A lazy weekend in Kep

Kep, if you havent heard of it it is the former seaside resort of the rich and the barang that was very efficently wiped out by the Khmer Rouge leaving only burnt out and shot up buildings dotted all along the coastline.

It was featured in the movie City of Ghosts (you can guess why the movie is named that)

I made a call fri avo and booked us a room at the Beach house, a rather fancy looking place on the coast in Kep. Picked up May after work and we went hunting for bus tickets to get there!

Finally found a bus company that was going in the morning and we packed (im not sure how but May packs for any trip the same way, grab all your favourite clothes, plonk them in the pack, whatever space is left Matt can fill that up)

The Sorya bus company isnt the sharpest so we made sure we found our bus amongst the many and clambered on early. (if the driver is there, the air con is on!) the bus filled up, then overflowed and the last barang got the short straw of having to sit on the floor.

Having travelled in Laos like that i wouldnt recommend it, it is like having your bum and kidneys given a firm massage and heat treatment at the same time (sounds good in theory but...)

The countryside near Kep was a mix of Limestone outcrops (think Haolong Bay) and beautiful greem rice paddies.

The province is one of the wealthiest in Cambodia, and the lush vegetation told a story of very good rainfall and sunshine.

We got both on our stay!

We arrived in Kep in the afternoon, dropped off almost in front of our hotel, in for a wash then straight to the pool. It was a small but deep plunge pool and waterfall jacuzzi. The family groups there made way for May and I as we splashed our way around.

Dinner was of course SEAFOOD! we made our way along the coastline (think the coastline by Masseys memorial with monkeys!) and kept walking, walking and walking the clouds started to come in and we knew it would rain sooner rather than later. The top of Bokor mountain was permanently capped in mist while we were in Kep.

Finally May flagged down an old lady on a moto and she took us around the corner into the crab market. (how were we to know it was 100 metres further on!?)

May haggled a while and we soon left with a jar of red peppercorns, a bottle of homemade Kep sauce (a fiery mix of chillis, lime, fish sauce and some secret herb and spices) 4 small squid on a spit and two fish.

The owner of the hotel didnt look to pleased when we rolled in , ordered some rice and beers and unpacked our feast.

I was aware that in the west bringing a dinner to a restaurant is how shall i say it ... frowned upon but hey we are in Cambodia and it is something that happens in all the places we go to eat (maybe that says something about our "fine dining"but who cares)

The sauce was amazing, the bbq squid peeled apart easily and you had to pull out the ink sack carefully or else the rice took on a rather blue tinge.

We munched away happily and a cold Anchor washed the seafood down nicely.

The sunset was great, sitting on our balcony watching it was a very peaceful moment, in fact that word sums up modern Kep well, it is a sleepy and beautiful area that we will be going to visit again soon.

The nightlife in Kep is mostly animal based, the inhabitants disappear back home and so we crashed out and slept at some very silly hour.

As a result we awoke at 5am, fresh and keen to look around we wandered along the streets, taking photos of the ruins and imagining what could be. Forget over priced Phnom, thsi is the place to buy a slice of beach front property!!

We were wandering along being watched by the few Khmer workers who were putting up deck chairs and tarps near the beach when we spotted a couple of guys running at full pace towards us, they wernt chasing just jogging really fast, nothing strange i guess until i recognised one of them as the PE teacher at NISC out for a quick jog before brekkie (it is a small world)

May and i finally found a moto dup driver who could show us the temple complex outside of town and could take us to one of the pepper farms. (Kampot and Kep pepper is world renowned for its kick and taste)

Our moto driver had a beard, and in Cambodia that is a rarity, his declining the offfers of fruit during the day confirmied that he was part of the Cham minority who are observing ramadan at the moment. He seemed quite chuffed when i asked him if this was the case (im guessing in a country of 94% Bhuddists you can get ignored or overlooked at times)

The clouds burnt off as we raced through tiny hamlets and past fields that were achingly green, im still not used to the beauty of rice paddies, i keep taking pictures and May looks at me like im silly.

This will be a two part blog, i have meetings this avo and im trying to finish lunch over the computer so our forays into the surrounding landscape will be done tomorrow.

Always leave them wanting less i say