A trip to Kep-sur-mer

Cambodia used to be a French colony but since so many people died during the 1970s, there aren't that many old people left who lived under French rule (ended in 1956). So now, French is only spoken by a few and whilst there may be slightly more French people here than would otherwise be, Cambodia does not feel French in any way. Except in Kep.

Fishing boats and seafront restaurants in Kep

We went to Kep for the New Year and it's a lovely small town on the coast and is also where people go from to the virtually uninhabited Rabbit Island for an idyllic escape. It also is a tri-lingual place with quite a few French people living there, and English being the conversant language for all non-French tourists.

As some of you may remember, I used to be completely fluent in French but alas when faced with the choice of speaking to the French husband or Khmer wife who owned the restaurant, it seems that we now find it easier to speak Khmer. Testament to our Khmer teacher, but doesn't say much for our combined 6 years of French at school.

Kep is famous for its crab market and fresh seafood, although it's a bit pricey. A main meal generally costs between $1.50 and $4 dollars depending on where you eat. But here, the shrimp is $5 and crab $7. Expensive considering there's not exactly any transportation costs.

Crabs for sale at the market

There are two strange things about the people who fish the crabs. Firstly, they are virtually all women and secondly they are fully clothed when they go into the sea to collect their baskets and nets. Although, most Khmer adults go into the sea fully clothed because it is the fashion here to be as pale as possible. They actually even use whitening in skin products such as sun tan lotion.

Who needs swimming trunks?

Kep also has some rather brave, inquisitive gibbons that came down and fed off the scraps of the holiday makers. One came right up to us, maybe only three feet away, but rather than take a picture, we jumped away from something a tenth of our size. These gibbons were also less timid than the monkeys in the national park for whom we stopped for aaaages to look for in trees. Unsuccessfully.

Not a totem pole but a road sign

So after hiking through the national park in mid to high 30s heat, what should you do next? Yep, get some rather powerful cocktails for $2 and look out at the sunset over the Gulf of Thailand. I'm not sure what our excuse was every other night mind you.

The sailing club where we had our cocktails and the national park behind it

We were actually at the sailing club for New Year and as we had our own little countdown we wondered what would happen as the clock struck 7:11. The only Khmer people there were staff mind you so we weren't expecting much. But there was actually nothing at all. There was no congratulations amongst the staff or semblance of celebration and when we asked Khmer people back at the hotel, they said there wasn't any kind of partying for New Year other than food and drink with family.   

Sunset over the Gulf of Thailand - so warm that even Claire swam in it

This is probably not much use for our readers outside of Cambodia, but if you go to Kep, do stay in The Boat House. Gorgeous little hotel close to the beach, crab market and national park. A little haven. And for the rest of you, do tell us via the poll or comments below what you would like to read more about, or if there any burning questions about Cambodia. 

Gordon