Sateev

jaapfries, on 2012-05-10 07:24:24, said:

http://www.lmgtfy.co...e Brew Thailand

If you are getting under 100 msec ping times when testing from a US server, then you know your ISP is naughty and cheating. You are actually testing against a cached file on their own servers!

If the ping is over 200 msec, you're likely indeed testing from an overseas server...

Posted with Thaivisa App http://apps.thaivisa.com

Get an external. Get used to storing stuff on it, rather than the laptop. It's a pain at first and needs a little discipline but once it becomes routine, you're fine.

Much, much, much easier when it comes time to reformat & install new OS (after a problem or just for a spring clean), or when changing machines.

(To answer your original question, my laptop's a bit of a beast it has two drives in it. But I use it like I describe above - all my files on the 2nd drive, only the OS on the 1st.)

Phnom Pehn was disgusting!!! Thailand on the other hand Y U M! Some of those choices on Thai street food were so so Som Tam should be #1 even though I hate the dish. and Moo Ping is good but BBQ pork on a stick is pretty international.

djayz, on 2012-05-04 09:34:15, said:

Actually, farang are allowed to work here legally. I do, I have a work permit. And I.m a farang.

But the point I want to make is that most homeless people are in their situation due to psychological  problems, and those problems are often quite severe. Whether the problems have been aggravated by use of drugs, including alcohol, shouldn't really matter. What's important, I think, is that people should try to understand that some people have awful things happen to them that can send their lives into a tailspin. To look at some poor homeless people and instantly condemn them, assuming they are lazy worthless bums who have chosen such a dismal fate is quite naive and immature.

djayz, I have to assume that you are a young man who has been pretty much spoon fed a comfortable life and are unable to see the world from another person's perspective. Of course, you don't like what I say here, but it's not said to make you angry or start a battle -- only in hope that you may find a little more compassion for the less fortunate. Challenge your mind to find a way to empathise with those you encounter through your life. You'll honestly be a better person for it.

ATM withdrawals when in Phnom Penh on your Thai bank?

Mac

Fly to Udon.

There are a variety of minimarts around town (Smile is one chain, for example) that fill the 7-11 niche, though the vast majority of Khmer people probably wouldn't want to spend the extra money to shop in one as the population is still pretty poor.  The Western and wealthy Khmer also have grocery stores like Lucky Supermarket that are reminiscent of a smaller Villa, maybe.  Expat society is roughly divided along a few axes, NGO/diplomatic/missionary/professional services types fill out the area called BKK in large part, then there are the teachers, then the retirees and more blue collar expats and then a mix of everyone else.  People live all over, but the preponderance of Western-focused stuff is either (check google maps for Independence Monument as a the anchor point) North of Sihanouk Blvd or South of Sihanouk Boulevard - primarily East of Monivong.  The Northern half is mostly the Riverside area of the old French Quarter and the Southern side is mostly BKK (Boueng Keng Kang).  Yes, there's a neighborhood ironcically named after Bangkok.  This is where you'll find the vast majority - but certainly not all - of the conveniences and things you'll need, including supermarkets, coffee shops, convenience stores, mobile phone HQs, wine shops, specialty restaurants, fair trade earth friendly gingko-biloba bistros, fancy indoor gyms - and even 5 official Apple Resellers (I mention because it's so bizarre).  The markets in these areas and pharmacies and such sell less quantity of a much wider Western variety of products than you'll find in BKK, except possibly in Paragon or something (but still have many things you'll never see in Thailand).  There are no import restrictions on most things, so you'll find all kinds of deodorant, snack food, soft drinks, beer, cigars, sunscreen, candy - you name it - from all over the world.  Check the expiry dates, though

On the question of mobile, 3G access is widely available and considerably better than in Thailand, but like many countries they're more strict about SIM cards and getting one with 3G is most reliably and easily done by going to the HQ of the company (I recommend Mobitel (a.k.a Cellcard) if you're staying in PP or Metfone in the provinces) and handling it there where the staff speak English, can explain everything and will activate your phone.  Many smaller shops (all?) won't sell you a fully activated card and have no idea how it works.  Mobitel's HQ is on Sihanouk near Independence Monument, so it's a short trip.  Pitch in $5-10 and you'll never use up the 4GB that gets you.  Unlimited is just a bit more.  USB dongles are widely available as well, but so is wifi.  Wired internet (DSL) is about $80 a month, but quite speedy.  I'd rate it against Thailand any day.  The only change is that you get a few more random service drops and things in Cambodia, and the occasional rolling brownout.

Medical care isn't what it is in Bangkok by any stretch, something that can be said of every Asian country frankly, but there are nascent international hospitals including one owned by Dusit (under its Bangkok Hospital Group brand).  The general expat opinion seems to be that for most little things you go to this Aussie nurse who runs a doctor staffed clinic, for anything bigger you go to [I forget which one - Calmette?] and for major anything you go to Bangkok if possible.  I met a guy who got stuck there with a pulomonary embolism that had been missed in Vietnam and he was fairly happy with his treatment.  As a retiree I'd probably feel better in Bangkok, but within 5-10 years PP looks guaranteed to have at least one decent facility for most things - some would probably argue it's there now, I have no idea.

As for staying, yeah, it's laissez faire.  Get an "Ordinary Visa" at the embassy here or at the airport (or land border) there for $25 and then, once you're in town, take it to any visa place (locals all use Lucky Lucky Motorbike) and pay about $280-ish to have it extended for one year.  That's it, you're done.  Opening a business is a little pricy compared to the visa expenses, but pretty straightforward and the shysters there aren't as numerous or voracious as they are here, so you don't get as many marketing-heavy fear-based sales pitches from Western-manned law firms.  They will gouge you a bit, but you won't get a much better deal from going with locals either.  Unlike Thailand, you cannot do it yourself in Cambodia by all accounts.  Some people say that about everything in Thailand, but it's nonsense.  You can open a business and do any number of things on your own in Thailand, even if you don't speak the language, it's just a lot easier to pay to have it done here.  In Cambodia a number of things have to go through greased palms, but they do seem to get done, so no complaints.  Anyhow, if the whole question is "How easy is it to stay?" then the answer is $300 and 3-4 days and you're good for a year.

