After a few days in Phnom Penh, we were looking for some greener place and we thought it would also be nice to spend some time on the Cambodian shore down south. That is how we decided to go to Kep, a former French colonial resort station, with many villas abandoned during the Red Khmers period. By the time we arrived, we did not expect to stay more than a few days, but we finally spend a full week there. It all started like this:
Our guesthouse was located in the middle of nowhere and held by a Franco – Cambodian couple, whose cooking skills probably equal Mum’s ;-). Like several people we met there, Ket fled Cambodia just before the Pol Pot time and found refuge in France. We enjoyed very much his good humour and openness to share his incredible story. Sylvie, his wife, besides being very kind, shared many tips about the Kep area.
Icing on the cake, they also prepared a delicious Christmas dinner, so that we definitely felt at home.
In case one of you plan to visit Kep one day, this little paradise even has a website! 😉
Activities in the area
We did a boat tour among the islands of the Kep archipelago, had a motobike tour in the National Park, explored the salt fields, the pepper plantation and the Kampong Trach karst scenery.
Kep Archipelago
Around Kep
Green Pepper workers 
The Plantation (Pepper) 
Kampong Trach
Kampong Trach is a small area with massive karst rocks, relatively spared by foreign tourism. Locals compare it to Halong Bay, but to be honest, it is not as impressive. Still, we were happy to spend a guided day in the area. Mosa drove us in his tuk-tuk through the cambodian countryside and showed us some pretty nice viewpoints and caves, some quite well hidden.
Crab & Pepper
I almost forgot to mention Kep is famous for its blue crab, while Kampot is renown for its pepper. Mix those two to get a taste of the local cuisine!
“Our guesthouse was located in the middle of nowhere and held by a Franco – Cambodian couple, whose cooking skills probably equal Mum’s ;-).”
C’est possible une chose pareille ? Ils t’on fait une quiche ?
Wé, leur cuisine était vraiment top. Bon après Kêt (lui) était cuisinier dans les Deux-Sèvres avant de s’installer à Kep…Je pense que ça aide !