Kambodja

Long the no-go part of Cambodia for tourists, notorious for its squalor, scams and sleaze, Poipet (ប៉ោយប៉ែត, pronounced ‘poi-peh’ in Khmer) has recently splurged on a facelift. Thanks mainly to the patronage of neighbouring Thais, whose own country bans gambling, its casino resorts – with names like Tropicana and Grand Diamond City – are turning the town into Cambodia's little Las Vegas. However, beyond the border zone, the Poipet of times past is still very much present. The Khmers’ gentle side is little in evidence, but don’t worry, the rest of the country does not carry on like this.

Mondulkiri Province (ខេត្តមណ្ឌលគិរី), the original wild east, is a world apart from the lowlands with not a rice paddy or palm tree in sight.

It's not hard to see why travelers become entranced with Kampot (កំពត). This riverside town, with streets rimmed by dilapidated shophouse architecture, has a dreamy quality; as if someone pressed the snooze button a few years back and the entire town forgot to wake up. The Kompong Bay River – more accurately an estuary – rises and falls with the moons, serving as both attractive backdrop and water-sports playground for those staying in the boutique resorts and backpacker retreats that line its banks upstream from the town proper.

Koh Rong (កោះរ៉ុង) was once little more than a jungle-clad wilderness rimmed by swaths of sugary-white sand, with a few beach-hut resorts speckling the shore around tiny Koh Tuch village. Today the Koh Tuch village street-strip that leads out from the pier is a bottleneck of back-to-back backpacker crash pads, restaurants and hole-in-the-wall bars blasting competing music. You'll either love it or hate it, but for young travellers who descend off the ferry in droves, Koh Rong (particularly Koh Tuch Beach) is a vital stop on any Southeast Asia party itinerary.

Sleepy Koh Kong (ក្រុងកោះកុង) was once Cambodia's Wild West with its isolated frontier economy dominated by smuggling and gambling. Although remnants of its less-salubrious past still cling on, today this low-slung town is striding towards respectability as ecotourists, aiming to explore the Cardamom Mountains and coastline, bring in alternative sources of revenue.

The traveller's first glimpse of Angkor Wat, the ultimate expression of Khmer genius, is matched by only a few select spots on earth. Built by Suryavarman II (r 1112–52) and surrounded by a vast moat, the temple is one of the most inspired monuments ever conceived by the human mind.

Cambodia's South Coast (ឆ្នេរខាងត្បូង) provides the antidote to temple-hopping tick lists. The beaches draw most folk here, but stick around and you'll see this region is more than its sandy bits.

Looking for temples without the tourist hordes? The remote temples of Northwestern Cambodia are a world apart. While hilltop Prasat Preah Vihear is the big hitter, the other temple complexes – wrapped in vines and half-swallowed by jungle – are all fabulous to wander.

The provincial capital of Mondulkiri, Sen Monorom (សែនមនោរម្យ) is really an overgrown village, a charming community set in the spot where the hills that give the province its name meet. In the center of town are two lakes, leading some dreamers to call it "the Switzerland of Cambodia."

Founded as a seaside retreat by French colonizers in 1908 and a favoured haunt of Cambodian high-rollers during the 1960s, sleepy Kep (កែប, Krong Kep, also spelled Kaeb) is drawing tourists back with seafood, sunsets and hikes in butterfly-filled Kep National Park. Its impressive range of boutique hotels squarely targets a more cultured beach crowd than the party-happy guesthouses of Sihanoukville and the islands.