Friday 28th March
We weren't sure whether we were just going to head back to Phnom Penh that day or hang on and take a trip further down the coast to the town of Kep, and from there take a boat over to Rabbit Island. Feeling nicely rested that morning, and in better form than the night before, we chose to stay on for an extra day and check out the local sights, seeing as we were in the area.
We had breakfast at the 'Epic Arts Cafe', a place which employs local deaf people as staff, and is part of a general program that aims to promote arts performances amongst the disabled community in and around Kampot. Once again, the staff were lovely people, very cheerful, and the food was also fantastic (I never knew banana jam existed before then, but I left a big fan!). It was a good start to the day.
We took a tuk-tuk to Kep for $15, the 24km journey taking about three-quarters of an hour. It was a pleasant drive to the jetty and the boat that took us over to Rabbit Island cost us another $15 for two of us. The boat trip took about twenty minutes and we found the main beach to be a lot quieter and less developed than any other I had visited on this trip; palm trees lined the beach, and basic bamboo huts sat on the grass behind the sand, providing accommodation for anyone who wanted to stay there.
It was a beautiful day and the beach was spot on. The water in the Gulf of Thailand off the coast of Cambodia had been very warm and it's easy to stay in and enjoy it for a long period of time without getting cold. Maria and I loved the place and hope that it doesn't become too popular – and therefore over-developed – but it inevitably will. We stayed on the island until 17.00, when the boat brought us back to the mainland. After a short wait for the tuk-tuk driver to come and pick us up, we drove back to Kampot in the dusk, in good form and very happy that we had decided to stay another day on the coast. It had probably been one of the best days that Maria and I had spent together on the trip so far.
After a shower and a change, we went out to the 'Rusty Keyhole' restaurant for dinner, and tried their apparently famous ribs. Maria went for a half rack but I ordered the full monty, but they were pretty disappointing, and most likely famous for giving people a stiff jaw, as the meat was so chewy. Regardless of that, we had a good laugh, still on a high after our day on Rabbit Island.
After dinner, we checked our emails and on the way back to the hotel we saw a bunch of local kids of various ages playing together in the street. It was a game like 'blind tig', and it all looked very innocent compared to how teenagers use their free time back home, and in many other parts of the world. But the kids on this street all seemed to be having a great laugh and mixing well with one another, despite the fact that they have so much less than other kids. They weren't getting into trouble for having 'nothing to do', just making their own fun and not bothering anyone else. I just thought it was really nice to see.
