I've already said on PG that Cambodia is going to be another Thailand and asked who will be the first to open a new boyztown.



I am meeting people who are talking about moving to Cambodia more and more now. Businessman and guys who are living out here. They are fed up with the anti-farang feeling that they get when in Thailand. Thailand is not an easy place to be a small businessman, and you DO really get the feeling sometimes that you are not wanted here. I am still having frustrations with officials 14 months after starting my company. Work permits are a problem to and very restrictive. People are also fed up with the bars closing early, gogo bars being busted, visa rules being retstrictive etc.



I was talking to a guy 2 weeks ago and he asked me about Sihanoukville, but I hadn't heard of it. He wants to move out there but his Thai wife isn't happy to (wonder why). He says that in Cambodia you apply for your work permit, and when approved you can then work, unlike Thailand. You see farang bar owners serving behind the bar, cleaning etc not frightened about the police catching them and breaching work permit rules and getting a 200,000 baht fine or worse.



Thailand had better watch out, as if Cambodia has any sense, and I think she has, it will welcome guys like me, make it easy for us and see its country develop a good strong tourist industry taking valuable income away from Thailand.



Wake Up Call For Thailand's TRT party.    

Dear Hedda,

I'm Chinese....and I am afraid I have to agree with you. I've seen it happen before.



Tao

Still perky, quirky and kinky!

Pattaya's gay scene may have some new competition from neighboring Cambodia.



A recent article in Channel News Asia describes Cambodia's plans to bolster investments in the city of Sihanoukville. This port city located on Cambodia's peninsula offers a coastline of white sand beaches, crystal clear water and coral reefs.  It was once a sleepy port city (similar to Pattaya in the 60's) and is now poised to jump in the global tourism arena.



Apparently, the only real magnet that attracts tourists to that region now are the ancient temples of Ankar Wat and a bit of serenity. The investors know they have to do more than open a 9 hole golf course to compete with the likes of Bali, Phuket and Pattaya, and they're following the developments in these three area's very closely.  



There's one gay disco in Sihanoukville called the "Blue Storm."  I would be surprised if we didn't see the emergence of a larger gay magnet, similar to our Boyztown in the very near future.



There's also plans to lengthen the runway at their local airport by years end, but right now you'd have to cross the Koh Kong from the Thai border and travel 4 hours by ferry - or - 6 hours by taxi.



Link to article below.  



www.channelnewsasia.com/s...08/1/.html

Edited by: Smiles2 at: 18/6/04 11:49 pm

I have stayed in Sihanoukville twice in the last 3 years.Nice beaches, one or two OK restaurants. Long drive down from the airport with no where to break the journey. best shops are attached to petrol stations. certainly no Big C. Fair amount of tourists, mostly backpackers.

Still needs a few years in my opinion. Nice to patch a stay in with doing the tourist thing in the capital

Map of Cambodia:

www.canbypublications.com...leprov.htm  



South coast of Cambodia:

www.canbypublications.com...astmap.htm



Sihanoukville area map:

www.canbypublications.com/maps/ksmap.htm



Downtown Sihanoukville:

members.shaw.ca/sawatdeep...mage51.jpg  

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     " ... good  GOD, this is even worse that I thought ...!    "

I wish I knew what kind of Pattaya is emerging. Whatever, it's clear that there's virtually no urban planning or environmental protection to anticipate or accompany it. The infrastructure is not much different than 20 years, and millions of tourists, ago. And there isn't much evidence of planning for anything but more tourist bodies.



It is perhaps inevitable that geography, demographics and gambling will dictate that more and more Chinese tourists will replace farang vacationers. When the ecology and environment have been degraded to such an extent that even sex won't keep the farangs coming back, the Chinese urbanites will probably turn Pattaya into a polluted beach resort with a predominantly Asian clientele. The interesting question is whether the gay expat rice-queen community can accomodate this change or will have moved on to greener pastures elsewhere.

 

Edited by: Hedda at: 7/6/04 4:16 pm

A biting little travelogue on recent adventures in Cambodia by the intrepid Hedda.  Sihanoukville takes the brunt this time:

Quote:

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From Pattaya to Sihanoukville

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 A while back, some posters here wrote about their trip and experiences in Sihanoukville, which is a developing beach town in southern Cambodia. Never having been there, I was interested in going. It was interesting but I don't think I'll go back for at least ten years, which is about how far this place is from being an attractive alternative to the gay life in Pattaya, if it ever gets there.



First, the 4-5 hour car ride from Pattaya to the Cambodian border(thru Rayong and Trat) is not very scenic and really quite boring. The border crossing at Hat Lek is about as interesting or exciting as a trip to the outhouse at 1 AM, and equally scenic. This border crossing is about as bad and primtive as they come in places like Bangladesh, in the way of conveniences or sanitation.



The Thai guard inspecting passports as we crossed the border was a grumpy old grouch in shirt sleeves who seemed glad to see us leave the country, even though there were 3 Thai nationals in our group. They did wear crisp uniforms on the Cambodian side, but the shack they were operating from was in danger of collapse if they stamped our visa any harder in our passports. It took almost an hour of sweat, ink and dollars to get a visa. I would hate to see this place try to operate when more than 12 people try to enter Cambodia on a single day.



The 4 hour boat ride from the border town of Koh Kong to Sihanoukville was a sea experience that that awful TV series called "Fear Factor" should tape. You risk your life just trying to climb down the rickety ladder from the pier into the boat. I half expected to see Kathryn Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart manning the boiler. Obviously, the operators' liabililty insurance agent hasn't visited the site in years. Nor has a boat painter.



The boat itself has a TV that doean't work, but that doesn't stop them from blasting the audio of some unseen action movie on a blank screen . Picture yourself getting seasick, bouncing over rolling swells, while there is an unending stream of people screaming in an unknown tongue at 12 decibels from 14 speakers located throughout the cabin. After four hours of this torture, we all assumed that the reports of Pol Pot's death were premature and that he was alive and well working on our boat.



When we arrived in Sihanoukville, which the tour book fondly refers to as "Snooky-ville" we knew why. Anyone coming here for a nice beach vacation got snooked. Lots of panoramic beaches, mostly empty, and for gay visitors like us, virtually nothing in the way of life or movement.The only so-called gay bar called the blue something was filled with young women in very short skirts selling beer and other services on commission.



We did have a couple of interesting meals which were fun because of the wine and company we enjoyed, not the sites, before we decided to head for Phnom Penh and the relative luxury of the good life in Cambodia's capitol.If there is any town near Thailand that may ultimately emerge as a rival for the night life of Pattaya or Bangkok, I think it's Phnom Penh. Forget about Snookyville.

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To read the whole thread (with replies), click here:  p219.ezboard.com/fsawatde...1001.topic

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       " ... good  GOD, this is even worse that I thought ... "