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Crab palooza!

Kep is another small town on the coast of Cambodia, as close to Vietnam as we will get. We spent three mellow days exploring here, and ate crab and pepper by the pound most days. When in Rome…

Kep has been a seaside refuge of the elites in the past, and seems to be coming back. Aside ruined homes are emerging hotels and businesses, and the main road which is painfully small now is being expanded to a four lane boulevard.

The crab market is one hub, serving up crab fresh from the back door – almost literally except there is no door.

We learned in a tour of the pepper farm that the addictive green pepper on the vine is only good for 2-3 days which is perhaps why it hasn’t made a US debut. But dried, it is expo as black pepper. Red pepper is green ripened and dried with the skins on, but peeled becomes white pepper. Who knew?

Rabbit Island was another stop from Kep, a 20 minute boat ride away. This beach refuge is also being developed; it’s like seeing the Caribbean when the resorts were just being built. A trail around the island leads past construction to mangroves and then a family’s home a fishing spot. I wonder what it will look like 10 years from now.

Our detour to the Cambodian coast was a good one. We got to slow down to do more biking and hiking, and eating our weight in crab and pepper.

Transit days are action-packed, emphasized by 007 films playing on the bus. We were leaving the big city for costal connections. First stop- Kampot. We didn’t know much about it, and I’m guessing its new to you. So here’s what we learned:
– Kampot is famous for pepper (mostly green but also black and red)
– Pepper is so plentiful here they add it to dishes by the vineful which is strangely not overwhelming but very flavorful. I didn’t hear much sneezing at meals.

– Where there is pepper, here there is salt. Mined in salt flats!

– There is a large community of Muslims here in southern Cambodia. Known as the Chams, this group is originally of Vietnamese origin but ethnically affiliated with Indonesia. They were one of multiple minorities persecuted under Pol Pot’s regime.

– Though TripAdvisors ratings can be bizarre, when they are right, they are really right! We stayed at the number one hotel in Kampot and loved it. The number one restaurant was a one-man wonder and I don’t know what secret recipes he kept under his newsie’s hat, but this chef packed in the flavor.
– Anthony Bourdain edits out the rats from some of his Parts Unknown series, and my husband also failed to warn me rats were in the reviews he read. Rats.
– Mountain bikes are golden for getting deep into the dirt roads and passing the school kids who seem to manage it all with ease on vintage bikes 🙂
– Pimms cocktail is surprisingly refreshing on a hot day. Especially when they are two for one.

Kampot was a great mellow change of pace from the bustle of Phnom Penh, and they say Kep will be even sleepier!

We’ve seen a lot of markets and malls, but they say Phnom Penh’s is not to be missed. The largest in Asia when it was first built in 1937, it was updated in after having been bombed in the Fraco-Thai war and then again in 1992. It is a spoke and wheel environment, so the center archway shows glittering gold and gems, then down one side is clothing, another produce and food, another school books and papers. One of the most interesting sections for us involved jeweler stands polishing, designing and crafting for clients who seemed to be getting the Chinese New Year holidays. No new bling for me, but lots of entertainment.

We went for pulled noodles for lunch which was delicious and settled my stomach a bit from its morning mutiny.

Then we opted for unsettling in an afternoon viewing of The Killing Fields. I’d remembered my mom talking about it, but neither T nor I had seen it. Conveniently, it shows all over Cambodia to generations of travelers like me who only know Sam Waterston from Law and Order. Mom as usual was right – it was a must see. The movie ended – spoiler alert – by talking about the fate of the journalist and his Cambodian colleague, as well as mentioning how Cambodia was still at war. From that post-script, we walked out to a sunset at a rooftop bar overlooking Sunday strollers in the parks and international flags lining the boulevard. T was asking about the American bombings which have rise to the Khmer Rouge, as I marveled that in this week’s paper there was an article about the former prime minister’s wife attempting to bring charges against France for surrendering her husband from asylum at their embassy to the Khmer Rouge (which was portrayed in the film). The case was dismissed as it was decided (somehow) that he offered himself up rather then have all Cambodians at the embassy die.

The heaviness was dissipated by a summer night full of life, balloons and two-for-one cocktails. T reveled in watching a fusion game of hacky sack and badminton. It could have been Central Park.

We followed one movie with a later documentary screening by the Cambodian Center for Human Rights about the state of human rights today. I was impressed with the turnout and got to sit next to a young man who is part of a local group working to increase awareness and advocacy for basic rights here in Phnom Penh. Land rights were a major concern of the presentation, with forced relocations happening to clear the way for new development.

We ended a full day in Brooklyn, or at least that’s what it felt like. A small alley had been redone with 5-6 small bars with different themes – library, motorcycles, etcetera. But T must have been dreaming of Paris instead as he only had eyed for the crepes nearby!

Our first of two full days in the Cambodian Capitol of Phnom Penh was on. We missed the morning aerobics in the park; one needed to be up at 5 am for that. Our walking tour started at a more reasonable hour, and included a coffee break. Turns out that two coffees here are about US$6. This lead T to muse about what the size and salaries of the expat community here might be like.

We saw a few monuments, temples and the Supreme Court. We ended the am tour back at the Banh Mi shop, where there was fresh bread and a kind Vietnamese owner with a northern Cali attitude, thanks to his time in the Bay area.

The pool was the best spot to conquer the midday heat, and catch up on our neighbor’s FaceTime home to England. She reports a lovely tour and her father has paid all her latest bills. I was willing to pay for a headset, or ask her dad to sponsor my noise canceling headphones.

The evening in the city involved joining locals for walks in the park, followed by Khmer food. After that, we were drawn to “The Mansion”, an old building once inhabited by french colonials, then Khmer Rouge, then a Vietnamese police headquarters and now a bar venue waiting for a new buyer. In its present incarnation, it comes with a Spanish band, mojitos and local boys doing their salsa moves while hiding from the bouncer. We were too tired to stop in on the Dreamland carnival on the way home, but the bumper cars did intrigue me!