អាជ្ញាធរមិនទាន់រកឃើញចោរប្លន់អាណិកជននៅភ្នំវល្លិ
Tuesday, 18 September 2012
គឹម សារុំ
The Phnom Penh Post
កែបៈ សមត្ថកិច្ចនៅមិនទាន់កំណត់បាននូវអត្តសញ្ញាណ ក្រុមចោរប្លន់ប្រដាប់អាវុធ ចូលប្លន់ផ្ទះអាណិកជនខ្មែរ នៅចំណុចចម្ការបីជើងភ្នំវល្លិ ក្នុងឃុំពងទឹក ស្រុកដំណាក់ចង្អើរ ខេត្តកែប កាលពីថ្ងៃទី ១៣ កញ្ញា នៅឡើយទេ។
លោក សែម បញ្ញាមន អធិការនគរបាលស្រុកដំណាក់ចង្អើរកាលពីម្សិលមិញប្រាប់ថា ករណីចោរប្លន់នៅតំបន់ចម្ការបី ភ្នំវល្លិ ទៅលើអាណិកជនខ្មែរមកពីសហរដ្ឋអាមេរិកនោះកម្លាំងចម្រុះនគរបាល និងកងរាជអាវុធហត្ថស្រុកដំណាក់ចង្អើរ កំពុងតែស្រាវជ្រាវស្វែងរកចាប់ខ្លួនជនល្មើស។
លោកបន្តថា៖ «យើងនៅមិនទាន់អាចកំណត់មុខសញ្ញាក្រុមចោរប្លន់បាននៅឡើយទេ រហូតមកដល់ពេលនេះ ប៉ុន្តែសមត្ថកិច្ចកំពុងដុតដៃដុតជើងតាមស្វែងរក ហើយយើងក៏មិនអាចកំណត់បានថា ជាក្រុមចោរនៅក្នុងភូមិឬមកពីក្រៅភូមិដែរទេ»។
លោកបញ្ជាក់ថា អាណិកជនខ្មែរមកពីសហរដ្ឋអាមេរិក ដែលត្រូវចោរប្លន់នោះគាត់ទិញដីចម្ការនេះយូរហើយ ប៉ុន្តែទើបតែមករស់នៅទីនោះក្នុងអំឡុងឆ្នាំ២០១២នេះទេ។
Showing posts with label Kep. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kep. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Life still slow in Cambodian beach towns
July 25, 2012
Neda Vanovac
AAP
Neda Vanovac
AAP
A ninja delivers a high kick to a cow before punching it in the udder, and the cow, on its hind legs, squirts him with milk. The Cambodians on the bus around us roar with laughter.
We're trundling along a two-lane highway in Cambodia's south, heading for the coast. It's sweltering in here, and the American kung-fu pastiche is the only entertainment on board.
Outside, we pass statue after statue crowning highway roundabouts, all points of regional pride: a crab, a salt-panning couple, a Khmer princess standing atop a crocodile - and a rhinoceros, whose significance I can't decipher.
This wasn't quite how I expected to find Cambodian history, in a country known more for the tragedy of its past than the quirks of its present.
While the vast majority of visitors to the country flock to the magnificent temples of Angkor Wat in the West, smaller, quieter beach towns provide just as much of an insight to the Cambodian psyche.
Kampot and Kep are two coastal spots that visitors are slowly discovering - with an emphasis on the slow. Life here is not to be rushed.
Monday, March 05, 2012
Cambodia’s Sweet Spot
 |
| Tiny restaurants on Koh Rong Island offer cheap food and beer overlooking the Gulf of Thailand. (Justin Mott for The New York Times) |
By ONDINE COHANE
The New York Times
ON a sunny weekday in Kep, a seaside village about halfway along Cambodia’s coast, the crab market was heaving. Women in straw hats and rubber boots stood knee deep in the surf shouting out prices, periodically darting into the sea to pull writhing specimens out of wicker baskets. Children of all ages ran through the stalls; it seemed as if the entire town had congregated in this one main square.
Nearby, suspended over the water overlooking the South China Sea, rickety open-fronted restaurants were perched on stilts. At one of the smallest, the Seagull, I sat with my son and husband watching wooden fishing boats move slowly along the coastline as the family who owns the spot prepared what would be the finest steamed crab I had ever tasted. Even my one-year-old tucked into the white buttery meat.
It was a scene that felt quaintly out of time, made all the more novel because we were somehow able to exist seamlessly within it. No one tried to sell us souvenirs or offer to guide us around town. It was just life as it had always been and always would be.
But of course this wasn’t true.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Cambodia's coastline awarded as world most beautiful bay
PHNOM PENH, May 31 (Xinhua) -- Club of the World's Most Beautiful Bays has officially recognized Cambodia's coastal areas as its member, the minister of tourism, Thong Khon confirmed Tuesday.
