Welcome to Kep

We leave towards Kep, which is the smallest province of Cambodia, just a 16 km long strip along the coastline. What a pleasant surprise when we arrive: we drive on a road along the shoreline and we end up at a small, pearly white sand beach, Kep beach. The town feels a little European with its lovely promenade, colonial houses and many statues.

Kep Beach

We find a few rooms that are not really worth their price, but we knew already Kep wouldn’t be exactly cheap. By chance we see a hotel sign on a colonial house with a beautiful garden. In the evening we walk a bit on the beach, where we enjoy the refreshing sea breeze. It has been two months since we were at the ocean so the next day it’s time for a dive in the warm water. Back at the hotel we play some badminton and petanque. We start day three with a nice breakfast in the hotel. The French owner joins us for a chat and he asks if we are interested in a nice motorcycle ride around Kep. The man begins to draw the route because it's not shown on the map. The tour is really fantastic: Kep has more to offer than just a beach, that's for sure. We first drive close to the sea for a while towards the border with Vietnam. We see the salt fields and some fishermen’s villages along the way.

Along the Shoreline

When we drive away from the shoreline, we enter rural Cambodia. We find ourselves between beautiful limestone formations and watch buffalos grazing. The children in the villages are all waving and welcoming us, they really run out of their houses when they hear us coming.

Rural Kep

The next day we go to a pepper plantation. In this area the famous Kampot pepper is grown. The guided tour around the plantation is short but interesting and free of charge. Afterwards we visit a cave of which the roof has collapsed millions of years ago. Some children offer to guide us and we happily agree.
Then we go to Secret Lake but get lost on the mini-paths in the fields. But it’s a nice way of getting lost. After a few hours we find the lake and we must say it’s the most beautiful lake that we have seen so far, so peaceful.
Kep is known for its crab, so we have to go and try. Eating a crab asks a lot of work but it’s very tasty.

Sightseeing around Kep

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