
The sleepy seaside town of Kep wasn't always so sleepy. Before Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge kicked everybody out, this was Cambodias major tourist destination. Evidence of this can be seen everywhere, from the hollowed out remains of what were once lavish beach resorts to the overgrown tennis courts.
Although far off the beaten track for most tourists, Kep is just over 100 kilometres from the main regional port of Sihanoukville and is an ideal destination for anyone wanting to see first hand the devastation that the Pol Pot regime created. Once majestic hotels and resorts, now reduced to empty skeletons are dotted all over the area. A newish but bullet ridden Mercedes in the driveway of one of the hotels is reputed by locals to be last used by Pol Pot before he was driven into hiding.
One word of warning, the area is still littered with land mines - probably why this area is a long way from being restored to its former glory.