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Angeles City vs Phnom Penh
I just came back from a trip to Phnom Penh after going to AC twice in the last 15 months. I already wrote a detailed trip report in the PP thread which you can find by searching through my articles. But I think it's also interesting to reflect on the pros and cons of AC vs PP. I know a lot of you guys here have been to PP but a summary of the differences between the two cities would help infrequent travelers who spend most of their time in the western world. Many people are like me, we don't have a lot of time to spend on vacations so choosing where to spend vacation time is important. That was a big decision I had to make last month: given only 2 weeks in between jobs, where should I go? This isn't a comparison meant for those who stay for long periods of time in SE Asia or come repeatedly. I'm not qualified to give those kinds of opinions.
AC Pros:
- Girls in general are prettier although there are definitely exceptions. For sure this is dependent on personal tastes. See notes below regarding how I made that judgment.
- Girl fees are more predictable. Just comparing ST prices, in AC it's 2000-3000 p for BF, 300 for LD. Or 1500-2000 for a HiSo / Walking St freelancer without drinks. This comes out to $66 maximum but often lower depending on where you find the girl. In PP you may end up buying multiple drinks for multiple ladies in the same bar $40+$10 BF + potentially lots of drinks + tuk tuk rides (since the bar area isn't concentrated). Of course you have the power to limit those costs by refusing to buy more drinks for her friends.
- Red light area is concentrated and easy to navigate. All your major choices are along Fields and Perimeter Rd, including FL options.
- Good freelancer options in terms of price, service and looks.
- Girls speak relatively good English.
- You can watch dances in a bar even without being accompanied by a girl. In PP, there's relatively little to do in a bar unless you're buying drinks for many girls at the same time. If you're being accompanied by 1 girl, she often doesn't speak English so she needs others to help her, which means drinks for the other girl too.
- In the bars, you can see the girls' bodies before calling them over.
AC Cons:
- Very very limited non-girl daytime activities. There are some like visiting Clark or the SM Mall, maybe flying if you want to spend more money, but that's really it. That's AC's biggest drawback and it's a pretty big negative for infrequent travelers on a vacation.
- Food is pretty bad. Too many Korean restaurants and not enough other flavors. Filipino food is way too sweet and oily.
- Have be sneaky about going there. You may have to tell nosey friends, coworkers or family members you're going to Manila or somewhere else.
- Cigarette smoke everywhere.
PP Pros:
- Lots of daytime activities, especially for short trips. I'm doing a separate report just on the daytime activities.
- No stigma going there since most people come for normal tourism.
- A little more developed than AC, but some places are equally run down.
- No need to change currency if you're from America, which means saving time and not having a lot extra local currency at the end of your trip.
- Pretty decent food choices. Khmer food resembles southern Chinese or Thai cuisine, so if you like that it's not a huge change. Plus you have other Asian and Western choices as well.
- While most girls are business-like, a few girls treat you like a real boyfriend, which means they can get clingy. For some people that might be a bad thing though.
- No smoking in the bars and only a little in restaurants.
PP Cons:
- Bar area is not concentrated, leading potentially to more transportation costs.
- Can't see the girls' bodies right away. They're more open to showing you their bodies after a drink.
- Girls are not as good looking on average (personal tastes). See notes.
- Difficult to communicate with many of the girls. You're interested in a lady but can't even ask her basic questions. This leads to her "mama" helping to translate, which means tips / drink for her.
- Costs are somewhat unpredictable because the bar doesn't set the total cost unlike in AC. There are some basic ranges though so you won't ever have to fork over 100+ dollars unless you always accept the girl's asking price or you go around buying ladydrinks everywhere.
- Air condition is not always found at the restaurants here, which often makes for a very warm lunch time. The bars do though.
- Not all hotels call you up before the girl leaves to make sure she hasn't stolen stuff / ran from a LT session.
- More scams than in AC, for example, from tuk tuk drivers. Although AC has its share of scammy freelancers, if you follow some simple protocols, it's easy to make sure you get what you want from AC bargirls or freelancers.
- Shittier freelancer choices: they're either old / ugly, more expensive than the bars, or scams. The motorcycle guys can bring you girls but you have to be very careful (see my PP trip report).
Notes: I attached a photo of a promo model in Aeon Mall in Phnom Penh just to use as an example. She's good looking but not a 9 or 10. From my perspective she's still better looking than 90% of the girls in the PP bars. In AC she probably beats out maybe just 75% of the bargirls. Those numbers are not really precise but it gives you some idea.
See the goods before purchase
Tass, thanks for your comparison of Phnom Penh v Angeles city.
You say that In the bars of Angeles you can see the girls' bodies before calling them over.
I was wondering which bars these are, as far as my experiences the last bar / stage in Angeles which had all naked girls was some 20 years ago, and the last Angeles bar / stage I saw with all topless girls was some 15 years ago.
IMHO it is fair to say as of the constant raids on Angeles bars over the last several years that one can see more flesh on any European beach than what can be seen in the bars of Angeles.
