Day 10: Kicking Back in Kep

Kep is a small fishing village and holiday destination primarily visited by Cambodians.  So far, international tour companies have preferred to send their clients to the livelier Sihanoukville, which is further along the coast and has sandier beaches and better snorkeling and diving.  Kep is on the edge of the South China Sea and is subject to monsoons from July to October, which can bring in lots of debris. As this was April it was too early for monsoons (thankfully) but during the night we had the most spectacular thunderstorm that I've ever experienced.  It was impossible to sleep through the thunder, lightning and the deluge of rain that poured down for hours.  I think it is terribly poshpacker-like to sleep under a mosquito net in a tropical storm.  Actually the net turned out to be nothing but a nuisance as I squirrelled in my book, glasses, glass of water etc.  Anyway, there weren't many mosquitoes.

My attraction to Kep is precisely because it is quiet and not touristy. It is an exclusivity that comes, not from being expensive, but from being in an out-of-the-way place in a yet-to-be-mainstream country. Our hotel traded on the natural beauty of the blue sea, the green gardens and exotic flowers coupled with the gentle friendliness of the people. The website declares that a 'sense of the divine exudes from its location'. My overwhelming impression was serenity and enchantment.  



 After breakfast by the sea, Ian, Louise and I pampered ourselves in the spa while Richard settled in for a long session with Kindle on the veranda.  The Khmer massage was a bit too firm for Louise and Ian's taste but, as the website promised, I was 'rendered into a state of pure bliss and true tranquillity in the company of the lulling sea. 

Pepper tree outside our room loaded with fruit

Close to Kep is another small town, Kampot, which is renowned for the quality of the pepper produced there.  Experts describe that, alongside the heat, there is a delicate, sweet, even floral taste that puts Kampot pepper in a class of its own. Apparently the micro-climate between the sea and the mountains and the mineral-rich soil creates this special flavour. It is the first Cambodian product to enjoy the E.U.'s protected geographical status, which certifies the origin of regional foods.  When I saw the tree growing right outside our room with all the peppercorns hanging like dreadlocks from each branch, I realised I'd never even seen a photo of this before.   We were given a bag each of black and green peppercorns as a welcome present by the hotel, which has added a little style to the steak and chips I dish up at home. 




'There's pepper and then there's Cambodia's Kampot pepper' Time Magazine Jan 2012

The afternoon was dedicated to the infinity pool

. 

and the evening to quiet contemplation of fishing boats returning home

And we were so chilled that we forgot to give marks outta 10. 
 So maybe it ought to have 10?     

Day 9: Knai Bang Chatt

Today we are travelling from Phnom Penh to Kep



After all the dedicated sight-seeing since we've been in Cambodia, we're now entering the decadent section of our holiday.  After a leisurely 9am start we take the 3.5 hour drive from Phnom Penh to Kep.  We have a new driver, who is pleasant enough but there's a foul smell in the back of our minibus and Richard suggested he is probably sleeping in the van (and farting in there too, I'm guessing).  The air-con takes care of this little problem.  It is a good while before we clear Phnom Penh as we are moving along slowly with the commuters and general city life, but we're not in a hurry and it's good to simply people watch out of the window.  Soon enough we are back out in the countryside with the paddy fields, water buffalo and houses on stilts but it looks a little different this time.  I don't know - maybe the villages are a bit more prosperous?  Kep is the nearest beach to Phnom Penh and was established as a retreat by the French colonists in the early 1900s.  The elite of Cambodian and French society had holiday villas along the beach front and, although these were destroyed or ransacked during the troubled times, now that the good times are rolling back Kep is a popular seaside getaway again.  The road from Phnom Penh to Kep was mostly good quality, just a little bumpy for the last 15 miles, and the towns we passed through were bustling with life and trading.  Louise has resolved a little concern of mine - most houses have a hammock and there is ALWAYS someone lazing in it.  Don't they have work to do rebuilding the country?  Louise suggested that as there is only one hammock per household, and they tend to live as extended families, then the hammock has to be time-shared!  OK, at ease, so they are just taking a well-earned rest.    

