Phnom Penh

[Jambo]

Anyone visited Phnom Penh recently?

I would be interested to know if it is back to normal now?

[fforest]

Well the last I heard from the Addicts board was the girls vastly outnumbered the tourist and average beer bar girls were wanting GoGo prices with plenty of no go girls....

[Bazle]

I've never been, so would be interested to know what "normal" is!

Is it worth visiting as a tourist?

[Horizondave]

A mate got back 2 weeks ago, he loved it. Said it was like Angeles City 30 years ago.  Loads of girls and really cheap prices for beer and girls.

From what he told me I would love to be over there.

He stayed in Sun and Moon Hotel which he said was fabulous.

Edited August 8, 2022 by Horizondave

[Zambo]

23 minutes ago, Horizondave said:

A mate got back 2 weeks ago, he loved it. Said it was like Angeles City 30 years ago.  Loads of girls and really cheap prices for beer and girls.

From what he told me I would love to be over there.

He stayed in Sun and Moon Hotel which he said was fabulous.

I've been in Phnom Phen for a couple of days but didn't have enough time to find my way around the night life. Sihanoukville has potential but all the new Chinese casinos developments have resulted in reduced beer bars.

For me Thailand and Philippines are easier places to get into the action if on a short trip.

In answer to the OP no. But interested to hear more.

[nampla69]

15 hours ago, Jambo said:

Anyone visited Phnom Penh recently?

I would be interested to know if it is back to normal now?

I know a bar owner on S136 who is also an Arsenal fan used to have a place in Pattaya called Secr ........... oh hang on maybe best not !!! 🤣😂😎

[Jambo]

14 hours ago, Horizondave said:

A mate got back 2 weeks ago, he loved it. Said it was like Angeles City 30 years ago.  Loads of girls and really cheap prices for beer and girls.

From what he told me I would love to be over there.

He stayed in Sun and Moon Hotel which he said was fabulous.

Thanks! 😄

I will pass on your comments to "The Usual Suspects".

 

[biggles]

I have read various TR saying that a lot of the BG in PP don't go, just want drinks. Not sure if this still applies, but be wary. 

[nampla69]

1 hour ago, biggles said:

I have read various TR saying that a lot of the BG in PP don't go, just want drinks. Not sure if this still applies, but be wary. 

True but same everywhere ..... Pattaya is very similar these days. 

[Lemondropkid]

12 hours ago, biggles said:

I have read various TR saying that a lot of the BG in PP don't go, just want drinks. Not sure if this still applies, but be wary. 

Done 3 trips there and never found that an issue, last one would have been 3 years+ back. I'd heard the same from various neighsayers before going.

It did strike me that many of those being negative seemed to want to run down PP, whilst maintaing Pattaya as the be all and end all. Same attitude comes across in a lot of the nonsense put out by some of YT vloggers.

Found the PP girls less hardened and business like so I could imagine that faced with some Patttaya style punters they wouldn't been keen. That's entirely their right of course and good luck to them.

Edited August 9, 2022 by Lemondropkid

[Stillearly]

On 8/8/2022 at 5:38 PM, Horizondave said:

 

He stayed in Sun and Moon Hotel which he said was fabulous.

Only negative with Sun and Moon was they required the original ID , some girls only carry a copy , I had a couple who had to go home to get the original 

other than that a great hotel , cracking location and rooftop pool 

[Jambo]

11 hours ago, Lemondropkid said:

Done 3 trips there and never found that an issue, last one would have been 3 years+ back. I'd heard the same from various neighsayers before going.

It did strike me that many of those being negative seemed to want to run down PP, whilst maintaing Pattaya as the be all and end all. Same attitude comes across in a lot of the nonsense put out by some of YT vloggers.

Found the PP girls less hardened and business like so I could imagine that faced with some Patttaya style punters they wouldn't been keen. That's entirely their right of course and good luck to them.

My experience was exactly the same as yours. In fact I nearly cancelled my first trip to PP because of the negative comments about the attitude of the girls.

I made four trips now and it was never an issue at all. 

I would not say it was better or worse than Pattaya , just different  and an away day trip for several guys from Pattaya who enjoyed a laugh in one another's company. Pattaya can be a very small village with a network of spies if you know what I mean.😁

[Lemondropkid]

3 hours ago, Jambo said:

I would not say it was better or worse than Pattaya , just different  and an away day trip for several guys from Pattaya who enjoyed a laugh in one another's company

Spot on!!

Won't be for everyone but take a couple of days, and find out for yourself would be my advise. Can't believe the majority of what you see on social media or YT, especially where the speaker has a proprietary interest.

Just noticed, this on Facebook :

"See you tonight at Secrets Pub , The only Real Pub in Phnom Penh"

So the only pub in capital city, of course😀

Edited August 10, 2022 by Lemondropkid

[nampla69]

21 minutes ago, Lemondropkid said:

Spot on!!

Won't be for everyone but take a couple of days, and find out for yourself would be my advise. Can't believe the majority of what you see on social media or YT, especially where the speaker has a proprietary interest.

Just noticed, this on Facebook :

"See you tonight at Secrets Pub , The only Real Pub in Phnom Penh"

So the only pub in capital city, of course😀

I thought it was a Bar ...... ???

[Lemondropkid]

34 minutes ago, nampla69 said:

I thought it was a Bar ...... ???

Yep.

After your comment above I decided to check out their FB, seems they have recently rebranded themselves as a pub, with a shiny new sign!!!

But still a bar though😄

Edited August 10, 2022 by Lemondropkid

[Jambo]

Our "Team Leader" organizes a Tuk Tuk on a sort of retainer to ferry us around PP during our evening bar crawl although we always seem to end up at the real bar end of 136. The TukTuk owner goes by the name of "Mr Happy" and he even has as sign announcing that fact on the side of his Tuk Tuk.

