I've been to Cambodia's Koh Kong more times than I've been to Berlin. My passport is dotted with entry and exit stamps to and from the border town on the Gulf of Siam or Gulf of Thailand as the body of water is labeled on the maps of the Lonely Planet Guidebook. It's a quiet coastal town with a few beer bars and brothels servicing the local male population and those westerners who have missed the boat to Sihanoukville. The provincial peace has been threatened by the designs of Thailand's deposed PM Thaksin Shinawatra, who has announced big plans for Koh Kong.
Hotels, golf courses, and casinos.
The benefits of the modern world with 7/11s on every corner.
All the money going to his selfless effort to regain power in Thailand via his loyal red-shirted supporters.
Sad to say as close as Koh Kong is to Thailand, it's not Thailand and if there's one thing I've learned from Thais over my long years in that country they love Thailand and nowhere else. Of course Koh Kong had been once been a Thai frontier post. Maybe an actress can claim the city for Siam like one did the ruins at Angkor Wat.
Until then Thaksin would be well advised to study the classic palindrome 'Able I was ere I saw Elba'.
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