Would you ever seriously think about moving to Cambodia or Laos?

[The Hammer2021]

Cambodia  is more akin to Bangladesh. Poor, masses of beggars, very strict police state, pretty joyless people compared to Thais. As in Thailand  the war  on drugs is applied  selectively and corruption so beware. The girly  scene is non existent mainly being inhabited by poor Vietnam migrants. Cambodia lacks infrastructure too. At night within cities the dark roads are dangerous. 

[BritManToo]

6 minutes ago, The Hammer2021 said:

The girly  scene is non existent mainly being inhabited by poor Vietnam migrants.

I  must have imagined all the massage girls, bars with dark windows, and girls approaching me in restaurants, in my last 5 visits. I don't believe I ever managed to have a drink without some young and slim Khmer floozy pressing herself up against me.

 

i don't really understand why my 'experiences' in Asian countries are so different to  some other  posters, I'm not exactly god's gift (old, bald, fat), yet I'm beating them off with a poopy stick.

Edited March 26, 2021 by BritManToo

[The Hammer2021]

17 hours ago, shoupy said:

In my opinion, it was paradise on earth in 1972.  You could walk out of the Thermae at closing time and get mobbed by 50 girls who wanted you to take them home.  Gave an average guy a feeling of what it must be like to be a rock star.

The Thermae remained good until it relocated and its hours changed....It was still great in 93 but sometime after,  like all nightlife in Bangkok it declined especially in the 90s when the sinister dance drug scene  opened up. However, for Koreans, Javanese and Chinese Thermae is still a paradise albeit one that closes at 1am not 7am.

[The Hammer2021]

3 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I  must have imagined all the massage girls, bars with dark windows, and girls approaching me in restaurants, in my last 5 visits. I don't believe I ever managed to have a drink without some young and slim Khmer floozy pressing herself up against me.

The Vietnam girls pass as Khymer and are  often mixed heritage but usually refugees. Many massage parlors are respectable despite  what the LPG might say. Young floosies in bars are often operating a scam with the police. There are two streets dedicated to girly bars but there is no comparison on any level to Thailand regards, food, fun, entertainment,  events, restaurants etc. Thailand is different.

[The Hammer2021]

On 3/25/2021 at 10:28 AM, CharlieH said:

I have yet to visit Vietnam but have read good reports and it looks very nice.

If things went pear shaped I would definitely explore it further.

 

 

I have  been twice and it's an excellent place for a holiday

[BritManToo]

Just now, The Hammer2021 said:

Many massage parlors are respectable despite  what the LPG might say.

I was cycling through Siem Reap one morning, on  my way back from the ruins, when I stopped  at some red traffic lights.

A girl came running out for the side of the road, "sexy massage sir?", I was drawn into a darkened upstairs room, and was promptly  attacked by the entire staff (3 girls aged from 25 to 42). $50 later i can assure you there was nothing respectable about the place. 

Edited March 26, 2021 by BritManToo

[The Hammer2021]

On 3/24/2021 at 9:16 PM, simon43 said:

After returning to Thailand, after working in Myanmar for about 5 years, I found the Thailand that I remembered when I first moved there in 2002, had changed too much for me to consider living there in my retirement.  I therefore relocated to live in Luang Prabang, a town where I briefly worked as the Headmaster of the international school, about 8 years ago.

 

The fact that it is a communist country actually seemed a bonus.  Here is a town where the kids go out and pick up litter from the streets each week, and the local adults do the same.  Unlike Thailand, the various authorities (police, immigration etc) don't have the slightest interest in sticking themselves into my life.  I don't have to do 90-day reports, nor inform anyone of my whereabouts and trips, nor even visit an immigration office to get my annual business visa, work permit and ID card.

 

(I guess things would be different if I were a Hmong activist etc, but without the slightest interest in politics or religion, I enjoy living here).  Sure, Laos is completely under the thumb of China, but again, none of this affects me in a negative way.

 

I'm not a sex monger, but 'compony' is readily available if one is discrete.  Don't sh*t in your own house of course, so use a hotel (I've done this many times).  Secret police?  Look, I have more radio transmitters and strange antennas than Goonhilly Down, but the police and authorities never bother me - well I've never had a visit so far ????

 

The food is excellent, with daily French baguettes, Lao coffee and local dishes.

