The thought of a new country with a different culture, food and history was exciting to us and we were looking forward to this change. The travelling in Vietnam felt hectic at times and we felt we wanted to slow the pace down and have time to enjoy the country. So the itinerary that we had planned for Cambodia only included four destinations. The first of which was Kep, a seaside village that comes highly recommend in the guide books for its stunning sunsets, renowned crab market and restaurants and French colonial history.

We arrived to the usual South East Asian welcome of a group of Tuk Tuk drivers opening the door of our minibus and then crowding around us. It feels intimidating and I am sure that is their intention, to pressurise Western tourists in to paying for an overpriced ride. However we walked away from the crowd politely saying "no thank you", in other words "go away and leave us alone!". Slowly the crowd dwindled, due to the midday heat, to a couple that persisted for a few more minutes while sitting in the shade of their tuk tuks, somehow under the illusion that we we would change our minds. We think they find it difficult differentiating between tourists on holiday for a week who will happily pay over odds and backpack travellers who are on a budget and travelling long term and would prefer to walk 20mins and spend it in on nicer food in the evening. Despite that argument we realised we were too hot and once we drew our money out from the only ATM in Kep we opted for a 2 dollar tuk tuk to take us our accommodation, which is apparently the going rate.

The accommodation was located up a dirt track set back from the coast and backing onto the Kep National Park. It consisted of a collection of bungalows around a large pool with tropical plants and palm trees. There was also a small restaurant at its entrance. The location seemed peacefully compared to our recent experiences in Vietnam. It has been one of nicer places we have stopped on on our travels. Though the staff are a little under experienced, the manager walks round with his top off catching a good tan.

Before we arrived we had read about the Kep National Park and it was on our list of sites to see. It required an early start so we could walk the uphill section in a cooler temperature. The 8 km trail we followed winded its way up the side of the hill side and cut through the tropical jungle. It offered specular views down into Kep, the ocean, and over the hills and far away to the distant peaks of Southern Cambodia. Further ahead on trail we were rewarded for our early start by spotting a few of the shy monkeys that reside in the NP. These monkeys were no where to be seen on our return back down, due to the noisy crowds of tourists were descending on the NP. Other highlights included the Butterfly Garden, although there were butterfly's everywhere in the park this gave us the chance to look at the a wide variety in large beautiful maintained garden in valley next to the NP. Lastly we stopped at the Led Zep cafe for a refreshing drink. The owner of the cafe maintains the trails in the NP and has put numerous signs and information boards up with information on the species that live there. Its great to see green tourism such as this, it has been a rare sight on our time in SE Asia so far.

We have spent the rest of the days relaxing, walking down to the village and Crab Market and spending afternoons cooling off in the swimming pool and lots of tanning time for Nicole. Poor Matthew got burnt in the shade somehow so he's been keeping out of the sun and shade. In the evening we visiting the local restaurants at the Crab Market. A favourite of ours was the Sailing Club; a wooden blue villa with covered verandas. It has influences of French architecture which harks back to when Kep was known as "Kep-sur-Mer", a sea-side resort of the colonial French elite. It sits on the edge of the sea away from the hustle of the Crab Market. The cocktail bar fortunately had a happy hour between the hours of 5pm and 7pm, so we ordered a cheap cocktail and sat and watched the sunset over the islands in the distance.

With the crab market being a big focus for the town the main food options are seafood, which doesn't bother us at all. In the evening the crab resturants look over the sea with the sunsetting in the distance, the local ladies all covered in clothes wade out to the crab nets and young boys hunt for the stray crab with a sharp sticks. Nicole tried some crab for the first time, which was a very messy ordeal, she was disappointed with the lack of meat on the crab after all the effort to crack the shell. They seem to use a lot of coconut milk, lemongrass and ginger in their meals, its a mix of all the Asian cuisine together which has tasted lovely so far. Our hotel served food but its pricy for the portion size and no one seems to eat there which says something.

As the pace has slowed it has given us the chance to really appricate the opportunity we have been given to travel for so many months. It has given us chance to reflect on the sights and experiences we have gained so far, and given us further motivation for visiting the places we have planned next.