MAY 2015:
Click here to read our Cambodia Retirement Review.
GETTING THERE:
I was booked in for 2 weeks in Kampot. My plans for Cambodia included a couple of weeks in Kep before moving north to Sihanoukville (‘Snooky’).
It was an easy ride down National Highway 3; that makes the road sound like a motorway… believe me, it is not. The traffic was very ‘light’ and not a worry at all.
I decided to do the long loop around Kep Sur Mer, so I passed the first turn off and took the second one (starting along the coast south of the National Park).
It took 20 minutes to get there on my scooter.
WHAT I FOUND:
There are just 2 focal points:
- Kep Beach (where they ‘imported’ the sand from Sihanoukville)
- The Crab Market
I zig-zagged every street around Kep Beach and the Crab Market to see what sort of accommodation I could find.
The best ‘value for money’ deals that I could find were:
- Dara Kep: These were about 2-3kms from Kep Beach but they did Bungalows with fan for US$200/m
- Le Coco: Did Bungalows with fan, hot water en suite, cable TV, and wifi for US$15 (US$12 for more than 1 week) including free use of a bicycle
- N4: Did a ‘terraced’ room with fan, hot water en suite, cable TV, and wifi for US$10; they had a pool but it was ‘mediocre’
- Boathouse: Did Bungalows with fan, hot water en suite, balcony (with hammock), and wifi for US$10 (US$8 for more than 1 week) including free use of a bicycle; They also did a ‘penthouse’ suite with fan, hot water en suite, cable TV, balcony (with hammock), and wifi for US$18 (US$15 for more than 1 week) including free use of a bicycle
- Bacoma: Did Bungalows with fan, hot water en suite, balcony (with hammock), and wifi for US$20 (US$17 for more than 1 week) including free use of a bicycle
CONCLUSION:
For example to ‘going rate’ for a scooter in Kampot is US$5/day… in Kep it is US$7/day.
It really didn’t do that much for me.
You could either:
- Go down to the Kep Beach cafes and shops and get ripped off; or
- Go down to the Crab Market and get ripped off; or
- Stay in your over-priced resort and get ripped off
OK, I use the term ‘ripped off’ harshly – compared to European prices you are still getting excellent value for money. But, this is Cambodia and paying US$8-10 for a meal in one of the boutique cafes at Kep Beach is out of proportion for Cambodia.
They sort of cry out ‘buy me and build a lovely home on me’, but I wouldn’t (not yet anyway).
I would suggest that only people who want a ‘very peaceful life’ or want to ‘get away from it all’ would find Kep of any interest. I’d go stir crazy there in about 2 weeks.
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