The Kep Revival
Posted: Wed May 30, 2018 1:19 am
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
