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A rural road outside of Pailin.
A rural road outside of Pailin.
Map of Cambodia highlighting Pailin
Map of Cambodia highlighting Pailin
Coordinates: 12°51′02″N 102°36′34″E﻿ / ﻿12.85056°N 102.60944°E﻿ / 12.85056; 102.60944Coordinates: 12°51′02″N 102°36′34″E﻿ / ﻿12.85056°N 102.60944°E﻿ / 12.85056; 102.60944
Country  Cambodia
Capital Pailin
 • Total 803 km2 (310 sq mi)
Population (2008)[1]
 • Total 70,482
 • Density 88/km2 (230/sq mi)
  Provincial population
Time zone UTC+07
Dialing code +855
ISO 3166 code KH-24
Districts 2

Pailin (Khmer: ប៉ៃលិន, Khmer pronunciation: [pai lɨn]) is a province (khaet) in western Cambodia at the northern edge of the Cardamom Mountains near the border of Thailand. This province is surrounded by Battambang Province, and was officially carved out of Battambang to become a separate administrative division after the surrender of the Ieng Sary faction of the Khmer Rouge in 1996. Pailin is known to much of the world for having long been a stronghold of the Khmer Rouge, remaining under their control long after they were defeated in 1979 and serving from 1994 to 1998 as the capital of the "Provisional Government of National Union and National Salvation of Cambodia." Within Cambodia Pailin is known for its natural resources, namely, precious gems and logging.

Once a part of regional power the Khmer Empire, Pailin was later ruled by the Siamese (Thai) to varying degrees from 1594 until 1946 when it was returned to Cambodia. It was known to the Thai as "Phailin" (Thai: ไพลิน, Thai pronunciation: [pʰāj.lin]). There is still a vibrant border crossing point in Pailin. On 22 December 2008, King Norodom Sihamoni signed a Royal Decree that changed the municipalities of Kep, Pailin and Sihanoukville into provinces, as well as adjusting several provincial borders.[2][3]


In the early 1970s, Pailin was a prosperous town stemming from the extensive gem deposits in the surrounding countryside. Because of its resources, it was one of the first cities invaded by the Khmer Rouge when they began their major offensive against the national government. The city offered no resistance and the Khmer Rouge soldiers were greeted as liberators as they marched into town. At this point, the deposed king had allied himself with the Khmer Rouge and most residents believed that they were fighting to restore him to power. It was not long, though, before most residents were rounded up for a forced march to the countryside to work in rice paddies. Those believed to have connections to the government were killed. The Khmer Rouge used proceeds from mining in the Pailin area to fund their offensive and later their government once they gained national power. When the invading Vietnamese Army ousted them from power, they retreated to Pailin, where many former Khmer Rouge leaders remain today.

Some leaders went into hiding in fear of punishment for their crimes, although other leaders lived openly in the province. It is said that 70% of the area's older men were fighters for the Khmer Rouge,[who?] but none of the regular fighters have yet been brought to justice.[citation needed] As of September 2007, Pailin's remaining Khmer Rouge leaders were being rounded up to face justice by an international tribunal, including Khieu Samphan and Nuon Chea.[4]

Since the war, Pailin suffered an economic decline and failures of local businesses. However, the now politically stable area is seeing a new wave of tourism focused on its ancient temples, natural forests and wildlife, and especially the precious gem market.

Tourism Attractions[edit]

  • Wat Phnom Yat:built by Shan migrants from Myanmar in 1922, is a holy place for worship in the heart of Pailin with includes an old pagoda, similar to the Kola pagoda. With loads of folk tales and legends in the area, the wat is the centre of popular devotion, for residents of Pailin and visitors alike upon many ancient structures on Phnom Yat, including big and small stupas and Asroms or hermitages, places for meditation. The building up of the place is originally coming up with a folktales about At that time, there were a husband and a wife who had the same names, Yart. They worked as gem miners in Pailin area. When they grew old they went to take meditation on a mountain which is now called Phnom Yart. The Pailinners who often went to sell gems in Siam bought some hand guns and rifles in order to protect their property and residence. When they were bored, they took guns and went to hunt animals in the wood for pleasure. Such a pleasure hunting made all spirits living in the forest surprised. One day the most powerful spirit transformed himself to meet grandfather Yart and grandmother Yart so as to send verbal message to ask the grandparents to tell the hunters not to fire at animals all over the woods which caused all spirits to be frightened, lose their children and grandchildren. " So, stop firing, we will help you with finding precious stone, " the spirit said, " in order to become rich and prosperous." " But if you become the rich, build a pagoda at this mountain site and then play music with peacock dance every holyday, " said the spirit.The spirit disappeared soon after telling, Grandpa Yart and grandma Yart took the message and went to inform all residents. The residents obeyed the spirit's advice.[5]
  • Wat Rattanak Sophoan:At the foot of Phnom Yat is another pagoda, Wat Rattanak Sophoan. On the walls of the enclosure surrounding the pagoda is a bas-relief depicting the Hindu saga of the churning of the Ocean of Milk.[6]
  • Phnom Khiev Waterfall (Blue Mountain):Local at Sangkat Steung Kach, Khan Saha Krau about 20 kilometer distance from Pailinn, set near the border of Thailand among some parts are already been through to the thai area. The rainforest and high source of natural with an extremely popular tropical zone in Pailin. Faced the famous history during Khmer Rouge, Phnom Kiev Waterfall was a place for Khmer Rouge killers to escape. From 1979 onwards it now beckons foreign tourists for becoming their adventure area. It provided several different kinds of birds and animal which lived in the forest and the waterfalls. No tigers or other dangerous animals are to be found in the area. Snakes, however, are common: small cobra and large pythons.[7] This natural resort is a specific tourism place after Wat Phnom Yat.


