vinapu

Thank you for your post , I really like it as sometimes I think I may use some critical feedback. Once a year I have habit of reading at least most of my previous trip reports and often don't like them as much as I should being author. Way I do it , I type report in Word check for possible spelling mistakes and post . Doing it that way is missing opportunity for some critical second look. I'm not short on self esteem and I don't suffer if somebody points this or that shortcoming Glad you noticed I try to included so called "practical information" for the readers as that is thing I often find missing from trip reports be it other country or just Grand Palace or train market. What sodomy ? do you think I'm gay or what? To Thailand I go primarily for carnal pleasures and a food, sensation for my friends as I'm generally not considered foodie in my social circles, so those are subject I focus on. Cambodia for me is primarily land of ancient ruins with boys distant second focus and this perhaps is reflected in my reports. point is some may like it, others would gladly use more debauchery and less archeology. Including whole report in Thailand section is product of numerical analysis - my Thai post attract my more readership than Cambodian ones. Funny thing , I received feedback of identical concern but reasoning was opposite. Friend suggested Cambodian part should be separated because not everybody is interested in that country at all. It's hard to please everybody. I will head your concern though and will post link to this report in Cambodia section, they way wolf will be fed and lamb still intact.

you must be right but what they offered they named and priced as an American breakfast so I just follow their nomenclature

daytime view of the same, Mekong is one in the back

Day 15 Hotel doesn’t offer breakfast so we went to Chet Café m quite classy and bit pricey place near Wat Ounalom where , as in Battambang my guy ordered way more than he was able to eat. That is becoming bit unnerving but I said nothing. In fact I secured his presence tonight for repeat. He may be wasting some food but takes his exercises very seriously and has body of steel and a lot of it, all muscle so definitely for me worth of trouble. Returned to hotel to pack as I’m trying another, Xone located in the same high rise. Funny entry -through convenience store whose cash counter doubles as hotel’s reception. Another room with a view of both rivers. After day of travel yesterday , today I’m taking it easy wandering aimlessly here and there. At 5 pm my guy suggested a meal in certain Japanese restaurant and since recently I start liking that food better and better I was happy to approve. Than after some time he texted asking in he can invite his friend , known to me. I did not mind dining with 2 hunks instead of one so approved. They were bit late , I already ordered something to keep myself busy. I must say it was great idea, food was excellent and so was the bill, 70 $ princely sum for Cambodia , even for 3 of us but it was worth . And no food wasted as portions ordered were quite small , whatever we finished we just ordered more and more. I was glad so invited them for some ice cream and then we parted ways. I went to hotel and since rain started , simply fell asleep waking only around 10 pm. Time for Space Bar. Since it was my last night and I become slowly low on money, tonight I watched carefully what and for how much I’m ordering. As always fun and no pressure from boys to tip or buy drinks. There was new guy I liked quite a lot. Reason to return next trip ! Hope he will still be there, Great accounting job , when I was leaving bar, all I had left was 10000 for remork tonight and tomorrow morning and a bus to the airport and in hotel there was money for agreed tip for my guy. Nothing left for any frills. Today fun time was shorter as I have flight to catch at 11 am. I sensed some complacency, perhaps having two night in row is not good for morale I was wondering. I was not as happy as the night before but not as happy doesn’t mean unhappy. But I need to review my hiring practices was my thought.

Mekon hotel, room and a view

Day 14 In the morning tip distribution , breakfast together and then my guy went home and I packed what I have and soon tuk-tuk which was supposed to take me to bus station arrived. It turned out I could walk as station was just 2 blocks away. Van was not comfortable at all, we were pretty cramped , it took 6 hours for us to reach Phnom Penh and terminal on the city was quite far from the center where my hotel was . It was easy to get tuktuk at reasonable price but driver seemed unfamiliar with where we are going and it was mee who were steering him through the streets to get where I wanted. That is an advantage of apps - driver will get a map directing him where to go. Anyways , after travelling those 300 km for most of the day I finally get to my hotel Mekon and when I entered my room it was just WOW! View at confluence of both rivers from 18th floor , balcony , working safe – my first since I left Sun and Moon week ago. It’s located in new high rise, short walk from jetty where river cruise start which means short walk to Night Market and Wat Phnom. After some rest I felt urge to eat something continental and soon , walking toward Royal Place I spotted Italian restaurant, Spaghetti Bolognese it was and Hanuman Black of course. Filled with food I walked to Space Bar where , in contrast with last weekend, almost all tables were occupied with revellers. As always fun , oiled with few rounds of drinks. No need to stress myself with offing options as I arranged with guy whom I met in Battambang to visit me tonight. Bit drunk ,I took remork to hotel around 1 am , driver who took me there surprised me with recalling that last year he took me to my then hotel OK Boutique. My companion showed bit later , when I signalled I’m home already. Great , no rush, fun tonight .

