Phnom Penh

[QUOTE=Yeadon563]Does everyone get shots before the go to Cambo? Are they really needed?

Yeadon563[/QUOTE]What shots you need depend on where you are going, how long you are going for, where you expect to eat and how adventurous you are.

I have travelled far in to the provinces, I prefer to eat locally and stay in cheap guesthouses.

I agree that HEP A and B should be on the cards. It you are the careful type you might stop there. However as soon as you leave PP it can become hard to get a cold beer, they are often hot served in a glass of ice. Typhoid is calling. If you have seen the kitchens (next to the toilets) most of the truck stops where the busses take breaks you also know that Typhoid is an issue.

Remember even if you have Typhoid vaccination you can still catch it, so take care if you are travelling in the provinces.

Finally I usually take Doxcylen when I travel. It is preventative against Malaria it also happens to be the treatment against Chlamydia. Although you get condemned in this forum for even thinking the thought of having unprotected sex I would suggest (although it could be purely coincidental) that it would be part of the reason I have never contracted; syphilis, gonorrhea or Chlamydia while travelling in Cambodia.

If you are planning to go to PP stay at Flamingo hotel, have your breakfast in the Walkabout, lunch and dinner at the riverside restaurants and stay for 5 days to a week I would do very little. The only shots I would suggest are the small shots served in small glasses in bars around PP and maybe HEP A and B only because it generally is good to have especially if you are in to rimming and DATY.

Overall, don't ignore the risks. If you do not get the shots do take some care, and even if you do they do not all cover you 100%. Good personal hygiene, covering up against mosquito bites in remote areas etc are good practices. From experience I can tell you it is worth while avoiding Typhoid it can really make you sick. In my case intensive care sick! Typhoid is spread by eating shit. Often shit particles will be in the water or ice. Don’t deny yourself the experience of the real Cambodia including eating questionable stuff, it is part of the fun, just try as far as possible to stick to cooked food.

Have a great trip.

[size=-2][b][u]EDITOR'S NOTE[/u]:[/b] [blue]I would suggest that the author or another Forum Member consider posting a link to this report in the Reports of Distinction thread. Please [url=http://www.internationalsexguide.info/forum/announcement-reportsofdistinction.php?]Click Here[/url] for more information.[/blue][/size]

Good report by cepu with a few innacuracies.The killing fields are about 30 minutes away and do indeed have shade,lots of large trees including the one that the babies heads were smashed against.

Tetanus shot is a good idea but I would never worry about anything else.Intestinal parasites are everywhere especially in food in the markets,that is the biggest risk i would say.

Lots of massage joints with fishbowls if one knows where to look but barangs are not really welcome so these places are not really shared by barang residents with outsiders.

Bluegreen,

Do you remember the name/location of the music/pool bar where you picked up Rani?

Thanks

[QUOTE=Orange Sunshine]Bluegreen,

Do you remember the name/location of the music/pool bar where you picked up Rani?[/QUOTE]It was at one of the hostess bars in the line-up on Street 51. Might have been Pit Stop or Howie Bar, which are either side of Heart of Darkness. I've just realised that St.51 is probably well known on here already because it's only around the corner from the famous Walkabout Hotel, which comes highly recommended in the 'Hotels' thread.

In whichever one I was in, there's a blue pool table at the back with a laughably low ceiling and special half-cues for shots when the walls aren't wide enough. A couple of TVs playing foreign football matches, pop music, and a load of very friendly girls waiting for tourists. I think they're all similar anyway.

Sharky's (#126, Street 130) is bigger and usually livelier, with a load of pool tables, a lot more guys (if that makes you more comfortable), and a wider mix of freelance girls. Decent fast-food / diner menu as well.

