Doing my Visa run in Cambodia, Want to Make it Fun

[ev1lchris]

It looks like I'll be going to Cambodia to refresh my visa.

I am looking to stay for a night or two.

I think I'll be in Siem Riep. What is there to do?

[Jip99]

Have you heard of Angkor Wat ?

[ev1lchris]

No, what is that? Is that a gogo bar?

[SoiBiker]

Oh dear.

[Kaoboi Bebobp]

No, what is that? Is that a gogo bar?

Oh my. You're either a troll or, really, are you this vacant? FWIW, there are no go go bars in Cambodia. Period.

[Jip99]

No, what is that? Is that a gogo bar?

I will now give this thread the attention it deserves!

[JB300]

Angkor Wat is amazing, but if you're asking "where are the bars/birds", try Pub Street

[ev1lchris]

I think I'll check out Angor Wat.

[96tehtarp]

I think the OP will find it difficult to secure a visa for Thailand in Seam Reap. There is no Thai consulate there AFAIK. It'd be better to apply in Pnomh Penh where the Thai embassy has a consular section that issues visas.

[khwaibah]

I think the OP will find it difficult to secure a visa for Thailand in Seam Reap. There is no Thai consulate there AFAIK. It'd be better to apply in Pnomh Penh where the Thai embassy has a consular section that issues visas.

Actually its not a problem. Just about all hotels have a tourist desk and for a very small normal cost they send your passport to the Thai embassy in PP and return it to you with a tourist visa. And if you do some research nobody in their right mind would deal with rattle snakes in this embassy. All ways use an agent.

[96tehtarp]

I think the OP will find it difficult to secure a visa for Thailand in Seam Reap. There is no Thai consulate there AFAIK. It'd be better to apply in Pnomh Penh where the Thai embassy has a consular section that issues visas.

Actually its not a problem. Just about all hotels have a tourist desk and for a very small normal cost they send your passport to the Thai embassy in PP and return it to you with a tourist visa. And if you do some research nobody in their right mind would deal with rattle snakes in this embassy. All ways use an agent.

Fixers, Yes I understand now.

[khwaibah]

I think the OP will find it difficult to secure a visa for Thailand in Seam Reap. There is no Thai consulate there AFAIK. It'd be better to apply in Pnomh Penh where the Thai embassy has a consular section that issues visas.

Actually its not a problem. Just about all hotels have a tourist desk and for a very small normal cost they send your passport to the Thai embassy in PP and return it to you with a tourist visa. And if you do some research nobody in their right mind would deal with rattle snakes in this embassy. All ways use an agent.

Fixers, Yes I understand now.

Besides it gives you more time for PUB Street.

[TheSiemReaper]

Only travel to Phnom Penh if you want to be in Phnom Penh for visas. You can arrange pretty much any ASEAN visa (and a few non-ASEAN too) from Siem Reap and while there are going to be some complaints from the PP crowd; Siem Reap is nicer than PP by a factor of about 50. Part of the reason for this is that we only have a single girly bar in town...

[Kaoboi Bebobp]

Only travel to Phnom Penh if you want to be in Phnom Penh for visas. You can arrange pretty much any ASEAN visa (and a few non-ASEAN too) from Siem Reap and while there are going to be some complaints from the PP crowd; Siem Reap is nicer than PP by a factor of about 50. Part of the reason for this is that we only have a single girly bar in town...

Hey, I'm OK with that.

I am visiting next week for the first time in 10 years. In reading many forums, it seems SR has come a long way as a place to live. Do you live there, SiemReaper? FYI: I'm an ex Phnom Penh resident, forced to live in Thailand due to medical situation, which is almost resolved. Am thinking of moving to SR.

[TheSiemReaper]

Only travel to Phnom Penh if you want to be in Phnom Penh for visas. You can arrange pretty much any ASEAN visa (and a few non-ASEAN too) from Siem Reap and while there are going to be some complaints from the PP crowd; Siem Reap is nicer than PP by a factor of about 50. Part of the reason for this is that we only have a single girly bar in town...

