The Kep Revival
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The Kep Revival
Kep in Cambodia: beach retreat favoured by country’s kings and French colonial elite is undergoing a revival
29 May 2018
Skip the popular Sihanoukville – the beachside town has become a construction site of luxury condos, hotels and casinos catering to the Chinese market – and head instead for the coastal town of Kep in southern Cambodia.
Overlooking the Gulf of Thailand, yet sitting at the base of rolling hills covered with thick jungle, the compact town was established in 1908 as a “station climatique” – or coastal escape – and quickly became a refreshing retreat for the French colonial elite.
After Cambodia gained independence in 1953, the late King Norodom Sihanouk kept the town’s prestige alive by hiring a team of architects to design a royal summer palace and swathe of villas that embodied the New Khmer Architecture movement. The team included revered Cambodian architect Vann Molyvann, also known as the father of New Khmer Architecture, and a group of Le Corbusier-influenced architects which included another prominent Khmer architect, Lu Ban Hap.
Cambodia’s rich and famous followed hot on the King’s heels, building a smattering of stylish minimalist villas that dotted the landscape and built Kep’s reputation as the place to be seen throughout the country’s cultural golden age of the 1950s and ’60s.
The lavish lifestyle Kep embodied was short-lived, with the town’s proximity to Vietnam making it a Khmer Rouge stronghold. It was abandoned, with Kep and its modernist buildings left to decay.
However, the last decade has seen Kep slowly make a comeback, with care being taken to ensure the rustic charm that makes the town so special is retained. Don’t expect late-night parties, bustling bars or rowdy hostels – up until a few years ago, it didn’t even have an ATM. Trying to find transport after 10pm can still be tricky...
http://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-le ... -kings-and
29 May 2018
Skip the popular Sihanoukville – the beachside town has become a construction site of luxury condos, hotels and casinos catering to the Chinese market – and head instead for the coastal town of Kep in southern Cambodia.
Overlooking the Gulf of Thailand, yet sitting at the base of rolling hills covered with thick jungle, the compact town was established in 1908 as a “station climatique” – or coastal escape – and quickly became a refreshing retreat for the French colonial elite.
After Cambodia gained independence in 1953, the late King Norodom Sihanouk kept the town’s prestige alive by hiring a team of architects to design a royal summer palace and swathe of villas that embodied the New Khmer Architecture movement. The team included revered Cambodian architect Vann Molyvann, also known as the father of New Khmer Architecture, and a group of Le Corbusier-influenced architects which included another prominent Khmer architect, Lu Ban Hap.
Cambodia’s rich and famous followed hot on the King’s heels, building a smattering of stylish minimalist villas that dotted the landscape and built Kep’s reputation as the place to be seen throughout the country’s cultural golden age of the 1950s and ’60s.
The lavish lifestyle Kep embodied was short-lived, with the town’s proximity to Vietnam making it a Khmer Rouge stronghold. It was abandoned, with Kep and its modernist buildings left to decay.
However, the last decade has seen Kep slowly make a comeback, with care being taken to ensure the rustic charm that makes the town so special is retained. Don’t expect late-night parties, bustling bars or rowdy hostels – up until a few years ago, it didn’t even have an ATM. Trying to find transport after 10pm can still be tricky...
http://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-le ... -kings-and
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Re: The Kep Revival
Wonderful. Popularize Kep so that it can be ruined too.
Re: The Kep Revival
Kep is boring as fuck.
Only good for a night or so. Except for boring old farts like phuket Richard who're overwhelmed when there's more than 5 people in sight.
Only good for a night or so. Except for boring old farts like phuket Richard who're overwhelmed when there's more than 5 people in sight.
- phuketrichard
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Re: The Kep Revival
u got it...
all depends on what u want out of life, Family, good friends and good food....
siting in a bar all night talking shit with drunks and clueless bar girls is not it
In a nation run by swine, all pigs are upward-mobile and the rest of us are fucked until we can put our acts together: not necessarily to win, but mainly to keep from losing completely. HST
- Borum-Ex frm TOForum
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Re: The Kep Revival
Went there (had to go there) on KNY, the few streets it has were more busy than any working day in PP...
I actually don't give a flying fuck, furthermore nice to meet you all here!
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Re: The Kep Revival
Always busy on weekends and holidays.Borum-Ex frm TOForum wrote: ↑Wed May 30, 2018 8:03 amWent there (had to go there) on KNY, the few streets it has were more busy than any working day in PP...
- Felgerkarb
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Re: The Kep Revival
Hugely overpriced for what you get there. The Cambodian beach side vendors of food the worst case. The usual 5 star prices with 0 star service, met with a half smile and shrug. No.
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We are all puppets in the hands of an insane puppeteer...
--Brother Theodore
We are all puppets in the hands of an insane puppeteer...
--Brother Theodore
- bolueeleh
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Re: The Kep Revival
this is what i am talking about, country with balance, one seaside town with hustle and bustle, another laid back and rustic, there is always something for everyone, just need to look for it
Money is not the problem, the problem is no money
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Re: The Kep Revival
land in kep has always been high and the only reason it seems cheap now compared to shv is because of the invasionFelgerkarb wrote: ↑Wed May 30, 2018 1:18 pm Hugely overpriced for what you get there. The Cambodian beach side vendors of food the worst case. The usual 5 star prices with 0 star service, met with a half smile and shrug. No.
kep - nice but dull,a bit like people called kevin or tim.
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Re: The Kep Revival
Ahhh Yes! Sihanoukvillle and Koh Kong.....bolueeleh wrote:this is what i am talking about, country with balance, one seaside town with hustle and bustle, another laid back and rustic, there is always something for everyone, just need to look for it
The past and the future....
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