 

Some people tell me that living in Laos is expensive.  I rent an old Lao house - 3 bedrooms,  just 100 metres from the Mekong river.  It has a beautiful garden and I pay under 11,000 baht a month, plus 100 baht for water and about 3,000 baht for electricity.  I find food cheap!

 

Crime?  Nothing affects me.  No pilfering or anything.  I learnt many years ago that security fences/cameras/dogs etc attract criminals.  All I have are the rusty metal bars on my windows.  Besides, I have little to steal.

 

My local bank account (with a Franco-Belgian bank) gives me 6 - 8% annual interest...

 

I guess the only downside are the lack of decent health/hospital facilities.  It's important to have expat/medivac insurance and to stay healthy!!

 

Forgot to add that my online teaching job needs fast internet.  I have 50 MB/sec fibre connections into my house from both LaoTel and Unitel, plus 4G mobile data as a backup.  I rarely have a connection problem.

 

It's illegal to have sex with a local girl and the law is used to exploit unaware  visitors.

[WineOh]

4 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I was cycling through Siem Reap one morning, on  my way back from the ruins, when I stopped  at some red traffic lights.

A girl came running out for the side of the road, "sexy massage sir?", I was drawn into a darkened upstairs room, and was promptly  attacked by the entire staff (3 girls aged from 25 to 42). $50 later i can assure you there was nothing respectable about the place. 

Did you get the address mate? I’m thinking about taking a trip to cambodia after all this is over ????

[CharlieH]

5 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I was cycling through Siem Reap one morning, on  my way back from the ruins, when I stopped  at some red traffic lights.

A girl came running out for the side of the road, "sexy massage sir?", I was drawn into a darkened upstairs room, and was promptly  attacked by the entire staff (3 girls aged from 25 to 42). $50 later i can assure you there was nothing respectable about the place. 

When I grow up I wanna be you ! .....555555

[simon43]

I guess Vientiane is where most expats live in Laos.  But I never really liked the town, too much traffic (nowadays), too dusty, little culture.  

 

Britmantoo, the restriction on sexual relationships with local citizens is I suppose meant to limit sex tourists.  There's certainly no problems with well-intentioned, romantic relationships.  My comment that other expats seem to be NGO staff, teachers etc, doesn't mean that I find that kind of person good company.  On the contrary, I would best be described as an eccentric old git who is perfectly content with his own company.  I acknowledge the 'woke' crowd, but don't socialise with them ????

 

 

[simon43]

5 minutes ago, The Hammer2021 said:

It's illegal to have sex with a local girl and the law is used to exploit unaware  visitors.

Rubbish - foreign tourists should check the rules before trying to inseminate the local population. Sexpats and young bucks  are not welcome!  I'm discrete in my night-time activities and have never had any problems with the police/authorities.

[BritManToo]

3 minutes ago, WineOh said:

Did you get the address mate? I’m thinking about taking a trip to cambodia after all this is over ????

You  don't need any address, walk into any bar look around and smile, sit alone and you'll soon have company.

Look around,  smile at any single, or groups of girls, wave your beer mug  at them.

Happy and non-threatening, easy-going works every time, everywhere in Asia. 

 

SR, Sok san road and Street 8, everywhere full of ladies looking for free drinks.

Molly Malone's Irish pub, full of single ladies in the early evening.

Edited March 26, 2021 by BritManToo

[WineOh]

1 minute ago, BritManToo said:

6 minutes ago, WineOh said:

 

You  don't need any address, walk into any bar look around and smile

I tried that in Thailand and all I got was grief. 
 

hoping it will be easier I’m siem reap! 

[CharlieH]

8 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

You  don't need any address, walk into any bar look around and smile, sit alone and you'll soon have company.

Look around,  smile at any single, or groups of girls, wave your beer mug  at them.

Happy and non-threatening, easy-going works every time, everywhere in Asia. 

 

SR, Sok san road and Street 8, everywhere full of ladies looking for free drinks.

Molly Malone's Irish pub, full of single ladies in the early evening.

You should start your own trips, "Btimantoo,,urs'.....i'd book just to watch you in action....555555

[rott]

On 3/24/2021 at 12:45 PM, Saltire said:

 

 

Wouldn't want to have to visit a Cambodian hospital though.

 

 

 

 

Got it in one. 

I could live in either country but as the years add on, the availability of reliable healthcare becomes more important. 

And being somewhere with no friends or support network around you has to be weighed up. 

