Kep - a lazy town in South Cambodia

See the locations on Kep Google Map

Picture by ethan.crowley
View from Kep National Park

"Kep is mental therapy. I am liberated in the act of looking down from liberally green and leafy mountain tops in the national park reserve, calmed by catching a wind coming in from the vast ocean on a morning run, mesmerized with imagining the activity that once filled the ruins of foothill villas now long abandoned, and rendered perfectly content with plopping myself down by the waterfront Crab Market with a fish and rice meal that cost me 75 cents". Kbach Untitled finds sweet words for the small seaside town nestled between the ocean and the hills of Kep National Park. Cambodian and Vietnamese islands are just offshore. Kep was originally built as a retreat for the French colonialists. For sixty years it thrived as the favorite coastal holiday resort of Cambodia's elite, with its heydays in the 50s and 60s. During the Khmer Rouge regime brutal fighting happened in and around Kep. And locals in need of money and food started to dismantle the abandoned villas. Many of them are no longer inhabited today, are just ruins. Kep has been a very laid-back town for years. Currently Kep is experiencing a touristic revival. But there's not a lot of activity in Kep. Especially there is no party, Kep is the contrary of Sihanoukville. Mostly a place for beeing lazy, enjoying fresh seafood, going for some walks, trekking through the hills, boating, bicycling and mountain biking or just sitting on the beach or in the shadow of the resort garden.


A must for gourmets: Kep crab market

Kep is famous for its crab market with a dozen restaurants, where you enjoy the delicious meat for example with green Kampot pepper, as Time Travel Turtle describes. And you watch the women heaving cages in and out of the water, harvesting the crabs that are cooked on the dock or sold. The Yummy Traveler shows, what elso you get to eat.

Picture by Franc Pallarès López
On the way to the seafood restaurants

Picture by Rnd!
Crab Market

Picture by mobyhill
Waiting for boiled crabs

Picture by mobyhill
Yummy: Crabs with pepper

Picture by HeyItsWilliam
Dried shrimps

Picture by mobyhill
Durian vendors in Kep


Relax or hike in the jungle of the National Park

Picture by shin--k
One of the beaches in Kep

The beach in Kep is different from the beach of Sihanoukville: it has black sand, is narrow and rocky during hightide and can get cramped on weekends. See video. The best beaches are offshore on Rabbit island (more down in this blog). The eastern end of the beach promenade is marked by Sela Cham P’dey, a statue that depicts a nude fisher’s wife.

Picture by shin--k
Sela Cham P'dey, the wife waiting for the return of the fisher

If you look for a hidden beach Angkoul beach could be worth a visit. It lies south-east from Kep, near the Vietnam border. Follow the road to Ha Tien border. Before the salt fields you turn right (there is a entrance gate for the temple) and just follow this road. It takes about 30 – 40 minutes from Kep (way description here).

Picture by Ku5hi
Temple gate on the way to Angkoul beach

Picture by Ku5hi


Kep National Park is located around the Kep Mountain. The main entrance is behind Veranda Natural Resort. You are expected to pay a dollar entry fee. There are more access points on the west side of Kep Lodge and on the east side of Jasmine Valley Eco-Resort. An 8km trek leads around the mountain with beautiful outlooks towards Kampot, the islands and to Vietnam, the trek takes between two and three hours. See Map of Kep National Park and a video. Inside the park there are squirrels, monkeys, horn bills, deer, wild pigs, snakes, lizards and more animals.

About 8km from the White Horse statue, you can find the so-called “Secret Lake”, locally known as “Tomnop Tek Krolar”. This irrigation dam was established through hard labour under the Khmer Rouge regime. Today it offers bamboo platforms for lazy afternoons and opportunities for tubing, swimming and even water peddle cycling (see panorama picture).



Picture by unsure shot
Pepper farm


Sleep in bungalows or modernist villas

Hotel le Flamboyant: From 60 USD. Eight large bungalows and a beautiful swimming pool in a lush, tropical garden. A bit out of the town. A 25 minutes walk from the crab market. Mostly good reviews on tripadvisor.com.

