i don't think he did since the official tuk tuk rate in the airport is $7 and he booked a car service through his hotel that cost double that.

my alternative is only $5.

No worries regarding Long Live hotel and girls. They even devote an entire floor for "short time" rooms that anyone can get for $5 for two hours. Even if you're staying at the hotel it's not the worst idea to get this kind of room if you don't want the girl to know where you live. Internet was a bit dodgy a couple of weeks back but all seems to be fixed now. But the speed isn't very fast and you can forget about grinding.

I've lived at long live now for over a month now and it's perfectly fine. Its close to Naga, River King and Aeon Mall. But the area just up the street is a bit dodgy with working street girls and any night you come back to the hotel you will be molested by 5 Tuk Tuk drivers who will ask you relentlessly if you want a lady for "boom boom".

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Learn to use taxis, they are your friend. The Tuk Tuk drivers are getting worse by the day and the streams of tourists who don't know the proper prices and constantly over pay aren't helping. And if you do get in a taxi make sure it has a meter. Some time is just some dude and his car and they'll rip you off worse than the Tuk Tuk drivers.

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Where did I say I'd booked it lol, I just enquired into the price and was whining at what they came back with. Your method might be useful if I didn't want to wonder through packed streets/traffic with huge bags to save $1-2 from the $7 they offer at the airport.

I've never taken a taxi from the airport but at the time I land traffic is horrendous. A metered taxi will definitely cost more than paying $5-7 for a tuk tuk.

Metered taxis normally work out cheaper on the longer journeys around PP, plus you don't have to deal with pollution, heat and beggars, choice taxis I use to use they are the white ones.

i usually have one bag with me, but most bags have wheels on them. it's literally a 100 meter walk to the main road.

you probably get overcharged on every tuk tuk ride...

Yeah but it's $2, why would you even bother?

because it takes me about 30 seconds to cross the car park. phnom penh airport is tiny.

if i can walk 30 seconds and get something for $5 instead of $7 i'll do so.

there's a mcdonald's that sells a meal for $7. a 30 second walk away is one that sells the same meal for $5. which one do you go to?

do i have to explain this to low level grinders?

Well, it's $2. I probably don't give a **** and just eat wherever I want.

When you're talking about airport transport both are essentially free so what does it matter?

If it was Tokyo and you could save $50 I get it but I just can't really comprehend someone from a first world country going on vacation in one of the cheapest places in the world and even thinking twice about this kind of thing.

if right this minute i could walk 30 seconds and someone would hand me $2 i would do so.

I respect that. But stepping into Phnom Penh heat, carrying a bag, having just got off a plane, the fare for which cost hundreds of dollars, saving two bucks is way down on my list of priorities and I would be genuinely surprised if that same wasn't true for most people.

my bag has wheels. i just drag it through the car park. i'm fit and healthy so don't sweat from a 30 second walk.

The weather is pretty good right now but when I first got here it was pretty humid. I wasn't used to this type of weather and would pretty much need a shower any time I even stepped outside.

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+1

If you're a live player and the only game in town is $1-$2, you'll quickly see the value of every $2 saved.

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thought games were bigger in PP. was about to check them out in a couple of hours
what about high season?

It's a fair enough point but I'd still not rather have to go around back streets & cross busy roads desperately looking to save a dollar or two having just got off a plane and arrived in a country, if it doesn't bother you then by all means save that money but I'm not convinced guys 500 meters away will take you somewhere like riverside in rush hour for $5 - guess I'll take your word for it.

One thing about saving the $2 though, interesting that in the Thailand thread a week or so ago you were criticizing people for wanting to save larger amounts of money than you're talking about on accommodation, saying that it's stupid because it's just squandered on stuff like drink anyway.

But all of this is sort of missing the point. My point was basically even respectable businesses will scam you out of whatever they can if they think they can get away with it, which is sad really.

I thought one of the first things that a traveler learns is to walk away from the first herds of public transportation offered at airports, ports, bus stands... It is not only the 2$ saved (although they add up, obviously), but the hassle of not getting scammed with ultimate intentions...

If you know where you're going, and know how much you should be being charged then I don't think it really matters?

Do you know if the PLO game is still 5/10?

That hasn't stopped people from gambling in California where the card rooms are the biggest in the world. Even in Vegas they've banned smoking in most poker rooms because players don't want to be exposed to it on a daily basis. I have definitely noticed a large percentage of slot-playing robots chain smoking while connected to their machines...but would they really end up gambling so much less? Maybe...but most people don't smoke in the US so it's weird Vegas is trying to accommodate this small percentage at the risk of getting less action from the majority.

Granted, Cambodia is a different story. I could deal with it if people would just smoke the cigarettes instead of keeping them lit for 30-40 minutes (or however long it takes for them to burn out while they're in the ashtray not being smoked).

Ya. The smoking combined with the air in Macau is something to take into account. Fortunately, it sounds like they banned smoking in the Macau casinos except on private floors so that's awesome, if so. They beat Vegas. But the air alone (exceeding clean levels by like 50x) must be the equivalent of smoking a pack a day.

What stakes did you end up playing? Did you play at River King or Naga? theRealOmahaKid says the highest games are 1/2 NL...and a bigger PLO game should be running.

That sounds like the way to go. Ya, definitely don't buy anything from behind the counter unless you want to be disappointed imo.

Well the first herd of offers will simply wait for another sucka coming off the plane, boat or bus before accepting/proposing a more acceptable price. The same thing can be send about fix priced taxis (and thus inflated) versus the metered taxis.

well they do. they go for $5. i always stay in the heart of the bar areas next to the river.

if you can't negotiate a fair price with an illiterate, uneducated tuk tuk driver then there's little hope for you outside of grinding micro stakes poker games.

i can't remember saying that exactly, but i certainly place high importance on a good location close to the mrt/bts, nightlife, restaurants, entertainment, shopping, etc, even more so if you're in bangkok short term.

For the record, I didn't mean it as you being a sucka (obviously)... But as an example, here in Bohol (Phl), when you get off the ferry, they will charge as much as 3k pesos for a taxi ride (and wait for someone else to either accept the offer or negotiate with still a heavy markup) when you walk about 50m further, you get it for 400p. The same thing can be said for Cebu, Siquijor etc.

In places like India, I would be even more suspicious of being scammed and taken to the wrong destinations. So even though PP is only 7$ (and yes, I have paid for that same price at the same airport ), I still almost always walk away as a standard.

ya no idea how this is a "cambodia" thing it happens anywhere in the world where tourists go

room service, the mini bar........ hotels arent there to give u deals on any extras, they are gonna gouge you on them