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This beachside Cambodian town is one of South-East Asiaslesser-known attractions. But its gaining attention, not least for

its pepper crab. Visit once and you may never want to leave.

WORDS

CHRIS TAYLOR

This huge crabsaue greesvisiors on heirway ino Kep.(opposie) KnaiBang Chatresor.

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KEP: A SCRAP OF NEAR

PARADISE THE WORLD

FORGOT ABOUT.

E

ven after the Gulf of Thailand comes into view,

atop the last of the rolling hills before reaching

the seafront, its tempting to ask, is this it? It is,

and thats Kep: a most unlikely destination on

South-East Asias well-trodden trails a scrap

of near paradise the world forgot about. It still

takes some digging before it yields its secrets.

Thank the French. They founded Kep-sur-Mer in the first

decade of the 20th century. By its 1950s and 1960s heyday, the

Cambodian black-sand beach resort just a stones throw from

the Vietnam border had become a popular escape from the

tropical boulevards of the capital, Phnom Penh. It remained so

until the French were forced to abandon it as a result of the

Vietnam War, leaving their decaying villas sprouting weeds and

providing shade for grazing water buffalo.

A decade ago, French travellers, along with

other Europeans, began trickling back. But

it wasnt until recently that Kep started to

once again assert a place for itself on the map.Now, as the locals will proudly tell you,

Cambodias forgotten St Tropez probably

something of a stretch, as such analogies

inevitably are has an ATM machine and a

modern pharmacy. Not to mention a brand-

new, white-sand beach, which was hauled

over from neighbouring Sihanoukville.

In the beginning we ran off a generator,

and then in 2009 they brought in electricity

by cable from Vietnam, says Dan Kreis, who

opened Kep Lodge in 2007. As if recalling a

distant era, he adds of those early days, I was

the only one with a swimming pool, an online

booking website and I was adjacent to the

national park. I started to get a lot of interestfrom expats living in Phnom Penh.

Just as it was at the turn of the last century,

the expat factor is a force to be reckoned

with in Cambodia. While precise numbers

are elusive, there are about 3000 non-

government organisations operating in the

country, and Phnom Penh is swarming with

foreign-owned bars and restaurants, and

travellers looking for a beach getaway.

But, if Cambodias expatriates were behind

Keps first wave of redevelopment, they

(op o botom)A garden-view rooma Knai Bang Chat;Kep locals; he ownsfamed crab dish.

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have been shouldered aside by more recent arrivals. According to

Kreis, these days about 70 per cent of his guests are international

travellers, mostly from Europe and Australia. Other restaurant

and accommodation owners confirm the trend.

Travellers who are only now discovering Kep are far from too

late though. The changes that have come to the languid

beachfront town famed in Cambodia for its pepper crab are

of the basic variety. Traffic is next to non-existent, farmers still

stroll along the roadside with lazy herds of buffalo, guesthouses

lie hidden under the canopy of the forested hillsides. In fact,

until you reach the beach itself, with its sprinkling of shops and

cafes, perhaps a handful of holidaying Cambodians floating just

metres offshore in inner tubes, visitors might be forgiven for

wondering whether Kep is even inhabited.

Keps transformation is, for the most part, discreet and hidden

from view. Take the recent development of the luxury boutique

resort Knai Bang Chatt (Phum Thmey, Sangkat Prey Thom; +855

36 210 310; www.knaibangchatt.com), for example. Tucked away

almost invisibly on the foreshore, the resorts original villas were

built between 1962 and 1965 by protgs of Cambodias pre-

eminent modern architect Vann Molyvann, who himself wasmentored by a pioneer of modern architecture, Le Corbusier.

Knai Bang Chatt has expanded, undergoing a full renovation in

2012, but with minimal fuss. General manager Joffrey Gris calls

it barefoot luxury. Were talking luxury with simplicity and

minimalism, almost everything locally sourced, and what cannot

be sourced locally coming from Indochina, he says.

With just 18 rooms and a reservations-only restaurant, The

Strand, the exclusivity of Knai Bang Chatt gives way to a more

egalitarian spirit at its Sailing Club the most popular spot in

Kep to watch the seaside towns

kaleidoscopic sunsets.

Gris, who is originally from

Provence and whose last hotel

posting before being lured to

Kep a year and half ago was in

Laoss UNESCO World Heritage

Site Luang Prabang, says that

the main challenge for him is in

positioning Kep as a destination

alongside Cambodias far better-

known tourist attractions such

as the capital and Siem Reap,

(clockwise from above)Fishing boas a hecrab marke; he lushsurrounds; local waerbuffalo; go exploringwih Knai Bang Chatskayaks and bikes.

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home to Angkor Wat. Im selling Kep as a destination you come

to relax, a place you walk or rent a bicycle, a place you come to

rejuvenate, he says. Most people in Kep echo such sentiments.

