For once our journey was non-eventful and we arrived in Kep happy and eager to cool off in the sea! It had been 6 weeks since we last saw the sea so we were more than excited! We had lunch at the guesthouse situated on the edge of the Kep National Park, and then cycled down the hill to the beach. Well actually only one of the free bikes worked so Oli pedalled and I sat on the makeshift seat over the back wheel. It was the weekend so we were sharing the sea with some of the fully clothed locals in rubber rings and life jackets. I don't think some of them had seen the sea before. It was great to be here, the beach was rather nice despite guidebooks saying that its not worth visiting! We also made it our mission to spot the large dilapidated French colonial villas dotted around Kep that were abandoned at the time of the Khmer Rouge. That night we watched the sun set over the Vietnamese island of Phu Quoc and then made our way to the crab market. I'm sure that they were once shacks, but they were now proper restaurants that overlooked the sea, where fisherman were hunting for tomorrow's crabs & squid with head torches. We ate here every night sampling the fresh crab, squid and no name fish coated in the famous Kampot green pepper. Delicious! The next day was much the same; beach, seafood, relaxing! Although we did attempt to hike to sunset rock in the national park but turned back after we realised it might get dark before we made it back!
The last day here we caught the 20 minute boat to Rabbit Island. We caught different boats as Oli got told to get off my boat as it was full! The island wasn't like any I have visited before, as this one was so unspoilt with so many palm trees and jungle so close to the beach and only a few bungalows. The water was also crystal clear and sandy underfoot. With goggles on it was like being in a swimming pool, you could see so far! Shame there wasn't much to see, only a few little fish! We spent most of our time lazing in hammocks and swimming until 4 when we would get the boat back. It was so nice to spend a few days relaxing in Kep as we have been on the go for weeks! I really don't understand the guidebooks, Kep is a great place to visit!

The next day we hopped on the bus to Kampot which only took 45 minutes! A tuk tuk took us to our guesthouse for the next 2 nights, 'Greenhouse Bungalows'. It was recommended everywhere and when we arrived we could see why. Bamboo ensuite bungalows for $10 a night with a view over the river/estuary and Bokor National Park, and a fantastic restaurant. The guy who owns the place moved the guesthouse piece by piece from Pnomh Penh to the Kampot river when the lake in the city was filled in. We basically sat eating, drinking and reading for the next 48 hours apart from when we rented a kayak. We took the kayak up the palm tree lined river as far as we could until we reached a set of rapids. Here we rested on the bank and set free the tiny gecko that had hitched a ride. We kayaked back in time for lunch, followed by more relaxing and sitting!

It has been a very chilled out few days.

Stats-

Crabs eaten: 2 (Oli)

Old Colonial buildings spotted: 7

Survivors of the Khmer Rouge regime by being sent to Belgium by the Belgium Red Cross met: 1

Rabbits seen on Rabbit Island: 0

Frogs fallen out the back of the sink: 1