We stayed on the coast of Cambodia for a week; a few days in Kampot, a few days in Kep, then back to Kampot. It’s a beautiful area with plenty to see. There are mountains, beaches, national parks, and caves, but best of all, abandoned buildings!
From Kampot, we took a motorbike up the mountain to Bokor Hill Station, a group of abandoned buildings built by the French from 1921 onwards. I had been longing to see these buildings ever since I learnt of their existence. Wikipedia calls Bokor a ghost town, but that’s a bit of a stretch for a handful of buildings scattered over a fairly wide area. The most significant buildings are the old casino and the church.
The old casino is a massive structure that looms large over the surrounding landscape. The exterior has been rendered recently, so it has lost a bit of its crumbling charm, but it is still a breathtakingly beautiful building. Inside, I was struck by the light and airy feel of the rooms. The space that I imagine was to be the main casino floor is grand, but on a scale that allows it to retain a bit of intimacy at the same time. The sweeping stairways have a lightness about them that is surprising and unexpected in a concrete structure.
Below are some photos of the casino.
Photos of the other buildings to follow soon – I will put them into this Flickr album: https://www.flickr.com/photos/124733761@N03/sets/72157647828507516/