Hey, I'm OK with that.

I am visiting next week for the first time in 10 years. In reading many forums, it seems SR has come a long way as a place to live. Do you live there, SiemReaper? FYI: I'm an ex Phnom Penh resident, forced to live in Thailand due to medical situation, which is almost resolved. Am thinking of moving to SR.

I do I've lived in PP before for about 6 months and SR now for about 3 years. Didn't much like PP - too dirty, too crappy and too full of lunatics. Love SR and have no intentions of making my home anywhere else in the world unless I absolutely have to.

[hanno]

Only travel to Phnom Penh if you want to be in Phnom Penh for visas. You can arrange pretty much any ASEAN visa (and a few non-ASEAN too) from Siem Reap and while there are going to be some complaints from the PP crowd; Siem Reap is nicer than PP by a factor of about 50. Part of the reason for this is that we only have a single girly bar in town...

And that girly bar is the pits and where the sexpats make their last stand...

Pub Street is changing quickly; the working girls (mostly) disappeared a few years ago and now, due to rents going through the roof, the bars are following. I was never a big fan of Pub Street but factory outlets and shops catering to the Chinese are not an improvement. A lot of bars and restaurants are now moving down Sok San and BBU streets.

[Kaoboi Bebobp]

Only travel to Phnom Penh if you want to be in Phnom Penh for visas. You can arrange pretty much any ASEAN visa (and a few non-ASEAN too) from Siem Reap and while there are going to be some complaints from the PP crowd; Siem Reap is nicer than PP by a factor of about 50. Part of the reason for this is that we only have a single girly bar in town...

Hey, I'm OK with that.

I am visiting next week for the first time in 10 years. In reading many forums, it seems SR has come a long way as a place to live. Do you live there, SiemReaper? FYI: I'm an ex Phnom Penh resident, forced to live in Thailand due to medical situation, which is almost resolved. Am thinking of moving to SR.

I do I've lived in PP before for about 6 months and SR now for about 3 years. Didn't much like PP - too dirty, too crappy and too full of lunatics. Love SR and have no intentions of making my home anywhere else in the world unless I absolutely have to.

Thanks for your input. PP is my fallback (with a distant VN) option. But I agree on PP's dirt and squalor, and the lunatic fringe. Plus PP is drawing quite a few ex-Pattaya-type escapees. I want to live in a place with everyday life activities and a place that doesn't have a concentration of the Pattaya-style nightlife. (Ha! even though that's where I live right now, outside the city).

[BKKSnowBird]

Where is the girly bar in Siem Reap?

I was there two years ago and really liked it. I did AW and stayed a few more days to just relax by the pool and eat at all the great resturants. Cheap also!

The only thing I didnt like about Cambodia is everyone will know who you and what you are doing. You dont get that in much larger Bangkok.

[hanno]

The Bar is called Mikey's on Sivutha. It is really grim with the bottom of the barrel (both ladies and their customers). There are a couple of KTV's and there are, of course, the beer gardens. Just don't screw with the locals in those.....

[Jip99]

The Bar is called Mikey's on Sivutha. It is really grim with the bottom of the barrel (both ladies and their customers). There are a couple of KTV's and there are, of course, the beer gardens. Just don't screw with the locals in those.....

Marginally less grim than the former Mikey's premises - although most of the girls remain equally grim.

The working girls are still around and the mamasan is often seen around the Piano Bar end of Pub Street. If you are a male on your own the tuk-tuk drivers will very quickly offer you "Lady massage, lady boom boom".By all accounts the beer gardens offer a better selection but they will ask $60 to go with you.

[hanno]

The Bar is called Mikey's on Sivutha. It is really grim with the bottom of the barrel (both ladies and their customers). There are a couple of KTV's and there are, of course, the beer gardens. Just don't screw with the locals in those.....

Marginally less grim than the former Mikey's premises - although most of the girls remain equally grim.