Picture by ilse ruppert
Le Flamboyant restaurant


Jasmine Valley Eco Resort: From 22 USD. Six mud-brick and thatch bungalows, two tree-houses and two mountain-lodges, surrounded by jungle and natural swimming pools, fed by a stream. Good informations on weather and climate in Kep and for birdwatching in Kep. "Jasmine Valley has been built into the jungle so well that you can barely tell it's there" is one comment on tripadvisor.com, another: "You can expect frogs, lizards and insects in your room but my mosquito net worked perfectly". One more; "If you want a hotel, don't go to Jasmine. If you love nature and you want to take in the whole jungle feeling then go...". The homepage is very informative, with video of every room, so when you study it, you get to know exactly, what is awaiting you, for example a quite long and bumpy way from Kep into the jungle (3 USD with tuk tuk).

Picture by aarongilson

Picture by m_uhlig

Picture by aarongilson


Kep Lodge: From 28 USD. 10 bungalows with pool. Very good reviews on tripadvisor.com. See video and see picture 1, picture 2 and picture 3.

Picture by jnana511

Picture by jnana511
Banana bungalow


Knai Bang Chatt Resort: From 168 USD. 18 rooms. "The resort is made up of 3 restored villas, one of them used to belong to the governor of region. There is no beach, but it's right on the sea. The grounds are covered in green grass with tented beach recliners and even full beds. The infinity pool is salt water and rather small but beautiful. The staff are all Cambodian and friendly as can be", writes travelblog.org. The three villas wer built between 1962 and 1965 by protégés of Vann Molyvann, a Khmer pupil of Le Corbusier. The Blue Villa belonged to the governor of Kep, the Grey Villa was owned by a relative of the King, and the Red Villa was owned by the Head of Customs. Excellent reviews on tripadvisor.com.
See video on youtube.com.

Picture by HeyItsWilliam

Picture by Christoph Rooms
The Blue Villa

Picture by HeyItsWilliam

Picture by HeyItsWilliam
The pool

Picture by Christoph Rooms
The beach

Picture by Christoph Rooms
The Sailing Club

Picture by Jason Tabarias
The jetty of the Sailing Club. See mor pictures of Knai Bang Chatt on flickr.com


Le Bout du Monde: From 40 USD. Bungalows and residences in traditional khmer architecture at the top of a hill, in landscaped gardens and with a lovely view over the gulf of Siam (see video). All houses have solar energy. And there ist an eco-friendly swimming pool. The Guesthouse was the setting for some scenes of the movie "Holy Lola" by French filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier with Isabelle Carré and Jacques Gamblin starring (listen to the soundtrack). The reviews on tripadvisor.com are quite good, but some critical posts got an astonishing aggressive feedback from the management.

Picture by shin--k
Restaurant Le Bout du Monde


The Beach House: From 40 USD. 16 simple rooms opposite the beach, with a pool (see picture). "Even though the hotel is located above the main road, the traffic is minimal and the sound of the surf is stronger than the sound of the cars", says one of the good reviews on tripadvisor.com. See video.


Tree Top Bungalows: From 4 USD. See picture. Basic accommodation, good location according to reviews on tripadvisor.com. Made entirely from wood and palm leaves, the huts are rustic and airy, some on the ground, some on top.


Vanna Hillresort: From 25 USD. Very good reviews on tripadvisor.com.

Picture by mrcharly


Veranda Natural Resort: From 78 USD. A great place for romance and relaxing close to nature. A vast range of rooms, from bungalow (tiny) to bigger rooms and also villas, with much character. "Organic wood, bamboo and rock shapes form quirky touches everywhere you turn, and shells are inlaid in walls and floors, nearly but-not-quite hidden from view", writes justtheplanet.com. They have bungalows with bedroom inside and outside, so you choose, where you sleep. Very good reviews on tripadvisor.com. See video.

