A little kip in Kep, Cambodia

Talor: Sleepy little Kep (population circa 2,000) used to be a favorite beach town for the French and Cambodian rich and powerful until Pol Pot destroyed it. Now it is slowly being rebuilt and attracting some tourists again. But for now, you can still see the damage with hollowed-out buildings all over town where squatters have taken up residence. It was a nice tranquil escape, but after a day or two we found it a little too sleepy. And though there are beaches, they're pebbly, not sandy. In fact, back in the day, sand was shipped there from Sihanouk Ville.

We settled into the N4 Guest House then took a walk to the nearby Crab Market, which is not really a market, but a series of food shacks all offering fresh seafood with a view of the ocean. We had a pricey but delicious meal of bbq'd squid and giant prawns. And in the evening, we walked up a bit of a hill to the Vanna Guest House and had drinks while watching a pretty sunset.

The next day, we took a boat out to Koh Tonsay (Rabbit Island), where there was a very rustic fishing village. Spent the day walking and exploring, sunbathing (talor), swimming (erik) and lunching on crabs and fish then napping on the beach, before returning in the late afternoon. It was a very rough day!

Erik: Kep was fun, and cute, but oh so touristy, in a laid-back kind of way. No partying or beach volley ball or jet ski's – instead mostly couples and family's enjoying very good seafood and sunsets over the sea. Rabbit Island was interesting – you can stay the night if you like, but the $5 bungalows are the ultimate in rustic, with one outside toilet/shower with no running water (you use water bucketed out of a large barrel), and a herd of cattle meandering and sleeping throughout the the little village. I'd hoped for some good snorkeling there, but the water was green with algae, and most of the beaches fenced off with fish nets. Still, a good escape for an afternoon or even an overnight if you don't mind sharing your yard with the livestock.

The food in Kep was very good. The “pricey” sea-front meal we had at the crab market was all of $10, which included 10 enormous tiger prawns, 6 big chopped-up squid (everything BBQ'd to perfection with a sweet-spicy glaze), fried rice and a big beer. Expensive compared to our typical street food meal, which is usually $1-$2 for the both of us, but quite a steal compared to NYC prices!

In the end, though, there really was no “local” side to Kep, and not much else to do but eat at barang-oriented restaurants and stare at the sea, so we moved on after just a couple of days.

A few photos from Kep:

Kep, Cambodia