Blogs from Kep, South, Cambodia, Asia

This is a late add, but even more justified. For the second day, we rented scooters and motored our way to Kep. This is a smallish town on the coast known for its crab and city statues. We enjoyed our time cruising along the water, stopping at the crab market, reading and playing cards in the bungalows. All-in-all a good day, except the one time I parked my scooter and turned only to have my calf touch someone else’s exhaust pipe. IT WASN’T EVEN MY BIKE (which had a cover over the exhaust pipe to prevent rookie drivers from doing such a thing)! Well my skin immediately turned ashen and blistered and throbbed in pain. Anatomy class tells me those are the key signs of a second degree burn. We explored the town a little more ... read more

Da wir in ein paar Tagen ins trubelige Phnom Penh wollen, gönnen wir uns vorher noch ein paar erholsame Tage. Wir haben wieder einen netten kleinen Bungalow mit tollem Garten und hübschen Pool, den wir auch jeden Tag nutzen. Bis zum kleinen, aber guten Strand ist es eine kurze Fahrt mit dem Tuk-Tuk, und zum Krebsmarkt können wir laufen. Dort gehen wir jeden Abend lecker essen. Spezialität von Kep, die es in jedem Restaurant gibt: Krebs mit Kampot-Pfeffer - sehr lecker und sehr frisch, da die bis dahin lebenden Krebse erst direkt vor der Zubereitung dem Wassertank entnommen werden. Neben der Krebse sind Kep und Kampot für ihre Pfefferfarmen berühmt. Es gibt (europäische) Köche, die den hiesigen Pfeffer für den besten der Welt halten, und tatsächlich ist die Bezeichnung Kampot-Pfeffer eine geschützte Bezeichnung und Qualitäts-Label. Wir ... read more

My stomach was in a weakened state this morning. So a simple breakfast it was: honey/lime crepes and dried bacon. Afterwards I said goodbye to Stacey, whose holiday was coming to an end. When Stacey’s car had pulled away, the cute Cambodian staff girl said it was no fair that Stacey had to leave and I got to stay. I puttered around Kampot for a couple hours and then it was time for me to depart as well. Before I left, I ordered one more luxuriant watermelon juice on the Rikitikitavi terrace. I gazed out over the sun dappled river and smiled. But as I did, I got the sense that this place was Stacey and I’s place. It was not for me alone. I got up and said my goodbyes to the awesome staff and ... read more

Carrying on with the same theme of the last few days it was pretty non productive! Having a chilled start I got my clothes washing returned screwed up in a ball, a pair of shorts missing and having no fresh - just been cleaned odour! All of these things have become a bit of an annoying regular occurrence - walking around in screwed up clothes is not a good look! So, after sorting my clothes between a couple of books I headed out towards the pier to catch a boat to Rabbit Island. Stopping off at a restaurant on the way for a bowl of muesli would seem simple enough. However it was presented with fruit - fine - but on a plate with a separate jug of milk to be eaten with a tiny desert ... read more

Kep was founded on the south coast of Cambodia as a colonial retreat for the French elite in 1908. In the 1960s wealthy Cambodians also flocked here to build mansions, however in the 1970s the Khmer Rouge rule forced many to evacuate and a lot of the properties were destroyed and looted. Today, many of Kep’s luxurious villas remain blackened shells, remembrance of a once-successful and wealthy civilisation that met a sudden and violent end. Deep tangled jungle surrounds the town juxtaposed by a backdrop of tow... read more