Our hotel is Knai Bang Chatt meaning a rainbow encircling the sun.  If it sounds a little out-of-this-world that's because it is.  I insist that you click on the link to the hotel because I want you all to be jealous of where I've been.  After a perfect  welcome with a glass of ice cold passion fruit juice, we were taken to our luxury rooms with a veranda, seaview and fully working air-con inside.  We convened in the beach bar and, with nothing whatsoever expected of us for the rest of the day, we decided on a full-on lunch.  Seafood salad for me, goats cheese salad for Lousie and beef loklak for the men and a bottle of Sauvingon Blanc (or was it two?).   We were the only lunch guests and the staff were friendly and efficient.  It was all laid out on a white-clothed table by the sea with the lush garden behind us and tropical palms swaying gently in the sea breeze.

In the afternoon Louise and I did the circuit of places to park our bottom: poolside loungers, deckchairs, veranda chairs, day bed, hammocks and hanging wicker pods.

Next stop - Happy Hour in the sailing club (it's all go).  Louise had a Snake in My Swimsuit (so to speak), I had a Sunset and the men had a Pina Colada.  If I remember correctly we had another one. Who knows what we did next.... 

All looking windswept and interesting

MARKS OUTTA 10

Richard: Upside - driving past temples and not having to stop.  Walking into our new hotel room.  Downside: Journey was long and bumpy.  6/10

Ian: Upside - arriving in our hotel room and banging on the air-con.  I also enjoyed watching the people, villages and countryside on our journey here.  Downside: I'm not feeling well and not sleeping.  7/10

Louise: Upside - Lunch by the sea shore chatting with my friends, good food, good wine, relaxing.  Downside: Mosquito bites.  8/10 

Jackie:  Upside: Incredibly, the hotel is living up to the marketing blurb in every respect!  8/10

Day 8 pm: Cyclo Tour of Phomn Penh

There was mix-up over our itinerary and the guide thought we just had a half day booked.  I produced the relevant paperwork about our afternoon cyclo tour and, fair play to him, he got it all sorted out and 5 men turned up on pushbikes with Victorian perambulator-style attachments for us to sit in.  It was so hot and the men were so skinny that I felt sorry for them having to pedal us around all afternoon.  Ian made a joke about who was going to get the big guy and once our guide translated there was much joshing around.  The Cambodians seem to be such straightforward, unaffected people and all it took was a little light humour from us and a convivial atmosphere was set up for the afternoon.  This was lucky, as our lives were in their hands!  My goodness, the roads were busy with everything from livestock to fast cars.  The highway code was a little different to ours - nobody worries about what's behind and well, it all seemed to be based on a game of chicken! We were crossing 3 lanes of fast traffic with no more indication than a gently waving hand and no more acceleration than a flattened flip-flop and yet it was fun.  I had that holiday feeling.  I was off-the-leash, unfettered and (almost literally) laid-back.

The Silver Pagoda

Our first stop was the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda, the home of King Norodom Sihamoni.  Thankfully this complex was granted dispensation by the Khmer Rouge, although many of the treasures were looted.  It was all very beautiful - gold, jewels, fine costumes, beautiful pagodas - just how Siam looked in The King and I!  The centrepiece of the Silver Pagoda is a 17th century emerald Buddha statue and in front of that a 90kg golden Buddha, conforming to the vital statistics of King Norodom and studded with 9584 diamonds. 






Next stop the national museum; a colourful tropical building that housed some interesting pieces, dated and explained, as is the way with museums.  I'm glad that a selection of statues and sculptures are being kept safely indoors as so many in Angkor Wat and other temples are being stolen, beheaded and defaced.  However, the statues in the museum didn't have half the impact as those in situ.

 One mystery was solved! They had lingas, and when you look at them from the correct angle they do indeed look phallic.  It's all to do with perspective (Richard has explained that to me before).  Viewed from above, for example if they are on a riverbed, they look like roundabouts, but NOW we can see what all the fuss is about. 




Our cyclo men took us home along the Mekong River and from the comfort of our pram we could see and feel the mood of the Cambodian capital.  The French Cafes, markets, boutiques, orange clad monks, moped madness and chickens scratching about, all fused together in a magical melting pot. OMG - are we about to go the wrong way around this roundabout?  Yessum. 

