jimmie50

I learned very quickly they are definitely very picky about USD. It must be in absolute pristine condition. If not perfect, their bank will not accept it or deduct from the value if they try to deposit into an account. I had read about this before my trip, so made sure that most of my bills were brand new. I am getting more accustomed to using the Riel now. The thing I dislike more than anything is using the ATM at ACLEDA. I cannot speak about other banks, but since I opened an account at ACLEDA I will use their ATM's occasionally. If you request USD, they only provide $50 notes...always brand new. This is fine except many of the small businesses we frequent are unable to make change for the larger bills...in USD or Riel. That was really frustrating until I opened the bank account. Now, if they cannot accept the $50 notes I can just open the bank app on my phone and pay using the QR code. Quick and easy.

Not completely out of the equation. lol. I ask plenty of questions about many things. Cam will confirm this, and probably state it becomes rather annoying at times. 😂 I don't ask questions about the family history of his parents, don't make statements that could be misconstrued or interpreted as judgmental of the culture, history or politics, and am careful about making comparisons to other countries and their cultures vs. Khmer. Even though Cam has gone to Thailand on numerous occasions for work over the years, I have learned he has some very strong opinions about how Thailand has stolen most of what they call 'Thai culture' from Cambodia. I prefer to maintain neutrality and remain silent...simply listening to him vent. It is a case of picking your battles.

Not completely out of the equation. lol. I ask plenty of questions about many things. Cam will confirm this, and probably state it becomes rather annoying at times. 😂 I don't ask questions about the family history of his parents, don't make statements that could be misconstrued or interpreted as judgmental of the culture, history or politics, and am careful about making comparisons to other countries and their cultures vs. Khmer. Even though Cam has gone to Thailand on numerous occasions for work over the years, I have learned he has some very strong opinions about how Thailand has stolen most of what they call 'Thai culture' from Cambodia. I prefer to maintain neutrality and remain silent...simply listening to him vent. It is a case of picking your battles.

The riverfront really is quite nice and they have done a good job with the beautification project. They are able to hold events along the waterfront such as concerts, festivals, etc, many people enjoy running, and in the evenings at different locations along the river you will find small groups of people doing exercise with music and a leader/instructor similar to what some people participate in at Lumpini Park in Bangkok. The area also fills up with different types of food carts in the evening, similar to Siem Reap and the river night market area. Battambang is nice, and we are enjoying our time here...the Phare circus school is located here and they do shows several days a week plus tours of the school, and there are a couple of nice art museums as well. Just not sure I would make this home base long term. Prefer Siem Reap.

Not completely out of the equation. lol. I ask plenty of questions about many things. Cam will confirm this, and probably state it becomes rather annoying at times. 😂 I don't ask questions about the family history of his parents, don't make statements that could be misconstrued or interpreted as judgmental of the culture, history or politics, and am careful about making comparisons to other countries and their cultures vs. Khmer. Even though Cam has gone to Thailand on numerous occasions for work over the years, I have learned he has some very strong opinions about how Thailand has stolen most of what they call 'Thai culture' from Cambodia. I prefer to maintain neutrality and remain silent...simply listening to him vent. It is a case of picking your battles.

I learned very quickly they are definitely very picky about USD. It must be in absolute pristine condition. If not perfect, their bank will not accept it or deduct from the value if they try to deposit into an account. I had read about this before my trip, so made sure that most of my bills were brand new. I am getting more accustomed to using the Riel now. The thing I dislike more than anything is using the ATM at ACLEDA. I cannot speak about other banks, but since I opened an account at ACLEDA I will use their ATM's occasionally. If you request USD, they only provide $50 notes...always brand new. This is fine except many of the small businesses we frequent are unable to make change for the larger bills...in USD or Riel. That was really frustrating until I opened the bank account. Now, if they cannot accept the $50 notes I can just open the bank app on my phone and pay using the QR code. Quick and easy.

Not completely out of the equation. lol. I ask plenty of questions about many things. Cam will confirm this, and probably state it becomes rather annoying at times. 😂 I don't ask questions about the family history of his parents, don't make statements that could be misconstrued or interpreted as judgmental of the culture, history or politics, and am careful about making comparisons to other countries and their cultures vs. Khmer. Even though Cam has gone to Thailand on numerous occasions for work over the years, I have learned he has some very strong opinions about how Thailand has stolen most of what they call 'Thai culture' from Cambodia. I prefer to maintain neutrality and remain silent...simply listening to him vent. It is a case of picking your battles.

