Bokor Hill Station

In the 1920's, the French created the Bokor Hill Station on top of a mountain that overlooks the town of Kampot in Cambodia. The glory days of this town included a local village, tax office, schools, a church, two casinos, and the Bokor Palace, a huge mansion used as a hotel for visiting diplomats from France. However, when war broke out the French abandoned their lofty playground to avoid the constant conflicts in the area.

Fast-forward to 2006...

Literally, nothing has been changed or updated since the French left. It took our private taxi almost three hours to climb 32 kilometers along the only "road" to Bokor. I say road, but I actually mean a washed out river bed of broken pavement, dirt, boulders, and ridiculously deep holes and drop-offs. The road was so bumpy that Philip and I both had to slouch in our seats so that our heads wouldn't hit the ceiling. You couldn't have paid me two hundred dollars to take my SUV up this road, but luckily we found a local guy who grudgingly agreed to take us for 22 USD.

Low lying clouds slide over the hills at Bokor and shroud the old abandoned building in a haze of mist. Orange lichen and dark green moss thickly cover all remaining structures, giving each a bright yet sullen glow. As we walked through the old hotel rooms of the Bokor Palace and descended into the ballroom complete with an enormous blackened fireplace, I was immediately reminded of scenes from The Shining, a feeling that must've been shared by other previous tourists as we saw Redrum carved into the wall. Behind the palace a stone wall marks the edge of an extremely steep cliff, a site where unlucky gamblers are rumored to have ended it all after losing their fortune. I'm not a sucker for tales of ghosts and hauntings, but when Phil and I were separated I felt a few waves of panic as I climbed the darkened spiral staircases alone.

The difficult road and remote location of Bokor discourage many of Cambodia's "highlight" tourists who stick to the more well worn trails. Acutally, this is precisely why Bokor was one of my favorites.