{"id":1435,"date":"2019-12-24T10:00:48","date_gmt":"2019-12-24T15:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/?p=1435"},"modified":"2021-08-18T08:20:31","modified_gmt":"2021-08-18T13:20:31","slug":"first-vacation-to-kep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/2019\/first-vacation-to-kep\/","title":{"rendered":"First Vacation to Kep"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>We had our first family vacation since joining MCC last week. It was great to get away from the city and be alone together as a family. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_164333_1-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1437\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_164333_1-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_164333_1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_164333_1-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_164333_1-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_164333_1-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_164333_1-400x300.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Kep is a southern province on the border with Vietnam. It was a popular French resort town during the colonial period. There are many gutted and abandoned villas from that era. Some have visible bullet holes from past conflicts. Kep is well known for it&#8217;s crabs and Kompot, one province over, is famous for it&#8217;s pepper farms. Fresh crab with green peppercorns is amazing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_153417-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1438\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_153417-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_153417-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_153417-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_153417-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_153417-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_153417-400x300.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Walking to the beach from where we stayed.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The internet was down where we stayed and, despite repeated promises that it would be repaired, stayed down for our entire four day stay. That stopped us from sending out photos while we were there but was actually nice &#8211; it helped us detach and focus on being together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_165925-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1439\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_165925-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_165925-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_165925-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_165925-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_165925-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_165925-400x300.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Charlotte in the Pacific ocean for the first time!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-3 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_165109-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"1455\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_165109-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/?attachment_id=1455\" class=\"wp-image-1455\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_165109-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_165109-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_165109-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_165109-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_165109-630x840.jpg 630w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_165109-960x1280.jpg 960w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_165109-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_165328-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"1456\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_165328-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/?attachment_id=1456\" class=\"wp-image-1456\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_165328-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_165328-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_165328-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_165328-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_165328-630x840.jpg 630w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_165328-960x1280.jpg 960w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_165328-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191218_111338-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"1457\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191218_111338-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/?attachment_id=1457\" class=\"wp-image-1457\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191218_111338-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191218_111338-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191218_111338-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191218_111338-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191218_111338-630x840.jpg 630w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191218_111338-960x1280.jpg 960w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191218_111338-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191218_111744-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"1458\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191218_111744-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/?attachment_id=1458\" class=\"wp-image-1458\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191218_111744-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191218_111744-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191218_111744-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191218_111744-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191218_111744-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191218_111744-400x300.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_100351-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"1460\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_100351-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/?attachment_id=1460\" class=\"wp-image-1460\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_100351-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_100351-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_100351-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_100351-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_100351-630x840.jpg 630w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_100351-960x1280.jpg 960w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_100351-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_102314-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"1461\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_102314-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/?attachment_id=1461\" class=\"wp-image-1461\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_102314-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_102314-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_102314-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_102314-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_102314-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_102314-400x300.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-caption\">The girls were very happy to be at the beach.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>We took a long walk down from our bungalow to the public beach. This is the first time that the girls have been to the Pacific but they are beach kids through and through. They were ecstatic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_182251-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1440\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_182251-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_182251-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_182251-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_182251-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_182251-630x840.jpg 630w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_182251-960x1280.jpg 960w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_182251-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>We had an unwelcome visitor in our bungalow the first night. I often had these little scorpions invade my home in Prey Veng. My cats usually took care of them for me but once one stung my foot while I was taking a shower. It hurt tremendously for hours&#8230;but no lasting harm. Fortunately, no one got stung during our vacation but it was a unsettling. We had another surprise, the ceiling dripped onto our bed all night. This was especially surprising as it wasn&#8217;t raining. The next day we discovered that the solar hot water heater was broken and we moved to another bungalow. We did find a scorpion in that bungalow as well but otherwise our stay was uneventful! <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_173728-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1441\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_173728-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_173728-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_173728-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_173728-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_173728-630x840.jpg 630w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_173728-960x1280.jpg 960w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_173728-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption>Catherine drinking her second coconut after the beach.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>During my first term I was known for drinking many coconuts very quickly. I think it&#8217;s safe to say that Catherine had inherited this trait as she downed two coconuts in quick order after our first visit to the beach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191218_123518-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1443\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191218_123518-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191218_123518-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191218_123518-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191218_123518-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191218_123518-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191218_123518-400x300.