Picture by unsure shot

Picture by unsure shot
View from the Villa

Picture by Un rosarino en Vietnam

Picture by Un rosarino en Vietnam

Picture by unsure shot
Papaya tree


Villa Romonea: From 200 USD. A villa for rent for up to 12 guests in six rooms. Built in 1968 by a cosmopolitan Khmer family and designed in stunning modernist style by Khmer Architect Lu Ban Hap. During the Khmer Rouge Regime the family disappeared and the villa was used as a fish storage warehouse, as The Wandering Sybarite reports. In 2007 new owners bought the house and restored it from then on during several years. The villa lies directly on the sea, with a tennis court, a 6 hole golf driving range and a saltwater infinity Pool. "It feels like visiting your wealthy friend's private house" says one of some very good reviews on tripadvisor.com. Read also Cambodia’s Sweet Spot and Bauhaus on the Beach: A Corbusian Retreat in Cambodia.

Picture by Villa Romanea
See more pictures on flickr.com


Botanica Guesthouse: With aircon from 25 USD. 2 km out of the town. You can rent bikes. The winner clear at the lower budget end in Kep according to good reviews on tripadvisor.com. Also the phnom pen loved the family stay at the renovated guesthouse.


Hungry again? Well there are a few recommendations for eating and drinking.



Escape to Koh Ton Sai

Koh Ton Sai (Rabbit Island): Rabbit Island lies 5 km off the coast and is popular destination, either for a day on the beach or overnight stays in basic huts (from 5 USD). Boats leave from the Pier which is 3 km east from Kep Beach. The trip takes 25 minutes.

Picture by fabulousfabs
Bungalows

Picture by fabulousfabs

Picture by Johan Douma

Picture by Johan Douma

Picture by Johan Douma


How you get to Kep

It's a half hour drive from Kampot, Cambodia and the Vietnam border; and 2 hours from Sihanoukville and Phnom Phenh.


Read and see more: Video Luke Nguyens greater mekong (Kep & Kampot)

Angkor Archaeological Park:The incredible remains of the Khmer empire (first chapter)

See the locations on Angkor Archaeological Park Area Map and on Angkor Archeological Park Google Map

Picture by marhas
On the causeway towards Angkor Wat
See Photo Gallery: Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom

Stretching over incredible 400 square kilometers, including forests, Angkor Archaeological Park contains what remains of several capitals of the Khmer Empire from the 9th to the 15th centuries. These are the remains of the largest pre-industrial city in the world. The most famous buildings are the temple of Angkor Wat and, at Angkor Thom, the Bayon Temple with its countless sculptural decorations. In the 12th Century AD, the Khmer Empire ruled most of what is now Southeast Asia. King Suryavarman II built the temple of Angkor Wat at the height of his empire’s glory. But within 200 years, the powerful Khmer civilization mysteriously collapsed. And the jungle swallowed the magnificent Khmer temples and cities. Only in the 19th century French explorers rediscovered the ruins. In 1992 Angkor Archaeological Park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Picture by marhas
Bayon temple



Prepare your discovery tour

Prepare your discovery of Angkor Archaeological Park by reading one of the best guidebooks. Download it here for free: The Monuments of the Angkor Group by Maurice Glaize has been published in 1944 in Saigon, republished in 1948 and again in Paris in 1963. A good overview of Angkor Archaeological Park you get on Wikitravel. Helpful is also the chapture about Khmer Architecture on Wikipedia. Helpful is this Map of Angkor Thom and Angkor Wat.

Angkor Wat is home to one of the world’s most fascinating archaeological mysteries: Why do images of women dominate the largest religious monument on earth? You find more than 1700 women realistically rendered in stone. devata.org is deicated to these questions.

Picture by marhas
Women in the inner gallery of Angkor Wat - two out of more than 1700 women carved in stone. What did these women mean to the Khmer rulers, priests and people?