Guess why he is known as Mr Happy?

Which reminds me.

There really is a cafe/restaurant not far from 136 that offers happy pizza although I stick to the beef Wellington which is excellent and you don't start saying things like far out man after consumption.

Of course it is almost 3 years since my last trip thanks to covid and all the ramifications.

[Stillearly]

On 8/10/2022 at 1:21 PM, Lemondropkid said:

Yep.

After your comment above I decided to check out their FB, seems they have recently rebranded themselves as a pub, with a shiny new sign!!!

But still a bar though😄

You have Pub Street in SR , maybe a marketing thing in Cambodia, do they have different connotations... ?  A lot of Secrets FB posts seem to be aimed at the local market rather than expats .. haven't seen draft beer mentioned on their posts ... 😉 

[Lemondropkid]

8 hours ago, Stillearly said:

You have Pub Street in SR , maybe a marketing thing in Cambodia, do they have different connotations... ?  A lot of Secrets FB posts seem to be aimed at the local market rather than expats .. haven't seen draft beer mentioned on their posts ... 😉 

You may be right. I'd guess was that the Chinese groups he was marketing to have dried up, and he was having to market more to "locals"

[Yesitisdakid]

12 hours ago, Jambo said:

Our "Team Leader" organizes a Tuk Tuk on a sort of retainer to ferry us around PP during our evening bar crawl although we always seem to end up at the real bar end of 136. The TukTuk owner goes by the name of "Mr Happy" and he even has as sign announcing that fact on the side of his Tuk Tuk.

Guess why he is known as Mr Happy?

Which reminds me.

There really is a cafe/restaurant not far from 136 that offers happy pizza although I stick to the beef Wellington which is excellent and you don't start saying things like far out man after consumption.

Of course it is almost 3 years since my last trip thanks to covid and all the ramifications.

are  you sure its Mr Happy as we had always used Smiley and his tuk tuks on past trips

[Jambo]

23 minutes ago, Yesitisdakid said:

are  you sure its Mr Happy as we had always used Smiley and his tuk tuks on past trips

You are quite correct - Mr Smiley it was.

But he did make customers "Happy" 

As an option.

I made the mistake of letting him pick me up from the Airport once in his Tuk Tuk although he does have access to a car. Not only was it incredibly dangerous weaving around the traffic but you get 40 minutes of breathing car exhausts.

My memory is completely Donald Ducked. I just go round making new friends every day.

[Yesitisdakid]

32 minutes ago, Jambo said:

You are quite correct - Mr Smiley it was.

But he did make customers "Happy" 

As an option.

I made the mistake of letting him pick me up from the Airport once in his Tuk Tuk although he does have access to a car. Not only was it incredibly dangerous weaving around the traffic but you get 40 minutes of breathing car exhausts.

My memory is completely Donald Ducked. I just go round making new friends every day.

Met him in 2004 on my first trip to Cambodia and I used him and as you know Terry Lee had used him every trip after that. A hard-working Cambodian doing it for his family he was a really good guy

[Lemondropkid]

On 8/8/2022 at 4:36 PM, Jambo said:

Anyone visited Phnom Penh recently?

I would be interested to know if it is back to normal now?

Arrived yesterday, the place is really suffering post COVID.

The bars are over-flowing with girls but have virtually zero customers. Some great looking girls but you walk into a bar, and you descended on by 5/6 girls. You've got to pick one and buy a drink for peace, at that point you are the only customer in a really dead bar.

It sounds great in theory, all the girls but without some atmosphere in the bar I don't find in fun.

Secrets had the the biggest number of customers may have been about 8? Talked to the Aussie owner, and it's all about the lack of any COVID bounce back. The money the Chinese bring in ends up in the pockets of the local expat economy and then, they come out.

I've got a few days here, so will see if things are better on a Friday/Saturday night. Won't bank on the hostess bars though will get out and find a venue with a bit of live music on. Catch a bit of sport at the weekend

On the positive front, this is a city many wouldn't take to but I love the place. Real Asian city that in parts reminds my of BKK before all the malls and condos went up

Feel desperately sorry for the locals, lovely people. Very poor country, can only hope for their sakes it bounces back. And that does require the Chinese

 

[fforest]

7 hours ago, Lemondropkid said:

Arrived yesterday, the place is really suffering post COVID.

The bars are over-flowing with girls but have virtually zero customers. Some great looking girls but you walk into a bar, and you descended on by 5/6 girls. You've got to pick one and buy a drink for peace, at that point you are the only customer in a really dead bar.

It sounds great in theory, all the girls but without some atmosphere in the bar I don't find in fun.

Secrets had the the biggest number of customers may have been about 8? Talked to the Aussie owner, and it's all about the lack of any COVID bounce back. The money the Chinese bring in ends up in the pockets of the local expat economy and then, they come out.

I've got a few days here, so will see if things are better on a Friday/Saturday night. Won't bank on the hostess bars though will get out and find a venue with a bit of live music on. Catch a bit of sport at the weekend

On the positive front, this is a city many wouldn't take to but I love the place. Real Asian city that in parts reminds my of BKK before all the malls and condos went up

Feel desperately sorry for the locals, lovely people. Very poor country, can only hope for their sakes it bounces back. And that does require the Chinese

 

Cambodia has now got a bad reputation for girls demading very expensive prices for their company...Plus plenty of No-Go drink sluts....

I think guys just say why bother and stay in Thailand...

On Secrets facebook page....In the photos , Customers seem in short supply...

 

[Glasseye]

 

They wear a lot of fur also.

[Stillearly]

8 minutes ago, Glasseye said:

 

They wear a lot of fur also.

😛