Cambodia-Oct

Cambodia-Oct. 28- Nov. 1, 2002-Part 3

I took a mini bus from Pattaya to Don Muang International Airport. They drop me off at Terminal 1, but I find out that my flight is from Terminal 2. This is a classic case of TIT. After checking in, I head to the gate. While waiting for the plane, there are Immigration Forms and the Visa Application Form available at the counter so you can fill it out prior to arriving at Pochentong Airport. Upon arrival I feel a little confused but follow everybody else since they seem to know what to do. The immigration part is just like what the posters have said. You submit your visa application and photo and watch it being passed down the line of about 8 immigration agents. Finally they hold up your passport and you pay the $20 fee. There was someone waiting for me with my name on a card and I found out it was the hotel driver that came to pick me up. After a short drive into downtown Phnom Penh the driver drops me off at the Big Luck Hotel. I’m offered the $25 daily room rate. The room has a window facing out to one of the side streets. Actually it’s a nice room with an ample remote control air con and a 20-inch TV set with around 60 cable channels (which is more than you get at Nana Hotel in Bangkok). I didn’t waste much time in getting ready to head out to town and check out the sanuk opportunities in Phnom Penh. This is also my inauguration trip to Cambodia and I only have 4 days to experience it. I hired a moto to be my guide for the night. First item on the agenda is to eat at a nice restaurant. I was brought to the riverside area of Tonle Sap River where it’s the hangout of the foreign visitors. I eat at a restaurant (I forgot the name) on the second floor out on the balcony overlooking the river. The view is magnificent but I feel funny eating alone at a romantic restaurant like that. The prices on the menu isn’t as cheap as I’m used to and the meal consisting of meat slices, steamed rice, salad, fruits, and a pumpkin dessert wrapped in banana leaves cost me about $8. Just about everything in Cambodia is priced in US dollars. You don’t even have to change your currency into riels, but I did change about $20 into 79,000 riels in 1,000 riel denomination bills. I used them mostly to give to the kids, beggars, and landmine victims. After dinner I made it to Sharkys at 7:30 PM. I order an Angkor beer and soon an ugly old Viet lady latches onto me. I try to shake her off but it’s early and there’s not much other customers around so she’s pretty aggressive. I play pool with her so I can take a better look around the bar to see if there’s anything better lurking around. I finally get ready to leave an hour later. That’s when I start to see some more girls coming in and they’re starting to look better. I depart anyway just to get away from the hardcore vulture that I’m with. Next the moto takes me to 63^rd Street. Most of the places are closed and he finally finds one that’s open for business. Inside I see a cute Viet lady with fair skin and nice boobs. I take my ST and was finished rather quickly as she was nice. No BJ, I always thought that it was the protocol from the reports that I heard about in the past. I find out that Martinis is closed because of the ASEAN conference coming to town soon. After retiring to my room, I get a phone call and 2 girls were brought up and I took one immediately. She was a cute Viet girl and I didn’t get my BJ either. Wow, that’s 2 days without BJ and the Viets are supposed to be the best at that.

On Day 2 I wake up early to eat the free breakfast at the hotel. It isn’t that great and the menu choices come out to out 12 selections but most of them don’t appeal to me. I take the chicken and rice breakfast. It’s so-so. I get ready for my all day tour that I arranged with my taxi driver the night before. My first visit is to Choeung Ek, which is also known as the Killing Fields. I pay the $2 entrance fee to enter. I take a few pictures and buy a couple of souvenir t-shirts. Next we go to Toul Sleng Genocide Museum. The admission fee is $2 and I proceeded to look at the torture chambers and the pictures of the faces of the victims. It’s hard to imagine the sorrow, pain, and fear that the torture victims experienced before they were horribly killed. After that I visited the National Museum where it cost $3 to get in and pictures are not allowed inside there. I spent an interesting hour or two there looking at the many artifacts of the past. My next visit was the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda where it’s $3 admission plus a $2 camera fee if you want to take pictures there. Finally I take a quick look at Watt Phnom and pay the $1 fee for foreigner visitors. I take a few pictures and then it’s time to go back to the hotel to freshen up a bit before going out for the night. Actually, while waiting for Royal Palace to open up, the taxi driver took me to the famous Svay Pak (K-11) and I looked into one of the houses. I saw a nice Viet girl and told the papasan to deliver her to my hotel room later in the evening since I didn’t have much time to do a ST there due to my city tour timetable. I found a Chinese style restaurant that was cheap, but later I will find out the price I had to pay for eating at a low-end eatery. I hire the moto again to drive me around to a few nightspots before my K-11 girl shows up at my hotel. I go into Sharkys again. It’s the same story since I’m there too early again. Another old Viet hag latches on to me again. What am I? The old witches magnet? After about an hour, I’ve got to leave Sharkys or I’m going to freak out. Upon exiting, I see some yummy Viets coming in, but it’s time for me to go back to my hotel to await my date for the night. I get back and the girl’s already there waiting for me. We go up and I finally get my first yum yum of the trip.

