Big Mango Bar
drink and blog

Phnom Penh Update by WFTM

Posted by WFTM | Blog, Cambodia, Reader Submissions, Trip Report | Posted on October 6th, 2009

I just got back from a few days of biz in the Cambodian capital. I have always done Cambodia on a budget – cheap flights, cheap hotels and cheap eats. This time it was 5star hotels, drivers and nice dinners. Not saying it made a huge difference but it can make life a little easier. There has been a lot written about the hostess bar crackdown, the lack of the viets and so on. I can’t really tell the difference and I am not the hardcore monger always searching for the cheapest beer or the cheapest shag. My rule of thumb is you get what you pay for and if you want VN girls why not just go to VN?

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The BARANG Drinks 2 Much – Part Two of Two

Posted by Bangkok Bad Boy | Blog, Cambodia, Reader Submissions, Trip Report | Posted on July 10th, 2009

Continued from Part One

Nice Riverside Cafe, Phnom Penh
Day Three, 12:00

‒Would you like your eggs scrambled or fried?”

‒Scrambled, please.”

Yum yum.

‒Have you seen The Athlete yet today?”, I asked The Heckler.

‒No. Let’s check his hotel after breakfast.”

“How was the Heart of Darkness?”

“Fucking awful.”
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The BARANG Drinks 2 Much – Part One of Two

Posted by Bangkok Bad Boy | Blog, Cambodia, Reader Submissions, Trip Report | Posted on July 8th, 2009

Anonymous Hotel, Phnom Penh
Day One, 18:30

“Yeah, that’s fine”, said The Heckler.

There were no windows. Just the door through which the three of us peered, along with the awkward, smiling concierge. A plastic door led into a minimalist bathroom, on which more later, and there was a small television set at the end of the double bed. A bedside table, a fitted wardrobe, a desk and chair, and a tired pair of flip-flops completed the fixtures. Not luxury, but perfectly acceptable for $18.

“So we’ll take this room, and we’ll need two more like this one”, I said to the concierge.

“Two more? You want three rooms?!”

I’m not sure whether the concierge’s incredulous reaction to the fact that these three barangs (Thai: farangs, Eng: western barbarians) would not, in fact, be sharing a double bed said more about him, or the quality of guests attracted by the hotel, but the poor chap looked shell-shocked when he realised he’d have to dig out another couple of keys.
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Songkran Escape Part 5: Sihanoukville — The Final Word

Posted by Pattaya Ghost | Blog, Cambodia, Reader Submissions, Trip Report | Posted on May 24th, 2009

As I had quickly learned on my first and second days in Sihanoukville, Cambodia’s third most-popular city is a great little beach resort but a bit dull as a P4P destination. By my Day 3, I’d come to the conclusion that making another run out to Victory Hill, or anywhere else besides the beach and the Freedom Bar, was going to be a waste of time.

So I made some decisions: First I booked a day of scuba diving that would require me to get up a 7 a.m. (and, thus, go to bed early and alone the night before) and then bought a bus ticket back to Phnom Penh, where I’d spent the previous Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. Then I decided to hit Freedom Bar again, but – this time – earlier. It would turn out to be the best nightlife move I’d made all week. Read full post

Songkran Escape Part 4: Sihanoukville – The Bar Crawl

Posted by Pattaya Ghost | Blog, Cambodia, Reader Submissions, Trip Report | Posted on May 11th, 2009

It was clear after the first day in Sihanoukville that if I wanted to fully enjoy my planned week in Cambodia’s beach resort, then I’d have to switch into conventional-tourist mode, at least part of the time. Clearly, the nightlife alone wasn’t going to be worth it.

So, during the days, I did my best soak up the beach, go snorkeling and scuba diving, hit the local market, eat, sleep, watch too much TV and try to relax after a stressful, uninterrupted four months of work. But when night fell on my second night, I set out on an aggressive plan to see what fun I could find off the beach. Read full post