[The Hammer2021]

10 minutes ago, simon43 said:

I guess Vientiane is where most expats live in Laos.  But I never really liked the town, too much traffic (nowadays), too dusty, little culture.  

 

Britmantoo, the restriction on sexual relationships with local citizens is I suppose meant to limit sex tourists.  There's certainly no problems with well-intentioned, romantic relationships.  My comment that other expats seem to be NGO staff, teachers etc, doesn't mean that I find that kind of person good company.  On the contrary, I would best be described as an eccentric old git who is perfectly content with his own company.  I acknowledge the 'woke' crowd, but don't socialise with them ????

 

 

The restriction  on sexual relationships is per state communist diktat controlling women and their bodies whether for financial gain or otherwise. This is not just inhuman it's  ultimately corrupting.

[BritManToo]

2 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

You should start your own trips, btimantoo,,urs.....i'd book just watch you in action....555555

It's probably because I'm always a bit drunk, laid back and not really looking for action, I just go with the flow. My last 12 years in Asia have been one encounter after another, yet in the UK I was completely invisible to the opposite sex. I can't believe my experiences, of which there have been many, are any different to any other white guys wandering around Asia.

Edited March 26, 2021 by BritManToo

[The Hammer2021]

13 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

You  don't need any address, walk into any bar look around and smile, sit alone and you'll soon have company.

Look around,  smile at any single, or groups of girls, wave your beer mug  at them.

Happy and non-threatening, easy-going works every time, everywhere in Asia. 

 

SR, Sok san road and Street 8, everywhere full of ladies looking for free drinks.

Molly Malone's Irish pub, full of single ladies in the early evening.

'Full of ladies looking for free drinks'

In a Plastic P#*dy pub....

Nuff said

[CharlieH]

2 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

It's probably because I'm always a bit drunk, laid back and not really looking for action.

My last 12 years in Asia have been one encounter after another, yet in the UK I was completely invisible to the opposite sex.

I can't believe my experiences, of which there have been many, are any different to any other white guys wandering around Asia.

Nah, dont belive it, wont accept it, not busting my illusion. That woukd be like saying James Bond is just another spy, dont work mate, known you too long, virtually any way.

[AlfHuy]

33 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I was cycling through Siem Reap one morning, on  my way back from the ruins, when I stopped  at some red traffic lights.

A girl came running out for the side of the road, "sexy massage sir?", I was drawn into a darkened upstairs room, and was promptly  attacked by the entire staff (3 girls aged from 25 to 42). $50 later i can assure you there was nothing respectable about the place. 

You must be a stallion. Everywhere you go, the girls are just falling over you. You should charge them for your services ????

[ThailandRyan]

36 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I was cycling through Siem Reap one morning, on  my way back from the ruins, when I stopped  at some red traffic lights.

A girl came running out for the side of the road, "sexy massage sir?", I was drawn into a darkened upstairs room, and was promptly  attacked by the entire staff (3 girls aged from 25 to 42). $50 later i can assure you there was nothing respectable about the place. 

When's the book of travels being published, "Asian Tales of the BritManToo"

[bermondburi]

7 hours ago, SGD said:

 

I lived in Buriram for a year. I had a nice enough house, a car, truck, home life was ok. So why did I hate it ?

 

Almost every foreigner living there was doing so because they were too poor to live where they really wanted and this was back in time when £1 got you well over Bt60. If a tin of beer went up 25 satang that was the topic of conversation for the day.

 

The locals were a mixed bunch. Some resentment, some amusement, little understanding and largely just uninterested. Very little English spoken and even less outside restaurants etc.

 

There was clear evidence of the girls who were working as "cashiers" and "receptionists" in Bangkok, Phuket and Pattaya. Some oversized mansions built and often only half finished or left to rot; gold, cash and land far more useful than a large costly house to maintain.

 

I got bored, deadly bored. There simply wasn't enough of anything or anyone to make life worthwhile. In other places, it would be my choice to self isolate but up there, it was enforced because there wasn't anything else to do.

 

So I went to Bangkok a lot. Easy flights from Sateuk to Suvarnabhumi back then and often for Bt750 or so. Head back up when I wanted.

 

Contrast that with living in and around Ao Nang in Krabi and then moving to Koh Mook in the South Andaman. No electric, well, maybe 2 hours per day, so not hot water but didn't care. You ate whatever came out of the ocean and could be grown on the island. Occasional items came in from the mainland or you could take a trip or ask your restaurant guy to bring something when he went.

