Advice on Cambodia?

[christianpfc]

Advice on Cambodia?

I have will do a visa run and have a flight to Phom Penh on June 30. Never been to Cambodia before.

Will do some research on internet (including reading recent reports on this and other forums).

I have got some information from a friend. The data below is what he told me, please correct or add if you know better (my preferences: public transport, low cost accommodation, food and entertainment).

I will get visa on arrival at the airport (20 USD, and only USD will be accepted). Pay in USD, get change in Riel. Should I change Baht to USD in Thailand or withdraw USD at an ATM in Cambodia from my Euro visa card? (Probably the latter, EUR -> THB -> USD has two conversions, EUR -> USD only one.)

I will spend a few days in Phom Penh. There is a market hall in Art Deco style, I want to see it. Places related to Red Khmer interesting as well. And once having seen this market hall and being in Cambodia anyway, I can as well travel to Siem Reap (bus, 6 USD) to see Angkor Wat (30 minutes by bicycle, entry 20 USD). Any other places (I like the weird and unique, however in Cambodia I canтАЩt travel as freely as in Thailand because I donтАЩt speak the language.) I wonтАЩt go to Sihanoukville, a friend is going to move there, so I will wait until he is there to visit him. I am not interested in beaches (unless there are cute boys in swimwear), but I like mountains and forest.

Gay activity not important, but after dark there wonтАЩt be much else to do, so I can as well have a look at gay discos, massage, bars, cruising areas. I probably wonтАЩt use grindr or gayromeo. Any suggestions? Differences to Thailand?

Return to Thailand by bus (or better book a flight from Siem Reap, new visa regulations for land borders?)

Where to stay in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap? (I read the River Queen Guesthouse blog, so I might stay there in Siem Reap.) No need for gay places, location (to minimize travel time) and price is more important. However joiner friendly would be advantageous, you never know.

Why Cambodia? I have been to Lao twice, now itтАЩs time for something new. When I applied for tourist visa a the Thai embassy in Berlin, I was asked to provide proof of leaving Thailand, which caused some inconvenience. So I booked a cheap flight on Air Asia and went back to the embassy the following day.

Booking a flight with Air Asia is a story for itself. The flight was priced at 1590 Baht, I got away with 1690
Baht, but their booking system is tricky, there are options that cost more everywhere, and how to book without these options is in the small print. Hold luggage costs extra, I have only cabin luggage which limits what I can take with me for the trip.

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[paulosussex]

Hi,
Your visa info is correct, you also need a passport picture but if you don't have one then they will charge you $1 on top of the visa fee. There are ATMs all over Phnom Penh and Siem Reap and they all dispense US$ so that's the easiest way to get cash - you really don't need Riel, everyone accepts US$. I find Canadia Bank has the lowest ATM fees.

The art deco market you want to see is Central Market, close by is Phnom Penh's major shopping mall - Soriya mall, it's not very exciting but has a food court on a higher floor and a supermarket in the basement. Wine and alcohol is incredibly cheap in Cambodia, good wine can be had for $5-$10 and the same for branded spirits. You should also check out the Russian Market which is close to Toul Sleng museum and you can also combine those two with a trip out to the killing fields. There are plenty of decent and cheap restaurants around the riverside and streets between st130 and the Royal Palace. Blue Chili bar would be a good place to go for a look at the sort of scene there is in Cambodia.

The bus ride to Siem Reap is a long one because of the current state of the road, factor about 8 hours right now. Also if you pay $6 for the bus ticket it will be a local service like Soriya or Capital and the buses will be old and tatty and make a lot of stops making the journey even longer. Better idea would be to get your GH or Hotel to book you on either CAT Mekong Express or Giant Ibis, both are much better options at $13/$15. Mekong has an onboard toilet and Ibis has comfy seats and wifi.
You can cycle out to Angkor Wat from Siem Reap town it's flat but hot, plenty of bike hire places in town, there's one with good bikes across the bridge from the old market. The Angkor pass you need to buy on the way out to the park at the ticket office - $20 one day, $40 three days, $60 seven days. There really are a lot of temples to see if you are interested and you could easily spend three days just seeing the main central area especially if you use a bike. I would avoid the Tonle Sap lake tours near to Siem Reap, there are scam central, there are more interesting lake villages further away and it's easy to arrange tours. You might prefer a tuk tuk to see the temples, cost is around $15 a day and you can cover more ground if you just go for the one day option.
Siem Reap town is quite nice, some very good GHs and hotels and some excellent restaurants. Have a walk along the riverside in the evening and visit one of the many night markets. The old market is a good place to get souvenirs. For bar life there is Linga bar in pub street passage, Miss Wong in the lane north of pub street, and Station wine bar north of that on st7. Classic Hip Hop is a nice rooftop late night bar popular with young Khmers and there is a disco on the ground floor, it's next to the night market over the river from the old market. River Queen is in a good spot and should be fun. You could also try one of the Golden Banana group just over the river from the old market.

