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Sihanoukville (Khmer: ក្រុងព្រះសីហនុ, Krong Preah Sihanouk), also known as "Kampong Som" (Khmer: កំពង់សោម), is a coastal city in Cambodia and the capital of Sihanoukville Province, at the tip of an elevated peninsula in the country's south-west on the Gulf of Thailand. The city is flanked by an almost uninterrupted string of beaches along its entire coastline and coastal marshlands bordering the Ream National Park in the east. The city has one navigable river, the mangrove lined Ou Trojak Jet running from Otres Pagoda to the sea at Otres. A number of thinly inhabited islands. The city of Sihanoukville was named in 1964 after the ruling prince of Cambodia. In the old days, its golden beaches caught the attention of Cambodia’s jet-setting elite. The city fell off the map during the tragic reign of the Khmer Rouge and was “rediscovered” and revitalized by the backpacking crowd. It was a lazy beach town until about 2010 when it took off with travelers and is now the premier backpacker party city in Cambodia. Now, it’s popular with backpackers, Russians, and Chinese tour groups. While I think the city is a fun place to party, traveling here isn’t going to “wow” you. In fact, the destination has gotten kind of crappy in recent years. Chinese tourists run the show here and the city is now a mess of construction, pollution, and casinos. It’s not very appealing except for a small strip of land by the dock. But the islands off the coast are still backpacker / budget traveler paradise so Sihanoukville is still good for a night as you transit to/from the islands.
