Kep

APAD 083: When getting lost is half the fun…

Posted by on Jun 2, 2011 in A Photo a Day, Addicted to Meme, All things Khmer, Cambodia, Cambodia life, Kep, sights, Signs | 4 comments

Four years ago, I was assigned in Kep for a big rural ICT project. Kep was a sleepy coastal town in the southernmost part of Cambodia. I lived there for 6months and during weekdays, I was busy with work, traveling from village to village spread across three communes in the district of Damnak Chang’eur. Weekends, however, was a different story. With no other means of entertainment, my husband and I took this opportunity to visit nearby communes and explore places that were rarely visited and were off-the-beaten track.
We found the sign (above) on the main road. On the right is a logo of UNDP Seila Project and, on the left, the Ministry of Tourism’s. We were convinced when we saw the logos and followed the trail. Some 45 minutes later, we were still nowhere near Phnom Chhngok cave. It was nearing noon, and hot and humid, and my butt was getting sore from the bumpy motorcycle ride. But we were glad we persisted in going. We stopped by to ask for directions with my sparse spoken-Khmer skills, had a chitchat for a bit, and enjoyed fresh coconut juice bought from a local roadside stall. The sight was a marvelous yellow and verdant green carpet of rice-field as far as our eyes could see. The coconut and palm trees, on the other hand, jutted out into the sky like skyscrapers.  When we finally arrived at the place…  we saw a limestone cave; small, but a beautiful one nonetheless. Inside it was chilly and there were stalactites and stalagmites here and there. But the main attraction there was the shrine (or remnants of what was once a shrine) inside the cave believed to be pre-Angkorian, around 1,500 years old. Some pictures on the way there can be found here at CambodiaMaps.

By the way, there was no resort there at all.

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APAD 077: Another fantastic sunset

Posted by on May 27, 2011 in A Photo a Day, Addicted to Meme, All things Khmer, Kep, Skywatch Friday, sunsets | 5 comments

… in Kep. Taken in the balcony of our rented room. It is an amazing splash of colours looming over the the silhouette of Phnom Bokor (Bokor Mountain).

More sky photos at Skywatch Friday


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APAD 072: Prelude to a balmy evening

Posted by on May 20, 2011 in A Photo a Day, Addicted to Meme, All things Khmer, Cambodia, Cambodia life, Kep, Skywatch Friday, sunsets | 4 comments

The fishing boat (foreground),  the population 01 island (middle, I nicknamed it myself *proud*), the Vietnamese island of Phu Quoc (background), the showy clouds, and the waves of the Gulf of Thailand, as viewed from the coast of Kep. Imagine what I’ve been missing for a long time!
This picture taken in one of our previous trips there. I can still remember the salty smell of the breeze as my husband and I waited for our dinner to be served. We watched the most spectacular sunset – arguably the best sunset in all of Cambodia, if I may say so – while feasting on Kep’s fresh seafood. It was a beautiful, balmy night. In the company of a shy moon, a squad of fireflies, and an orchestra of crickets and other nocturnal insects, my husband and I walked back to our hotel, hand in hand.
More sky photos at Skywatch Friday


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APAD 069: Kep in my mind

Posted by on May 17, 2011 in A Photo a Day, Addicted to Meme, Cambodia, Cambodia life, Kep, That's My World | 5 comments

It’s summertime and the best way to beat the summer heat is to head down to the coastal town of Kep in southern Cambodia. It’s been a while since we last visited, and I’m missing Kep big time. It’s a sleepy town, with lush mountains and facing the Gulf of Thailand. The beaches are not as pristine as the beaches back home in the Philippines, but nevertheless, it reminds me of home. What am I missing? Let me count thee… Fresh seafood caught and cook the same day, sweet and refreshing coconut juice, and the breeze and the sound of the waves that whisper in my ears till I fall asleep. It’s heaven!

My feet are itching, but the timing is not right yet. Oh, I just couldn’t wait.

More photos at That’s My World.

mwtwhite

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APAD 053: A canopy of shadows

Posted by on May 1, 2011 in A Photo a Day, All things Khmer, Kep, Shadow Shot Sunday | 4 comments

This is one of the old mansions in Kep, Cambodia that was recently refurbished in early 2000s. Kep is a coastal town in southern Cambodia facing the Gulf of Thailand. This is where most expats and locals alike spend their weekends. There are a lot of guesthouses and hotels in Kep catering to the budget, medium and high-end visitors.Kep is a remote but charming “jungle” town, quiet, and very laidback.Worth checking out are the abandoned French-style villas and mansions that dot the whole town.

Although the beach here is not as pretty as the ones in Sihanoukville, people come here for fresh and cheap seafood. For swimming, people usually hop on a boat to nearby Koh Tonsay (Rabbit Island) where a white-sand beach and turquoise waters await the visitors.

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APAD 052: Square

Posted by on Apr 30, 2011 in A Photo a Day, Addicted to Meme, All things Khmer, Kep, Photo Hunt | 6 comments

Looking out.
This is a derelict government building in the coastal town of Kep. Kep, in its heydays, was the prime weekend getaway location of Phnom Penh’s elite and its French colonisers. Opulent villas were built there – including the Royal Family’s vacation house – but all were abandoned in the 70s during the Khmer Rouge regime. Nowadays, these villas stood there, crumbled and ruined, as witnesses of Kep’s fomer glory and the cruelty of the Khmer Rouge era.

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