Day 13 - part 2 , rest of the day Since I mentioned I need bus ticket to Phnom Penh for tomorrow my driver offered to take me to some carrier office. Not sure that was good idea, they had only van on offer for 23 $ . Considering that in January I paid 20$ for 1st class VIP bus with single window seat it seemed overpriced but I gave up as all I wanted at this point was to shower and get a nap. Van it is Agreed price for all day tour was 30$ and this is what I paid but again it was a little bit over market. Famous ‘gay premium “ charged often by gay businesses thought I, I wont be haggling over 5-7 $ as he needs that money more than me . I slept till 7. I went to burger place on roundabout at river end of 7 Makara street , owner is American and he knows thing or two about burgers. 10$ with Ganzberg beer and tip. At 9.30 I went to Barcode, place was packed but no sight of that handsome guy I tipped yesterday. Patrons of mixed variety but quite a few male/ male couples. Handsome local guy was absent but pack of young farangs seating in front of me included super hunk, as a bonus not exactly overdressed so I got a very pleasant vantage point. After a while who shows – T , may last night guy with his friend. They tried to invite themselves for a drink but I offered one just to T , buying drink for somebody I don’t even know just because he has friend seemed excessive. T was very diplomatic , did not mention room visit yet but at one point suggested we move to a GOD so we went there. One of patrons, C, well known to me from previous bar visits and encounter we had few years ago had birthday so I treated him with drink and slipped him 20 $ as a gift, if only because I like his personality. My pleasure I said to him when he was saying his “ thank you, that’s really for me” . T did not waste time in meantime , secured another round of checking stamps and even cheekily suggested C comes with us to help with stamp sorting. Balm to my ears , specially that first reaction was positive. C said ‘ we did it already threesome with T twice “ but I kind of know how he works - first creating hope , then some excuse so I knew it’s just a stage. Another great night with Jomtien Complex trained T. What’s wrong with me with those twinks in my bed this trip I wondered.

Neak Pean , temple and a bridge Preah Khan Western gate from the road

sorry about the mess in pics above owing to interruption of connection with the forum . too late for edit. Last picture is Back gate of Ta Som temple. Tree encompassing gate picture is gone

Western gate seen from the walls Pre Rup

Day 13, part 1 -ruins Breakfast was quite simple but for price I paid for the room and breakfast I did not expect anything else . Still was edible and filling enough to keep me running. My driver shover up on time and off we went right away. First to the place where they sell tickets. One day ticket is 37 $. That the one I bought. Three day ticket is 62 $ and can be used within 7 days. It looks that 7 day ticket was discontinued but don’t take my word for it and confirm if you are interested as it was not of my interest this time. That my treat – ruins. I was already everywhere and in most places more than once or even twice but complex is so vast it never gets boring for me. First one – Pre Rup. It will always have a special place in my head and heart as that was first temple I visited during my first trip there back in 2001. I was surprised how few tourists were there – low season galore. Another reason is that most visitors are herded into biggies – Angkor Wat, Bayon , Preah Khan , Banteai Srei and “Indiana Jones” Ta Prohm, leaving others to those with more time or like me , really interested in every stone. Next one – Eastern Mebon, also few visitors. Ta Som , the next one was long my most favorite as smaller , uncrowded version of Ta Prohm but tree which was encompassing back gate is now removed. No more damage but charm is mostly gone. Next was unique Neak Pean in the middle of artificial a lake , accessible by long walk over bridge. Here is was quite crowded and surprisingly mostly with locals. Next stop was one of biggies -Preah Khan with her structure reminding Greco-Roman construction – unique thing in Angkor complex. As one of most popular it was quite well patronized so to speak. My favorite part to explore is walk along the walls of Angkor Thom, city in the middle of which Bayon stands . I did not have time to do whole thing but at least did ¼ , from Northern to Western gate. Usually walk is easy but this time with all the rains most of walk was overgrown which made walking bit harder and , yes, one needs to be aware about possibility of snake encounter with grass providing a lot of hiding options. No panic , I never saw one but in the past I was warned about such exciting possibility on more than one occasion, specially in rainy season. To add to excitement for first part of walk guy with machete was following me but no , he did not chop of my head for all I know. My driver was supposed to wait for me at Western gate but he decided to meet me on my way and indeed at ¾ of length we met. I guess I’m much better walker. Last temple was Ta Keo, one from later period and almost free of elaborate carvings other temples have aplenty. Nice chat there with young Chinese travelling alone and he confirmed my observation that more and more his compatriots are travelling now independently. Since I felt templed-out for today we returned to the city