See movies about Angkor:
Ancient Magastructures: Angkor Wat by National Geographic (2008)
Angkor Wat: The Eighth Wonder by Digging for The Truth
The lost world of Angkor by Discovery Channel
Walking the Royal Road: The Ancient Kingdom of Angkor. Dr. Jennifer Foley of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts lectures on the ancient Southeast Asian kingdom of Angkor and the structures at Angkor Wat.
Axis Mundi. A film about Angkor Wat



Start your Angkor Wat tour

Angkor Wat's rising series of five towers culminates in an impressive central tower that symbolizes mythical Mount Meru, surrounded by chains of mountains (the walls) and the cosmic ocean (the moat). Mount Meru is the home of the gods in Hinduism. Thousands of meters of wall space are covered with stone carving depicting scenes from Hindu mythology. See a map with the galleries.

Picture by Toby Simkin
On a 200 meters long and 12 meters wide sandstone-paved causeway you cross the 190 meters wide moats enclosing Angkor Wat. And you walk towards the west main gate with tower, called Gopura, which ist part of the 1025 by 802 meters external enclosure. This outer wall encloses a space of 820,000 square meters.

Picture by marhas
The moats surrounding Angkor Wat are five and a half kilometers in their overall length.

Picture by marhas
In the gallery inside the external enclosure you discover these stone carvings on top of a door.

Picture by marhas
And you encounter this devata - one of the more than 1700 women portrayed in Angkor Wat

Picture by victoriapeckham
From the semi-darkness of the western gopura you get the looming perspective of Angkor Wat and its 350 meters long causeway, framed in the door.

Picture by marhas
Don't miss this reflection in the northern pool: The temple of Angkor Wat,raised on a surrounding terrace with sugar palms and mango trees.

Picture by mikkelz
Finally you arrive in front of the temple. It stands on a terrace and is made of three rectangular galleries rising to a central tower, each level higher than the last. The height of Angkor Wat from the ground to the top of the central tower is 213 meters. The outer gallery measures 187 by 215 meters. And it contains the famous bas-reliefs of Angkor Wat showing epic events. If you begin on the western side and keep to your left you will see the following events: Battle of Kurukshetra, Army of Suryavarman II, Heaven & Hell, Churning of the Ocean of Milk, Vishnu Conquers the Demons, Krishna & the Demon King, Battle of the Gods & the Demons and Battle of Lanka (read more here).

Angkor Wat during the spring equinox: Every year around 21 March, when the tilt of the Earth's axis is inclined neither away from nor towards the Sun and the center of the Sun is in the same plane as the Earth's equator, you can experience the astronomical knowledge of the builders of Angkor Wat. The temple aligns to the rising sun. On the morning of the spring equinox, the sun rises up the side of the central tower and crowns its pinnacle.

Picture by take..
Special phenomenon on March 21: The Sun crowns the pinnacle of the central tower of Angkor Wat

Of course this gives room to many spiritual intrepretations, for example you can read Stones in the Sky by Willard Van De Bogart in 2003 or see the video Heaven's Mirror by Graham Hancock. Eleanor Mannikka, of the Indiana University of Pennsylvania, argues in her work Angkor Wat: Time, Space and Kingship, that the dimensions, alignment and bas-reliefs of Angkor Wat encode a message that Suryavarman II was the divinely appointed king. Read her text The Role of Astronomy at Angkor Wat. Here she writes: "On the morning of the vernal equinox day (roughly March 21st each year), once we have passed through the main western entrances and stand facing the interior grounds of the temple, we encounter a spectacular solar alignment. At 6:35 a.m., the sun can be seen rising dead-center over the top of the central tower of the temple - about 500 m. away - when observed from the top of the first northern staircase of the western causeway. Three days later, the sun can be seen rising over the central tower for the second and last time, from the center of the western causeway at a point just a few meters south of the first observation position."

The website Treasure of the Ancient Khmer draws heavily from the book of Mannikka and has excellent maps of the temple and its galleries. She points also to the bas-relief panel at the Eastern outer gallery, which shows the Hindu creation myth Churning the Sea of Milk. In the center is the serpent Vasuki, who offered himself as a rope. The serpent was yanked back and forth in a giant tug-of-war that lasted for a thousand years. In the bas-relief panel, the front end of the serpent is being pulled by 91 asuras (demons), anchored by the 21-headed demon king Ravana; on the right are 88 almond-eyed devas (gods) pulling on the tail, anchored by monkey-god Sugriva. Mannikka says that the 91 asuras mark the 91 days between the winter solstice and spring equinox in March, while the 88 devas represent the 88 days to the summer solstice after the equinox period. Read also Time, Space, and Astronomy in Angkor Wat by Subhash Kak.