[QUOTE=Bluegreen]A day or two later (having fired the first driver), a super-friendly tuk-tuk driver eventually wore me down while I was having a beer, and I agreed to let him take me to find a girl. He drove into the backstreets between Sihanouk and Monivong to what looked like a building site but was in fact a Vietnamese sauna/brothel. I've never been anywhere like it before or since, which makes me think it was somewhere that only usually sees locals. It was really weird inside, more like being in a tiger cage at the zoo (all concrete & tiles & corrugated roofing and breeze-blocks). I went into a small room where the 15-or-so girls lined up, almost all looking like they'd rather be somewhere else, and picked the only one who smiled at me. Small, plain, brunette, and totally un-ethnic looking (she could have been Russian by looks alone). Not one of them spoke a word of English, and didn't seem to understand Khmer either. Went into a small room (bed, bare lightbulb, small trolley with a towel) and then into an adjoining cell with a hosepipe and water bucket for a wash. Took all my clothes in a bundle with me. I'm naive, not completely stupid. I forget why but I wasn't in the mood for FS so had asked for just a $10 massage and (you may think I'm an idiot) but I'd agreed to shout the driver a screw as well (locals pay $10, or probably less actually). The girl was sweet enough but had no idea what was going on, and I remember getting increasingly mad that she seemed to have no clue how to massage, and nobody (the girl, driver or Chinese punk-looking young guy running the place) had any comprehension of what massage oil was, or was for. At one point my driver offered his tube of hair gel to use! One thing led to another and I ended up sitting on the bed stark-bollock naked. All of us in the room. Shouting at my driver, him shouting at the papasan guy, and he and the driver shouting at the girl. In the end I could see I wasn't getting anything near an acceptable massage out of this and would have an equally hard time getting any money back, so I demanded FS. For which they managed to get another $10 out of me on the condition that I would kill my driver if I didn't enjoy myself. Luckily it was the one thing the girl was quite good at. Showered and left, virtually dragging my driver out by collar (I'm not even sure if he bothered to take his trousers off). Fortunately by the time we got outside, my driver (a total BS artist) had made peace and we were friends again (he really was quite a funny & charming guy) and my mood was much improved because there was a fresh/chilled green coconut stand outside charging local prices (about 5p per coconut). You have to laugh. But after we got back to my hotel I did refuse to pay for any of the tuk-tuk fare, which he couldn't help but agree to.[/QUOTE]I laughed at this but you should have considered yourself lucky that a friendly tuk tuk driver offered to take you to a local place. I hope you haven't put him, the brothel's papasan and the girls off dealing with barangs in the future. It's difficult enough as it is to find these places. Most drivers just want to take you to all the tired old barang places like Sharkeys and Martinis. You should have just been polite and gone along with the FS. Thanks for the funny story though.

[QUOTE=Blackangst]Well, that scenario clearly falls under trafficking which is a seperate issue that this. I was responding to the statement that it is illegal to travel abroad for sex, even if of age, as defined by the above legislation. Clearly it is not illegal to monger, as the above wording doesnt even imply such.

Thats all =)[/QUOTE]I understand the Senate version may be looking at changing the language, but, indeed (I have been researching this thoroughly) the first version of the bill passed by one House does make any kind of mongering by an American in a foreign country illegal.

That I am sure of.

[QUOTE=Bluegreen]Health. Recommended vaccinations for Cambodia: [url]www.mdtravelhealth.com/destinations/asia/Cambodia.html[/url]

Phnom Penh can be a great stop-over if you get up late, relax by the riverside, get a massage, go and see Tuol Sleng, and spend a few nights with a cadre of cuties in one of the pool bars. But there's not much else I found to do, and the locals might drive you bat-shit crazy.

Bluegreen[/QUOTE]Never been in Cam. but with that report you can accurately have a very good impression of what to really expect of Phnom Pehn and making it your next destination if it float your boat

[QUOTE=Redfield10]the first version of the bill passed by one House does make any kind of mongering by an American in a foreign country illegal.
[/QUOTE]
Is that a result of your extreme feminism in US, and pushed by those ridiculous womens groups?

Cheers!

[QUOTE=Ekspat]Is that a result of your extreme feminism in US, and pushed by those ridiculous womens groups?
[/QUOTE]

No, Religious Right.

[QUOTE=Opebo]No, Religious Right.[/QUOTE]Actually, it is both the fem libs and the right wing.

I think it's actually both...

[QUOTE=Redfield10]I understand the Senate version may be looking at changing the language, but, indeed (I have been researching this thoroughly) the first version of the bill passed by one House does make any kind of mongering by an American in a foreign country illegal.

That I am sure of.[/QUOTE]If you dont mind will you link the bill? The bill I quoted from is from the house's site and was passed.

so let's see - IF I live in Nevada, it must be unlawful as well?

Just so we understand each other, aside from CLARK and WASHOE counties, P4P in NEVADA is "legal" (expensive, but LEGAL)

Cut the BS folks - the bill had to do with MINORS, not P4P n general. They have more important things to worry about than a money exchange

Would be nice if the discussion about "the bill" could go in the general info section or someplace. It just buries the info about PP farther back in the thread.

