We'd read in several guides about Kep's beach bungalows, the laid-back pace, the delicious food — but we couldn't really picture the place until we arrived after crossing the Cambodian border.
Kep is a region, not a town. Cambodians and European expats live here, but there are no streets and blocks of buildings as you might expect. The market, the pharmacy, the town hall, a bakery, guesthouses, restaurants — everything is scattered over more than 10 kilometres of coastline.
Accommodation is cheap — you can find rooms for $3 — but food is pricey. If you're travelling on a tight budget your best bet is to head to the market for fruit and vegetables, or pick up fish and crabs from the stalls after some determined haggling.
Kep's famous crab statue
If Kep is famous for one thing, it's crabs. Every guesthouse and restaurant advertises crab dishes in every style imaginable — but if you don't want to pay $5–6 for a plate, head to the crab market and offer no more than half the asking price.
For a couple of dollars we got ourselves a kilo of crabs, and a grilled fish for a dollar on top of that…
Grilled fish on the quayside
The evening crab market
A kilo of crabs — worth every cent
On other days we picked up fresh fruit. A kilo of bananas costs about $0.50 and they're sweet and delicious, but our favourite fruit in Southeast Asia is mango — juicy, tender, 75 cents a kilo.
It was in Kep that we first started making fruit salads with condensed milk and peanuts.
Where the fruit salad obsession began
Our accommodation in Kep was a bungalow at Top Tree Bungalows. For $3 we had a private room, bathroom, internet, electricity — and, most importantly, the room and bedlinen were spotlessly clean. We were genuinely surprised to catch the scent of fabric softener — something we'd completely forgotten existed.
Home for a few days
During our time in Kep we explored the surroundings by bicycle: visiting the markets, drifting along paths and beaches, and heading up to Kep National Park.
The Jasmine Valley by bike
The coastline from the port
Pure relaxation
The views from Kep's hill are gorgeous, though you do have to pay to enter. Access to the park costs $1 per person — a pleasant enough walk, though nothing extraordinary. As you'll read in the next few posts, we found the jungles on the Cambodian islands far more rewarding than this mountain hike.
Kep National Park jungle
Rabbit Island from the summit
That island visible from the hilltop is known as Rabbit Island (Koh Tonsay in Khmer), and that's exactly where we headed next from Kep.