Picture by foonie
Bas-relief showing Churning the Sea of Milk: The god Bali, the king of the asuras, holds the heads of Vasuki on the south side of the relief.

Picture by Jadamta
The Asuras are pulling on the the serpent Vasuki

Picture by Fatbooo

Picture by travfotos
The monkey-god Sugriva holds the tail of the serpent Vasuki on the north end and the Devas are pulling


Picture by marhas
The right place to relax after walking across the causeway in the burning sun: A gallery of the cruciform cloister Preah Poan ("Hall of a Thousand Gods"). Buddha images were left here by pilgrims over the centuries, but most have now been removed. The cloister connects the outer gallery to the second enclosure.

Picture by marhas
One of four stone basins in the cloister.

Picture by marhas
One of two libraries, seen from the cloister

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Corner tower, part of the second enclosure

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The corner tower from inside the second enclosure

Picture by marhas
And again you encounter the mysterious women of Angkor Wat

Picture by marhas
Admire the great stone carving art of the Khmers over a door of the second enclosure
Afterwards turn round and look upwards:

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You look at the steep stairway leading up to a corner tower of the first enclosure
After this look, what's on front of your shoe tips:

Picture by marhas
Faces on the pavement of the second enclosure

Finally you have the chance to reach the top level of Angkor Wat:

Picture by marhas
As it is understood today the top level represented the heaven and served as a place for the king and royalty and high priests to worship to god Vishnu. The public was not allowed to come to this level. Twelve stairways lead up to the top level. Each one represents one year of the animal zodiac. Whoever climbed up had to know which stairway was good for his animal zodiac.
In the gallery on top you discover again the beauty of the stone carved devatas:

Picture by marhas

Picture by marhas

Picture by marhas
From the gallery you look again into four basins, which surround the central tower.

Picture by marhas
The central tower and the central shrine:

Picture by marhas
At the central shrine a golden statue of Vishnu was riding on Garuda's shoulders. But this holy statue has disappeared a long time ago.

Picture by marhas
Look out from the top level: The causeway leading back to the external enclosure of Angkor Wat



And how did Angkor decline?

The great medieval settlement of Angkor in Cambodia has for many years been understood as a “hydraulic city,” an urban complex defined, sustained, and ultimately overwhelmed by a complex water management network. Since the 1990s, French, Australian, and Cambodian research teams have followed archaeological mapping projects by using traditional methods such as ground survey in conjunction with advanced radar remote-sensing applications. A major outcome of that research is a comprehensive archaeological map of greater Angkor, covering nearly 3,000 km2, prepared by the Greater Angkor Project (GAP), an international, multidisciplinary research programme interested in the decline of urbanism at Angkor. The map reveals a vast, low-density settlement landscape integrated by an elaborate water management network covering more than 1,000 km2, the most extensive urban complex of the preindustrial world. It is now clear that anthropogenic changes to the landscape were both extensive and substantial enough to have created grave challenges to the long-term viability of the settlement. Read more: A comprehensive archaeological map of the world's largest preindustrial settlement complex at Angkor, Cambodia.
Divining Angkor: After rising to sublime heights, the sacred city may have engineered its own downfall by Richard Stone in National Geographic Magazine.
Climate as a contributing factor in the demise of Angkor, Cambodia and Climate Change and the Collapse of Angkor


Read more:

Angkor Thom: The Great City of the Khmer Empire with Bayon and Ta Phrom (2. Chapter)

Siem Reap - the gate to Angkor

Hotels and Guesthouses in Siem Reap – and your reviews

Mouthwatering food in Siem Reap: Reviews of restaurants.

Magical Tonle Sap Lake: Living on the water and with the nature