Beer was with ice and sure, you needed to get over seeing large blocks of ice being dragged along the ground and washed down. Never knew anyone get sick though. Food was ocean to table in hours so as fresh as could be. Evenings were spent without phones, TVs or internet and chatting, reading, listening to your fellow men and women was the order of the day.

I went back to Ao Nang and lasted 3 days before I turned around and went back to the islands.

 

Of course, time has changed everywhere and for the worse but why all rural places worry me is that I feel I would have nothing to do and have so little in common with those around me and probably not even a common language. Laos looks great to see but I suspect boring to live. I am not one for temple watching nor climbing this or that to view another paddy field or mountain. Been there, done that.

 

What would Laos give me over Thailand in any aspect ?

With you on the buriram thing. My wife is from there so i know it well. Nice to visit for a few days, nicer to leave!

 

But Koh Mook?? Visited there a couple of months ago to go to the Emerald Cave, which was fantastic with no one else there, but that place is way too small for me . A lot of rubbish everywhere too. I may be wrong but I got the impression there are too many locals living there for the size. 

[simon43]

14 minutes ago, The Hammer2021 said:

The restriction  on sexual relationships is per state communist diktat controlling women and their bodies whether for financial gain or otherwise. This is not just inhuman it's  ultimately corrupting.

At my age, I'm too selfish to care.  I get what I want without any hassles ????

[AlfHuy]

36 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I was cycling through Siem Reap one morning, on  my way back from the ruins, when I stopped  at some red traffic lights.

A girl came running out for the side of the road, "sexy massage sir?", I was drawn into a darkened upstairs room, and was promptly  attacked by the entire staff (3 girls aged from 25 to 42). $50 later i can assure you there was nothing respectable about the place. 

I know why it was a dark room. I wouldn't like to see them in daylight either.

 

[BritManToo]

Just now, AlfHuy said:

I know why it was a dark room. I wouldn't like to see them in daylight either.

 

I have a firm rule, nobody over 35 years old or weighing more than 45Kg.

I can't imagine I'm doing any better than the rest of you.

It's not me, it's Asia.

Edited March 26, 2021 by BritManToo

[Kaoboi Bebobp]

On 3/25/2021 at 1:15 PM, BritManToo said:

Not true, Cambodia air is totally clear compared to Thailand.

I couldn't believe how clean it was the first time I left the smog of Chiang Mai for the clear air of Phnom Penh and Siem Reap.

 

Yes sir. The air quality in Phnom Penh ranks one or two places better than Bangkok almost every day, as shown in my IQAir phone app. Even Ho Chi Minh ranks better than Bangkok, especially lately. Sometimes Siem Reap is worse than PP but nothing as bad as the horrendous AQI in Chiang Mai/Chaing Rai. 

 

Overall, PP and HCMC are considerably better than anywhere in Thailand, where even coastal Pattaya has lousy air.

Edited March 26, 2021 by Kaoboi Bebobp
More detail

[bkk6060]

No.

Cheaper does not mean better from my visits they are 3rd world trash heaps.  But, seems some are ok with accepting a big downgraded life and lifestyle. 

I'll stick with Thailand thanks.

[AlfHuy]

34 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

You  don't need any address, walk into any bar look around and smile, sit alone and you'll soon have company.

Look around,  smile at any single, or groups of girls, wave your beer mug  at them.

Happy and non-threatening, easy-going works every time, everywhere in Asia. 

 

SR, Sok san road and Street 8, everywhere full of ladies looking for free drinks.

Molly Malone's Irish pub, full of single ladies in the early evening.

I tried that one. Looking around and smiling. One week later, I was still smiling and alone. ????

[bkk6060]

49 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I was cycling through Siem Reap one morning, on  my way back from the ruins, when I stopped  at some red traffic lights.

A girl came running out for the side of the road, "sexy massage sir?", I was drawn into a darkened upstairs room, and was promptly  attacked by the entire staff (3 girls aged from 25 to 42). $50 later i can assure you there was nothing respectable about the place. 

That's about right.

Twice what you would pay in Pattaya.

[AlfHuy]

35 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

You should start your own trips, "Btimantoo,,urs'.....i'd book just to watch you in action....555555

I would definitely book a 2 weeks AI trip.