18. Kep

I caught the bus to Kep, about an hour away, and for once it actually left on time instead of Cambodian time! I went with a French lady I met in Kampot who was just going for the day, whereas I was moving on. I found a place to stay very quickly.... Mine was the door on the left, and the hut on the right was the shared bathroom. US$5 a night, cheapest yet! 

This was the view for breakfast looking out to the sea 

So by 9.30 we were exploring Kep. It is even sleepier than Kampot, a seaside town strung out along the coast, and is busy importing lorry loads of sand to make a nice beach. Kep was the coastal version of the colonial hill station, where the rich and famous came to cool off. The relics of the old villas are dotted around the coast. This was King Sihanouk's mothers house on the seafront. Note the bullet holes from flighting against the Khmer Rouge. 

 It has some quirky statues on the front

Kep is famous for crab cooked in green peppers, and Kampot pepper is grown all around the area and is world famous. The main type of crab caught locally is the blue crab and blue it is...

We had lunch at the crab market where crab is cooked in many many different ways, but the famous one is green pepper crab....wow, wonderful! 

This was what we watched while we tucked into the crabs... Guys fishing standing waist deep in water holding the net while the boat circled around 

Ladies selling some of their crabs that they keep alive in the baskets in the sea.

The crabs are cooked for the many restaurants along the market area.

A lot of the locals living here are Cham Muslims

A local fishing family by the sea. He is mending his nets while she holds the baby.

And their little lad sucks his ice lolly.

And children doing as children do the world over...

The lady was washing up...

Other statues along Kep sea front. This is the naked statue of a fisherman's wife waiting for her husband to come home from the sea. I'm not sure why she's naked....

There are lots of monkeys in Kep

Finally, another sunset view from the top,of Sunset Hill overlooking the town. We were accompanied by two very friendly monks.