We rolled Into Kep around Mid day and were both starving! Kate had that "crazy woman" look in her eye so I took the safe option and decided to have lunch so that the sugar levels could return to normal and perhaps my life would have been spared for a few more years!

Kep is a small fishing village on the Cambodian coast and was once the seaside getaway for all the rich folk living in Phnom Penh. One can still see old mansions dotted along the sea front which carry the violet scars of the Pol Pot regime. Black washed walls riddled with bullet holes and empty driveways give away an air of sadness and despair. Having said this Kep, like its Capital, is slowly re-building itself to its former glory. Small guest-houses and hotels now occupy the prime sea front locations and restaurants serving specialty crab dishes are everywhere.

After walking with our packs for about an hour we finally stumbled upon some nice little rooms built right up against the jungle. In the distance we could see the ocean and once again life felt good. After dropping our things we grabbed some bicycles and headed down into town to find some crab! The bike ride, however, wasn't so straight forward. Half way down the hill Kate realised her brakes weren't working properly and I still have a vision of her wobbling from side to side trying to get the bike to stop whilst screaming at the top of her lungs. Guess who had to ride the dodgy bike for the rest of the evening! We found a great little wooden restaurant built over the water and enjoyed two different crab dishes. The most memorable of the two was made with local fresh green peppercorns, blue swimmer crab and ginger. Unreal! We enjoyed a couple of beers then headed back up the hill to our accommodation.

We wanted to explore Kep with the bikes so the next morning, after our usual 10km run, we jumped on, this time checking the brakes, and headed back into town. Kep is very spread out and we spent the next 5 hours meandering our way along the small coastal road enjoying the sights and local people. When we got tired we would pull over and eat some mangoes or drink a cold fruit shake. We even found a horse riding farm where we played Boule' with some locals and had a beer. Later that afternoon we took a slow ride back and stopped at a boathouse where happy hour was in full swing and of course we had to oblige. The ride back up the hill was.........interesting. Kep is a perfect place to chill out for a few days when in this part of the world. It's slow pace, great food and friendly local Cambodians make it irresistible.

After two nights in the sleepy village we headed over to the not so sleepy Shihanoukville where we found a perfect little bamboo bungalow about 30 minutes out of town. It was right on the beach and on the quieter side of the, very busy, Shihanoukville coast. We spent the next three days lazing about on the beach and swimming in the 30 degree water. We also spent a lot of time with Alex and Cat! A German/American couple who were staying in the same bungalows as us. They had quit there jobs and had planned to travel the world until they got bored of it or ran out of money! We made sure that Cape Town was on their destination list and talked about the world they had already travelled through and the one they were about to discover, Australia!

The four of us enjoyed all our meals together and explored the beaches and eateries of Otres 1 & 2. We were all just in the right place at the right time and couldn't get enough of each others company. After three nights we bid our good friends fair well and they promised to see us in Cape Town. Alex and Cat, A promise is a promise. You guys are always welcome in Cape Town.

We bussed our way back to Phnom Penh the next morning and arrived feeling like zombies due to the spinning shattering nature of the minivan. We over-nighted again in Phnom Pehn with Tim & Christina and also met up with Tammy & Camilla aka Camel. We had last seen them in Bangkok almost 6 weeks ago so many stories were shared whilst sipping the cold Angkor beer and looking out over the river from the Moon Bar! Tim & Christina, thank you again for looking after all of us in The Penh. The next morning we boarded our bus to Siem Reap.Our next destination was one that we had both been looking forward to the entire trip. The temples of Angkor! Same same.........