DESTINATIONS ASIA |CAMBODIA


CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Fishing boats, Kep; Royal Palace, Phnom Penh; Sihanoukville; inset, The Beach Retreat at Six Senses Krabey Island PICTURES: Kiattipong Panchee; Shutterstock


and Vietnamese dishes across an unsung capital of flavour. Luu Meng’s Kroeung Garden Restaurant is a particular favourite. Late-night bars are part of the package too, from the upmarket Sora Skybar where the haute bourgeoisie are cantilevered out from the 33rd floor of the five-star Rosewood hotel, to febrile ground-level music venues like Oscars on the Corner, inhabiting the margins of chaos and immorality – a wild night is guaranteed.


KAMPOT About two-and-a-half-hours’ drive from Phnom Penh, this buzzy coastal city lies on the Praek Tuek Chhu river, close to the Gulf of Thailand and the border with Vietnam. Among a visible French architectural heritage, some buildings have been restored and repurposed, including the excellent Hotel Old Cinema, while others remain in genteel decay. The local economy is fairly fragrant, based on fishing, the malodorous durian, and pepper, the best of which is exported and sold on the Champs-Elysées for €300 per kilo. Mostly less pungent, Kampot’s tourism industry has evolved beyond enticing backpackers with banana pancakes and now includes good mid-range hotels such as the three-star Kampot Boutique Hotel, and more fashionable cafes, restaurants and quirky bars than the most-determined bon vivant could visit. The town is also the gateway for Preak Monivong Bokor


National Park. Still notable for hiking tours, the park’s atmospheric abandoned 1920s French hill station has been redeveloped into near-industrial casino tourism for the Chinese market. Just outside town, an international ferry terminal is under construction, promising to bring in vessels from Vietnam and Thailand.


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KEP


On the coast, around 15 miles from Kampot, Kep-sur-Mer, as the French called it, was once a resort for privileged colonialists and rich Cambodians. Modernist villas punctuate the shore, exemplars of the 1960s wave of New Khmer Architecture. Some of these properties have been converted into upmarket hotel accommodation, such as the five-star Knai Ban Chatt, while others are mouldering shells. As well as beaches, a diverting interlude can be found at the dark and crowded Kep Crab Market, which provides an unrelenting assault on the senses. Small boats land seafood that’s sold fresh or barbecued in situ, attracting a feeding frenzy of hungry customers. War on fish, but delicious.


SIHANOUKVILLE


At the tip of the peninsula, 60 miles west of Kampot and an hour’s flight from Phnom Penh, the golden sands of this former fishing village once attracted a flow of tousled backpackers. Fuelled by tax breaks and Chinese investment, brutal high-rise hotels, apartments and casinos now line the shore.


THE ISLANDS Fast ferries from Sihanoukville serve around 60 of the sandy, palm-fringed islands in Cambodia’s Gulf of Thailand waters. Koh Rong, 45 minutes from the mainland, was popularised by a French reality TV show and is the largest and most developed, offering beach bungalows and international resorts such as Golden Sands. Nearby Koh Rong Sanloem is quieter and appeals to budget travellers. Elsewhere, Six Senses exclusively occupies the islet of Koh Krabey, providing fine dining, dreamy spa treatments and unlimited ice cream to those with deep pockets.


TW


BOOK IT


Experience Travel Group’s Forgotten South Coast of Cambodia trip links Phnom Penh, the Cardamom Mountains, Kep, Kampot and Koh Russey (via Sihanoukville). Prices start at £3,900 including flights, transfers and guided activities. experiencetravelgroup.com


Wendy Wu Tours’ 15-day guided trip, Around Cambodia, includes Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, Kampot and Kep, from £2,390 including flights, four-star accommodation, meals and visas, departing September 26. wendywutours.co.uk


travelweekly.co.uk


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