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| Pailin Province |
Some 80km southwest of Battambang, PAILIN is a dusty little frontier town. The only link to the rest of the country is the unsurfaced National Route 57 from Battambang, and once you arrive there's really no reason to be here unless you're crossing the border into Thailand. The former gem-mining centre has a wild and edgy atmosphere, ringed by hills and revelling in its isolation. After being ousted from power in 1979, the Khmer Rouge were easily able to hole up here, supporting their campaigns against the government by tapping into the area's rich natural resources – gemstones and untouched forests; it's said that gem-mining alone earned them a monthly revenue of $10 million. These days, the mines are pretty much paid out, however.
The best hotel in town is the Hang Meas (Tel:012/787546; Price: $11-15), a little west of the centre, towards the border. Rooms here are clean and pleasant, with chunky wood furniture, hot water, en-suite bathrooms, a/c and TV; it also has the best restaurant in town, with an English-language menu and a selection of Khmer, Thai and Western dishes, as well as eggs and bread for breakfast. The Kim Young Heng Guest House (Tel:016/939841; Price: Up to $5), located a few steps up the hill from the market behind the restaurant of the same name - which turns out tasty Khmer food and also has an English menu - has a range of fan and a/c rooms, some bright and appealing (although others are windowless cells). Opposite the market, the Punleu Pich Guest House (Tel:016/958611; Price: Up to $5) offers basic facilities and the cheapest rates in town.
Eating in Pailin is no gastronomic delight, but there are plenty of stalls in the market and cheap restaurants nearby. These apart the hotel restaurants are your best bet, although the Phkay Proek, near the top of the ridge road, is another reliable choice. Nightlife in Pailin revolves around numerous karaoke/dining places: the brightly lit Phnom Kieu on the ridge road is the best of the lot, though few foreigners venture inside.
The city was during the 1980s and 1990s a major Khmer Rouge strongpoint and resource centre. Even after the death of their brutal leader Pol Pot in 1998, many Khmer Rouge leaders still remained there. Some of the leaders went into hiding in fear of punishment for their crimes, although other leaders or henchmen lived openly in the province. It is said that almost 70 percent of the area's older men were fighters for the Khmer Rouge, but unfortunately none of the regular fighters have yet been brought to justice.
As of September 2007, Pailin's remaining Khmer Rouge leaders were being rounded up to face justice by an international tribunal, including Khieu Samphan and Nuon Chea. So after years of the governmental dump contemplation regarding the crime of the Khmer Rouge, its time for lasting enlightenment of what has happen.
Poipet is now more and more becoming a boomtown attracting Cambodians from around the country seeking to make their fortune, or at least a better salary than back home. Pailin was the major revenue producer for the Khmer Rouge guerrillas, being a major gem producing area as well as a prime logging area.
While gem production seems to have tapered off a bit, other business opportunities and the lifestyle have attracted prospectors to the town. Up until the surrender deal of Khmer Rouge's number three men, Ieng Sary, in 1996, the townsfolk lived under the strict rules of the KR hierarchy, with little freedom of expression and most aspects of life being completely controlled by the paranoid regime.
Pailin is just another Wild West town of Cambodia and like the gold-rush days of California, people seem to be everywhere in the hills sifting through mud puddles and scratching at the dirt, looking to strike it rich with the find of a nice gem. Still, there is more control of some aspects of life than in other areas of Cambodia.
But this seems to have attracted people rather than kept them away. Several people, who had moved to Pailin from Phnom Penh, gave this as the main reason they made the move. They liked the idea that criminals did not enjoy the same impunity that they seem to enjoy in Phnom Penh. The influx of residents from other parts of the country has produced a friendlier Pailin. Nowadays the mixed lot of Pailin residents seem happy to see foreigners coming in for holidays and check the place out, realizing that their presence means that normalcy and revenue are arriving in Pailin.
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| Map in Cambodia that show about Pailin province |
