Chinese cash and casinos are flooding this Cambodian beach town, but locals say ‘business is about to die’
Sihanoukville, a port city on the Gulf of Thailand, has long been a favourite among Westerners, but in recent months it has become a beacon for Hun Sen’s Beijing-leaning vision for the country
It was a hot, clear day. The kind of day when, a few months ago, the beach here would have been crowded with tourists deciding whether to drink a US$1 beer or a US$1 fresh coconut juice.
Instead, the beach was almost deserted. Women wandered with trays of fresh lobsters perfectly balanced on their heads or carrying kits for performing pedicures, touting in vain for customers.
Men lounged on chairs at their restaurants offering barbecued squid and local curries. But the only patrons were stray cats and flies.
“We’re not going to be able to feed ourselves soon. Our business is about to die,” said Doung Sokly, a 30-year-old woman who has been selling drinks, snacks and cigarettes from a cart on Independence Beach for the past eight years.
A block away, however, business is booming in the new casinos that have popped up in recent months. They have names like New Macau and New MGM, and they cater exclusively to Chinese guests. Cambodians are prohibited from gambling.
On this sunny afternoon when the beach was empty, the casinos were packed with Chinese customers smoking and slapping down US$100 bills on the tables. All around were eagle-eyed Chinese supervisors and gaggles of young local women in short dresses and long eyelashes.