The recognition was made after Cambodia's proposal in May last year.
"With the club's recognition, we have optimism that our clean and well-preserved beaches will attract more foreign tourists,"he said, adding"it will also be an impetus to encourage more investors to the areas."
Cambodia's coastline is stretching in the length of 450 km in four provinces of Koh Kong, Sihanoukville, Kampot and Kep.
It is the country's second most popular destination for tourists after Siem Reap's Angkor Wat temple, the world heritage site.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Cambodia’s up-and-coming seaside towns
Friday, May 20, 2011
By Dustin Roasa
The Washington Post
As the sun sank over the tree-lined Kampong Bay River, Kampot, a town on Cambodia’s southern coast, stirred to life. The locals, who’d spent much of the day hiding from the heat in their homes and shaded alleys, emerged into the atmospheric streets, where sun-stained, mustard-colored French colonial shop houses provide the backdrop to the rhythms of daily life.
Old men with fedoras and graying sideburns gathered at a corner cafe to play chess, triumphantly thwacking hand-carved pieces against thick wooden boards. Small groups of boys fished on the banks of the river with homemade bamboo poles, while groups of teenagers with mussed and shaggy haircuts and wearing glittery T-shirts yelled “Hello!” and giggled at strolling tourists, who are a small but growing presence in this largely unexplored corner of Southeast Asia.
My wife and I had come here to escape the grit and bustle of Phnom Penh, where we live, and to show my visiting mother-in-law a slice of authentic provincial life. With crumbling historic architecture, largely unspoiled countryside and specialty regional cuisine, Kampot and Kep, seaside towns separated by a 30-minute car ride, are unlike anyplace else in Cambodia.
Friday, May 06, 2011
Cool in Cambodia
 |
| Belgian photographer John Vink and his wife built a two-story home in Kep, Cambodia (John Vink/Magnum Photos) |
May 6, 2011
By Mike Eckel
The Wall Street Journal
Belgian photographer John Vink spent years splitting his time between Europe and Southeast Asia, shooting photographs of refugees in war-torn countries. Since 2000, he’s traveled a little less—going between Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh, and the sleepy coastal town of Kep. But in early 2009, he decided to build a permanent place in the hills outside Kep.
The 62-year-old and his wife already owned several properties in the capital city. But he says they wanted to escape Phnom Penh’s incessant noise and pollution.
Mr. Vink bought the 2,000-square-meter lot from a local religious order that was moving its pagoda to a new location, and paid about $5 a square meter for the scrubby, jungly property. The nearby hills obscure the view of Kep’s shoreline over the Gulf of Thailand, which is why he says he paid less than the going rate for Kep property, which he estimates is about $100 a square meter. Instead, the home, which sits on a hillside roughly 60 meters above sea level, has a sweeping view of the Kampot plains to the northwest.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Cambodia's Kep: Sleepy seaside town begins to stir
This September 2010 photo provided by Soula Walters shows Cambodian vendors selling shrimp and other seafood at the Crab Market, a motley collection of seaside shacks that make up the main drag in Kep, Cambodia. (Soula Walters / AP)9/28/2010
By MIKE ECKEL
The Associated Press
KOH TONSAY, Cambodia — Ask for the crab. In black peppercorn sauce.
The proprietor of the thatched-roof and bamboo-walled island restaurant will acknowledge the order in sign language and broken English. She'll shuffle across the seaside grass over to the dock where the crab cages sit, steeping in the Gulf of Thailand's tepid waters.
She'll return with a bucket of crustaceans and fry them in an iron wok over a charcoal fire in her open-air kitchen, searing them in a sauce made largely from sweet, fiery Kampot peppercorns. She'll bring you a heap of steaming seafood, pepper sauce, paper napkins and beer to the shaded picnic tables. You'll eat the crab — soft-shells and all — sucking the sauce from your fingers, drinking the beer to blunt the fiery pepper and thank the stars that few people have discovered the culinary and aesthetic pleasures of this southern coastal region.
While Cambodia's Angkor Wat temples are its biggest tourist draw, beach-bound tourists — particularly those looking for more than the backpacker-on-a-shoestring itinerary — are waking up to the unexplored beauty that this muggy country has to offer. The low-key beach town of Kep and the riverside village of Kampot, a three-hour drive south of the capital Phnom Penh, offer rough edges but simple charms, along with nearby islands like Koh Tonsay, where the crab in peppercorn is served.
