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Move from Patts to S'ville Cambodia?

enuff said

By enuff said
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enuff said Silver Member

enuff said

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.

I have only been to Snooky once ten years ago. It was real wild west at that time.

I met two really healthy (as in 6 ft + and fit) Aussie girls who had fought off a robber on the beach only to find their bungalow had been ransacked when they returned.

Power went off for long periods and gunfire was often heard night and day.

Anyone been there lately?

~

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pomchop Platinum Member

pomchop

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I spent ten days there last year mostly just sitting on serendipity beach reading books.

Pros: cheap hotel, cheap beer, cheap BBQ's on beach, decent swimming beach, nice sunsets, wifi everywhere, comfortable beach chairs for free with purchase of anything, generally pretty friendly locals.

Cons: Late night wild screaming crowd of backpacker types party people.

Trash thrown everywhere and never picked up except on one area of beach.

Lots of amputee beggars that won't leave you alone.

Lots of scuzzy looking folks wandering around in a daze.

Not much of interest other than sitting on the beach.

Glad I went but not sure if I will go back. Little doubt that serendipity beach area is going to go through a major development boom over the coming years as it is a very pretty beach with nice water and scenery...but will require a LOT of infrastructure which I doubt will keep up with the building boom.

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moonseeker Gold Member

moonseeker

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Going there regularly. It has been developing nicely, with more hotels & restaurants.Beaches still clean and people mostly very friendly. There is a couple of areas with girlie bars, but nothing that compares to Pattaya.Few older sex-pats and they look out of place.. Night-time a few beach-bars & discos. Very basic, mostly younger travelers partying. Beach-Club and Orchid Guesthouse with nice pools and goo location charging about 35$/night. Food & drinks cheaper than in Thailand. Still need to be careful on remote beaches and definitely more street-crime than just a few years ago. Bring your International DL, if you plan renting a bike, or hire a trike driver or car with driver by the day for around 20$/30$. Police will still often demand 2-3 $ if stopped on bike. Travel via Trat/ KohKong and do a stopover for 1 night. Buses, minibuses (packed!) or private cars readily available. AS far as moving there, probably not...Too boring and too basic. Condos & houses cheap to rent, long-term visa & WP easy, cheap and fast. Enjoy! MS>

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ttthailand Gold Member

ttthailand

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Was there about 10 months ago for a few days. Basically a backpacker area. Youngish people hanging out on beaches during the day and parting at night on same beaches. Cheap place but you get what you pay for so no bargain. Lady bars, a few around but I can count on one hand the number of girls I would be even temped to take home... I mean in the entire town :( . Not a place for guys wanting to get takeout from the bars.... If you know what I mean. I would not want to get sick there or have a problem with the local officials. Does not look very safe !

I will say the beaches are 100% better then Pattaya and the locals are friendly. Hotel prices are cheap and food is same. Again, backpacker area !

Go take a look but I think you will find what I say is correct.

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VBF Platinum Member

VBF

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Was there about 10 months ago for a few days. Basically a backpacker area. Youngish people hanging out on beaches during the day and parting at night on same beaches. Cheap place but you get what you pay for so no bargain. Lady bars, a few around but I can count on one hand the number of girls I would be even temped to take home... I mean in the entire town sad.png . Not a place for guys wanting to get takeout from the bars.... If you know what I mean. I would not want to get sick there or have a problem with the local officials. Does not look very safe !

I will say the beaches are 100% better then Pattaya and the locals are friendly. Hotel prices are cheap and food is same. Again, backpacker area !

Go take a look but I think you will find what I say is correct.

IMO, "Snooky" is Patong as it was 30 years ago - enjoy it while it lasts! tongue.png

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enuff said Silver Member

enuff said

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Thanks for all responses.

Just a couple more Qs, please.

Do they still take THB? There were no banks or ATMs just some dodgy looking exchange huts around the market area. I spent baht almost everywhere. Otherwise USD or the most filthy crumpled up Rial notes I'd ever seen.

