Based on the advice of fellow travellers we decided to venture to a nearby ocean town called Kep.  Kep was a coastal resort town abandoned by the French when nearby Sihanoukville was established in the 1950’s. What remains today are vast numbers of abandoned French Villa’s surrounded by acres of farmland and grazing cows.

As our bus pulled to a stop the drived motioned “Kep here”. Our first response was “Kep Where?”. There were no tourist to seen, barely any locals, no ATM’s/banks, or for that matter very few buildings. We were beginning to question even bothering visiting a place with very little in sight.

After a few hours in town and a converstaion with the rare tourist, we discovered that there was nothing more to this sleepy ocean sidetown and that was the charm of it all. Kep was the perfect place to recharge our batteries and prepare for Vietnam, the next major leg of our trip.

We decided to settle into one of few boutique guesthouses featuring stylish and rustic bungalows dotting the foot of the local mountain range. The grounds were surroundd by mango and jackfruit trees as well as orchids. To top it off the elevated mountainside location provided sunset views all for the cost of $12 USD/ per night.

Over the next few days in Kep we would run montain trails, visit nieghboring islands, bath in the ocean and enjoy the fresh crab dishes that the town is currently known for. As much as I enjoyed our basic lifestyle it was time to move on to discover new places.

I can honestly say that not only is Kep is one of my favorite destinations on our trip it’s one of my favorite in the world. While I’m sure talks of hotel development and an airport in the town will change much of what I experienced, I left with the feeling that I doscovered the location where i would hide if I had to run away from it all (even if it’s just for two weeks).

I’ll ad some photos once I hav the time to get through the hour flickr uploads.

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