Bamboo baskets
In the sea.
Mx. Granger — CC0 · PsamatheM — CC BY-SA 4.0 · PsamatheM — CC BY-SA 4.0 · PsamatheM — CC BY-SA 4.0
A fishermen's market on the shore of little Kep, the resort the French founded in 1908 on the Gulf of Thailand. It is famous for blue crab, caught by women in bamboo baskets left in the water near the shore and lifted live to the stalls. Visitors choose crab, prawns, squid or fish to be cooked in front of them in minutes, the classic dish being crab stir-fried with fresh green Kampot pepper, the region's world-famous spice. Around the market are fruit stalls, dried-fish sellers and wooden restaurants over the sea. The best time is late afternoon, when the boats come back and the sun sets over the water with Rabbit Island on the horizon. In the morning you can watch the women lifting the baskets from the sea. Prices are by weight and usually posted at the stalls, and restaurants will cook what you buy at the market for a small fee. The heat is fierce most of the year, so go out in the morning or before sunset, with water and a hat.
In the sea.
Fresh and green.
And Rabbit Island.
On the seafront in Kep, about 25 km south-east of Kampot
Blue crab stir-fried with fresh green Kampot pepper, cooked in front of you at the stalls.