Pailin is famous for gem stones, land mines and being a haven for ex-Khmer Rouge members. In the west of Cambodia, near the Thai border, Pailin was a Khmer Rouge stronghold; selling gem stones kept them going financially, they planted a lot of land mines here to compensate for having a smaller army than opposing forces, and a number of high ranking Khmer Rouge members sought refuge in Pailin after they were finally defeated in the late nineties. I saw some gem stones (some really big rocks!), read signs about land mine clearances and saw some land mine victims, but fortunately didn't have any encounters with any ex-Khmer Rouge members...as far as I know! Hak, who I worked with at the street kids centre, lived in Pailin a few years ago, so we went on a
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