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    Cambodia's Kep - photoblog

    / Last updated 09 Mar 2012

    Introduction

    A photoblog of Kep, pre-Khmer Rouge Cambodia's beach playground for the rich, now in ruins and making its first moves towards recovery.
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • Kep's main beach. It looks good but it's quite rocky underwater. It's definitely the most swimmer friendly beach around Kep though.
    • Kep's crab market - an essential dining spot for visitors. It's more a selection of seafood restaurants than a market. Very tasty - nothing flash though and things move to Kep's very measured tempo. Be patient and enjoy the views!

    • Kep crab market.


    • Squid at Kep's crab market.
    • Near the crab market, Kep

    • The most striking thing about Kep is the array of modern ruins strewn about the town. They speak of Kep's heyday in the 1960s when Cambodia's local and foreign elite built Asia's grooviest beachside town.

    • The owners of these houses were from the class most hated by the Khmer Rouge - the country's educated elite, its artists and its foreign residents. The lucky ones fled the country and the rest perished following the Khmer Rouge takeover after 1975.
    • There was an amazing amount of architectural ambition in these places - in part driven by Sihanouk's own love of architecture.
    • Broken tiles of a shattered culture.
    • Stairs to nowhere. Kep
    • We spent two days exploring Kep and its immediate surrounds - a good bit of it wandering through the ruins of these houses. It's a disturbing experience. The relative recency of this town's prime makes its demise all the more haunting.
    • Kep ruins
    • In many cases the outside walls are all that remain of the houses. There are big plans for Kep and most if not all of the ruins will be cleared away in the years ahead. Cambodia's new rich prefer a more ostentatious architecture to the striking simple beauty that these houses formerly displayed.
    • Ruins of Kep

    • Jean Michel Filippe is a linguistics professor fluent in Khmer and an expert in the history of Kep and its surrounds. Keep an eye out for our interview with him in our Insights video series.

    • The enmeshment of some of Kep's ruins with trees is reminiscent of Ta Prohm and other Angkorian era temples.
    • Overrun by nature. Kep

    • Kep's former casino is perhaps the most dramatic ruin in the town. Once the centre of glamour, it's now in the middle of a shanty town and packed with rubbish.

    • Kep's ruined casino. It's ironic that Cambodia is once again putting casinos at the centre of its development plans. These days though, the buildings are enormous glittering monuments to bad taste and excess. At least Sihanouk showed good taste.

    • This man lives nearby the old casino.
    • Ruins of Kep
    • Ruins of Kep
    • Ruins of Kep
    • The building is still owned by Cambodia's royal family and its restoration is planned in the coming years. For now though, a small payment to the caretaker gets you access.
    • King Sihanouk's mother's residence in Kep. It was occupied by Vietnamese soldiers during the war against the Khmer Rouge and was the scene of nasty skirmishes evidenced by the pockmarks.
    • Pock marks at the Sihanouk's mother's residence.
    • Tiles that have seen better days.
    • Ruins of Kep
    • Formerly Kep's most glamorous restaurant - a trail bike parked in the middle of the dance floor.
    • We stayed at the Kep Beach House. Probably the best place in town and excellent value at 40USD per night. Great location, good rooms. Staff and restaurant less impressive.
    • Kep is perfect for walking, cycling or motorcycling. The roads are good and the views are beautiful. Cyclists will face some challenging hills.
    • King Sihanouk often used this beach as a location for his films. The naked fisherman's wife is a symbol of the town.
    • The view from our room at the Beach House.
    • Sunset from the Kep crab market.
    Quicklink - Introduction - Kep