Kep is the city we were most looking forward to visiting in
Cambodia. Its history captivated us. We’d heard it described as “The Hamptons”
before the Khmer Rouge came through. The rich, famous, royalty, etc., all came
to Kep and being there you could see why it was a destination point for so many.
As we travelled around the small town (no atm’s or banks- however that’ll
change in 2012! Apparently.), we could see what use to be grand beautiful
homes… now empty buildings, blackened and partially hidden by the overgrown
bushes and trees. But even then, it was easy to imagine what they must have
looked like before being abandoned by force. Another part of Kep’s past and
present that intrigued us is the French influence— in the cooking and
architecture. When we told other travelers of our plans to go to Kep, they
said, “Uhhh… Kep? You should go to Kampot- you need to go to Kampot. Much more
to do there, it’s more developed…” blah blah blah. That was all part of why we
picked Kep…. What more could you want for a few days than the beach, sun, beer
and crab? Of course, we did make a couple of trips up to Kampot, as Kep has no
banks and we were in need. Kampot was okay… but the drives
back to Kep were always preferred, and so was Kep. That’s actually
putting it nicely when it comes to Kampot, but we won’t get into those stories
in this post… as it is dedicated to the lovely Kep. (If you want to know about
Kampot — to put it quickly, just two bad experiences—100% due to the banks
there and my “bad signature”! GR! Long story.)
Then there’s the crab market. Oh the crab… the delicious,
fresh, succulent, cheap as you can buy, crab. And boy did we get our fill. One
of the best parts about the crab in Kep was the green Kampot peppers that
always seemed to accompany it. Kep/Kampot is renowned for producing one of the
world's finest peppers (the green Kampots) and they were in peak season during
our visit.
Our trip to the crab market was possibly the highlight of
our time in Kep. We walked straight over to the market, set alongside the
beach, and all the wives of crab fishermen approach you—pointing to their
baskets filled with live crabs… wanting you, of course, to buy from them. We
made our choice and picked out five delicious looking crabs—a couple on the
small (what I would consider “normal”) size, then three rather large ones. Our
grand total? $7.00!! Our lovely cook then threw the crabs into a boiling pot of
water and slid the lid over to let them simmer for about 10 minutes. While we
waited for our crabs to finish cooking, we bought a jar full of fresh Kampot
peppers, soaking in their own juices (Hallelujah!!). We were mad for these
peppers…. So amazingly good, you could eat them on their own. Of course, we
preferred them with a bit of thick juicy crab meat, but they can stand on their
own just fine in my book. When the crabs were done cooking, they were tossed in
a plastic sack and handed over to their drooling beneficiaries. We grabbed two
cans of ice cold beer, found a table, and dug in. CAN I GET AN AMEN?!? The
angels were singing… the sun was beaming straight down on us and our feast… and
as Travis and I looked into each others’ eyes, there was a complete
understanding that if there is a heaven, this was it… we had died and gone there.
Funny how a bird pooing on your table (nowhere near the crab mind you) can
bring you back to reality pretty quick and make you realize that you haven’t
died and gone to heaven… you’re just eating one of the best meals of your life.
Pics to come!!!
