An area of Cambodia that used to be filled with dangerous land mines has been replaced with a resort, the Memoria, according to the Washington Post.
The land was purchased by owner Panhavuth Long, who purchased it from the local commune chief. He opened the resort after the area was deemed safe for development.
"One-hundred and twenty pieces," Long told the Washington Post, stating the number of dangerous land mines that used to line the ground where the resort now sits.
It's difficult to attract visitors to Cambodia, and the Memoria resort is a six-hour drive northwest of Phnom Penh, in Pailin province, which is on Cambodia's northwest border with Thailand. The area has a reputation as a remote, war-torn, disease-ridden area, not exactly somewhere that comes to mind when people are planning their vacation.
The hill above the Memoria pool was previously an artillery depot. In the area where sun chairs line the pool, there used to be a line of tanks.
The resort is still struggling to overcome these negative images. Long is committed to hiring the children of defeated revolutionaries, but says that the lack of education and being brought up in conflict has led to limited skill sets. Pailin only recently got a high school. The lack of educational opportunities has resulted in teens that have abilities for "farming, cutting trees and maybe fighting." This has forced Long to bring in experienced service professionals, though the resort has yet to make a profit.
"Because Pailin is considered to be all Khmer Rouge, no one wants to come here," Long said. "Secondly, there are still land mine fields deep in the forest, and there is still malaria up in the jungle."
The area would like to attract more tourists, and a consultant to the government said that a tourism plan is in the works. The area is beautiful and has a lot to offer if it can overcome it's negative reputation.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