The Kep-area beaches also offer alternatives to better-known regional beach resorts like Thailand's Phuket and even Cambodia's own Sihanoukville. Sihanoukville was a favorite of jet-setters (Jackie Kennedy visited in the '60s) before the country was beset by the horrors of wars, coups and the Khmer Rouge. These days, Sihanoukville's luxury resorts have plenty of attitude, having been rediscovered by growing numbers of nouveau-riche Cambodians and others. Sleepy Kep, in contrast, seems to attract a clientele that spurns Sihanoukville's swagger.
The town of Kep consists of a collection of modest residences and hotels tucked into the foliage off crumbling pavement and dusty roads, along with rows of motley shacks and several grand villas, many of which still show the ravages inflicted by the Khmer Rouge who sneered at Kep's bourgeois trappings. Kep Beach is mostly a stretch of rocky sand directly under the main road, though that doesn't stop the locals from swimming along the stony promenade. Notable local landmarks include an unusual nude statue of a fisherman's wife and a monstrous statue of a crab. The 16-room Beach House hotel and its tiny swimming pool hides just above the beach in the tropical hillside foliage, offering sweeping views of the gulf.
Bending around the promontory to the west and north is Kep's main drag, the Crab Market: a line of bamboo and thatch shacks where you can find crab, fish, prawns and squid, not to mention laundry service, tourist trinkets, boat rides, motos (mopeds), cold beer, cheap drugs, Internet connections, massage services and just about anything else you can imagine. The circus mix of locals, backpackers and proper tourists is a prime spot for people-watching.
Farther up the coast are Kep's nicer accommodations. Inland and up in the hills, there's the Veranda, with a wooden restaurant and bar on a slope with a vista of stunning sunsets over the water. Waterside, Knai Bang Chatt has the swankiest lodgings in town with an emerald infinity swimming pool and stylish, modernist building. The hotel's Sailing Club next door has a dining room perched on piers over the water and a small sandy beach where you can sip vodka tonics while the waves lap your toes. Kep Malibu Estates, despite the unusual name, is also perched inland, its swimming pool and grassy yard up a dusty road past rundown shacks and the disconcerting sight of impoverished farm families tending ragged plantings and staring blankly at passing tourists.
For many, the islands just off of Kep are the real draw. Phu Quoc is the largest, but it belongs to Vietnam and it's some distance away. For that reason, Koh Tonsay — translated as "Rabbit Island" — is arguably the most popular. Like many things in Cambodia, getting there is not entirely for the faint-hearted. Most hotels have connections with boat operators, or you can arrange a boat ride at one of the Crab Market shacks. The skinny boats, built mainly for fishing, are powered by crate-sized outboard engines with propeller shafts the length of a small tree. Their narrow width means they pitch and yaw more than most people feel comfortable with. That said, they move fast, and the 30-minute ride to Koh Tonsay (about $10) takes you out into a bay past poetic scenes of fishermen tending lines and seine nets.
The island reportedly was used at one point as a prison colony by the country's long-ruling monarch, Norodom Sihanouk. Today, however, its dense interior foliage keeps most visitors limited to the crystalline waters that slosh the whitish sands on its north side, where simple wood platforms are dotted with hammocks and thatched roofs. Just inland are the open-air kitchens and shacks of the half-dozen families who cater to tourists. For overnight stays, many families rent bungalows that are nothing more than enclosed shacks with wooden sleeping platforms and mosquito nets.
For most visitors, lounging on the beach platforms, alternating between swimming in the bathwater sea and drowsy contemplation of swaying palms is the most activity one can muster. Occasionally, wiry, naked-to-the-waist Cambodian men shimmying high into tree canopies, hacking at bushel-sized bunches of coconuts with machetes and letting the green fruit thud to the ground, spooking unsuspecting tourists. For less than a dollar, they'll trim off the husks for you, lop a hole into the top and pop a straw in it for the freshest coconut milk you could possibly hope for.
But when hunger truly strikes, it's best to find crab. The size of golf balls, these crustaceans are caught by traditional hook and lines, and left in cages in the water until mealtime. For less than $5, the cook/hostess prepares a mound of the animals, cooked in oil and peppercorns of the Kampot — a once-famous Cambodian agriculture export — and beer for two. The instinct is to equate crab with lobster, use your teeth to dismantle the shell and suck the meat out. But the shells are so soft, you realize it takes less effort to just eat the crab, meat, shell and all. With pepper sauce tingling on your tongue and cold beer washing it down, gorge yourself on Kep's finest culinary offering — and enjoy a place while it remains untrampled by the crowds.
____
If You Go...
KEP AND KOH TONSAY, CAMBODIA: http://bit.ly/9WqOPt
TIMING: The best time to visit Cambodia is in the rainy reason (roughly late September through February), when the daytime temperatures aren't sweltering. The rains, while heavy, are brief in their duration and awe-inspiring in their intensity. This is considered high season for many hotels and other tourist services.