This has prolly changed since 2003 but at that time you had to get someone with a Cambo ID card to get a SIM. There was only a few shops and they wouldn't sell to tourists. They needed copies and signatures in a gov't registration book and you were expected to give the local "friend" a couple hundred baht for the service. I was only there 4 days so I did without.

Is there 3G service now?

That's all folks.

~

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VBF Platinum Member

VBF

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.

Thanks for all responses.

Just a couple more Qs, please.

Do they still take THB? There were no banks or ATMs just some dodgy looking exchange huts around the market area. I spent baht almost everywhere. Otherwise USD or the most filthy crumpled up Rial notes I'd ever seen.

This has prolly changed since 2003 but at that time you had to get someone with a Cambo ID card to get a SIM. There was only a few shops and they wouldn't sell to tourists. They needed copies and signatures in a gov't registration book and you were expected to give the local "friend" a couple hundred baht for the service. I was only there 4 days so I did without.

Is there 3G service now?

That's all folks.

~

I was last there in 2013 (PP and Snooky) and you will find it has CHANGED beyond all recognition in the intervening 10 years - see my comment above about Snooky vs Patong

In PP there are loads of banks and exchanges - the USD is the currency to have (and it's accepted everywhere - even TukTuks and markets) so I changed Baht into USD in Thailand and simply spent USD. There are ATMs in most of the banks but I think there's a charge for currency so taking USD cash is, once again, a good plan.

If your change in shops, bars etc. is ever less than $1, or they haven't got the correct notes you get Rials and I was fascinated to see that the tills in shops calculate the change in BOTH currencies - slick! Most of the bills were in good condition. Spend them before you leave as there's no market for them outside Cambodia - let's be honest, even if you have 5000 Rials, it's only $1.25 so not a fortune. I dropped mine in the hotel tip box as I checked out - last of the big spenders! laugh.png

TBH, as I was in Snooky for less than 2 weeks and had $, I didn't actually notice what the banks were like - sorry. I did however use my UK-issued MasterCard in hotels (PP and Snooky) with no problem - and no extra charges added unlike Thailand.

At PP airport I got a SIM - I think they issue special time-limited SIMs to tourists. Mine was called "Beeline" http://www.beeline.com.kh/home/- go to Price Plans and drop down to Tourist. They will take a copy of your passport and visa at the booth in the airport arrivals area and let you put however much you want on it. I know I was able to charge it up at phone shops all over the place and I used it to call within Cambodia and Thailand.

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Asiantravel Platinum Member

Asiantravel

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OP, you may get a better insight into what's happening there if you ask your questions and discuss your concerns on an actual expat forum in Cambodia itself rather than rely on the advice of people who only travel there occasionally.

There is an expat forum for Sihanoukville itself. As I don't think I am allowed to post links to other forums, just type Sihanoukville Online into Google to get the URL.

There are also two forums for the whole of Cambodia which also discuss Sihanoukville. One is Cambodia expats online and the second one is Khmer440 dot com.

Over the years I have thought to do what you are doing , but basically what has kept me in Thailand is my concern regarding an increased crime rate in Cambodia and even Sihanoukville now and whether they have the financial resources to tackle this adequately. There are active threads on this subject in the forums I have mentioned.

But good luck if you do decide to move theresmile.png

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Mojomor Senior Member

Mojomor

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Easiest way to get a SIM in Cambo is to simply ask a waitress in your hotel or restaurant to go and get one for you. The Sims are cheap. Make sure your phone is unlocked before you go ---- you can check easily by using a friend's Sim, providing he is using a different network. If your phone opens on his network, your phone is unlocked.

There are ATMs all over Snooky. Using a Thai ATM card will hit your account with a 5 USD charge every time (some people say it's 6 now), so try to withdraw as much as you feel comfortable with.

A friend of mine who is careful about figures, reckoned his monthly spend in Snooky worked out at 60% his monthly spend in Pattaya. He was probably correct.

My preference for an extended stay abroad would be Vietnam ---- cost of living is similar to Cambodia, but there is more to do and see.

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