Living costs are more or less similar to Thailand if you want to have relatively nice western-style life.

Salary here is a lot cheaper than in Thailand. For most people around 1/3 or 1/4 of a thai salary. Some jobs pay only 1/10 of a similar job in Thailand.

So going with taxi-motos are cheaper, hiring someone to clean your condo is cheaper, if you need to get something repaired or hand-build it is a lot cheaper.

Food is similar priced. Local food is cheaper, but you will probably buy some that is imported from Thailand and is more expensive.

Internet is a lot more expensive, even though prices have been reduced lately. Three years ago, a 2mb adsl line cost 3,000 USD a month. And no, it is not a joke. Now you can get it for 300 dollars. You can get a slower line that is more than enough for play poker, for around 80 dollars a month, but you will need some kind of backup line. A mobile connection for 20 a month will do.

If you are a newbie to Asia, I agree with the others. Go to Thailand and see what it is all about. It is a lot easier there, and you can buy more or less what you can possibly want. I miss a Big C

Cambodia takes a little more patience, and it is certainly not for everyone. But if you do go through those extra hoops, and see cultural differences as interesting, instead of as an obstacle, then I can highly recommend Cambodia.

People here are more genuine and they are truly happy to see foreigners here. They have been isolated for a generation, and most people will go out of their way to welcome you and show that Cambodia is so much more than Pol Pot and genocide.

Can anyone recommend one other place to go other than PP, Siem Reap & Sihanoukville? I'm going for about 18 days in total and want to spend about 4 days in each place so would like one more... a good mixture of stuff to do in the day & nightlife would be ideal.

Battambang- Its a nice relaxed sleepy khmer town with not that many tourists. The surrounding countryside is picture postcard national geographic countrside, you will get some great pics. Just get a motorbike taxi to take you out there for half a day. That area is the main rice producing area in Cambo.

Also the boat trip from Battambang to Siem Reap is brilliant and you will get some great pics on it too, its about 6-7 hours and I wasn't bored for 1 minute.

great post u seem very kind

I'm going to Cambodia next week, after spending 6 more or less
weed less months in Indonesia and Thailand I heard about Cambodia
being kind of a smokers paradise.

Any advice on that from the expats already living there would be highly appreciated.

If you go to Phnom Penh, stay at the red fox (tell tuk-tuk from airport you want to go to riverfront, street 136). Very cool guest house with a poker room and the girls behind the bar sell pre rolled spliffs that you can smoke right in the bar.

Tell Brett, the owner, that slifdog sent ya'

Finding weed is a non-issue here

Just got in to PP yesterday..anyone around?

How much are the rooms at the Red Fox? What are they like? What spreads in the poker room?

cheers

rooms between $12-$18 a night depennding on how long you stay. They are fine (nothing fancy), with good A/c and good wireless (1 disconnection in 3 weeks).

The poker room is a friendly get-together type thing. The house makes no money off the game except food and beverage sales (no rake). They have NL and PLO tournies for $20USD buy-in and they have dealer's choice cash games (almost everyone picks PLO) with .10/.20 blinds, but many straddle and the game can be wild. This game is as more about socialization as it is about the $5/hour in profit you can average. Nagaworld is where you can make some real money.

Thanks Slifdog. Where do you normally live when your not in PP? Are you just on vacation there now?

Are those type of games legal or are you running a small risk of police coming to collect some heads and bribes?

I doubt they are technically legal, but neither is smoking a huge spliff in the bar downstairs. I did not worry about it, YMMV.

The poker room is hidden on a mezzanine level, no way you would find it or know it existed unless you were invited up. There is no cash in play, everything is changed into chips and, even at its deepest, there is never more than 600 or so in the cashier's box. There are far juicier things to persecute / rob / extort money from.

I am in Macau right now. I have been traveling in SE Asia for 2 out of the last 2.5 years. I met and fell in love with an Indonesian woman 2 years ago (my avatar, lol) so I spend most of my time in Indonesia. When I make my visa Runs every 2 months, I often go play some poker somewhere (Cambodia, Philippians, Macau).

Sadly, I am going back to the states and taking a real job again in two weeks. The ONLY reason I am doing this is so that I can process a Fiance'e visa and bring my girl to the states. Unfortunately, "poker player" in the states right now is not the best job to have as your source of support (live is unverifiable, even though I have filed significant income from live poker the past 3 years, and online is looked at as non-legit). My adviser told me not to even put the application in until I came home and had a job on the books.

I hear a lot about weed pizzas and stuff in Cambodia, what about ecstacy, is that something that is common there?

I just came back from a 2 week visit to Phnom Penh.Stayed at Red Fox,simple but decent rooms for the ammount of money,15$ a night.Had a great time,the games at Red Fox as the tournaments are friendly and in a kind athmosphere.Nice to drink a little,chat and having no pressure of winning or loosing.If you want to smoke a joint its ok to do down there,they sell behind the bar.The dealers were very competent,they could do the calculations in plo very quick,an example to all other dealers all over the world.

The games in Naga are great,good value but also terrible suckouts.Many people just call their marginal bull**** and wont leave the hand,even when hitting bottom pair.Leave alone their draws,any flushes or straight draws wont leave at all......

Will definetly go agian to visit PP,as said the life is good,nice food,cheap beer and very very pretty girls...........

Generally things like this are good for a poker game... You are probably just bitter cause you lost though. Nice report however.

I ate what was supposed to be a weed pizza, but did not really feel anything (maybe I did it wrong). I have no idea on any hard or pharmaceutical drugs (16+ years of nothing more than light weed and/or light booze for me), but would be surprised if you could not find anything you want in Cambodia for a price.

Did it wrong huh. Did you swallow the pizza whole slifdog? I'm sure the quality sucked...

Looks like I'll be headed to Cambodia in a couple weeks with another 2+2er. Going to balance out the poker and the travels. Hopefully see a lot of the country and win some stacks

Is there a certain way to eat weed pizza? Is it any different from Brownies? I bet the quality of bud is pretty poor in Cambodia and they probably didn't saturate the oil/butter enough.

Is the owner of the red fox and big fat aussie guy called Brett?

I heard the named Brett mentioned somewhere and I met an aussie guy called Brett who was in to poker and who used to have a business elsewhere in Cambo that has now closed. There must be a pretty good chance its the same guy. If so he's a really good guy, he was playing $1 sit'n goes in Battambang when I stayed at his place there lol.

He is Aussie and his name is Brett, but he is not fat at all. Atkins ftw?

Nah different guys then as the Brett I met was fooking massive about a year ago, he was actually blind in one eye too, not that you would know it.

Yeah, this Brett has been owning / operating the Red Fox for 5+ years as well, kinda a trail'blazer' for the Phnom Penh riverfront.

Anyone in Phnom Penh and want/need Stars? I could use some USD. Pm me if interested please I'm only here until Saturday