“See this pot?” Jef Moons gestures toward a vast ceramic jug, the lid of which bears a barely there crumple on one side. “There’s only one like it. You can’t copy it. We spent four hours finding the right place for it.” Wabi Sabi is an ancient Japanese philosophy which emphasises, among other things, the inherent beauty of imperfection. This notion of uniqueness is core to Knai Bang Chatt (Khmer for ‘a rainbow encircling the sun’), one of the most exquisite escapes on the ghostly Kep coastline. There, among white skeletons of colonial mansions slowly being swallowed by jungle, is an exotic otherworld of reclaimed French architecture, time-weathered wood furniture and endless Gulf Of Siam seascapes; quite the privileged retreat from reality. Each room was created with its own character; the private grounds and their infinity pool nestles against the Knai Bang Chatt Sailing Club, where you can plough the waves or simply prop up the bar and watch. Inner peace is assured.
Knai Bang Chatt, Kep; 078 888556.
