The once abandoned French retreat of Bokor Hill Station, inside the 1581-sq-km Bokor National Park is famed for its refreshingly cool climate and creepy derelict buildings that had their hey-day during the 1920s and 1930s. On cold, foggy days it can get pretty spooky up here as mists drop visibility to nothing and the wind keens through abandoned buildings. Appropriate, then, that the foggy showdown that ends the Matt Dillon crime thriller City of Ghosts (2002) was filmed here.
These days the hill station is becoming more famous for the ugly modern casino, which blights the summit, the Thansur Bokor Highland Resort. It's part of a huge development project that includes a golf course (or a spot the ball competition in the mist?) and numerous holiday villas on sale at speculative prices. This construction has sadly all but destroyed the pleasingly eerie atmosphere of bygone Bokor.