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

Mekon hotel, room and a view

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.   

Western gate seen from the walls

Pre Rup

I do think that Cam is quite intelligent and has reasonably good common sense. He is also able to stay focused on the long term goal and not easily distracted from that. I also think he has learned information about investing in gold from his Battambang friend who now lives in Australia.
I totally agree with you about learning money management skills...and it isn't just in Asian countries. In US schools many years ago, they would teach things like personal finance and money management. Not any more. Those days are long gone. Since the student population I taught for 30+ years was the moderate to severe special education students, we did try to teach them some of those basic skills so they could function in the world as independently as possible. I cannot begin to tell you how many parents of the general student population would ask us if we could teach the same things to their high achievers who were college bound.

A side note to my post about the new house...we were having lunch at a restaurant in the older area of town, a place called White Rose (would not recommend or personally return), and seated at the table next to us were two female travelers and their Cambodian tour guide. The two ladies were from France, but their table conversation was in English. I assume the tour guide had good English skills, but no knowledge of French. In any event, the two ladies were asking many questions. Since they were sitting just beside us, it was easy to hear the conversation. The guide was explaining about the border conflict with Thailand and commented that before the conflict many people would travel from Cambodia to Thailand looking for work. The ladies asked if that was lucrative for the Cambodians and the guide laughed, and then responded that most of the time it was not the best decision. He went on to explain that most of the people who went to Thailand to work were not good stewards or managers of their money. Consequently, they would often return home with empty pockets having spent on their hard earned money on frivolous things instead of saving or sending it home for family. That was interesting to me, since Cam has obviously been very good about saving his earnings from both construction jobs, food service jobs, and the job at Hotmale...sending it home for his mother to safeguard or purchasing the gold. In that regard, I would say he must be the exception rather than the norm, and has definitely stayed focused on the end goal...building the new house. Gotta give the boy credit!!!

So it seems we will be going back to Cam’s parents to have a family get-together before we head to Siem Reap.  I am not exactly sure if this will only be overnight, or for a few days.  Since they are not good about planning in general, nor do they seem to share information with me…it will just be another go with the flow moment.
Speaking of his parents, I thought it was time to provide an update on the new house.  Yesterday afternoon, Cam had a rather lengthy conversation (over an hour) with his brother and father.  They were discussing some pretty specific details about the project.  After he had finished the call, I decided to insert myself into the discussion by asking some specific questions.  For example, I was curious if they planned to put pipes in the concrete slab for electrical and indoor plumbing. Affirmative.  Will the house be elevated like the current house (on stilts)?  The slab will be about a foot higher than ground level…that is all.  Will they do concrete posts, brick walls like the fence, and then do concrete stucco over the brick or build frames and pour concrete walls?  Same as the fence…concrete footers and posts, brick walls, then stucco over the brick.  Stucco will be tinted some color, but he hasn’t decided on color yet.  Tiles on roof…again unsure of color.  Do they plan to install any type of air conditioning.  Planning for it in the bedroom if possible, but will depend upon the cost at that time and the availability of funds.  They will just open windows and use fans in main living area.  Probably not of interest to most of you, but I get curious about the plans, and also have questions since my father was a stone mason and helped to build houses.  I would be his helper some summers, so picked up some general knowledge about building.  I asked if they have a concrete mixer truck deliver for the slab and he said ‘no’, they do it all mixing by hand from bags with sand and gravel.  It is cheaper that way.  Mixer truck is too expensive.  Even though the actual start date is December 8, they are doing some preliminary work in preparation.  During Cam’s absence, the family has been dismantling the old chicken coop and cleaning up the surrounding area.  Cam has ordered a load of dirt to be delivered and the family will work on distributing and leveling the dirt creating a pad or landing spot for the temporary housing.  They won’t actually begin to disassemble and reassemble the current house in the temporary location until that magic date of December 8.
I know many here have expressed concerns about the cost of building the house and where the money is coming from…namely…am I the foreign donor or ATM?!?  lol.  I have asked Cam before about the financial picture.  While he has never avoided my questions, his answers have always been general and not very detailed.  I was pretty pointed this time in my questions.  He and his brother have estimated the total cost, with family providing all of the labor, to be $15,000 USD.  Cam previously told me that he had saved $7000 USD and his mother was safeguarding that money.  That always made me a little nervous, since I had never met his family and only knew what little information he shared.  Not all family members are trustworthy.  In this case, mother was a safe choice and I have seen the bank account.  They do, in fact have $7000 USD.  Cam has also been buying and saving gold during his time working in Thailand and Cambodia.  Gold is usually a good, safe investment, so I thought this was very smart on his part.  He has accumulated enough gold over the last couple of years that if sold on today’s market would net him approximately $8000 USD.  He said his cost to buy the gold was probably around $6500 over time, so that would be a nice profit he made of $1500.  Not bad by my estimation.  He said he watches the gold market every single day and will sell off the gold when he can get the best possible price or maximum return on his investment.  Smart guy.  That gives him the estimated amount he and his brother think will be needed to purchase the materials needed to build the new house.  I am sure that incidental things may come up they hadn’t considered or planned for, so I still may be asked for some assistance in the future, but he seems to have this all figured out without any contribution from me at the present time.  They are actually very determined to do this on their own as a family.