You can use the direct bus back to Mo Chit that leaves SR at 9am and is run by Nattakan ltd. I think it's $28. It's the sister service to the Transport Company's Mo Chit to Siem Reap service. The one fly in the ointment is that there current situation in Thailand is prompting a mass exodus of illegal Khmers and all the land borders are extremely busy right now so it might be easier to fly back from Siem Reap. (Air Asia, Cambodia Angkor Air, Bangkok Airways). It might be better visa wise to fly too.

Cheers

[goji]

1 Check out the e-visa option. That's all I have used on my 4 visits to Cambodia. Means you are through immigration in minutes AND you don't waste a page in your passport.
Link http://evisa.mfaic.gov.kh/ This arrives real fast as a pdf, which you need to print.
Clearly Cambodia visas are an entry tax, packaged as a visa.

2 SR. River Queen blog refers to DOGS, which appear to live on the premises. That would rule it off my list. However, if you don't mind that, location should be just fine. I walked past it 6 months ago on the last trip.
Ei8ht rooms was a good budget gay option which I used on every visit to Siem Reap, but I believe they got kicked out of their premises by a landlord with other ambitions.

3 Last time I went from PP to Siem Reap, the bus took a very acceptable 5 hours. That was the year the yellow shirts closed BKK airport. Since then, I expect the road surface will have improved. However, perhaps the volume of traffic has increased. Check out Travelfish and LP blogs IN DEPTH in order to pick the best bus company operating the route. AVOID Capitol. I repeat, avoid Capitol. I did a trip from Battambang to PP last year with Capitol. The bus brakes barely worked, were capable of about 0.1g and we got overtaken by about 10 other buses. SLOW and a bit hazardous

4 Blue Chilli in PP is worth visiting. Usually there are some money boys who can treat you well. Their attitude is often great, just don't expect a 9/10 appearance.

5 If you like saunas, or have further questions, please PM me.

6 You can get back from Anranya Prathet to BKK either by buses operating from the border area, or from the ones in town a short distance away. Or even by a very cheap train. Think it is just 2 trains a day, but SRT website should explain.

7 For PP, google Tuk Tuk from airport into town. You just need to walk OUTSIDE the airport boundaries and know the going rate before some fairly easy haggling. That's about $3 saved for 3 minutes walking. I'll still work for $1 a minute NET of taxes. Wish I was smart enough not to, but must work on this.

Enjoy your trip. It's a very fine country.

[usagaybear]

The eVISA is a nice convenience. I showed up in Siem Reap without a photo and they charged me $1 (or 5?) to copy the one from my password. So do eVisa and you can upload youir photo, or bring some visa size photos.

I stayed at the MENs all men resort. A bit expensive, I think the better rooms were around $50, but very nice. They allow the local men to buy day passes to use the pool, gym, and sauna, so there is usually some eye candy around looking to meet. The hotel is a bit out of the way but the owner keeps tuk-tuks out front all day. You can hire them for $15 a day. They will pick you up and bring you back to the airport.

Do a little research on the Anker Wat. I went to the main touristy spot and was disappointed. All the jungle is gone and was hotter than hell. I did meet a very nice student outside the ruins that was a good guide. There are other areas of the ruins less tourist developed and more jungle that would be better to visit. I just ran out of time.

Lots of mens massage places. I didn't go in so I don't know what is there.

[paulosussex]

Hi,
Bear in mind that the e-visa - great if you need the passport space - now costs at least $30 - $25 visa fee, + $3 processing fee + lousy exchange rate... and to be honest if you just get a VOA you wait about the same time as a visa waiver in Thailand for the $20 VOA - ten mins max.
The last time goji was in Cambodia was the last time anyone fixed the roads, truly NR6 is in a dreadful state and in March was taking 7.5 hours in the better buses, now it's the wet season and work stops. The roadworks between Kampong Thom and Phnom Penh are extensive right now.
There are lots of massage places with men outside, but there are few mens massage places if you get my drift. Very little privacy in the former, very little choice in the latter.
Cheers

[llz]

Just come back from a one week trip to PP and SR.

I can confirm all the information above. For Siem Reap the non-gay massage places can be very interesting if you are the only customer when you go ; prices are cheap - 1h for 6 USD - and you will not be assigned a masseur but will go with the one you had contact with on the street. Good as there are some strikingly beautiful lads there. Be generous with them, they get only 1or 2 USD of what you paid.

