Back to Phnom Penh

Posted by | Evil Kristos | March 2, 2026 | No Comments

Kep was a bit of a disappointment I must say. It as at the sea but that’s about it. It doesn’t have decent beach and the hike is rubbish.

I actually went. First you walk up the hill and then the way is sign posted. The sunset rock was a bit further than I had expected but there were a couple of viewpoints sign posted and even a waterfall. I went for it.

Along the way you get some spectacular views but I had trouble enjoying it. The path lead uphill and there wasn’t the slightest breeze. When I finally arrived at the first “viewpoint” I got slightly disappointed. There wasn’t much of a view. The panorama along the way was actually better.

Only a couple of hundred meters away was supposed to be a waterfall. The next thing I saw was the summit. No waterfall anywhere. I got a bit suspicious about this hike; the least to say.

There was another viewpoint only on or two kilometres away. I though screw this and went anyways. I began to realize that I don’t actually have to walk all the way back. The path obviously lead around the entire hill. I decided I might as well go for the entire thing. The only worry was, that I had very little water left. On the other hand; summit by my definition meant it goes downhill from here. Piece of cake.

I kept walking but quite frankly the hike was rubbish. After about 6 kilometres I was more or less back in the village and no sunset rock to be seen. While initially there was a sign every few hundred meters they suddenly stopped. A hint?

I was suddenly on a road behind the main village and slightly pissed off. I mean a hike? I have seen worse roads than this path. The sunset was getting closer. Suddenly there was another sign saying sunset rock. It was at a crossroad and the sign wasn’t clear. I asked some old woman. She sent me straight.

The sign said one kilometre. Looking at the sun it was doable.

I was walking for at least one kilometre and I as almost at sea level. What kind of scam was this? Suddenly a small sign pointed right. It said stairway to heave and sunset rock; 1.2 kilometres. These little c***.

The path lead right into the jungle; proper hiking style it was barely visible. And it was steep. I was pretty exhausted anyways and had literally no water left. I’m no quitter so I kept walking. My legs hurt, I was soaking wet and I kept cursing the idiot who set up the signs.

After about 10 minutes climbing I reached a construction site. Another sign; 80 metres. At least I was getting closer but so was the sun. I raced. I could not fail at this stage. I reached the nuns house that had been sign posted a long time ago. Behind a communications tower a small path lead into dense woods. 590 metres.

Again it went uphill and I was not happy. This stupid sunset rock should better be good. I had to climb over trees, steep parts and the path was barely visible. Suddenly a rock. I made and about 10 minutes to sunset. I rock; but I was exhausted and I had no water left. I was soaking wet and still there was no breeze. I sat down and enjoyed the show. It was OK; but this is as far as I’d go.

The walk back was painful. First I had to walk the narrow path back and it was getting dark. I reached the y-junction. I had come from the right but the according to the sign I could as well keep left. I did.

At first the path was steep. The last bit I traveled on my arse. At first I didn’t want but since I had slipped … as they say: If you can’t fight them, join them. It was rather harmless anyways. From there I followed a road. Soon I stood at the cross road where I had asked the old lady. Fair play. She had send me the wrong way. I’ll remember that. Should I ever meet an old Cambodian lady I will return the favour.

The rest was a boring walk on the road towards the village and from there to the guest house. All in all I was unimpressed with the walk but rather proud of myself. Tough boy!

I also decided not to stay in Kep. I got slightly sunburned so snorkeling was out of question. After what I had seen on this hike it is probably rubbish anyways. Looks like one cannot trust Cambodians when i comes to “sights”.

Kep Sunset Rock

Since there was no way to get to Krati directly I booked the bus to Phnom Penh. I doesn’t look far on the map but it took over 5 hours. That’s mainly due to the road conditions in this part of Cambodia. The south west allegedly is the poorest part of Cambodia. I glimpse of that I got during the journey.

Last time when I stayed in Phnom Penh I wasn’t entirely happy with my accommodation. This time I went for a better place with air condition. I stayed in the Dara Raeng Sey which is close to pretty much everything. It’s no beauty but the rooms are OK.

Time to explore the capital.

Kep Sunset Rock

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