GETTING THERE: Fly to one of Southeast Asia's hubs — like Bangkok or Singapore — then take a budget carrier — Air Asia, Silk Air, Dragon Air, Jet Star, to name a few — to Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh. Regular bus service between Phnom Penh and Kep is cheap (around $7; http://www.ppsoryatransport.com) but getting tickets and finding the right departure point in Phnom Penh's chaotic streets can be difficult, so best to ask your hotel or a travel agent for help. Renting a taxi to make the three-hour drive is also possible. Cost varies depending on whether you use a private car ($20-35 a day; http://www.lyna-carrental.com/) or a shared taxi or car ($40 and very subject to change with no notice)
ACCOMMODATIONS IN KEP:
—Knai Bang Chatt: http://www.knaibangchatt.com. Located waterside, about a minute by moto or tuk-tuk (motorized rickshaw) from the Crab Market. Rates $150-$350 high season, $110-$225 low season.
—Veranda Natural Resort: http://www.veranda-resort.com/index.php. Located inland, up a steep hill at end of dirt road, about three minutes by moto or tuk-tuk from Crab Market. Rooms and bungalows $40-$210, high season,; $35-$195, low season.
—Kep Malibu Estates: http://www.malibuestatesbungalows.com/. Located inland, up a short dirt road, about three minutes by moto or tuk-tuk from the Crab Market. Rooms or bungalows, $35-$120, high season, $30-$80, low season. Camping is also available.
The Beach House: http://www.thebeachhousekep.com/. Located on a steep hill overlooking Kep Beach, 3 minutes by moto or tuk-tuk from Crab Market. Rooms $40-$55.
The proprietor of the thatched-roof and bamboo-walled island restaurant will acknowledge the order in sign language and broken English. She'll shuffle across the seaside grass over to the dock where the crab cages sit, steeping in the Gulf of Thailand's tepid waters.
She'll return with a bucket of crustaceans and fry them in an iron wok over a charcoal fire in her open-air kitchen, searing them in a sauce made largely from sweet, fiery Kampot peppercorns. She'll bring you a heap of steaming seafood, pepper sauce, paper napkins and beer to the shaded picnic tables. You'll eat the crab — soft-shells and all — sucking the sauce from your fingers, drinking the beer to blunt the fiery pepper and thank the stars that few people have discovered the culinary and aesthetic pleasures of this southern coastal region.
While Cambodia's Angkor Wat temples are its biggest tourist draw, beach-bound tourists — particularly those looking for more than the backpacker-on-a-shoestring itinerary — are waking up to the unexplored beauty that this muggy country has to offer. The low-key beach town of Kep and the riverside village of Kampot, a three-hour drive south of the capital Phnom Penh, offer rough edges but simple charms, along with nearby islands like Koh Tonsay, where the crab in peppercorn is served.
The Kep-area beaches also offer alternatives to better-known regional beach resorts like Thailand's Phuket and even Cambodia's own Sihanoukville. Sihanoukville was a favorite of jet-setters (Jackie Kennedy visited in the '60s) before the country was beset by the horrors of wars, coups and the Khmer Rouge. These days, Sihanoukville's luxury resorts have plenty of attitude, having been rediscovered by growing numbers of nouveau-riche Cambodians and others. Sleepy Kep, in contrast, seems to attract a clientele that spurns Sihanoukville's swagger.
The town of Kep consists of a collection of modest residences and hotels tucked into the foliage off crumbling pavement and dusty roads, along with rows of motley shacks and several grand villas, many of which still show the ravages inflicted by the Khmer Rouge who sneered at Kep's bourgeois trappings. Kep Beach is mostly a stretch of rocky sand directly under the main road, though that doesn't stop the locals from swimming along the stony promenade. Notable local landmarks include an unusual nude statue of a fisherman's wife and a monstrous statue of a crab. The 16-room Beach House hotel and its tiny swimming pool hides just above the beach in the tropical hillside foliage, offering sweeping views of the gulf.
Bending around the promontory to the west and north is Kep's main drag, the Crab Market: a line of bamboo and thatch shacks where you can find crab, fish, prawns and squid, not to mention laundry service, tourist trinkets, boat rides, motos (mopeds), cold beer, cheap drugs, Internet connections, massage services and just about anything else you can imagine. The circus mix of locals, backpackers and proper tourists is a prime spot for people-watching.
Farther up the coast are Kep's nicer accommodations. Inland and up in the hills, there's the Veranda, with a wooden restaurant and bar on a slope with a vista of stunning sunsets over the water. Waterside, Knai Bang Chatt has the swankiest lodgings in town with an emerald infinity swimming pool and stylish, modernist building. The hotel's Sailing Club next door has a dining room perched on piers over the water and a small sandy beach where you can sip vodka tonics while the waves lap your toes. Kep Malibu Estates, despite the unusual name, is also perched inland, its swimming pool and grassy yard up a dusty road past rundown shacks and the disconcerting sight of impoverished farm families tending ragged plantings and staring blankly at passing tourists.