Local food ranges from bland to crap, with a few standout dishes that aren't hugely impressive, so you'll end up eating a lot of foreign food probably.  "No, make it REALLY spicy" has about the same effect as it does in the Philippines, even at Thai restaurants.  All that said, Western food in particular is leaps and bounds ahead of Thailand, where it is physically impossible to prepare anything involving bread, tomatoes, cheese and/or beef for reasons passing understanding (except at the very top places and a few standouts).  There are a couple of legit Thai joints in BKK, nothing great but definitely closer to authentic.  Burgers, sandwiches, pizzas, pastas, mains, vegetable sides and so on are all better, on average, in Phnom Penh by a long shot (and relatively cheap).  That said, Mexican food also sucks in Phnom Penh and is the rare area where even Bangkok has a better selection.  Indian and Middle Eastern are considerably better here too, as is Japanese.  Chinese is actually not bad in Phnom Penh, with some great Sichuan and Hunan cuisine (among a strip of others where the waitresses write in Chinese and barely even speak Khmer).

Westerners and Chinese smoke everywhere, all the time, which is a big change from Bangkok if you're not a smoker and don't like it.  Not trying to start one of the smoker flame wars, but this is something that gets commented on a lot by visitors from Thailand.  On the flip side, Phnom Penh is considerably quieter and less polluted.  Khmer people don't go racing around on fast, loud motorbikes usually and there are no buses with incredibly loud transmissions.  It's not as humid, but the sun is more directly hot on your skin than Bangkok, yet it's also a bit cooler at night - again, due to humidity.

I live in Thailand, but spend some time in Phnom Penh for work on occasion and have for a few years.  It's a great little city in its own right and its changing rapidly for better and worse.

quandow, on 2012-03-26 09:24:01, said:

I agree the beaches are nothing compared to Phuket and the street food is not as good as well
BUT  go to Otres!!!  Beautiful beach
Head out to the Islands  many are untouched and very beautiful and unspoled

Most important is Cambodians ARE NOT THAIS!!!!!!

Here's a couple of reasons (IMHO):
- Monopolies or near monopolies (Thailand has plenty)  usually don't like free trade unless on their terms...causes more competition and forces them to lower prices.
- Mom & Pop business don't like free trade...causes more competition and forces them to lower prices.
- Govt gain BIG import tax dollars....monopolies support the approach of import taxes (protect homeland businesses) through contributions to politicians, and Mom & Pop businesses support via their vote.

Thailand is slowly opening their door to more free trade agreements (FTA) but sure seem to be dragging their feet/being pushed into it.
- Note: in the real world a FTA is not generally not an agreement that eliminates import taxes on all products (only some) but generally just lower import taxes on a variety of commodities/products with the goal of reaching zero import tax in the future...sometimes the future is clearly defined in the agreement; other times it's subject to future renegotiation.   I expect Thailand is more into the future renegotiation part as that usually delays reduction in import taxes.  IMHO.

I can tell you the US government's view of Thailand would change if they made positive steps to move to a true democracy instead of the sham they have now. US Officials I personally know have said that working with Thailand has always been difficult because of their outdated view of the world and unwillingness to accept globalization as the new world order. There is also a general distrust of Thai government officials who too often have their own hidden self-profitting agenda that gets put before any concern for the country or foreign relations.

Boats - don't forget them.

Study the canal boat schedule.

There is a boat pier under BTS Saphan Taksin. From there boats leave in both directions regularly and cost almost nothing. 20 minutes either way there is a lot of mellow places (both sides of river)

cardholder, on 2012-03-23 12:28:10, said:

marstons, on 2012-03-23 16:59:46, said:

YES; i take mine all the time and once kept it in Cambodia for 8 months. If u take ur car in via Koh Kong they will charge you $1/day ur going to stay an tell u , you can ONLY use it in Koh Kong province which is bullshit.  You cannot buy Cambodia insurance for ur car and ur thai insurance s no good

Best beach to stay for activities/bars/restaurant is Ochheuteal  I stay  at Agua resort, run by a great American, ( Bob)  t. $25/night. has pool   Plenty of great restaurants a block away
Bars at Golden lion ( 1/2 block).
Western food can be had for $4-7/meal, good seafood BBQ everywhere, ( on the beach every night)  for $3 and great chinese/thai style food for 3-5/dish
drinking as u know is cheap.
Check out the bars/rest at Victory hill.
Nice beach is Victory beach and great food at  Browns on the beach and the Airport ) cant miss that one as it looks like an airport hanger and has a plane inside)
Take $$ or us ATM as all sales are in $$ ( u can use Riel and u will get them if change is less than a $1.)

Bus is 4 hours, stops for lunch ( yea, it can break down) and costs $6-8.
There are mini bus services from Pattaya, stopfor the night at Koh Kong an they usually make u change to a big bus once u hit Cambodia,  10 hours or so bus travel. Visa for $20 or 1,000 baht

IT is NOT pattaya and thank god for that.
There are some nice western run bars on/GH's ( air con rooms for $15-20/night and off the main road in town ( between Ochh beach an Victory hill) run by westerners

You will love it there.  I am moving back in July

Something is always broken and unskilled users are treated with contempt.

Take the train down to Hua Hin /
great for familes