FyreFaeryQueen wrote:Sitting lonely at a bar while all the boys check out local women sounds a bit depressing though.

if you're attractive enough you could try dating the backpackers or khmer men.

Cowshed Cowboy wrote:

FyreFaeryQueen wrote:Hi Anchor Moy, Cambodia is Cheaper than Thailand and less in your face with the sex industry - right? So how is it you suggest Thailand is an easier place to be? (I hope that's not too silly a question).

Also does anyone know if studio apartment are the same price in beachside Thailand?

I stay in Jomtien, Thailand and I'm sure you could get a studio for the equivalent of 12,000 baht a month close to the beach. We're not talking an idyllic quiet getaway beach such as In Sihanoukville, you're talking about a more commercially developed location which may not be your preference. With Pattaya just over the hill the benefits are first class food and restaurants, cheap and easy transport, ease of living ie good cheap Internet, and good shopping. Main negative is it is just an extremely busy area.

Forget the remark about the sex industry, you can live perfectly well anywhere in Thailand without it being forced down your throat.

exactly ! agree 100%

and a few years ago i was renting in central Bangkok for just 8000 baht ...

Jomtien is great for families and single western women, and most of the condos have balcony with seaview unlike in snooky and the beach is next door with minimarkets and all.

the only trouble is their draconian visa policy.

FyreFaeryQueen wrote:Hi Anchor Moy, Cambodia is Cheaper than Thailand and less in your face with the sex industry - right? So how is it you suggest Thailand is an easier place to be? (I hope that's not too silly a question).

Also does anyone know if studio apartment are the same price in beachside Thailand?

if you totally hate the idea of "in your face" sex industry you could consider Vietnam or Malaysia or Indonesia.
only in some parts of Thailand the sex is really open air, you won't see much in the little villages on the coast for instance, there are KTVs of course but all happens behind closed doors, there are massage shops but from the outside they look legit.

as far as i've seen so far for studio apartments cambodia has very low standards in generals and the prices are not a bargain compared to its neighbours, it's better to stay in a hotel with monthly rates as i did in the past.

wackyjacky wrote:ID is absolutely correct. The juice goes out a lot, but not for long. Less than a minute more often than not.

genius.
so because YOUR home is not affected by power cuts anyone else is supposed to have the same experience ?

suffice to say years ago i had to leave snooky because of the power cuts and the costs of running a generator, and that was just the tip of the iceberg, we had troubles with water, and with fake water bottles, and also with fake gasoline in two gas stations, and we had thieves stealing in my house by night, and a lot of friends victim of bag snatchings and robberies.

if now the situation is improved, good to know.

but i still hear horror stories about Otres and police doing fuck all as usual.
heard one story just last week about robberies in the bungalows and on the beach in daytime, not to mention all the other normal scams and ripoffs by the tuktuks and mototaxis.

for the record, when i went to the police after being robbed in my house they asked me money and they couldn't be bothered.
they're useless.

and what if you get into a car/moto accident ? who's gonna pay for the ambulance ? YOU .. and the final bill could come in 1000s of dollars if they send you in a private clinic, just because you're a foreigner.

my 2 cents.

Drifter wrote:

Cowshed Cowboy wrote:

FyreFaeryQueen wrote:Hi Anchor Moy, Cambodia is Cheaper than Thailand and less in your face with the sex industry - right? So how is it you suggest Thailand is an easier place to be? (I hope that's not too silly a question).

Also does anyone know if studio apartment are the same price in beachside Thailand?

I stay in Jomtien, Thailand and I'm sure you could get a studio for the equivalent of 12,000 baht a month close to the beach. We're not talking an idyllic quiet getaway beach such as In Sihanoukville, you're talking about a more commercially developed location which may not be your preference. With Pattaya just over the hill the benefits are first class food and restaurants, cheap and easy transport, ease of living ie good cheap Internet, and good shopping. Main negative is it is just an extremely busy area.

