The Black Palace
On the way up Bokor Hill about 10km away from the Hill station itself is the Black Palace, which should really be called 'The Kings Party Place'!! The king would come here on weekends with a few select friends to party on down. The main building was once heavily inlaid with highly varnished dark wood - hence the name The Black Palace, it really isn't that big with a few small room of the big main entertaining halls with its great view from the balcony.
Nearby there are two more buildings one a kitchen and dining hall where all the rich folk would trundle on down to have huge meals in the dining hall which still retains some of the very expensive imported Italian marble floor. The other building was the Concubine House!! Which housed two ladies to entertain the King if he got bored with his guests!!
According to our guide it was still used after the French left Cambodia in 1953, when it fell into disrepair is unclear but in the late 1980's and early 1990's Bokor Hill was used by the a Khmer Rouge and on top of the hill where the French had constructed a small town became of of
the last refuges of the communist Khmer Rouge.
Being only 10km away on the same hill as The Bokor Hill station I suppose I could have included the Black Palace ... but I liked the story behind it so much I really thought it deserved its own page :o)