For as unique and interesting as Cambodia is – if you want to see it, you’d better go soon. Because the country’s cash-hungry elite, along with its “for-sale” government, seems to have an insatiable appetite for profit. From what I can tell, Cambodia’s new rich is working day and night to gobble up the old – Slowly but surely converting the country’s most iconic attractions into big, corporate-backed business.

The mysterious Bokor Hill Station, for instance – once a fascinating off-the-beaten-path destination – is already well on its way to being turned into a five-star casino. Sihanoukville’s pristine beaches are slowly but surely transforming into the kinds of resorts that have already consumed Thailand’s once paradise-like islands. Battambang’s bamboo railway is slated to be shut down any day, and even Angkor Wat itself has been sold to a Vietnamese corporation (which is the reason for its hefty ticket price). It’s therefore little surprise that Phnom Penh’s iconic backpacker haven is already a thing of the past…
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