Boknor-regis, a resort like no other...

We were dumped rather unceremoniously in the outskirts of Kampot, the driver of the minibus perhaps fed up with my increasingly unsubtle references to how awful his CD of Khmer synth ballads was. Despite the inauspicious arrival, we found Kampot a quiet, friendly sort of place and easy to navigate once you know the landmarks: a Total garage and several conspicuous roundabouts with strange plaster-cast effigies in their centres. Kampot’s claim to fame initially was for production of the world’s finest black pepper. These days pepper does not seem to be such a big deal. The biggest draw for tourists is a visit to Bokor National Park. At the summit of its highest peak is an abandoned settlement: Bokor Hill Station. It was built as a holiday resort by the French at the beginning of the 20th Century, allowing sweaty colonialists to cool down for a few days. The small town had everything they needed: a post office, police station, church and an enormous casino. After independence in 1953, the King added a nightclub and a hospital, but once the civil war and ensuing troubles started, Bokor’s purpose changed dramatically. Holiday makers were swiftly replaced by first the Vietnamese army and then the Khmer Rouge, who used the station as a place to torture and kill tens of thousands of people.

It was cold and overcast as we arrived, and very quiet. The shells of the buildings are still mostly intact and we pushed our way through overgrown paths to explore dark passageways and decaying rooms. It was an oddly eerie experience, and jolly French ex-pats felt very far away, as the buildings’ more recent history cast an oppressive atmosphere.

The most complete building is the casino, later the Bokor Palace Hotel. We tramped into its cellars, ballroom and many other rooms, each one filthy with every window smashed in, every door missing and every wall smeared with stains and scarred with bullet holes. Horror movie chic at its finest. At its rear side is a 1km vertical drop straight into the jungle below...

It was a fascinating place to visit, but it looks like its future looks uncertain. Plans are afoot to create a 5 star resort and golf course on or very near the site, a not hugely appropriate memorial to all the people who died there, we thought.