Pailin's culture is distinctly different from most of Khmer culture. According to some data, Pailin's culture is predominantly Burmese, and has much in common with that of the country of Burma. This affinity is shown in the region's cuisine, dress, temple architecture, festivals and arts. The culture can be seen as similar to the culture in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The people of Pailin are predominantly Kola. The Kola people originally migrated from Burma beginning in 1876 (note: Khmer people called the Burmese people, "Kola" or "Pumea"). Another wave of migrants, the Shan (one of the many ethnic minorities of Burma) arrived from Burma in the 1920s. The "Kola" or Burmese immigrants of Pailin are known for their work in the precious gem business, which likely is what attracted them to Pailin. Pailin was synonymous with the Mogok region of Burma, where similar precious gem stones were mined. According to people who are in the gem business, gem stones of Pailin are comparable to the gem stones from the Mogok region in Burma; thus, Khmer people believed the Kola or immigrants from Burma were from the Mogok region of Burma).[8]

There are several dialects spoken locally including Khmer, Shan and Kola. The local Khmer dialect shows influence in tone and pronunciation from the Burmese languages as well as Kham Muang and Mon language.

In Pailin, there are a few different kinds of foods. Kola's food is distinct from Burma's Cuisine as well. The most popular Burmese style one is Mee Kola (មីកុឡា) which is a vegetarian noodle dish made from thin rice stick noodles, steamed and cooked with soy sauce and garlic chive, sometimes mixed with some meats and small lobster. Other dishes include Tom yum from Thailand and Mon banana pudding of Burma. These have all spread to other parts of Thailand and Cambodia, but normally in versions which are flavored more sweetly than the Pailin version, especially in Phnom Penh.

The Traditional clothes of Pailin is Longyi, also known as Sarong. The cloth is often sewn into a cylindrical shape. It is worn around the waist, running to the feet. It is held in place by folding fabric over, without a knot. It is also sometimes folded up to the knee for comfort. These traditional "longyi" have about 2 meters of in length of swan. The cloth is made of cotton and sometimes from silk. Kola men wear ankle-length patterns of checks, plaids or stripes "Longyi" in any kinds of color. The Men always wear their white eingyi shirt which has a mandarin collar and sometimes also wear a traditional jacket called taik-pon over their eingy. It has white, grey, black or terracotta colors. They put the gaung baung turban on their head and on their feet wear simple rubber or velvet slippers.

For Kola women's calf-length longyi are in solid colors, flower prints and many kinds of designs. They soften have a red based color, with partial stripes or very small checks similar to what Mon wear. They also often have horizontal or vertical stripes at the middle part. Royalty traditionally wore a long dress called "thin-dai" decorated by many threads. It was always worn by a lord's daughter and the king of the province's lady. The Women wears a beautiful blouse and a lovely shirt which is known as eingyi. The shirt is decorated with several colors and many piece of silver. The shirt also has horizontal or vertical stripes at the middle part in some beauty color. Kola women tie a traditional shawl on their eingyi as well as they put the shawl on their shoulders. Women tie a lovely band on their head and wear beautiful flowers in their hair, allowing their hair to drop as a ponytail above their shoulders. They sometimes took a traditional umbrella made from baboom with them. The footwear is simple slippers of leather or velvet called Hnyat-phanat.

All of these costumes were shiny with bright colors during celebrations. The clothing is very similar to what is worn by the Shan in Burma.[9]

The houses in Pailin are built from wood, about 8 cm to 1 meter includes a wide door and in the middle of house, there are the hermitages of Buddha and anothers spirit house. The Kola People are fond of planting roses in front of their homes.


The surrounding area was rich in a variety of gemstones which were mined almost clean to support the Khmer Rouge. They also logged the area extensively, creating great environmental damage. Now all you can find is low-quality, cheap, hand-faceted gemstones at the market in downtown Pailin.[citation needed]

Unlike most of Cambodia, Pailin is composed primarily of uplands where little rice is grown. This makes it very difficult for farmers to rely on subsistence agriculture. Crop failures trigger collection of food and gems from the forests, increasing the number of land mine accidents. Many farmers produce non-traditional crops for the markets, including sesame, mung and soya. In 2003-04 it produced 17,204 tons of maize, the second-highest production in the country.[10]

Traders in Pailin will accept Cambodian riels, US dollars, and Thai baht; US dollars are preferred.

Land mines[edit]

Pailin was one of the most heavily mined area in the world. Travellers are cautioned to stay on marked roads. De-mining is ongoing with UN help, which brings in some of the few foreigners that the locals encounter.[citation needed]


The province is divided into two districts:

Until 2001 Pailin was part of Battambang Province, then elevated to city status, and then again to provincial status and thus became an autonomous zone of its own.


  2. ^ "Decree creates three new provinces". December 2008. 
  3. ^ "2008 Royal Decree on changing of Pailin municipality to Pailin province" (in Khmer). 
  4. ^ "Key figures in the Khmer Rouge". BBC. September 19, 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-21. 
  5. ^ "Cambodian Mountains Stories:Phnom Yart in pailin". Cambodia. 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-05. 
  6. ^ "smaradeykhmer:Pailin". Smaradeykhmer. 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-05. 
  7. ^ "Phnom Khieu Waterfall". Andy Brouwer's Cambodia Tales. 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-07. 
  8. ^ "Dance and Cultural Show". Flickr. 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-07. 
  9. ^ "Traditional Costume in Myanmar". Travel blog. 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-07. 
  10. ^ Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Agricultural Statistics, 2003-04 Royal Government of Cambodia, Phnom Penh, 2004.
  11. ^ a b All districts, communes and villages in Pailin, National Institute of Statistics,

See also[edit]