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A sleepy fishing village and
almost forgotten container port on Cambodia's
short coastline, Sihanoukville became of enormous
interest to the government in Phnom Penh in the
sixties, when the usual trade routes up the Mekong
were suddenly cut because of the Second Indochina
War. With large quantities of American aid to
build a fast road from the capital and develop
the local infrastructure, the Cambodian King founded
Sihanoukville in 1964.
The port facilities at Sihanoukville have recently
undergone a US$5 million refit and the area has
developed a large fish canning facility. The Angkor
Beer brewery is also based here. However, the
town is also pursuing an entirely different area
of development.
For many years, Sihanoukville's pristine, peaceful,
white sand beaches have been a secret of a few
hardy travellers. Though not in anyway the equal
of Thailand's magnificent beaches, the palm-dotted
sands surrounding Sihanoukville are nevertheless
uncrowded and unspoilt by the mass tourism monster
- all this is about to change. With the cessation
of hostilities throughout the country and a desire
to encourage tourism, foreign investment is being
channeled towards Sihanoukville, with the intention
of making it a popular destination for gamblers.
A US$400-million casino resort on nearby Naga
Island, with its own international airport, is
one of several plans on the cards. Soon the sleepy
fishing village will be nothing more than a very
distant memory.
Sihanoukville was avoided by tourists for many
years in the past because of the security situation.
245 km from Phnom Penh, this small, little-known,
resort offers beach holidays to suit everyone
- particularly those who are weary of overcrowded,
overbuilt and over-commercialised Asian resorts.
Tourists have started to return to Sihanoukville
now that the situation is secure.
About 1,500 rooms of all standards are currently
available to all tourists who need sea breezes
after tiring days spent exploring the temples
of Angkor. Although Cambodia's beaches are not
as exotic as those of the Maldives or Sri Lanka,
the water is clean, the people are friendly, and
mass tourism refreshingly absent. Visitors can
enjoy the nearby Kbal Chhay waterfalls, the Bokor
Hills and the Ream National Park with its stretches
of coast and mangrove forests.
From Victory Beach, about three or four km away,
boats can be hired to picnic on uninhabited islands
where there is excellent snorkeling. There is
a ferry and bus connection to Trat in Thailand,
and the local Express Bus takes around three and
a half hours to reach Sihanoukville from Phnom
Penh. |
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