Back at the hotel we enjoyed a cool dip in the pool.  Even though we are in the very centre of a busy town, the hotel has been exceptionally well-designed and has a secluded 'secret garden' feel about it.  Unfortunately the fact that no food or drink is being served is a complete let-down.  We have been told that it is Cambodian New Year and the staff are on leave.  Huh?  And in any case, surely the guy at reception could open a bottle of something?  One good outcome is that we have no choice but to venture out for our evening meal.  Phonm Penh has seemed very safe and friendly to us, but we surmise from the guards and barbed wire around the buildings we pass that things are not all they seem.  We were lucky enough to be within a few minutes of the very fancy Malis restaurant , which has a reputation for fine dining and contemporary Cambodian cuisine and was featured in Gordon Ramsay's Great Escapes on Chanel 4.  We hadn't realised this, so imagine our surprise to see a photo of the man himself stuck right the middle of the restaurant.  I enjoyed a scrumptious Langoustine and Tamarind juice with Wok Fried Morning Glory. Mmm - mmm.  Louise and Ian were in heaven with their decent cup of coffee.

MARKS OUTTA 10
Louise: The cyclo ride along the river and the Coronation Room at the Royal Palace are worth a special mention.  The problem today was the muddle over the itinerary.  7/10

Richard: The cyclo bike ride was the best thing today but the museum was a pain in the neck - I've seen enough statues to last a lifetime.  7/10

Ian:  I found the photos at S21 very interesting as each face carried so much emotion.  The cyclos were great as they gave me lots of opportunities to take traffic photos.  The problem today was the museum - dull, dull, dull.  9/10

Jackie:  I feel that the memorial stupa at Choeng Ek was a fitting expression of remorse and respect.  The violence and depravity of the Killing Fields and S21 contrasted dramatically with the wealth and splendour of the Royal Palace - a perfect example of the out-of-the-ordinary one sees when travelling.  The hotel is letting itself down badly on service. 8/10

Day 8: The Killing Fields

The Killing Fields is the name given to the mass graves created by the Khmer Rouge during their rule of Cambodia 1975 - 1979 when they killed over a million people, or two million if you count those that died of starvation and disease.  There are many, many Killing Fields across Cambodia but Choeng Ek, 10 miles out of Phnom Penh, is probably the most famous.  I tussled with my conscience about this visit.  On the one hand, I do not want to be any part of making this sad and serious place into a distraction on the tourist circuit or to be disrespectful to the victims or their families.  On the other hand, I understand that friends and families do not want the atrocious things that happened to be forgotten or ever allowed to happen again.  I decided to take a look, and I am relieved to report that the site has been sympathetically restored to its former serenity as a cemetery.

These things are best decided on a personal basis.   Our guide apologised (unnecessarily) for having to leave us to wander around alone as he has family who lost their lives in Killing Fields and finds it difficult to remain detached.  Louise waited patiently on the boundary as she didn't want to see any of it. I kept my viewing of the central glass tower, or stupa, at a distance.  Richard and Ian went inside to see the skulls, bones and clothes that have been exhumed from the site and are now reverently displayed within the tower.  In the heavy rains clothes and bones are still surfacing and you are invited to place these onto a collection pile so they can be transported to their final resting place in the stupa.  It's a difficult place to describe in words.  Who wouldn't be moved by the tree labelled as the one used by Khmer soldiers to kill the babies by smashing their heads against it? If you have not seen the film of The Killing Fields I would recommend it as a true story and accessible account of these terrible times.

We travelled back into the centre of town for the second part of this tour at Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum.  This has been set up in the former Office S.21, used as a detention centre for interrogation, torture and killing of detainees considered to be enemies of the Pol Pot regime.  On show within the tiny rooms used to cage the prisoners were shocking torture tools, photographs of all the victims (methodically taken and archived by the Khmer Rouge) and other reminders of the evil that took place, such as blood stains and barbed wire fencing stretched from the balconies to stop the prisoners committing suicide.

'Keeping the memory of the atrocities committed on Cambodian soil alive is the key to build a strong and just state'
 (quoted from the official pamphlet accompanying the visit to Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum)