Kep – Rabbit Island March 2013

29th– 31st March 2013

With most of the PVI team leaving Phnom Penh and having a few days before our flight out, we decided to duck down to Kep, on the South Coast, about 160km from Phnom Penh. The boys at the hotel organised us a trip in a Transit Van with a company called Kampot Express. The name proved correct because much of the time was spent on the wrong side of the road at extremely high speeds. At one point, it seemed that collision with a large white cow was inevitable but somehow we avoided it. In Kampot, some 30km short of Kep, the Transit came to a stop and disgorged its passengers. We were told we’d have to take a tuk-tuk to Kep. There was little interest in discussing the point and we were left with no option but to part with $12 for a ride along a largely unsealed gravel road in an open tuk-tuk.

Kep itself is a small seaside hamlet, once a haven for the wealthy and their sea-side villas. Most of the more luxurious abodes were foreign owned. When the Khmer Rouge arrived, things changed and the foreigners fled. Many of the locals also fled to the offshore islands. Stories differ, and some say that the mansions were not destroyed by the Khmer Rouge, but the locals who were glad to see the back of the rich foreigners. Even the grand Royal Residence did not escape and remains today pock-marked with bullet holes.

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Kep is famed for its seafood, with blue swimmer crabs being top dog. The seaside restaurants are numerous, cheap and of a high standard. We enjoyed big plates of squid for around $6, washed it down with beer at $1 a bottle and good French wine at $2.50 a glass. Paradise. Our guesthouse was brand new, so new that not everything was finished. We had a TV but no aerial connection. We did have the essentials like beds, air con and bathroom so at $15 a night we couldn’t complain.

Another PVI member, Janet, was also in Kep for the night. She took us over to Anna’s Travel Café and the remarkable Anna organised our lives, getting us cheaper and better bus travel back to Phnom Penh, organising a day trip to the nearby Rabbit Island and organising Janet a bus to Kampot. Anna speaks excellent English and can organise anything. “Yes, Yes,” she would exclaim, “I can do this.” Later, we joined Janet in a superb seafood meal at the run of seaside eateries near the crab markets. Our squid was amazing and Janet’s crab looked just as good.

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The next day, we were picked up as promised and taken to the little port, about 3kms away, to board an open long-tail boat for the trip to Rabbit Island. The sea was calm and the trip only around 20 minutes. The island proved a real gem. A white sand beach lined with shady trees and coconut palms supports a number of small outdoor eateries and a long line of grass huts. A night’s stay seemed to be around $5 a head. Food and drink was even cheaper than Kep. We spend from 10am to 4pm just lazing on beach beds, sleeping in hammocks, swimming in the warm clear water, drinking far too much and eating more amazing grilled squid and tempura prawns. We just kept consuming and at the end of the day paid up our bill of $20. Boats seemed to breeze in and out all day and we watched the passing parade of sun worshipers. There were the usual careless types that turned into lobsters with third degree burns. There were the ever-present groups of young female backpackers that seem to dominate the scenery in most places we visit and, of course, there were the large groups of Chinese posing for photo after photo. What a place. Not the easiest spot to get to but worth the effort.

video link Rabbit Island –> http://youtu.be/5xyEhax17LA

The idyllic beach on Rabbit Island

The idyllic beach on Rabbit Island

Back in Kep for the evening, we ate even more squid and prawns. This area (Kampot) is famous for its pepper production and Kampot Pepper is considered the best. I always thought that black pepper and white pepper were different trees, but it all comes from the one tree, the black pepper being the dried mature seed while the white pepper being the peeled seed of the just ripe pepper corn. Our squid was cooked with 6cm lengths of fresh green pepper corn sprigs, giving an amazing subtle pepper flavour to the squid but not overpowering it. Mind you, attempting to eat one of the green sprigs itself is a painful experience.

We hired Polo, a tuk-tuk driver who Janet had hired, to give us a tour of the area. He took us along to where the old wealthy quarter, now dotted with decaying abandoned mansions. Most are still owned by an assortment of French and Americans, the Cambodian Government still honouring the titles. Other land stood vacant, although often fenced with ornate walls. The law says that unoccupied land must be fenced or revert to the people. Parts of Kep show the signs of things to come, with wide new roads being built and many new Government offices in evidence. It is clear that the Government is placing a lot of faith in the tourist potential of Kep so we are pleased that we have experienced this delightful little town in its pristine state. I’m sure it will be different in ten years time.

The former Royal Residence, now derelict.

The former Royal Residence, now derelict.

Polo took us up into the hills to a pepper plantation to see first hand how pepper is produced. Besides pepper, the plantation grew mangos, cashews and durian, all for the export market. We bought a bag of red pepper corns, certified organic and, hopefully, acceptable to Australian quarantine.

Christine inspects young pepper trees with Polo.

Christine inspects young pepper trees with Polo.

Back in Kep, we packed and deposited our bags at Anna’s Tours for the mini-bus trip back to Phnom Penh and wandered the village to find a nice spot to have lunch and wait. Being a Sunday (Easter Sunday in fact but no sign of chocolate eggs here), the beach was packed with locals having picnics in the many little shelters available for hire. It is a lively but far from hectic scene and one that might draw us back before the inevitable tourist development takes over. At present, Kep is an absolute joy, but the indicators are that things are about to change.

Our guest house, the Lotus Villa

Our guest house, the Lotus Villa

The mini-bus ride back to Phnom Penh was so bad it became a joke, shared by the ten passengers crammed into the small van. We followed a rode that was under repair for about 60km, easing around every bridge construction over every river the road crossed. When the road did improve, it was a signal for the driver to open up and drive at a frightening speed on the wrong side of the road. Amazingly, the van was powered with LPG and when the driver stopped at a small village to fill up, one passenger decided to take the opportunity to have a smoke. We pointed out to his family that he was standing next to the gas tank smoking so his son also got out and took his cigarette, only to smoke it himself. Luckily, we didn’t explode in a fireball. We arrived in Phnom Penh after dark, very tired, hungry and badly in need of a cold lager. Fortunately, help was close at hand.

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  1. Susan Bruse

    Was beginning to worry and alert the authorities because nothing had been posted. All I can say you must be exhausted. Look forward to catching up when you are in Dowerin and have time. Need also to know your relief status so we can get you back to work.

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