked down the street, reminding us of India. Deep in the heart of the mountains, the forest is well preserved and is home to exceptional rare endangered wildlife, including Asian Elephants, cloud leopards and tigers.



Our next stop was 4 Rivers Floating Lodge near Koh Kong, on the Tatai River. The lodge was so named as one has to cross 4 rivers on the way to the resort. The lodge consists of floating pontoons upon which are, what can only be described as, luxury tents. We spent a leisurely day here on our deck, reading, writing blogs and enjoying watching life on the river. At night we fell asleep to the sounds of gently lapping water and a cacophony of varied jungle noises!! We needed a day of rest and relaxation to recharge our batteries before the next stage of our tour as we head to Phnom Penh, the capital of the Kingdom of Cambodia.



Please scroll down to the end to see more photographs.

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Comments

[Helen and Bob]

Cambodia
Looks so interesting and I like the idea of the floating luxury tents. Stylish! Great photos. Gives a good idea of what it is all like. I liked the idea of all the seafood. Sounds yummy. X