sign it's permanent although not very big. walking Silom from say soi 4, you cross Thaniya Rd , after crossing pay attention to the signs and you will find it withing 100 meters, just raise your head

not necessarily owing to connection in Battambang , in recent days there are periodic problems with board connectivity, if fact it happened few minutes ago when I tried to respond to your post

not some but almost all , two credit and two debit cards. only saving grace I already mentioned was my habit of keeping one card at home so I could use it on the trip for some payments and in my great hour of need, to withdrew some cash ( and pay fee plus an interest on cash advance unfortunately) .

nonsense, metric person will see metric dimension in the mirror so it won't help with conversion to inches

and that is what makes Thai scene so great , there is something for everybody. Often we cross each other when moving in very different circles. I , for one , never been to famous Babylon or any other saunas neither ever ventured to DJ station. Once talked to one of our members to discover that in his several trips he never went to Moonlights and even suggested I may help him to correct his deficiency. In January met regular visitor to both Bangkok and Phnom Penh who turned out frequenting clubs and being busy on apps but he was not award about any of gay forums , including ours and was never inside of any go-go bars in Bangkok. You are right that often volume of sound inside bars effectively prohibits any conversation and borders on ridiculous and perhaps also dangerous to the health. Jupiter and Dreamboys were at one point particular offenders but seem that they toned down ( or I'm getting deaf ). Another nasty thing sometimes happening is AC set too low so yes, other than perceived poor quality of boys or shows and costs there may be other reasons to skip bars. as for bantering with the staff I usually start with " I don't like boys , I like girls " which tell them I'm fun loving liar and it's easy go from there

of course they are, we have everybody here , word is, even few gays

My room in Domi hotel

Day 12 Nice chat with older gentleman with English accent in the café during breakfast. Lazy morning as my van is supposed to pick me up at noon. It turned out that first van took me just to bus station where I was directed to another one. All very well organized . I don’t like those vans but bus was in less convenient times . In 3 ¼ hrs. we were in the city center of Siem Reap . Van dumped me just past bridge on highway 6 from where I could easily walk to my hotel. After sitting in the van it was actually very nice to have such a walk. My hotel Domi was advertised on Agoda as built in 2025 but that seemed quite an exaggeration. No complains though , for less than 30$ a night I got big room with breakfast. In the room no safe and no fridge but big desk was a nice feature. Definitely for that price I can stay there again. Being in such worldly city I felt an urge to sample some western food and since somebody mentioned Greek restaurant close to Old Market here I went to search for it. Not that it required any effort , it was right there on the main street across the market. It was surprisingly busy, I got only free table left. Souvlaki with French fries and salad plus Cambodia beer and modest tip set me back at 18.50 $ Quite princely sum for Cambodia dining but I’m on main street of very touristy city so no wonder. Happy that my food cravings were satisfied I went to exchange some money and returned to hotel where I booked my tuk tuk driver for tomorrow’s temple sightseeing through Grindr. Actually there at least three drivers advertising their vehicles on the site. No idea why I picked up most expensive of them at 30$ per day but it is nice to support gay business in low season I guess. In the evening bar hopping. Barcode first. It was quite full , watched the show over 6.50 $ beer . Not sure what was more funny – show or watching patrons reaction to various antics by performers. But fun it was. I was keeping an eye for possible night companions but there were not too many . There was some stunner by the door but clearly he was not interested but for esthetics on departure I slipped him 20000 and went to GOD. Not too many people inside but there were few farangs and few guys who could be looking for company. One I recognized immediately and so did him – I bought him a drink in July for old time sake as we met closer during my covid time trip there. He was sitting with somebody though so I ordered my gin and tonic and wait what happens . Soon familiar face showed up and seeing me alone , sat beside. It was T. He noticed likely spark in my eye as I recalled him from Jomtien Complex as well as from Grindr. He confirmed both , I bought him a drink and over that drink he asked obvious question: ‘ do you collect stamps ?” , ‘yes’ , “ can I see it” , sure. One more drink and I was ready to go. We took remork for 4000 and soon were in my room trying to find where that collection was. I did not expect much from Jomtien Complex twink but he was very enthusiastic, ahem , collector so we had pleasant time indeed. That we need whole night went without saying and actually it was me in the morning who suggested he is free to go. Honestly , when he left I started to suspect that I know who my companion next night will be.

