Ghost town

We have come away from Phnom Penh for the weekend, to Kep, on the coast. Partly because it's much more relaxing here, and partly because Monday is one of 25 public holidays this country celebrates per year. Amazing!

Kep is relaxing and liberal, and has these shells of buildings peppering the town, poking out from the trees and bushes that threaten to envelop them. There is a misconception that the Khmer Rouger trashed the place, but the real reason for the dereliction is that local residents stripped down any empty homes they could find to sell materials for food during the famine that the Khmer Rouge regime caused. More of an indirect than direct effect of the regime, but still a desperate situation for the residents of Kep.