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Catherine relaxing on the porch of our bungalow.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191219_171636-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1444\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191219_171636-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191219_171636-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191219_171636-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191219_171636-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191219_171636-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191219_171636-400x300.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Sunset where we ate at the Crab Market.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191219_174252-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1445\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191219_174252-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191219_174252-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191219_174252-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191219_174252-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191219_174252-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191219_174252-400x300.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>How fresh was the crab? This fresh.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191219_173502-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1446\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191219_173502-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191219_173502-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191219_173502-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191219_173502-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191219_173502-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191219_173502-400x300.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Fresh crab with green peppercorns. This was the best crab dish that I&#8217;ve ever had.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_172455-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1447\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_172455-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_172455-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_172455-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_172455-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_172455-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_172455-400x300.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Crab amok. Amok is a traditional Khmer dish made with fish but it&#8217;s delicious with crab.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191218_175401-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1459\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191218_175401-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191218_175401-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191218_175401-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191218_175401-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191218_175401-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191218_175401-400x300.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>The view from the Veranda Natural Resort restaurant. Crystal and I stayed here 12 years ago for $23 a night. It&#8217;s a lot more expensive now so we stayed somewhere more affordable.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_162941-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1449\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_162941-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_162941-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_162941-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_162941-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_162941-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_162941-400x300.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Heading up into the mountainous jungle of Kep National Park.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_162425-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1453\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_162425-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_162425-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_162425-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_162425-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_162425-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_162425-400x300.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption> The only wildlife we saw in the jungle was a lizard but there were many, many butterflies. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_162808-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1454\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_162808-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_162808-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_162808-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_162808-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_162808-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_162808-400x300.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Charlotte was very happy to find a walking stick in the jungle.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_165840-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1451\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_165840-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_165840-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_165840-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_165840-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_165840-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_165840-400x300.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Back at the crab market on our last night in Kep.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_090750-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1452\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_090750-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_090750-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_090750-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_090750-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_090750-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191220_090750-400x300.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Taking a tuk tuk down to the beach on day three.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191221_095359-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1450\" width=\"580\" height=\"773\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191221_095359-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191221_095359-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191221_095359-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191221_095359-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191221_095359-630x840.jpg 630w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191221_095359-960x1280.jpg 960w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191221_095359-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 580px) 100vw, 580px\" \/><figcaption>All packed up to head back to Phnom Penh after a wonderful respite.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Kep has, for the most part, changed for the better since I was last here. The beach was clean and free of plastic trash (and needles). The crab market has refrigerators now and food safety is greatly improved in general. While Veranda has become very expensive (and gone from feeling like Swiss Family Robinson to Rivendell) it&#8217;s still easy to find beautiful and affordable places to stay. It was quiet while we were there and the locals told us that&#8217;s usually the case during the week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_164337-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"1462\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_164337-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/?attachment_id=1462\" class=\"wp-image-1462\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_164337-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_164337-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_164337-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_164337-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_164337-630x840.jpg 630w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_164337-960x1280.jpg 960w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_164337-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_161819-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"1463\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_161819-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/?attachment_id=1463\" class=\"wp-image-1463\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_161819-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_161819-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_161819-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_161819-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_161819-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_161819-400x300.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We had our first family vacation since joining MCC last week. It was great to get away from the city and be alone together as a family. Kep is a southern province on the border with Vietnam. It was a popular French resort town during the colonial period. There are many gutted and abandoned villas&#8230; <\/p>\n<div class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/2019\/first-vacation-to-kep\/\">Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1436,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[196],"tags":[145,108,144,143],"class_list":["post-1435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-around-cambodia","tag-beach","tag-food","tag-kep","tag-vacation","post_format-post-format-image"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_20191217_161815-scaled.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paVixa-n9","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1435"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1435\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2723,"href":"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1435\/revisions\/2723"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}