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126
The Boy Who Cried Wolf aka TACO
Can anyone explain who these smart people were? -
284
Are high end smartphones worth the money (to you)?
Three months - screen cracked 6 months - your model is no longer supported 8 months - all banking apps refuse to work on your 'latest phone' -
66
Tourism Cambodia Outshines Thailand in Race for Chinese Tourists
Your information is WAY out of date! These days, Phnom Penh is roughly as safe as Bangkok is. I do remember that back in the 2003-2004 days (my first trip to Cambodia, beginning with Siem Reap was in 2003 and then Phnom Penh in 2004) there were these warnings you speak of. Already by 2010, the situation had improved considerably and since around 2013 or 14, PP could be described as being safe overall (some occasional stories of dodgy happenings along the riverfront very late at night but these seem to be decreasing). Unfortunately, that first trip to Siem Reap in 2003, I was the victim of a scam and theft. I was a naive young traveler back then. I hired a taxi to take me to Angkor Wat for US$10 for half a day on my first day. There I met an unlicensed guide, who tried to charge me a whopping US$30 a day! Now I did try to get rid of him, but he was quite insistent. I paid him maybe half and then he threatened me, telling me I needed to pay the rest. I was running out of money and there were no ATMs in Cambodia at the time, so no way of me getting access to any more funds until I was back in Bangkok. I told him to come past my hotel at 11am on my last day (I left at 8am) and by that time I was already on the plane. I checked in my backpack, containing my camera. In an ironic twist, when I got to Bangkok, my camera with all my photos was missing from my bag. I think I made a report, and my insurance did pay me back. I don't know whether the theft happened at Siem Reap airport or Bangkok airport. Somehow, I suspect the former, but I'll never know for sure. In 2011 I think it was, my motorcycle helmet, which I received from the motorcycle rental shop, was stolen from my dirt bike while parked in the underground parking lot of the Paragon Mall in Phnom Penh (a Thai owned mini-mall, that has long since gone out of business). They had a supermarket and Thai owned businesses such as Black Canyon. I didn't secure the helmet, so partially my fault, but the guard clearly didn't do his job. I then had to buy a similar helmet to replace the one that was stolen, for US$12. However, I will say that these days, security and safety in Cambodia has VASTLY improved. I wouldn't necessarily walk around the unlit slum areas of Phnom Penh at night (nor would I do that in Bangkok) but I have never felt threatened or had anything untoward happen again since 2011. Bangkok overall remains quite safe but is probably slightly less safe than it was in 2004. What I mean by that is, the vast increase in tourists and expats since then, including many dodgy ones such as Nigerian drug dealers, who frequent Sukhumvit Soi 11, Chinese gangsters, Eastern European ATM skimmers and badly behaved foreigners in general, is what might make things feel a little less safe, particularly in the back alleys of lower Sukhumvit very late at night. You're still quite safe in well-lit areas and most Thai areas at any time of day or night. I wouldn't walk down Soi 11 after midnight with all them Nigerian drug dealers there. Without them, it would be safe, but it's them making it unsafe now. In any case, foreign government travel advisories usually have Thailand as "Exercise increased caution" while Cambodia is now firmly in the "Exercise normal precautions" category. Basically, any increased recommendation of viligence in Cambodia pertains to Sihanoukville due to all the Chinese gangsters (although the online gambling ban sent most of them home just before Covid and thus the city is now MUCH safer than it was during the bad old 2017-2019 days), crazy traffic, lack of medical care in the countryside and warnings of unexploded mines, mainly along the northern border with Thailand as well as of course, recent skirmishes with Thailand. There may be some mention of the nightclub scenario you refer to, but to be honest, similar things can and do happen in Thailand in dodgy nightlife zones. I'd also advise against westerners hanging out in Thai bars, where you might quickly find yourself unwelcome or subject to a scam, especially if you don't speak Thai. Westerners need to stick to bars made for westerners. Government warnings about Thailand, aside from the above, also advise caution along the borderline with Cambodia, again, particularly between Buri Ram and the Lao border, near Chong Bok where the recent skirmish between Thailand and Cambodia occurred, due to the presence of land mines that extend up to 1-3km inside Thai territory along much of the northern border, border clashes as well as similar problems along the Burmese border due to insurgent activity on the Burmese side. Clashes between drug smugglers and Thai security forces are another issue in northern Thailand, which governments warn their citizens against. Then of course the southern insurgency (something that is no longer an issue in Cambodia since roughly 1998) and lots of problems, mainly between tourists and locals or among one another, in nightlife zones such as Bangla road in Phuket, Soi 6 and walking street in Pattaya, as well as a myriad of scams in many tourist areas. -
284
Are high end smartphones worth the money (to you)?
You are ignoring the fact iphones have massive mark ups using slave labour around the world, so I'm pretty confident a high end android phone is as good as or better than latest iPhone at much lower price -
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32
THAILAND LIVE Thailand Live Monday 2 June 2025
Road Crash in Chonburi: Cyclist Killed by Family on Trip Picture courtesy of Kaoded. A crash occurred on Highway 331 in Chonburi province when a man driving his family to Sattahip struck and killed a cyclist crossing the road. Full story:https://aseannow.com/topic/1362476-road-crash-in-chonburi-cyclist-killed-by-family-on-trip/
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