For many, the islands just off of Kep are the real draw. Phu Quoc is the largest, but it belongs to Vietnam and it's some distance away. For that reason, Koh Tonsay — translated as "Rabbit Island" — is arguably the most popular. Like many things in Cambodia, getting there is not entirely for the faint-hearted. Most hotels have connections with boat operators, or you can arrange a boat ride at one of the Crab Market shacks. The skinny boats, built mainly for fishing, are powered by crate-sized outboard engines with propeller shafts the length of a small tree. Their narrow width means they pitch and yaw more than most people feel comfortable with. That said, they move fast, and the 30-minute ride to Koh Tonsay (about $10) takes you out into a bay past poetic scenes of fishermen tending lines and seine nets.
The island reportedly was used at one point as a prison colony by the country's long-ruling monarch, Norodom Sihanouk. Today, however, its dense interior foliage keeps most visitors limited to the crystalline waters that slosh the whitish sands on its north side, where simple wood platforms are dotted with hammocks and thatched roofs. Just inland are the open-air kitchens and shacks of the half-dozen families who cater to tourists. For overnight stays, many families rent bungalows that are nothing more than enclosed shacks with wooden sleeping platforms and mosquito nets.
For most visitors, lounging on the beach platforms, alternating between swimming in the bathwater sea and drowsy contemplation of swaying palms is the most activity one can muster. Occasionally, wiry, naked-to-the-waist Cambodian men shimmying high into tree canopies, hacking at bushel-sized bunches of coconuts with machetes and letting the green fruit thud to the ground, spooking unsuspecting tourists. For less than a dollar, they'll trim off the husks for you, lop a hole into the top and pop a straw in it for the freshest coconut milk you could possibly hope for.
But when hunger truly strikes, it's best to find crab. The size of golf balls, these crustaceans are caught by traditional hook and lines, and left in cages in the water until mealtime. For less than $5, the cook/hostess prepares a mound of the animals, cooked in oil and peppercorns of the Kampot — a once-famous Cambodian agriculture export — and beer for two. The instinct is to equate crab with lobster, use your teeth to dismantle the shell and suck the meat out. But the shells are so soft, you realize it takes less effort to just eat the crab, meat, shell and all. With pepper sauce tingling on your tongue and cold beer washing it down, gorge yourself on Kep's finest culinary offering — and enjoy a place while it remains untrampled by the crowds.
____
If You Go...
KEP AND KOH TONSAY, CAMBODIA: http://bit.ly/9WqOPt
TIMING: The best time to visit Cambodia is in the rainy reason (roughly late September through February), when the daytime temperatures aren't sweltering. The rains, while heavy, are brief in their duration and awe-inspiring in their intensity. This is considered high season for many hotels and other tourist services.
GETTING THERE: Fly to one of Southeast Asia's hubs — like Bangkok or Singapore — then take a budget carrier — Air Asia, Silk Air, Dragon Air, Jet Star, to name a few — to Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh. Regular bus service between Phnom Penh and Kep is cheap (around $7; http://www.ppsoryatransport.com) but getting tickets and finding the right departure point in Phnom Penh's chaotic streets can be difficult, so best to ask your hotel or a travel agent for help. Renting a taxi to make the three-hour drive is also possible. Cost varies depending on whether you use a private car ($20-35 a day; http://www.lyna-carrental.com/) or a shared taxi or car ($40 and very subject to change with no notice)
ACCOMMODATIONS IN KEP:
—Knai Bang Chatt: http://www.knaibangchatt.com. Located waterside, about a minute by moto or tuk-tuk (motorized rickshaw) from the Crab Market. Rates $150-$350 high season, $110-$225 low season.
—Veranda Natural Resort: http://www.veranda-resort.com/index.php. Located inland, up a steep hill at end of dirt road, about three minutes by moto or tuk-tuk from Crab Market. Rooms and bungalows $40-$210, high season,; $35-$195, low season.
—Kep Malibu Estates: http://www.malibuestatesbungalows.com/. Located inland, up a short dirt road, about three minutes by moto or tuk-tuk from the Crab Market. Rooms or bungalows, $35-$120, high season, $30-$80, low season. Camping is also available.
The Beach House: http://www.thebeachhousekep.com/. Located on a steep hill overlooking Kep Beach, 3 minutes by moto or tuk-tuk from Crab Market. Rooms $40-$55.
