Bokor Hill
At the top of a huge hill measuring 1080 metres in Southern Cambodia stands a now deserted town built in 1922 and finished in 1925. It was designed to be a retreat for the colonial French from the heat and humidity of Phnom Penh after it was discovered to be an ideal location in 1917.
The centrepiece of the resort was the Bokor Palace Hotel and Casino also on the top of the hill was a police station, hospital (now a ranger station), post office and exchange centre, a town hall, school, a smaller hotel
called The Kiri, a water tower and even Royal apartments and a church on the side of a nearby slope.
The guides and drivers tell tales of how debauched the area was in French times. I heard stories of prostitutes being brought up the hill for entertainment and how those 
who had lost everything gambling would run around with guns demanding their money back, or even worse those in despair and too ashamed to go home would solve all their problems by taking a leap of the side of the cliff!
When fierce fighting broke out in the late 1940’s with the Vietnamese who were trying to gain independence over the French, the hillside resort was abandoned. After Cambodia gained independence the resort once again saw use as a break away from city life. It was finally abandoned as a holiday destination in the early 1970’s when Khmer Rouge forces overran the area. They were driven out by the Vietnamese in 1979 after fierce fighting which actually saw the Khmer Rouge seeking final refuge within the walls of the Catholic Church – quite ironic really!
The buildings were just left until 1993 when the area surrounding it was turned into a
National Park. Visits to Bokor hill are only normally possible in the dry season only due to the amount of water that pours down the hillside in the rainy seasons (and ruins any attempt at a decent road). It is quite difficult to get to as it is 32km up a VERY bumpy road which is only accessible to trail bikes, 4x4s and up rated vehicles ….. And the very brave!