It’s day 3 and I have breakfast again at the hotel. I try the Chinese style pork with noodles. The meal sucked again, but it’s free. Now, I’m starting to get the runs either from the hotel’s breakfast or the cheap Chinese restaurant that I ate at yesterday. I take imodium and it doesn’t really work. I spend the rest of the day taking imodium and going to the toilet. Anyway, I have to get on with my tour. I hire the taxi driver again for another day at $25. He takes me to the shooting range and I choose the AK-47 and fire 30 rounds for $20. Sure it’s expensive but I have never shot an AK-47 before. Next, I tried out the go-kart racetrack. I try the 15-minute run for $10. I finally finish the last lap and now I’m feeling dizzy and rest for a few minutes. Next my driver drops me off at Central Market so I can do some shopping for souvenirs. After a couple of hours, I find my taxi driver and we head to the Russian Market. I pick up some more souvenirs. I’ve had enough shopping for the day, so we do some cruising down the various roads of the city. Later in the evening, the taxi driver takes me to a few places in Toul Kuk (run down area that I didn't like), 99 Massage (lots of beautiful girls but expensive), and finally we cruise around the Khmer part of town looking for yings. I didn't care for the selections at the houses, and then these motos drive up to our taxi with a girl in tow. My driver suggests one of the Khmer girls. Then as we complete the deal, another moto came by with a much prettier Khmer girl, but it's too late because I already paid the pimp. She didn't give BJ either.

Now it’s Day 4, my last full day in Phnom Penh. I still have the runs yet. The imodium isn’t stopping it so it might be something worse like a bacterial infection or parasite from the food from yesterday. But the touring must go on. We go and check out the Tonle Sap River near the Cafe California 2 location. A lot of Foreigners around here. I went up to the FCC and it's not really much to look at. The restaurants here are kind of expensive. I take some pictures of the riverside and we drive around a little more and visit a shopping center. It's small and the only modern looking mall with air con. in the city. We passed on going to Kean Svay and Svay Pak. I went and got a massage for $5/hour. I picked out a lovely Khmer girl and had a massage and I'm thinking that I got to lay this girl as I'm getting horny during the massage. I ask about taking her to the hotel but she asks for more than I can afford. Too much for me, then she says ST and the deal is set. She gave a good bj, which is rare for a Khmer girl and a good fj, too. I figure things are starting to look up for me. Then I went and had a foot massage (reflexology) for $5/hour. That's the first time I had that and I was so relaxed that I was sleeping during the foot massage. I went to Sharkey again but too early at 6:30pm. I ate over there but the food is also a little expensive, too. We go and visit and finally find Le Cycree Club. It's a small hole-in-the-wall club that features Khmer girls that grope you and the other guys there were feeling up the girls. I wouldn't have minded it but they are really ugly to me. We go and check out the 63rd St. house that I went to on my first night. The Viet girl that I took last time is there and I want to try her again but after my ST at the massage parlor, I don't think I would be able to wake up my willie. So I wouldn't be able to take a picture since I'm not taking her in the room again. I go back to Sharky again and buy my t-shirt. I get hustled by a duo Viet tag team. One is old and experienced; the other one is inexperienced and younger. I gave in to her and took the younger one. This Viet girl didn't look too good after I took her back to the hotel room. I guess the low light at Sharky makes all the girls look better until you shed some light on her later on. She gave mediocre bj and stayed under the sheets for the boom boom. Too hot for me, and you sweat too much under the sheets.

Today is time to pack up and head back to Bangkok. I still have the runs and with a mean stomachache. I’m running low on imodium, but I’ll try to survive today. I don’t go anywhere this morning except to go to the internet café. The internet rate is cheap here and plentiful to choose from. It cost less than $1 for an hour’s worth of web surfing and e mailing. The Big Luck Hotel is nice, but there is only cold water in the bathroom faucet. The bathtub/shower has hot & cold water. It’s in a good location on Monivong Blvd next to Hotel Favour. Mittapheap Travel is across the street. Lucky Burger is the best burger joint in town and better than McDonald’s in my opinion. Departing Pochentong Airport cost about $20 for the departure fee. On the way to the airport, police were lined up on both sides of the road about 50 meters apart from town all the way to the airport. Security was tight today because of the ASEAN delegates were slated to arrive shortly. I enjoyed my first initiation to the Cambo experience. This will definitely not be my last either. I would like to visit Martinis, Heart of Darkness, & Manhattan on my next trip here in addition to visiting the Angkor Wat, too, in Siem Riep.