Alberto Medori, a former orchestral clarinet player from Perugia

in Italy, describes Kep as kind of magical. Its somewhere that

reminds him of his childhood, particularly in day-to-day details

such as the food. Theres something about this place everything

about the local produce is organic, fed only by the sun, says

Medori, who now owns the Italian Corner (Sangkat Prey Thum;

www.italiancornerkep.com) a small restaurant opposite Keps

newly whitened beach (and bus station). Its a microcosm, like

Ischia. He trails off, and explains, Thats an island off Napoli.

Like many residents of Kep, Medori came for a holiday and

ended up staying. I have everything I need here, he says. The

mountains, the ocean, the seafood... Have you tried the crab?

Try the crab. Try the pepper crab, to be precise. You wont hear

the last of it if you dont. The waterfront crab market is Keps

public house, its town hall, its raison dtre. A giant crab statue,

positioned on the far eastern end of the beach, welcomes you to

town if you arrive from the right direction. Rich families will

drive two and a half hours from Phnom Penh to indulge ahankering for it still caught in the traditional way, in cages,

says Medori. Its cooked with the locally grown peppers, which

are regarded as some of the best in the world.

The crab market is unlikely to survive in its current,

unreconstructed form. Already the wooden shacks, with their

rickety decks, are being challenged by a popular French-run

eatery in their midst; La Baraka restaurant and bar serves up

wood-fired pizzas, cocktails and crab with a Gallic touch.

Meanwhile, Keps migr population is

experimenting with the local cuisine

and adding a twist. Singaporean Joey

Soo, who runs Raingsey Bungalow (Kep

Mountain Hillside Rd, Crab Market; +855

366 343 222; www.raingsey-bungalow-

kep.com) with her partner Laurant, not

only lays on a chilli crab for her guests,

but also offers a three-pepper crab, crab

soup and even crab-cake burgers.

At Breezes Lounge and Restaurant

(Road 33a), an open-air seaside eatery

surrounded by palm trees, Christopher

Marullaz and partner Cinthia offer a

taste of fusion food, tapas and original

cocktails. Like Soo, Marullaz, who hails from Switzerland, came

to the town as a volunteer teacher and ended up staying.

Kep is populated by people who ended up staying. But its not

just the crabs, the nearby mountains or the ocean that seducesthem into lingering. Its the people. Somehow you feel connected

to them, says Soo. Theyre kind and gentle, not demanding,

even if that can sometimes be a little difficult in terms

of professionalism. She shrugs nonchalantly, as if to say the

professionalism, like so many other things in Kep, can wait.

GETTING THEREVirgin Australia offers flights to

Phnom Penh, with its codeshare partner Singapore

Airlines/SilkAir. To book, visit www.virginaustralia.

com or call 13 67 89 (in Australia).

AROUND KEP

If you have several days in

Kep, do ake he ime o

drive half an hour or so

norh-wes o Kampo .

A French colonial-era

riverine own, Kampo reains

is sleepy charm even as i

quiely wrings is hands in

concern abou an imminen

ouris onslaugh. If you are

shor on ime, he riverside

area immediaely souh of

he old bridge is a friendly

cluter of largely foreign-run

resaurans and bars.

Bicycles and moorbikes are

available for hire a he newlybuil marke area close o he

bridge. For lunch or dinner,

ry he hoel La Java Bleue

(Road 27, Phoum Ouksophear,

Sangka Kampong Kandal;

www.lajavableue-kampo.fr).

Equally recommended is

he so-called Jungle Trek

in he 50-square-kilomere

Kep Naional Park .The name

oversaes he difficuly of he

eigh-kilomere shaded walk,

bu be advised o wear proper

walking shoes (no hongs) for

sunning views of he Gulf of

Thailand and Bokor mounains.

Maps, crepes, pizzas and lates

are available a he Led Zep

Cafe nex o he enrance.

Bokor Naional Park

long relegaed o a ghos-

own dayrip is once again

open for business, bu only

jus. The area is undergoing

developmen and he winding

road o reach he summi is

resored, wih accommodaion

now available a he Thansur

Bokor Highland Resor (www.

hansurbokor.com). The resor

ous iself, honesly enough,

as he only highland resor in

he Mekong sub-region. Bring

some warm clohing.

Rabbi Island , also known

as Koh Tonsy, is abou a

20-minue boa ride from Kep

and has one of Cambodiasfines beaches. Accommodaion

on he island remains sparan,

bu he 250-mere-long main

beach where boas drop visiors

has several seafood resaurans,

making he island a perfec

dayrip. Snorkels are available

for hire when you ge here.

Keps Whie Ladysaue wih he famous

gian crab in hebackground. (above)Colonial-era Kampo

makes a good dayrip.

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