Thursday, April 09, 2009
Cambodia reborn as tourist destination
Wed, April 08 2009
South Asian Post
South Asian Post
In Cambodia, where a decade-long tourism boom has been driven almost entirely by safe and easy access to the ancient Angkor Wat temples, the rebirth of a seaside resort town is helping lure visitors to the country’s long-neglected coastline.
The sleepy town of Kep on the southeast coast has been earmarked as Cambodia’s first boutique tourism destination, but for now it bears few of the characteristics of the countless backpacker Meccas and resorts scattered throughout Southeast Asia.
Tourist numbers have surged in recent years, but this town of just a few thousand people has maintained its unhurried, pastoral character. Unlike Sihanoukville, a lively huddle of guesthouses, bars and nightclubs on the central coast, Kep seems to be taking a relaxed path towards developing its tourism sector.
But with its lush rainforests, crystalline waters and bountiful seafood, Kep is finding that the tourists don’t need much encouragement. A three-hour drive from the capital Phnom Penh, Kep has become a favorite weekend retreat for expatriates and Cambodia’s burgeoning middle class.
The town is only 20 minutes from a recently opened Vietnamese border crossing, making it a perfect place to say hello or goodbye to Cambodia.
"They told us to expect fewer tourists in Cambodia this year," a local taxi driver says. "But more and more come here every week, to see the mountains and the caves, and of course, to eat."
Kep’s famous crabs were among the many treasures that helped the town become a playground for Cambodia’s French rulers in the early 20th century. Along with former king and independence leader Norodom Sihanouk, the French elite built dozens of mansions in the hills along the coastline and sailed their yachts in the protected waters in the Gulf of Thailand.
But like many regions in Cambodia, Kep was ravaged by the United States’ secret bombing campaign during the Indochinese War, and was forcibly evacuated during the Khmer Rouge’s 1975-1979 rule. The ultra-communist group considered the town a symbol of bourgeois hedonism and colonial oppression, and destroyed most of its infrastructure.
Kep lay dormant for more than a decade, and the scars of its troubled past are still visible among the poor local population and neglected amenities. The seaside villas left standing have become overgrown with vines and tree trunks, and now only the smallest of fishing boats dock in the once-bustling port.
But Kep’s striking beauty has not paled despite years of conflict, neglect and civil war. Guesthouses and hotels catering to all budgets have been built along the coast, including the exclusive Knai Banh Chatt hotel, which boasts views of the imposing Bokor Mountain from its infinity pool.
While the town has no beach and is separated from the sea by a strip of coarse red stones, a cheap 30 minute boat ride to Koh Thonsay — known as Rabbit Island — reveals one of Cambodia’s pristine beaches. Budget accommodation is compulsory, as the island’s only available beds are housed in palm-wood bungalows, which can be rented for between $7 and $10 per night.
The bungalows’ power generators are switched off at 10 p.m., and as the fluorescent lights along the beach fade, a spectacular night sky is revealed.
But Kep’s greatest attraction may well be the variety of seafood on offer in the restaurants and stalls downtown. Crabs cooked with local pepper sell for between $3 and $10, and grilled fish on skewers cost less than $5. For the more adventurous, or less eco-conscious, grilled seahorse is also available.
Driving past the various building sites, road workers and bulldozers on the road out of town, one gets the impression that the place is on the verge of a tourism storm. So as travellers look for cheaper tropical escapes in South-East Asia, now might be the time to experience Kep and beat the rush.
The sleepy town of Kep on the southeast coast has been earmarked as Cambodia’s first boutique tourism destination, but for now it bears few of the characteristics of the countless backpacker Meccas and resorts scattered throughout Southeast Asia.
Tourist numbers have surged in recent years, but this town of just a few thousand people has maintained its unhurried, pastoral character. Unlike Sihanoukville, a lively huddle of guesthouses, bars and nightclubs on the central coast, Kep seems to be taking a relaxed path towards developing its tourism sector.
But with its lush rainforests, crystalline waters and bountiful seafood, Kep is finding that the tourists don’t need much encouragement. A three-hour drive from the capital Phnom Penh, Kep has become a favorite weekend retreat for expatriates and Cambodia’s burgeoning middle class.
The town is only 20 minutes from a recently opened Vietnamese border crossing, making it a perfect place to say hello or goodbye to Cambodia.
"They told us to expect fewer tourists in Cambodia this year," a local taxi driver says. "But more and more come here every week, to see the mountains and the caves, and of course, to eat."
Kep’s famous crabs were among the many treasures that helped the town become a playground for Cambodia’s French rulers in the early 20th century. Along with former king and independence leader Norodom Sihanouk, the French elite built dozens of mansions in the hills along the coastline and sailed their yachts in the protected waters in the Gulf of Thailand.