Battambang railway station Ek Phnom -old and new another sad legacy of Khmer Rouge

Day 11 In the morning storm and rain, no wonder I slept so well. I went for breakfast and then was waiting good 30 minutes for driver ( the same like yesterday ) who no doubt took an advantage of good night sleep as well . We went to Ek Phnom temple . In fact there are 2 temples there very ancient in ruins and quite new . As it was raining I had site to myself. Of course when I was about to finish , rain stopped . Then we went to another temple which during Pol Pot times was a prison. Of course there’s another memorial with people’s remnants , one never will go far in Cambodia without such a site. That’s it with sightseeing , driver delivered me to hotel so I can spent afternoon busy doing nothing. Wandering aimlessly through the city, visited regional museum , arranged ticket to Siem Reap for tomorrow through reception and after dark took advantage of hotel’s pool to take a plunge. Quite busy tonight in the courtyard , it looks some tour stopped there overnight. Easy day today but I liked it and even morning rain did not bother me much.

what I meant was that metric person has no idea how long 22 or even 2.2 inches will be

Olddaddy , like me, is metric person so forgive him

5 $ breakfast ancient house and equally ancient owner's wife Banan temple Killing Cave memorial, you can see skulls under the flag that opening lead many to their death Bat cave fly out started . Unfortunately my clip is too big to upload here

Day 10 My guy decided to skip the breakfast and in the morning went back to mom and dad. Deluxe Villa doesn’t offer breakfast but next door is small, modern café offering American breakfast for 5 $ so I went there. Did not linger too long , while breakfast was tasty , music was too loud and AC set too low to linger longer. At 9.15 my tuk tuk arrived and we set out for grand tour. First stop – famous bamboo train I already described and posted pictures from in this thread on page 7. My Cambodian Dream - Page 10 - Gay Cambodia - Gay Guides Forum Then some ancient wooden residence , more than 100 years old. Must be popular place with locals as owner was busy guiding tour of what looked like college students. Thing which drew most of my attention was quite impressive collection of Cambodian money with quite a few rarities ( I know a thing or 5 about those things ) . Next stop was Banan temple , ancient structure on top of the hill so requiring bit of climbing. Because today is last day of 3 days long holidays place was crowded with locals , both praying and just sightseeing. Then , closer to the city mountain with Killing Cave and Bat Cave. Killing Cave is chilling testimony of Khmer Rouge atrocities. They were keen to save bullets and other killing tools so people condemned to death were just thrown to the cave by natural opening in ceiling. We are not talking about XII century but goings only 50 years ago. In the cave is memorial – stupa with remains of some of the victims. Mind you , local commander of Khmer Rouge in Battambang was apparently quite humanitarian in comparison to his more devoted colleagues from other regions. Bat Cave on other side of mountain we left for the end for simple reasons. Spectacle of millions bats leaving cave at dusk to , presumably , get some fresh air starts about 5.30. I was one of thousands gathered there. No doubt because of holiday , bat in charge decided to speed up a bit and flu-out started shortly after 5. I’m not big fan of nature, which normally is at it’s best on the serving table , well roasted , but must admit it was fascinating. Fly-out seemed never to end , I was watching it for 15 minutes and it was squadron of bats after squadron flying and flying . After 15 minutes I suggested we can go as no doubt later on traffic to unload the crowds of spectator would be enormous. I was told that it lasts about 1 hour. At the hotel when paying him his fee driver surprised me by asking if I have riels instead of USD. Unfortunately I did not and blamed him directly – why you quoted your price in USD if you wished to be paid in KHR ? After refreshing in hotel I went to the center to eat some , surprisingly tasty hamburger. Had a walk here and there but after such busy day I went to hotel and soon collapsed on the bed , sleeping till morning without interruption. Too much perhaps for old man thought I.