So it seems we will be going back to Cam’s parents to have a family get-together before we head to Siem Reap.  I am not exactly sure if this will only be overnight, or for a few days.  Since they are not good about planning in general, nor do they seem to share information with me…it will just be another go with the flow moment.
Speaking of his parents, I thought it was time to provide an update on the new house.  Yesterday afternoon, Cam had a rather lengthy conversation (over an hour) with his brother and father.  They were discussing some pretty specific details about the project.  After he had finished the call, I decided to insert myself into the discussion by asking some specific questions.  For example, I was curious if they planned to put pipes in the concrete slab for electrical and indoor plumbing. Affirmative.  Will the house be elevated like the current house (on stilts)?  The slab will be about a foot higher than ground level…that is all.  Will they do concrete posts, brick walls like the fence, and then do concrete stucco over the brick or build frames and pour concrete walls?  Same as the fence…concrete footers and posts, brick walls, then stucco over the brick.  Stucco will be tinted some color, but he hasn’t decided on color yet.  Tiles on roof…again unsure of color.  Do they plan to install any type of air conditioning.  Planning for it in the bedroom if possible, but will depend upon the cost at that time and the availability of funds.  They will just open windows and use fans in main living area.  Probably not of interest to most of you, but I get curious about the plans, and also have questions since my father was a stone mason and helped to build houses.  I would be his helper some summers, so picked up some general knowledge about building.  I asked if they have a concrete mixer truck deliver for the slab and he said ‘no’, they do it all mixing by hand from bags with sand and gravel.  It is cheaper that way.  Mixer truck is too expensive.  Even though the actual start date is December 8, they are doing some preliminary work in preparation.  During Cam’s absence, the family has been dismantling the old chicken coop and cleaning up the surrounding area.  Cam has ordered a load of dirt to be delivered and the family will work on distributing and leveling the dirt creating a pad or landing spot for the temporary housing.  They won’t actually begin to disassemble and reassemble the current house in the temporary location until that magic date of December 8.
I know many here have expressed concerns about the cost of building the house and where the money is coming from…namely…am I the foreign donor or ATM?!?  lol.  I have asked Cam before about the financial picture.  While he has never avoided my questions, his answers have always been general and not very detailed.  I was pretty pointed this time in my questions.  He and his brother have estimated the total cost, with family providing all of the labor, to be $15,000 USD.  Cam previously told me that he had saved $7000 USD and his mother was safeguarding that money.  That always made me a little nervous, since I had never met his family and only knew what little information he shared.  Not all family members are trustworthy.  In this case, mother was a safe choice and I have seen the bank account.  They do, in fact have $7000 USD.  Cam has also been buying and saving gold during his time working in Thailand and Cambodia.  Gold is usually a good, safe investment, so I thought this was very smart on his part.  He has accumulated enough gold over the last couple of years that if sold on today’s market would net him approximately $8000 USD.  He said his cost to buy the gold was probably around $6500 over time, so that would be a nice profit he made of $1500.  Not bad by my estimation.  He said he watches the gold market every single day and will sell off the gold when he can get the best possible price or maximum return on his investment.  Smart guy.  That gives him the estimated amount he and his brother think will be needed to purchase the materials needed to build the new house.  I am sure that incidental things may come up they hadn’t considered or planned for, so I still may be asked for some assistance in the future, but he seems to have this all figured out without any contribution from me at the present time.  They are actually very determined to do this on their own as a family.

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

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
 

This is such a shame. I haven't been on here in a few weeks, so didn't know he'd left the board. I thoroughly enjoyed his well written posts, and given I'm a relative newbie to Thailand myself, I quickly found them a wealth of info from the same perspective. I sincerely hope he'll reconsider and rejoin.

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.
 

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