But like many regions in Cambodia, Kep was ravaged by the United States’ secret bombing campaign during the Indochinese War, and was forcibly evacuated during the Khmer Rouge’s 1975-1979 rule. The ultra-communist group considered the town a symbol of bourgeois hedonism and colonial oppression, and destroyed most of its infrastructure.
Kep lay dormant for more than a decade, and the scars of its troubled past are still visible among the poor local population and neglected amenities. The seaside villas left standing have become overgrown with vines and tree trunks, and now only the smallest of fishing boats dock in the once-bustling port.
But Kep’s striking beauty has not paled despite years of conflict, neglect and civil war. Guesthouses and hotels catering to all budgets have been built along the coast, including the exclusive Knai Banh Chatt hotel, which boasts views of the imposing Bokor Mountain from its infinity pool.
While the town has no beach and is separated from the sea by a strip of coarse red stones, a cheap 30 minute boat ride to Koh Thonsay — known as Rabbit Island — reveals one of Cambodia’s pristine beaches. Budget accommodation is compulsory, as the island’s only available beds are housed in palm-wood bungalows, which can be rented for between $7 and $10 per night.
The bungalows’ power generators are switched off at 10 p.m., and as the fluorescent lights along the beach fade, a spectacular night sky is revealed.
But Kep’s greatest attraction may well be the variety of seafood on offer in the restaurants and stalls downtown. Crabs cooked with local pepper sell for between $3 and $10, and grilled fish on skewers cost less than $5. For the more adventurous, or less eco-conscious, grilled seahorse is also available.
Driving past the various building sites, road workers and bulldozers on the road out of town, one gets the impression that the place is on the verge of a tourism storm. So as travellers look for cheaper tropical escapes in South-East Asia, now might be the time to experience Kep and beat the rush.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Kep hastens Cambodia's coastal tourism revival
Tue, 31 Mar 2009
DPA
DPA
Kep, Cambodia - In Cambodia, where a decade-long tourism boom has been driven almost entirely by safe and easy access to the ancient Angkor Wat temples, the rebirth of a seaside resort town is helping to lure visitors to country's long-neglected coastline. The sleepy town of Kep on the south-east coast has been earmarked as Cambodia's first boutique tourism destination, but for now it bares few of the characteristics of the countless backpacker Meccas and resorts scattered throughout South-East Asia.
Tourist numbers have surged in recent years, but this town of just a few thousand people has maintained its unhurried, pastoral character. Unlike Sihanoukville, a lively huddle of guesthouses, bars and nightclubs on the central coast, Kep seems to be taking a relaxed path towards developing its tourism sector.
But with its alluringly lush rainforests, crystalline waters and bountiful seafood, Kep is finding that the tourists don't need much encouragement. A three-hour drive from the capital Phnom Penh, Kep has become a favorite weekend retreat for expatriates and Cambodia's burgeoning middle class.
The town is only 20 minutes from a recently opened Vietnamese border crossing, making it a perfect place to say hello or goodbye to Cambodia.
"They told us to expect fewer tourists in Cambodia this year," a local taxi driver says. "But more and more come here every week, to see the mountains and the caves, and of course, to eat."
Kep's famous crabs were among the many treasures that helped the town become playground for Cambodia's French rulers in the early 20th century. Along with former king and independence leader Norodom Sihanouk, the French elite built dozens of mansions in the hills along the coastline and sailed their yachts in the calm, protected waters in the Gulf of Thailand.
But like many regions in Cambodia, Kep was ravaged by the United States' secret bombing campaign during the Indochinese War and was forcibly evacuated during the Khmer Rouge's 1975-1975 rule. The ultra-communist group considered the town a symbol of bourgeois hedonism and colonial oppression, and destroyed most of its infrastructure.
Kep lay dormant for more than a decade, and the scars of its troubled past are still visible among the poor local population and neglected amenities. The seaside villas left standing have become overgrown with vines and tree trunks, and now only the smallest of fishing boats can dock in the once-bustling port.
But Kep's striking beauty has not paled despite years of conflict, neglect and civil war. Guesthouses and hotels catering to all budgets have been built along the coast, including the exclusive Knai Banh Chatt hotel, which boasts views of the imposing Bokor Mountain from its infinity pool.
While the town has no beach and is separated from the sea by a strip of coarse red stones, a cheap 30 minute boat ride to Koh Thonsay - known as Rabbit Island - reveals one of Cambodia's unspoilt, pristine beaches. Budget accommodation is compulsory, as
the island's only available beds are housed in palm-wood bungalows, which can be rented for between 7 and 10 dollars per night.
The bungalows' power generators are switched off a 10 pm, and as the fluorescent lights along the beach fade, a spectacular night sky is revealed.
