“Dahling” in Kep and Kampot

“Dahling” phonetically in Khmer roughly translates to mean “to amuse oneself or go around for fun”. Every Sunday is “Dahling Day”, as many Khmers work a 6 day week, so Sunday is often a day of rest and relaxation…a time to go for a picnic or Sunday drive.

We, as in Ben, Nic, Meliss and I had a “Dahling” weekend. We rented a car and drove down to the coast on Saturday to a small provincial town known as Kep. It used to be the place to go in the 1960s for high-rolling Khmer’s, even the King had a residence there. Now it is a dilapidated town that is slowly coming back to life. It is quiet and peaceful and it has to be said, the serenity rivals that of Bonnie Doon! There is nothing like the soothing sound of a generator mixed in with the gentle hum of cicadas but in contrast to the everyday noise in Phnom Penh: construction, dogs barking, children screaming, seller’s catch calls and general traffic; it was a welcome relief.

We stayed at a Nature resort (BTW, this is not code for nudist colony); which was a series of bungalows set amongst lush garden and overlooking the sea. Sounds ordinary I know but we managed to endure it. We ate fresh seafood and lay about in hammocks completing sudokus and reading and observing wildlife that made it into our bungalows; such as a Tecko (largish lizard) and a couple of frogs.

The countryside really is picturesque at the moment, so we drove around taking many photos. Not even a flat tyre disrupted our travels – Nic had it changed within 10 minutes, all while a crowd of onlookers from houses across the road watched on and admired Meliss’ white skin.

Ben and I have become quite taken with renting vehicles and exploring…so stay tuned as we continue to traipse through provincial Cambodia and obnoxiously brag about our escapades on this here blog!