Kampot, Kep and Rabbit Island

Lonely Planet says the road from Phnom Penh to Kampot is variable. Mental note - write to Lonely Planet and advise them the road is now appalling. Sealed, yes - but the pot holes would tax the suspension of a Merc, let alone that of a clapped out Toyota Camry taxi whose shocks expired a few dozen trips prior.

Of course we want to get to the coastal town of Kep, but the taxi only goes to Kampot, leaving us 20kms short of our destination. Motos to the rescue, and we enjoy a pleasant, if bumpy, trip to the first visible part of the coast, where there's an array of fine restaurants for lunch.

That's $3 each for the moto trip. Ah - you want to get to the boat to Rabbit Is - that's 4km away and will be another dollar. Suspecting a scam, we break for lunch, and our host says the boat's only 1.5km around the corner.

With my heavy pack on my back, we set off after lunch. Fi has the foresight to bring a day bag from PP. Moto and tuk tuk drivers accost us - You want a ride, 4km to boat, only $1. Yeah yeah - just round the next corner, and we wave them on.


I've hear there's good seafood to be had around here...

Approximately 4km later we arrive footsore at the wharf. Perhaps not everyone's out to scam us!

A pleasant trip for half an hour across to an idyllic coconut palm-fringed island, with not a nightclub in sight. Bliss!


We settle in for a bit of R&R with some fresh coconut juice.


And check out our lodging for the night. A bit rustic, but what more do you want on a desert island? If you want nightclubs, bars and noisy tourists, go to Sihanoukville.


Sorry about the rotated photo, but I have to show you what we had for dinner.

There's a bit of heavy overnight rain, but our thatched roof holds up and we don't get wet at all. I'm up early for a morning swim - the water is crystal clear and warm. Fi, bless her cotton socks, forgets to bring her togs! I of course had everything in my pack.


We go for a walk around to the northern point of the island after breakfast before our boat leaves to take us back to the mainland. The wind's picking up a bit and I can see a few whitecaps - could be an interesting trip.

We pile on to the boat with a few other tourists and head out in to the channel. The swell's running at over a metre now and the wind's over 20 knots. No concern, but the Swiss girl beside me doesn't like the spray in her face as we pitch in to the waves, and pulls out her umbrella. I can't believe it! I spend the rest of the trip guarding my face in case a sudden gust takes an eye out.

We get back to Kep and subsequently Kampot to find there's no way to get to Bokor Mountain today. We debate skipping it, but we've heard that going to Kampot without visiting Bokor is like travelling to Siem Reap and not seeing the Angkor temples, so decide to book for tomorrow and make up time with a late taxi dash back to PP.




This gives us plenty of time to chill out in the evening, where we eat at a restaurant perched precariously on stilts over the river. A fantastic dining experience, so long as Fi doesn't slide her chair back too far. OSH would have a fit! Stay tuned for Bokor.