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Banteay
Meanchey
I
Battambang
I
Kampot
I
Kandal
I
Kep
City
I
Koh
Kong
I
Kratie |
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Kampong
Cham
I Kampong
Chhang I
Kampong
Speu
I
Kampong
Thom
I
Mondulkiri |
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Oddor
Meanchey
I
Pailin
City
I
Preah
Vihear
I
Pursat
I
Prey
Veng
I
Phnom
Penh |
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Ratanakiri
I
Sihanoukville
I
Stung
Treng
I
Svay
Rieng
I
Siem
Reap
I
Takeo |
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 Pailin
is a
small
municipality
in
the
West
of
Cambodia
very
closed
to
the
border
of
Thailand.
The
provincial
capital
is
called
Pailin
City
and
is
known
to
much
of
the
world
as
being
the
area
where
many
of
the
Khmer
Rouge
leaders
came
from
and
retreated
after
their
fall.
Until
the
year
of
2001
Pailin
was
part
of
the
Battambang
Province,
but
was
then
elevated
to
city
status
and
thus
became
a
province
and
autonomous
zone
of
its
own. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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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Even
the
Vietnamese
residents
seem
to
have
been
accepted,
which
is
truly
amazing
given
the
hatred
the
Khmer
Rouge
have
generally
shown
them.
Pailin
is
worth
checking
out.
The
town
is
nestled
in a
beautiful
valley
with
picturesque
sunsets
over
the
mountains
that
separate
Cambodia
and
Thailand
close
by.
Wat
Gohng-Kahng
is
very
famous
and
features
the
much-photographed
landmark
gate
of
Pailin
town
that
you
face
as
you
arrive
on
the
highway
from
Battambang.
This
wat
is
the
centre
of
holiday
festivities
these
days
in
Pailin
and
was
the
scene
of
the
official
Pailin
reintegration
ceremony
in
1996,
after
the
Ieng
Sary
faction
of
the
Khmer
Rouge
worked
out
surrender
and
semi-autonomy
deals
with
the
Cambodian
government. |
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