RMW

i'm about to wrap up my newbie pp trip of three weeks. thought i would pass along what info i could. many thanks for past posts in this thread that helped greatly.

phnom penh is pretty easy to navigate because all the streets have numbers as well as names. here is a good map that shows a lot of the bars and hotels. [url]http://www.canbypublications.com/maps/ppmaphhr.htm[/url]
btw i'm using a 15 inch laptop with a screen resolution of 1024 x 768. when i say something is an inch on the map it might be a little different on your screen.

if you come straight down from wat phnom (upper right) you will see street 51 (between norodom blvd. and street 63). if you come down 51 to 174 you will see walkabout (hotel, fl in bar) on the map. up and to the right just a little is flamingos on 172 (popular choice for a hotel) and about half an inch north of walkabout you see heart or darkness (disco)(hod) on 51 on the map. there are a few bars rep001tered around the block where hod is located.

the central market (phsar thmey) is the huge building with it's four large wings. street 63 appears to go right into the building. the building is much larger on the map than actual scale. if you look at the wing that points east toward the river right next to it you will see crycee (st) and mikado (st) on the map. mikado is one block west of norodom on 136. once you find it no problem finding le cyrcee. note: as of last night mikado is still closed from a raid a week ago. hopefully it will return soon.

if you go east, toward the river, about an inch and up just a little from cyrcee you will see sharky's (big bar/restaurant/hangout place with fl) on street 130. it is slightly closer to norodom than sisowath (the street that runs along the river).

the large north south street to the left of the central market is monivong blvd. if you follow it south past sihanouk blvd. and look over to the left just a little you will see street 350 (not directly connected to monivong). you will see martini pub (outdoor restaurant/drinking/disco/fl) on the corner of 350 and what appears to be called street 95/97. but just ask a driver to take you martini’s. be warned you will get drivers that don't understand anything you are really saying but will nod their head, say ok and pretend they know english. before going off somewhere you don't know how to actually get to you might want to test your driver’s english ability. i've had to point the way for a few drivers who had no clue what i said but nodded when i said where i wanted to go.

if you take street 178 all the way to the river all those happy pizza places will be there on your left. also a great mexican restaurant named the cantina is in that area. not far from all the pizza places there is an atm that doesn't charge the $2 that the anz atms charge foreign cards. there is an obvious sign that says 24 hour atm or something like that. there is also a no fee canadia atm on the first floor of the new mall. it is a free standing atm and is right next to the canadia bank branch located in the south building of the mall (not under the dome). also there is another fee free atm about one block east of sharky’s on the other side of the street. btw atms dispense us dollars in cambodia and most everything is paid for in us dollars. since my card charges no fees at all and the atm charges no fee i sometimes run my card three times at $40 a pop. so i end up with $120 in $10 bills to avoid having to break $50 bills. if your card charges fees at your bank the $40 thing won't be good for you but at least you shouldn't have to pay the $2 foreign card fee like with anz. plus it’s not that hard to break $50 bills but you might have a problem at some smaller places. btw there are several anz atms around if you don't mind paying the $2 fee. including one in the lobby of the flamingos hotel.

most of the hostess bars near the river are easy. i wish it was as easy to know which girls will go and which won't. the bars basically start with one or two on street 102 and go down to about street 148. i would say the main concentration is on 104 (zanzibar, bar 104, etc) and 136 (bar 69, bar 136, etc). but almost any of these streets could have bars within a block of the river. up near 102 there are some bars on the first street off the river that is parallel to the river. so all you really need to do is figure out where you want to start. it is almost impossible to get lost and safety doesn't seem to be an issue. i sometimes start at sharky's to eat and check out the fl. but there are so many good restaurants along the river i often just head straight over and eat and then start hitting the clubs. often i wander back to le cyrcee or mikado for a st and then head back to the hotel (flamingos) or stop at one of the little bars on 51 just before the hotel and have a few drinks.

oh and lets not forget sophie’s everyone's favorite and most interesting bj bar. it is upstairs at the corner of 53 and 118.

a note on hostess bars. some of the girls will go out with a customer and some won’t. it is up to you to figure this all out. but after a while it becomes easier. hey i usually just ask. several girls will crowd around you when you walk in and start giving you a back rub, etc. that is their job and don’t feel obligated to buy lady drinks, etc unless there is someone you really want to get to know better. if i spend a lot of time with a girl i usually buy her a drink or give a little tip if i leave without her.

i intentionally left out shanghai bar as no one i know had any luck getting a girl out of there (yes i know it can be done but the odds aren’t great imo). i also don’t frequent the viet brothels. as one poster stated earlier the girls look like they don’t want to be there (do they have a choice?). that makes me feel like i don’t want to be there so i just avoid these places. again, up to you.

flamingos is a good spot to stay for mongers. but i personally don’t care much for the fl action at walkabout or hod so next time i may try and get near the river. lots of places to stay near the river, just make sure it is ok to bring a girl back to your room.

rmw