Had SUCH a great time catching up with our Cambodia friends...
Got to meet our friend's Monika and Yeng's baby girl, Sophea..
After a happy reunion with our Khmer and Expat friends in Phnom Penh, we headed out to the coast for an attempt at relaxation.
First stop was Kep, a sleepy seaside town. It's growing very fast, but at the moment it's still a very enjoyable, peaceful place to visit. We took a $6 bus and arrived at Kukuluku, our general go-to for accommodation. It's a French-owned guesthouse on a beautiful property, great staff, with a small infinity pool and a poor kitchen. Rented TWBITW (The Worst Bicylces In The World) and rode around Kep a bit.
8/11- Woke up early and rode the TWBITW to Kep national park, a beautiful little phnom with hiking trails through it and a bikeable dirt trail that circumvents. Saw some incredible butterflies, big huge millipede/centipede things, and crazy dense jungle with massive vines all around. Gorgeous scenery and well-maintained trails with signage!
Gorgeous, creepy overgrown abandoned French colonial building everywhere in Kep
We did have some nice empathetic moments thinking of American soldiers in Vietnam having to endure these miseries in a foreign land while being exterminated by the Viet Cong.
Lauren, not so thrilled about the hike, decided I had enrolled her in "Fat Camp: Cambodian Jungle Edition." We thought this sounded like a lucrative premise for an American TV series.
8/12- Woke up early again and took our rented moto into town. Had a little soup breakfast and caught the boat to Koh Tunsai (Rabbit Island) to relax foor the afternoon. Hiked the loop around the island, which turned out to be 2+ hours of trudging through swampy, dense jungle with many pokey things and irritating insects that Lauren wasn't particularly fond of.
The beach at Rabbit Island
Rabbit Island
After the hike we swam in the clear waves and drank and ate a delicious plate of fried crab with rice. Got to catch up with an old Khmer restaurant owner, Sokha, who we met last year. He said his days on Koh Tunsai are numbered because the Chinese have plans to develop it with a resort and casino, which would push the $5 bungalows out.
This is Sokha.Had a wet and wavey ride back to Kep, lucky to be in the back of the boat. The French girls in the front were getting buckets of seawater dumped on their heads every 45 seconds or so.
Had some monkey encounters along the seaside at Kep on our walks which, although adorable, provoked Chris to take out his Leatherman knife just in case :)
The Kep crab market we renamed the Kep Foodborne Illness Market. While there's nearly nothing edible there, it's fun for a wander and we did find some great coffee there.
Crab Market
Crab restaurants on the water
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