Kep, naturally

Natural beauty is abundant in Cambodia, despite the history of destruction under the Khmer Rouge and the more recent ravages of ‘development’.

My village of Thmar Puok is in the far north of the country and has plenty in the way of trees and fields, with forests and hills in the distance lining the border with Thailand. What we don’t have is water – no mighty Mekong as in the east, no vast Tonle Sap lake as enjoyed by residents of the central plains – and certainly no sea.

So when Katja suggested we extend a trip to Phnom Penh include a trip south to the coast, I jumped at the chance. A mere 14 hours of bus journeys later and we were dipping our toes in the balmy waters of the Gulf of Thailand.

Cambodia’s main seaside resort is Sihanoukville (or Kampong Som as everyone calls it), but it sounds about as attractive as a crab curry. The quiet and understated town of Kep, popular with Cambodians as much as western visitors, is about 100 kms east and a world away. Naturally we headed there, and we didn’t regret it.

Kep sur Mer, as it was, became a popular seaside retreat for French rulers in the early 1900s looking for a natural break from the sound and fury of Phnom Pehn. It’s easy to see the attraction – colonial villas and lodges were constructed right on the unspoiled shoreline and up the steep green slopes of the hill offering sweeping views out to sea.

Sadly Kep suffered badly under the Khmer Rouge in the late 1970s. Not only were buildings directly destroyed, but what remained of the town was stripped bare by starving people made desperate by the regime’s disastrous attempts to create an ‘ideal’ peasant society. By the early 1980s the town lay in ruins.

Reconstruction has taken time, and on a walk around the hill we saw several buildings which were just shells occupied by poor farming families on an semi-permanent basis. But there is a buzz again about Kep, with several developments underway which at least appear to be sensitive to the local people and environment.

The 10km walk around the base of the hill was truly uplifting, for the sea views and also for the unusual efforts made to provide a sanctuary for wildlife and a pleasant environment for visitors. Not only did beautiful butterflies flutter overhead and giant millipedes crawl over my boots, but none of this was sullied by the piles of plastic bags and polystyrene food wrapping which blight much of Cambodia – truly a breath of fresh air.

Similarly inspiring was our stay on Rabbit Island, a short boat ride off the coast. I was initially concerned by my guidebook’s warning not to get the wrong boat – apparently if you stray into Vietnamese territorial waters you are less likely to be greeted with a lotus flower than a heavily armed gunship, as neighbourly relations remain strained. I hope I’m wrong, but I fear that the recent discovery of oil in the Gulf of Thailand may not be good news for these relationships, for the local people or indeed for preservation of the area’s natural beauty.

There are no rabbits on Rabbit island– the name comes from the shape of the island rather than its fauna – but there is a lovely sandy beach, a row of simple wooden beach huts, and lovely clean water. At night we dived off the pier into the warm, clear sea to watch the air bubbles on our skin shine bright with phosphoresence– it’s a wonderful natural phenomenon (and one which only happens in unpolluted water).

Back on the mainland, there was time to admire the great white statue which dominates this part of the coastline – gazing out to sea is a beautiful Khmer woman, dressed as if to swim (Cambodians like to splash around, though they are a little constrained by the fact that few have been taught to swim, and that their culture demands you must remain clothed to enter the water). The woman was hardly wearing a skimpy bikini, but apparently the statue was initially controversial, with conservative visitors even draping extra cloth to protect her natural modesty.

So here’s to Kep sur Mer – let’s hope it can be a model for how Cambodia can balance its need for development whilst protecting its stunning natural beauty.