Kep is a pretty tropical beach town with a population of 40 thousand, located in the south-west of Cambodia, 173 km from the capital Phnom Penh.. Founded in the 1908s during the French colonial period, the name of the town comes from the English word cape.. Famous as the favorite holiday destination of Cambodians, Kep was restored by the Prince of Cambodia in the 1960s. It is a place to see with its hotels and a clear swimmable beach longer than 1 km.
It is difficult to understand and perceive where the town center is.. The bus terminal, located on the beach, is the size of a small parking lot.. When you look around, the back of the 2-storey houses and shops you can see is covered with forests you know.. You find yourself among the sea on one side and a forest covered with lush and tall trees on the other.
I came to Kep from Kampot by bus ($3). We agreed with one of the hotel employees who were waiting for the tourists to arrive at the bus stop and went to their hotel with a shuttle car.. The nature is lush in places in Asia, but here with the grass and flowers sparkling under the sun, it was as if I was feeling Spring for the first time in a long time.. I’ve never seen so many butterflies flying around me in my life.. Yellowish-white butterflies are everywhere.
At Top Tree Guest House, I settled into my bamboo and leaves bungalow ($5). The view is amazing, nothing more than amazing. I ordered my coffee by looking at a sea view that is visible over the trees and I don’t know where it meets the sky because of its color on the horizon.. Its beaches cannot compete with Thailand, nor the atmosphere and entertainment of its cities make a difference, but it has a calmness and peace that connects it to itself in the simplicity it offers.. Maybe the reason I feel it the most is because I feel the spring here.. Even though I thought about going out and walking around, I couldn’t get up from my place.. While I was eating my French style sandwich, I started to watch the beautiful sunset view.
Day 626: Cambodia:20 Kep, 19 April 2012