For the dogs in River Queen Guesthousr, do not worry, they are not an annoyance (I am not into dogs as well). The place is very well located near to everything but calm enough and the owners are delicious and will share a lot of useful information.

More on my blog.

[christianpfc]

I will get visa on arrival (cheaper, shouldn't take much time, spend too much time on computer, would have to go to internet cafe to print).

River Queen in SR sounds good, and their standard room 21 USD per night is still within my limits.

Where to stay in PP? Doesn't have to be gay, not more than 20 USD per night (don't know how room prices are in Cambodia, everywhere in Thailand I can get something satisfying my requirements for 500 Baht per night).

Thanks for the advice on bus PP to SR (from Roi Et to BKK, I took a bus that took 10 hours instead of 6 hours, don't want to make that mistake again), and tuk-tuk from PP airport to town.

Going rate for moneyboys, expected/recommended tip for massage (1 h oil or 1 foot), standard and happy ending?

A Thai friend wants me to bring him a weight gaining drug "Ceng Fui yen" (yes, weight gaining, didn't know such stuff existed), no way!
http://www.khmer440.com/chat_forum/view ... hp?t=34077

[goji]

Hi,
The last time goji was in Cambodia was the last time anyone fixed the roads, truly NR6 is in a dreadful state and in March was taking 7.5 hours in the better buses, now it's the wet season and work stops.

Actually, I was referring to the last time I went from PP to Siem Reap directly. Goji has made 2 more visits to Cambodia visits since then, the most recent of which was in 2013.

Anyhow, I have been asked to comment on Saunas, so here we go.
For locations, see Utopia website.

Phnom Penh

The Love Spa (Visited 2011 & 2013)
The best Sauna I have visited in PP. In reasonably good condition, loads of cute guys. If time is limited, this is the one to visit.

Galaxy Khmer (2013)
A Malaysian visitor summed it up by saying "This Place is Pretty Run Down". He left within 10 minutes. I should have done the same.
Scruffy run down sauna, which didn't even have a sauna, merely a steam room and a couple of pools. Not many people. If you are on a short trip, no don't waste your time visiting this place.

Khmer Spa (2011)
Was clearly better than the Galaxy Khmer, but not as good as the Love Spa. (3.5 years since my visit, so it may have changed)


Siem Reap
I have only tried the Blue Hatha Spa. This is a fairly basic sauna conveniently located a short walk from the town centre. A few cute customers. Massages were available. I tried one and it was a good experience, although the price first quoted for something extra was quite optimistic by Cambodian or Thai standards. So be ready to haggle.

As for the bars, well visiting The Blue Chilli in Phnom Pen still has a few money boys.

The Linga in Siem Reap seemed to have fewer guys looking to meet tourists than in previous years. In 2013, my only meet up here was actually pre-arranged on Gay Romeo & we could have met anywhere.

[christianpfc]

Back from one week in Cambodia, everything fine. No scams or delays at the borders. Flight DMK to PNH, 3 nights, then bus to Siem Reap, 3 nights, then bus to Poipet, 1 night, and train to Bangkok.

Every time I am on the internet, I am bombarded with advertising for hotels. But this trip no bookings, just show up, have a look a the room first and check in (works well, haven't made in hotel booking in the last two years).

Ended up in more gay places than intended, but once sun sets, there is nothing else to do for me than going to entertainment areas (I could watch TV in my hotel room or movie on my mobile phone, but I can do so at home).

Bicycle to Angkor Wat is fine. Many massage places in Siem Reap, some have boys, and hints at happy ending. The girls and boys look rather young. Some girls were very aggressive, stepping into my way, haven't had this in Thailand.

In PP and SR, and to a lesser extent in Poipet, I was constantly accosted for tuk-tuk or motorbike, I estimate more than 100 times per day.

What makes visits to temple enjoyable or not is not number of other tourists, it's the weather! Sunshine is unpleasant, hot and I get skin reddening. But now in rainy season there was one afternoon that had covered sky, temperatures bearable, no shadows (better for photography), that was great. Another day, I had to stop around 5 pm when it started to rain and got very wet during my ride back in the rain.

Overall, I handled this trip well (being degraded to tourist, unable to read and speak the local language). There are some differences to Thailand (more homeless, roads in worse condition, abject poverty right next to farang entertainment areas, chaotic traffic).

The Love Spa (Visited 2011 & 2013)
The best Sauna I have visited in PP. In reasonably good condition, loads of cute guys. If time is limited, this is the one to visit.

Full name: LOVE Spa For Men #103/105 (corner of 105 and 350 street), in walking distance from Amam (390 street), bot recommended. Busiest time 5-7 pm.

Detailed reports on my blog in the near future.

[extronaut]

How can you make sure Khmer money boys are 18+ ?