But there is nothing to do but wait. One by one, dozens of cement mixers, dump trucks, earth movers as well as the occasional Toyota ute, Porsche, Rolls Royce and tuk-tuk, drive past slowly from the other direction. A Rolls-Royce and a tuk-tuk drive towards Sihanoukville Airport. Credit:James Massola Eventually, there is a break in the traffic and we inch forward, dodging potholes that are a foot deep and a metre wide. The drive to the airport ends up taking two and a bit hours but I make my flight on time. Sihanoukville was once a sought-after destination for backpackers on the so-called Banana Pancake Trail - the name is derived from the cheap, delicious and commonplace breakfast served up in hostels through out south-east Asia.

Vietnam has Sapa with its stunning mountains and Hue, with its majestic citadel, Thailand boasts delightful historic sights in Chiang Mai and the beaches of Krabi, while Cambodia has Siem Reap, gateway to Angkor Wat, and Sihanoukville - once famed for its pristine beaches, low-slung wooden guesthouses and hostels and beautiful nearby islands. Now, plastic waste and other rubbish from building sites litters the streets and vacant fields that wait to be developed, while many of the beaches are strewn with garbage that has either been dumped or washed ashore. The air, while not polluted like major capitals such as Jakarta or Bangkok, is often thick with the dust and grime kicked up by the dozens and dozens of construction projects that run around the clock. The roads, comprehensively ruined by the non-stop heavy vehicle traffic, are appalling. At one point, on the road near the beach front at the Ream national park, vehicles - from brand new Range Rovers to unassuming scooters - actually detour off the badly pot-holed bitumen and drive along the sand as it offered safer and easier passage.

On 23 Tola Street, one of the main streets for the casinos rapidly rising in Sihanoukville, poverty and affluence sit cheek by jowl. On one side of the muddy road, wooden stalls sell durians and other local fruit. On the other side, huge casinos stand, neon signs blinking, with more being built around the clock. More casinos and resorts being constructed on 23 Tola Street, in central Sihanoukville. Credit:James Massola Locals grumble, constantly, about the influx of Chinese money and the inflation it has caused. The minimum wage is about $US182 per month (US dollars are more commonly used than the Cambodian Riel) and workers in the casinos, on the work sites and in the factories in the special economic zones can earn $US300-$400 per month.

But inflation means that the cost of renting a room has tripled, from about $US20 to $US60 per month, and food prices have risen markedly too. A traffic jam outside the main market place in down town Sihanoukville. It can take hours to drive just a few kilometres. Credit:James Massola In the city's central markets - the road to which is so jammed with traffic that two lanes have somehow become five - local traders complain that business is slow and the cost of renting a stall has risen sharply: according to one trader, the price has risen from $US100 per month to $US700 per month. A few years ago, a local lobster could be purchased for around $US8. Now, one of the shop keepers says, she sells her lobsters for $US50 per kilo - pricing many of the locals out of the market. "Chinese and Vietnamese vegetable are the most popular here now. The Chinese don’t like the local vegetables - they say they aren't delicious," the woman says, "so it [the vegetables sold in some of the stalls] comes by ship from China."