Despite its shady reputation – or more likely because of it – the Kings Romans is a boomtown. Cranes cast long shadows on crumbling streets, along which convoys of trucks transport construction material throughout the day.
Just down the street is a Chinese “Ayia Napa”, where neon signs beckon punters into restaurants, bars and dozens of pink-lit venues with names such as “Leisure Club”.
Alcohol, as inside the casino, was banned. Inside, a sign on the wall advertised a “Zero Clock” room to rent by the hour. Its sky-blue walls were peeling in the heat and a lot of rattletrap cars and pedal rickshaws hardly screamed wealth. Our hotel, the Kapok Garden – named for a sprawling Central American tree – was less glamorous.
