A Weekend in Kep - 7 Days Later

I could have opted to stay at home in our apartment in Phnom Penh and indulged in watching cable TV like I always do at the end of the year.

I didn't want to go to Krong Kep... again. My first time there proved to be, well, a disaster of sorts. There were few guesthouses, and unfortunately, where we stayed there was no electricity and the bed was infested with dust mites so badly that when I went back to Phnom Penh I had skin allergies.

The thought of that happening again made me cringe.

However, this time it is different.
Rob and I would be together to greet the New Year. And the thought of R and me together in this sleepy seaside town tickled my fancy, especially since we would be witnessing the last sunset of 2005.

After batting an eyelash, I said yes to R.

Guidebooks, travel websites and magazines dub Kep as Cambodia's forgotten beach. Kep used to be the resort town from the 19th century till the 60s in Cambodia. Seaside resorts and villas used to dominate Kep's landscape in the old days. Now, these structures are left in ruins and disrepair as a reminder of its golden days. Kep now is more known for its array of fresh seafood, than its beaches, which are stony and not quite as pleasing as the beaches of Sihanoukville.

To me, the beach of Kep is not enticing.
I'm used to the pristine beaches in the Philippines, but Kep is a nice place to go, the kind of place where things are still left untouched by the claws of commercial tourism. Unlike Sihanoukville, there is a "primitive and unyielding" feel to Kep.

3-4 hours away from Phnom Penh, Kep is 24kms from the town of Kampot, 49kms from the Vietnamese town of Ha Tien, and surrounded by the Gulf of Thailand . Small in land size, Kep is swallowed by its neighbor Kampot. Several hills dot Krong Kep on one side, where the vegetation is still thick and green. Leading to the crescent-shape beach that is frequented by local visitors, the road zigzags along the coast. On one side are the hills, and on the other side is a magnificent view of the sea.

Distance: 172kms from Phnom Penh

Travel time: 2.5hours (our drivers to and back transformed into madmen once we were out of the city limits and on to the national highway).

Private taxi rental, there and back. The better you haggle, the lower the cost of the taxi - $53

Hotel No 4, Le Foit Rouge, a double room, ensuite toilet and bath, with fan and 5 local channel-TV (huge black spiders, crickets and other bugs free lodging in the toilet)- $15


For all meals during our stay we ate fresh seafood caught locally (includes softdrinks and water)- $20


Motobike rental- $3





2 Bicycles - $2
____
Grand total $93

What we found:

Kep's muse



Behind the sunset



Last sunset of 2005



My man and the sea

P r i c e l e s s.

For everything else, there's mastercard.
*mastercard logo here*
(Except there are no credit card facilities in Kep)

Ooops... take 2...

For everything else, there's greenbacks.
*picture of a dollar*

More Kep photos in my photoblog.

Have a great year, everyone. May we make/blog lots of good memories, enough to last a lifetime.


***
The idea of spending the weekend/end of the year in Kep was an idea I could not let pass for two reasons. One is that this was the first time that Rob and I went out of town together for more than a few hours. Great for bonding time.

There is a superstition, or whatever you call it, that whoever you spend the New Year with, you will be with for the whole year. Isn't it sweet? Finally, after 5 years of quiet (or the absence of) Christmas and NY celebration, I had someone special to celebrate it with.

Second, our aim was to assess the place. Before the year ended, I was offered the possibility of a new job in a new place, Kep. It may uproot me from Phnom Penh and transfer me to this seaside town. More on this later.

Rob and I decided that we should see the place first, have a feel of the town and the people, and then decide later. So we went around town, exploring the area, asking questions and getting some valuable answers which will help me in deciding whether to accept the offer or not.

*I was told that the project needed some re-negotiations with the relevant government ministry, and so is not expected to start 'til the start of summer (April).
So stay tuned.
:D