Good hotel close to the action..
Hi,
I'm looking for a good hotel (maybe 20-30 price range) close to the bar action. I read the Golden Orange is "away" from the action..is that true?
I've not been to Siem Reap and "did" do a search, but still would like info.
Thanks
Bad Experience in Siem Reap
well, i'll chalk this one up to dumb adventures. flame me if you will, but this board has given me plenty, so i figure i should contribute my bad experiences for the benefit of everyone.
i went overland from bangkok to the cambodian border. i think i was wise getting a cambodian visa in advance because of all the touts and shady characters hovering around in no man's land, but it cost me more. i took a brutal taxi ride to siem reap for $50--i knew that was expensive before i left, but i can't imagine we didn't do $50 damage to the camry over that road--let alone the four hours it took to get there. the driver earned every penny of what he got out of it.
after doing the usual tourist things, i found a tuk tuk driver i liked and negotiated with him to take me around to the all the nightspots all night long for a flat $10--with the clean understanding that he wasn't taking any commissions for anyone or anybody at anytime. he was so overwhelmed with the opportunity, i think he was onboard with that agreement.
it being a sunday night, my expectations were low. the first place he took me was some sort of bar/massage parlor combo with a fishbowl. i'm sure it's mentioned elsewhere here but i don't have the name in front of me. the place was empty but the fishbowl was full. the papasan pointed out a couple of recommendations and i took one for the two hour trip. i think it was $20.
never having done this particular fishbowl scene before, i didn't find it to my liking. the girl was more interested in singing karaoake and watching videos than paying any attention to me. after about ten minutes i had my fill of crappy, sappy asian pop. i gave her $5 and called the deal off. the papasan was nice enough to refund my money, though, so if i were back there, i might give it a try. strike one, it but probably had as much to do with me being overly sensitive about things as the inattentive girl.
the driver took me to a massage parlor way out of town towards the airport, and assured me i'd have better luck there. rather than audition the talent, i decided to see who the firecracker receptionist would send to me. she sent in a woman who must have been 45 years old, much to my disappointment. i should have sent her right back out, but for some reason i went with the flow. the old lady gave me the most painful massage experience i have ever had. damn that hurt. so needless to say, i wasn't even considering extras after the first three minutes of the hour of torture. strike two.
couldn't blame the driver for these misfires, really, and i liked him anyway. he spoke english well and had a sense of humor. he laughed at my experience and took me on to zone one. i invited him in for a beer and i think the security let him only because he was with me.
zone one was much more my speed, even though i'm not into discos at all. for a sunday night, it was all going down. the driver stayed for one big beer and then left me to my devices. the same little cambodian mamasan lady came by and offered me two girls, neither of which did it for me. her assistant came later and offered two more, which i also passed on.
after a couple of beers on an empty stomach, i was feeling pretty good and ready to call it a night. on the way out i found the same mamasan with a gaggle of girls at the door and ended up taking one from her for the requested $50 long time, me clearly being too drunk to negotiate. the girl i took was reasonably cute, khmer and spoke no english. the driver took us back to the hotel and i tipped him $1. i thought for a minute he was going to wet himself in excitement.
up in the room the girl and i tried to talk for a while, looking at my travel pictures and then decided to get down to business. we seemed to be warming nicely to each other when she got one look at me and started in on the "you're too big" ploy.
now, i'm just as proud of my ankle spanker as i ought to be, but truth be told, i have fallen for this ruse before and wasn't about to give her a pass. it has worked fine for many without complaint. she offered a handjob as consolation, which i wouldn't even consider. she was firm in her "no boom boom" stance, so i made her put her clothes on and back we went to zone one. i had been feeling particularly fleeced on this trip, and there was no way i was going to be taken for a ride without being taken for a ride. heh.
surprise, surprise the mamasan wouldn't hear of giving me my money back. she wasn't going to give me anything and she called the club manager over to back her up. he listened to her story and, to my surprise, shrugged his shoulders at her and walked away. she then started giving me excuses why she couldn't give me the full $50, which included that she gave the tuk tuk driver $20 for bringing me. of course, i knew this was bull because a) i had the agreement with the driver and b) even if he did get a commission from her, i am quite sure it wasn't $20.
we argued loudly in front of the club and everyone for several minutes. she tried to duck and hide in the club but i wouldn't let her five feet from me. she then told me to wait and she called someone on her cell phone. realizing that whoever she was calling would be no help to me, i figured time was no longer on my side. i grabbed the little hand purse she carried, opened it up and took out a huge wad of bills. i counted out $50 for myself and handed everything else back to her. she was completely aghast, and frankly so was i that i had the balls to do this.
i walked over to the a tuk tuk driver and told him to drive like hell back to the hotel. we made a high speed getaway at about 15mph. on the way back to the hotel it occurred to me just what i had done. certainly a woman doesn't run a business like that alone, she's got to have 'protection'. after they finished dealing with the girl that refused, no doubt they would decide to 'talk' to me, if not before. since they could trace me back to my hotel via the girl or perhaps either tuk tuk driver, i figured it was time to move out, and i checked out of the hotel at 12:30am and walked for a long way until i found another hotel for the night.
earlier i had purchased a next day ticket for the boat ride to phnom phen through the hotel, but i knew i'd be eating this too as the hotel would probably give me up to anyone who came around asking. i didn't want to be met at the pier or followed to phnom phen by the cambodian marlon brando. i was at the airport road offices of vietnam airlines when they opened their doors the next morning, and got myself on the 10: 20 flight to saigon. the whole episode cost me much more than the $50 i would have overpaid.
lots of lessons here, but the behavior change for me will be not to deal with pimps and middlemen. any negotiating i do will be strictly between myself and the girl. cheaper and hopefully safer.
[size=-2][b][u]editor's note[/u]:[/b] [blue]i certainly hope that the author or somebody else will post 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]