Forget the remark about the sex industry, you can live perfectly well anywhere in Thailand without it being forced down your throat.

exactly ! agree 100%

and a few years ago i was renting in central Bangkok for just 8000 baht ...

Jomtien is great for families and single western women, and most of the condos have balcony with seaview unlike in snooky and the beach is next door with minimarkets and all.

the only trouble is their draconian visa policy.

The OP says she is planning a 6 month trip, so a double entry tourist visa from home country is easy. She'd have to do one trip out after 90 days, so she could always nip over to SHV for a week to sample the alternative, doesn't need to be a budget busting trip. Probably only a little extra plus 1 weeks accommodation cost difference between Thai Visa + transport cost v Cambodia 6 month business visa.

Cowshed Cowboy wrote:The OP says she is planning a 6 month trip, so a double entry tourist visa from home country is easy. She'd have to do one trip out after 90 days, so she could always nip over to SHV for a week to sample the alternative, doesn't need to be a budget busting trip. Probably only a little extra plus 1 weeks accommodation cost difference between Thai Visa + transport cost v Cambodia 6 month business visa.

yes, she will get a 60 days tourist visa extendable to 90 days, rinse and repeat two times and it won't be considered "back to back visa run".

or, just enter Thailand without visa and get a 30 days stamp which is now extendable to 60 days ?

FyreFaeryQueen wrote:Hi Anchor Moy, Cambodia is Cheaper than Thailand and less in your face with the sex industry - right? So how is it you suggest Thailand is an easier place to be? (I hope that's not too silly a question).

Also does anyone know if studio apartment are the same price in beachside Thailand?

FFQ,
Thailand is more developed and is therefore an "easier" country to live in for westerners. Things "work" in Thailand - there are roads and airports. (In Cambodia, for the moment you can only fly to Siem Reap from S'ville - not even to PP - and the roads are crap.) In general, things in Cambodia are slow, do not work, are not what they seem - this also has its charm.
While tourism on Thai beaches was well underway in the 80s, Cambodia was still at war in the 90s - this explains (in simple terms) the difference in tourist development.
The problem with Cambodian beaches is there are not that many and most of them are around S'ville - there just isn't a huge choice - they are also getting dirtier because sewage treatment doesn't keep up with construction.

In both countries the sex industry is not "everywhere" - except in places like Pattaya and S'ville which cater for people who go there specifically for sex and partying.You will also get used to it and notice it less after a while.

There are plenty of past threads here where you can find debates on the merits of Thailand vs Cambodia, the good & bad sides of S'ville, good places to live in Cambodia - check them out.
Canby also has good info - do a search, don't know if I can link here.

Anchor Moy wrote: In both countries the sex industry is not "everywhere" - except in places like Pattaya and S'ville which cater for people who go there specifically for sex and partying.You will also get used to it and notice it less after a while.

yes but it should be responsibility of the tourist to pick up a place which is not infamous for sex or drugs or whatever if that's not of their liking.

sex in thailand and nearby is a feature, not a problem.
if one can't tolerate seeing bargirls in the beach than that place is not for you and you better stick with malaysia or indonesia.

and i wouldn't say that snooky is all about sex tourism, not at all especially now, maybe just 10% of the tourists are whore mongers.
it's the female western tourists that keep making such a big fuss about it, the see a couple girls dressed like sluts and they instantly describe the whole place as a whore house, they see a few guys smoking ganja in Koh Rong and they tell everybody the entire island is a drug den for hippies and punks ... just don't listen to their bullshits these tourists are living in a bubble.

I have still yet to figure out why people would compare Cambodia to Thailand in terms of living as they are nothing alike in many ways.

Sir_Quality_U_Feel wrote:I have still yet to figure out why people would compare Cambodia to Thailand in terms of living as they are nothing alike in many ways.

I think in fairness the OP raised the question Cambodia or Thailand so that's what we are comparing. If they were the same why bother comparing them.