But Kep's greatest attraction may well be the variety of seafood on offer in the restaurants and stalls downtown. Crabs cooked with local pepper sell for between 3 and 10 dollars and grilled fish on skewers cost less than 5 dollars. For the more adventurous, or rather less eco-conscious, gilled seahorse is also available.
Driving past the various building sites, road workers and bulldozers on the road out of town, one gets the impression that the place is on the verge of a tourism storm. A good road now runs straight to the nearby riverside town of Kampot, which is enjoying its own tourism rebirth, and there are signs of a coastal tourism trail emerging. So as travellers look for cheaper tropical escapes in South-East Asia, now might be the time to experience Kep and beat the rush.
Tourist numbers have surged in recent years, but this town of just a few thousand people has maintained its unhurried, pastoral character. Unlike Sihanoukville, a lively huddle of guesthouses, bars and nightclubs on the central coast, Kep seems to be taking a relaxed path towards developing its tourism sector.
But with its alluringly lush rainforests, crystalline waters and bountiful seafood, Kep is finding that the tourists don't need much encouragement. A three-hour drive from the capital Phnom Penh, Kep has become a favorite weekend retreat for expatriates and Cambodia's burgeoning middle class.
The town is only 20 minutes from a recently opened Vietnamese border crossing, making it a perfect place to say hello or goodbye to Cambodia.
"They told us to expect fewer tourists in Cambodia this year," a local taxi driver says. "But more and more come here every week, to see the mountains and the caves, and of course, to eat."
Kep's famous crabs were among the many treasures that helped the town become playground for Cambodia's French rulers in the early 20th century. Along with former king and independence leader Norodom Sihanouk, the French elite built dozens of mansions in the hills along the coastline and sailed their yachts in the calm, protected waters in the Gulf of Thailand.
But like many regions in Cambodia, Kep was ravaged by the United States' secret bombing campaign during the Indochinese War and was forcibly evacuated during the Khmer Rouge's 1975-1975 rule. The ultra-communist group considered the town a symbol of bourgeois hedonism and colonial oppression, and destroyed most of its infrastructure.
Kep lay dormant for more than a decade, and the scars of its troubled past are still visible among the poor local population and neglected amenities. The seaside villas left standing have become overgrown with vines and tree trunks, and now only the smallest of fishing boats can dock in the once-bustling port.
But Kep's striking beauty has not paled despite years of conflict, neglect and civil war. Guesthouses and hotels catering to all budgets have been built along the coast, including the exclusive Knai Banh Chatt hotel, which boasts views of the imposing Bokor Mountain from its infinity pool.
While the town has no beach and is separated from the sea by a strip of coarse red stones, a cheap 30 minute boat ride to Koh Thonsay - known as Rabbit Island - reveals one of Cambodia's unspoilt, pristine beaches. Budget accommodation is compulsory, as
the island's only available beds are housed in palm-wood bungalows, which can be rented for between 7 and 10 dollars per night.
The bungalows' power generators are switched off a 10 pm, and as the fluorescent lights along the beach fade, a spectacular night sky is revealed.
But Kep's greatest attraction may well be the variety of seafood on offer in the restaurants and stalls downtown. Crabs cooked with local pepper sell for between 3 and 10 dollars and grilled fish on skewers cost less than 5 dollars. For the more adventurous, or rather less eco-conscious, gilled seahorse is also available.
Driving past the various building sites, road workers and bulldozers on the road out of town, one gets the impression that the place is on the verge of a tourism storm. A good road now runs straight to the nearby riverside town of Kampot, which is enjoying its own tourism rebirth, and there are signs of a coastal tourism trail emerging. So as travellers look for cheaper tropical escapes in South-East Asia, now might be the time to experience Kep and beat the rush.
Thursday, January 01, 2009
Royal Decrees approve three Cambodian municipalities to turn into provinces
January 01, 2009
Xinhua
Xinhua
Pailin, Sihanoukville and Kep municipalities have been re-designated as Cambodia's newest provinces, English-Khmer language newspaper the Cambodia Daily on Thursday quoted recent Royal Decrees as saying.
Cambodia now has 23 provinces in all with one municipality, namely Phnom Penh, it said.
Earlier reports in local media said that the re-designation aimed at facilitating the forthcoming Commune Councils Election this year, or the local poll of the kingdom, to elect village and commune heads.
With the title of province, the people in these three areas can enjoy wider political participation, said local media.
The election will start on May 17.
Cambodia now has 23 provinces in all with one municipality, namely Phnom Penh, it said.
Earlier reports in local media said that the re-designation aimed at facilitating the forthcoming Commune Councils Election this year, or the local poll of the kingdom, to elect village and commune heads.
With the title of province, the people in these three areas can enjoy wider political participation, said local media.
The election will start on May 17.
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