Kep, is a former French colonial resort town known for its crab market. It is close to Kampot which is more frequented by travelers but the smaller size makes it much quieter and relaxing. I started off my visit by hiking through the Kep National Park. I was surprised I didn’t come across any animals but the hike itself was nice, aside from bleeding a bit from grazing a spiky tree. Well… there was one animal but I couldn’t get a clear view of it. It was some sort of primate on the mountain above me. I don’t know it if was intentional or if the animal knocked something loose but a rock rolled down the slope straight towards me and I had to duck out of the way to avoid it smacking my head.
The next morning, I hopped on a boat to Rabbit Island, the real reason I was visiting Kep.
Kep had a small number of tourists around the beachfront but Rabbit Island was a further step towards bliss. Although just 1km off the shore from Kep, the boat only makes a trip twice a day to this small island.
The main beach is home to several bungalow homestays where I stayed for a couple nights. Most visitors only visited the island for the afternoon so evenings were incredibly quiet. With no Wi-Fi and no electricity except for during the early evening, I had no choice but to relax and enjoy the solitude.
I had already gotten bored by the second day so I hiked around the island and it took less than two hours. A hard to follow and overgrown trail wraps around the perimeter linking the other beaches. Just like other shorelines in this region, these slices of paradise were all covered in trash that washes up from the waves and it ruins the otherwise picture-perfect views.
During my first day on Rabbit Island, I had a really weird experience while swimming in the water. You know those fish that you always see clinging to sharks? They’re Remoras and they’re a type of sucker fish. A little one was interested in me and it felt really bizarre while it was clinging to my legs. It followed me right into the shallow water where I made the mistake of sitting down in the water for a bit. That little bastard fish quickly latched onto my left nipple and when I shook it off it swam around and latched onto the other! Ouch! My nips were a sore the rest of the day but fortunately it wasn’t more serious than that. Now you know… Never expose a nipple to a Remora.
I hopped back over to the mainland on the third day and then took a short ride up to Kampot to check out a waterfall recommended to me by a local.