The working girls are still around and the mamasan is often seen around the Piano Bar end of Pub Street. If you are a male on your own the tuk-tuk drivers will very quickly offer you "Lady massage, lady boom boom".By all accounts the beer gardens offer a better selection but they will ask $60 to go with you.

I don't know but chances are better that it won't be a ladyboy:-)

[TheSiemReaper]

Yes, poor Mikey's it's awful but it is thankfully constrained to a single location which doesn't bleed out too much into the rest of the town. I like SR precisely because it keeps sexpats to a minimum (you would have to be insane to spend money on girls in Mikey's and to be fair the one time I went in the door - it appeared that their "girl renting" clientele are indeed all batshit). Having said that, it does improve someone's chances of getting into a normal relationship with a local because there's an incentive to not rent love by the hour.

Of course, there's always a bit of bleed into the local late late nightlife but thankfully, I am long past late late nightlife and so couldn't care less about that.

[ev1lchris]

Will I meet nice travelers and locals in Siem Riep?

[hanno]

If by travelers you mean back-packers then yes, there are plenty. I am not sure if they are nice as it is not really my crowd.

A few places where expats hang out but which one depends on your age and interests.

Siem Reap may be a massive tourist attraction but end of the day it is still a small village. You are unlikely to make close friends with locals in a couple of days. Don't get me wrong, I find the Khmer to be very friendly and polite but they will not fall around your neck at the first meeting. Unless, of course, they want something from you; see the discussion about Mikey's above:-)

[Roger Lee]

Keep in mind Cambodia is scarcely populated, about 15 million people. By comparison Bangkok is almost 10 million by itself. Also they have just recently been recovering from a nasty war so the infrastructure is nothing like Thailand's.

The government calls themselves a democracy but many of the locals dispute this citing rampant election fraud.

Siem Reap is beautiful and worth the visit if you can handle swarms of Chinese tourists.

Pub street is good for foreigner hangouts although in my experience more expensive than Thailand.

The locals are starving for foreigner investments and say now is a good time to get in.

[thefactoryoutlet]

Enjoy herbal therapy at Sianookville ! I's cheaper than in the US and as strong <3

[freebyrd]

Only travel to Phnom Penh if you want to be in Phnom Penh for visas. You can arrange pretty much any ASEAN visa (and a few non-ASEAN too) from Siem Reap and while there are going to be some complaints from the PP crowd; Siem Reap is nicer than PP by a factor of about 50. Part of the reason for this is that we only have a single girly bar in town...

No complaints from me, I live in PP and prefer it to the years I spent in Bangkok and Korat. Siem Reap is our bolt hole, however I know people who don't like it at all, Caucasians and Khmer.

That said, as always, in the end it comes down to one man's meat......

[Jip99]

Keep in mind Cambodia is scarcely populated, about 15 million people. By comparison Bangkok is almost 10 million by itself. Also they have just recently been recovering from a nasty war so the infrastructure is nothing like Thailand's.

The government calls themselves a democracy but many of the locals dispute this citing rampant election fraud.

Siem Reap is beautiful and worth the visit if you can handle swarms of Chinese tourists.

Pub street is good for foreigner hangouts although in my experience more expensive than Thailand.

The locals are starving for foreigner investments and say now is a good time to get in.

I am not sure what beers you can buy in Thailand for 50cents a glass or, western quality foods for 100 - 150 Baht.

Personally, I think anyone not already invested has missed the boat. The amount of overseas investment in Siem Reap (and PP) has been immense,

[ALFREDO]

I think I'll check out Angor Wat.

That is culture.

]

If you for a bit (more) fun forget Siem Reap and stay in Phnom Penh or Sihanoukville on the beach.

Phnom Penh has the best =FUN+ night life Sihnoukville at least more night life than Siem Reap and beaches.

Visa you get everywhere with a agent in hotel or travel agency for about 50 Dollar, you must not do anything.

Have fun,

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/647029-tourist-visa-in-phnom-penh-easy-done/

[ronthai]

Oh dear.

OMG, OH DEAR indeed !!!!

Guess Google or TVF search did not work for IT/OP