Getting a new Thai visa
Hopping into Cambodia for a visa run is back in fashion. The Thai embassy in Phnom Penh can be skipped by using a good agent, several of which are found on Riverside, the tourist district technically known as Sisowath Quay. This avoids having to make a prior appointment at the embassy and risking failure, a far-from-unknown phenomenon it appears. Mr Keo Song, director of LMN Travel and Tours, said, “We can obtain 60 day tourist entry to Thailand promptly and cut down on the waiting period for non-immigrant visas.” It is no secret that the Cambodian immigration authority actually prefers agent usage.
For those wanting a longer stay in Cambodia than a month or two, there are now a host of one year permits for retirees, spouses, students, professionals and even a permit for those seeking employment. The 12-months, multiple-entry retiree visa costs around US$300 with no proof of income or cash necessary for those over 55. Nonetheless, long stayers must register online with the Cambodian immigration data base of foreigners resident in the kingdom. A source of excellent advice and insight on Facebook is the Cambodian Visa and Work Permit Group run by volunteers.
Bars and clubs
Prices have risen since the Covid blitz, but you can still get a mug of ice-cold lager for US$1.75. International tourism right now is slow with no Chinese or Indian vacationers and Europeans thin on the ground. The number of expat gathering bars has declined substantially with many, such as the old Foreign Correspondents Club, currently under demolition. A newish survivor is the popular Harry’s (on Riverside) which serves a variety of British and Scandinavian food as well as novel cocktails such as Slippery Nipple, a generous dose of Sambucca and Bailey’s for US$4.50. If you want to meet friendly English-speaking expats, Harry’s is a good choice.
About 50 nightclubs are scattered in neighboring streets, not exactly gogo bars but offering up young ladies of the night who won’t hesitate to make an impression on you of one sort or another. The sprinkle of massage parlors proclaim a one hour massage costs US$5, but a closer inspection of the tariff reveals there is an extra US$5 for aircon and a great deal more for special services. The gay bar scene is Spartan by Pattaya standards and some of the choices currently being promoted on social media are locked up or vanished.
Daylight hours
Phnom Penh is a budding airconditioned skyscraper metropolis with huge Chinese and Japanese investment. The Aeon mal, roughly the size of Pattaya’s Terminal 21 with a huge food court, is a vibrant selling centre of global brands with its own movie theatre. Phnom Penh also hosts the disturbing memories of the Khmer Rouge horror dictatorship in the 1970s. The torture centre of Tuol Sleng with its genocide museum and the pits of the Killing Fields a short drive away are a grim reminder indeed of Cambodia’s awful history. Legal gambling in Phnom Penh is restricted to Nagaworld, a huge entertainment and luxurious hotel complex which likely mirrors what casinos will be like in Thailand once legalized. Oddly, there is a Buddhist temple adjoining the premises. That’s something you’d never see in Pattaya.
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