Kep

Kep was a mere two hour drive from Phnom Penh.  It is located along the southern coastline of Cambodia.  As one Xpat told me, " Kep is Cambodia's best Kep secret."  Rather than a town center, it is a long stretch of occasional shops, wooden houses on stilts, shady shacks with hammocks, a few old colonial mansions, and the famous crab market.  Off the coast are several islands, with Vietnam not far away.  We arrived at our nine bungalow resort, Raingsey Resort, and realized how perfectly it was located.  Just a five minute walk down a dirt road to the crab market and about a dozen small restaurants. Most are on stilts jutting out over the water.  The French owners of Raingsey were delightful and had renovated the resort within the last year.  The pool was a pure water system and felt wonderful to swim in.  The grounds were lush and green, and beautifully maintained.  A small tranquil hidden paradise.  Every morning Mark, the owner, would ride his cycle to the only French bakery, about five minutes away, and buy fresh baguette and croissant.  Breakfast was served on the second floor of the open air palapa, with views over the pool and gardens to the ocean beyond.  I am afride I am turning into a petite baguette as I enjoy all the delicious breads offered here each morning.  Originally we questioned what we would do with six nights in this small quiet place.  But with the intimate grounds, comfortable bungalow, the clean warm pool and the easy walk into "town" we had all we needed to keep busy.  We did take a tuktuk one morning about 25 minutes out of town, down a long washboard dirt road, to an organic "Kampot" pepper farm.   The Woofer, or volunteer, walked us around the farm and explained how pepper plants are grown and harvested.  So much time Is involved growing the vines before they produce, 4 years later, and the intensive harvesting of the red peppercorns, the white peppercorns and the black peppercorns that I now understand why they are so expensive and dear.  Another day we left at 9 a.m. with a group of six other tourist on a boat to snorkel around the three islands off the coast.  I am wary of boats but went with an open mind and had a great time the first four hours. But the sun was intense and the day long. The small motors on the boat meant we putt putt'd back two long hours, rolling side to side, and the diesel fumes were strong.  I lost my patience and just couldn't wait to return to the dock.  Every evening we'd walked down the hill for sunset drinks and dinner.  The blue crabs were sweet, the squid tender and the fish fantastically fresh.  My favorite place was called Holy Crab.   Each night as we exited the restaurant there were all the tuk tuk drivers who wanted to take you wherever you needed to go.  I learned how to say big belly, "Pom poi", and would pat my tummy and tell them that phrase, and they would laugh (and probably agree with me) and we would walk home, beneath the full moon.