faraway

Kep is a sleepy coastal town about a three-hour drive south of Phnom Penh. We arrived at 2pm in the heat of the afternoon and drove slowly through the quiet streets. Galuh brought sandwiches from home and we ate them across the road from our hotel under a tree by the main beach. The beach is a thin sandy crescent surrounded by lush green mountains on all sides. It’s a beautiful little spot and the sunsets are spectacular.


Kep is dotted by many seemingly abandoned houses, perhaps built by the French colonials. Kep was occupied by the Khmer Rouge in the 70s and many of the buildings were burned. They give the town a mysterious atmosphere.

On our second day we drove to Kompot, a nearby town. We amused ourselves along the way by counting the motorcycles carrying ridiculously large baskets. Cambodians use motorcycles the way Canadians use trucks. Kompot is only slight less sleepy that Kep. It too has the feel of a decaying colonial town, and there is a beautiful broad river flowing through the center of town spanned by a rusting metal bridge. There’s a decrepit market by the river and the riverside is lined with restaurants and guesthouses.



For dinners, we feasted on seafood for which Kep is famous. Zach and Jacob really liked it. It was fund to watch the kids munch the crab meat with their eyes popping out. Even Galuh who doesn’t eat seafood much enjoyed it.



One day, we took a boat over to Rabbit Island across from Kep beach. This was Jacob’s first time on a boat. The island is a big forest-covered rock in the sea surrounded by a sandy beach dotted by palm trees. Up and down the beach, residents have set up bamboo platforms and hammocks for the tourists. There are big inner tubes available for floating around. The water is warm and calm. The shallow water stretches out 20-30 meters from the beach. There are little huts for those who want to spend the night.

In the first ten minutes of swimming Jacob was stung by a jellyfish. He had these nasty welts on his left arm, left knee and chin. I never saw the jellyfish so it could have been dead tentacles that were floating around. These can still sting if separated from the jellyfish. I got some ice and applied it to his welts which relieved the pain somewhat. Still Jacob was pretty miserable for a couple of hours, whining and crying. But eventually the welts disappeared and a smile returned to his face.

We ate some more great fried crab taken straight from a bamboo cage floating in the sea by the beach. A man from the little restaurant which “managed” our spot on the beach waded out into the sea to retrieve 7-8 little crabs still click and clacking. These were fried up in a yummy sauce. We devoured them quickly. Yum!