you're in denial and you stayed in thailand too long, man.

i'm the first agreeing that cambo is totally fucked up and beyond hopeless but compared to what exactly ? Phuket ?
gimme a break ..

phuketrichard wrote:

OrangeDragon wrote:

phuketrichard wrote: Ur totally wrong, i love Cambodia, own land there an have a Cambodian gf

its just i choose not to live there.
and to say Cambodia offers anything other than Angkor Wat for tourists compared to the other countries nearby...
I seriously wonder with out Angkor Wat an the casinos how many tourist would visit; Korean/ Chinese/ Vietnamese make up ( average ) over 40% of arrivals
ur wearing blinders or rose colored glasses.

its an add on country for any westerners traveling

NY times has written numerous articles on Thailand over the past 40 years and it has made the top tourist destinations for that time as well.

You still seem to hate it... you do nothing but constantly talk shit on it. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's noticed.

As another poster said, it would have pretty much the dead same as almost every other SEA country... but it ALSO has those things. Don't know why you keep wanting to take them away and down play them. It's not an "ass on" anymore... a lot of people are coming here direct for a week or so, then may hop over to Thailand for a weekend, and come back. Thailand is becoming the add-on for when they want a little more westernization with their asian experience.

show me one post that i said i hate Cambodia.
Unlike you, i see it for what it is,

why are u leaving if its so great?
ahh i forgot, your cant make a decent living there

Cambodia has a lot to offer BUT the fucked up roads and poor transport makes it a pain in the ass to get anywhere
Even Laos, Myanmar (not to mention Thailand) have better access

If Thailand is an add on why do they have 6x++ more tourists/year?

Anyway; has has been said many times
impossible to win an online forum argument

you do what you need to be happy

you seem to be smoking the same pipe as KiR... I make a decent living here. i just got offered a very lucrative contract that requires me to be onsite and will leave me so i'm set up to not actually HAVE to work for the next few years. not something i'll readily pass up.

you never say "i hate cambodia" you just very frequently dog on it, often with outdated information. you show a strong bias man. and the roads are a lot better now (with the exception of the one that runs up to siem reap)... when's the last time you were even in cambodia?

and i said becoming an add on... not "is" an add on. and i'm sure they'll always (as long as the junta doesn't cock it up) be a destination... just not for anyone who wants any kind of actual asian 'experience'. and they're certainly not a budget destination.

Cambodia is a small country with has Angkor Wat. To start a discussion by taking it out the equation is somewhat nonsensical.

Still, Cambodia can improve on its other sites like Bantey Chmar, Kompong Tom, and the temples souteast of PP. They can do it well. What they have done at Prear Vehar is impressive. The Thai side is now begging them to open the fence. When I visited the place last year, the military on the top was laughing their heads off. A series of new guesthouses, a cute small museum, the stair way to the mountain re-developed, good roads. Prea Vehar will add to the income of the district. Eco tourism is another growth sector and they have not even touched the potential of the lake.


I think a part of the reduced growth is not much more than a correction. The visa runs to poipet must have had an impact on the statistics. With those going down arrivals go down as well but not necessarily the income from tourism.

Thailand is talking of joint promotions for a reason. For years they made all the money from Preah Vehar while the Cambodian side got its USD 5 fee. What a joke, the Thai national park took more for the privilege to use the car park. Cambodia would do good to facilitate feeder flights into PP or SR. Local code shares with major international carriers so that people can fly with one ticket into Cambodia and avoid customs, airport fees etc at major regional airports. SQ is present as are some others but I think no US or major European carriers. I m not sure about this last point. Maybe someone has better info.

Unfortunately, the government thought that easy money from higher visa fees is the way forward. A two month visa coupled with a 2-3 weeks waiver for arrivals and the option for an extension to 2 months (like in the Phils) would have been smarter. Less visa revenue but more tourism and better use of services.

Pizzalover wrote:Unfortunately, the government thought that easy money from higher visa fees is the way forward. A two month visa coupled with a 2-3 weeks waiver for arrivals and the option for an extension to 2 months (like in the Phils) would have been smarter. Less visa revenue but more tourism and better use of services.

as long as Cambo is cheap enough, people will still come.

but the moment they start doubling prices and treating tourists like shit then it's game over, vietnam is losing 5-10% tourist every year and to balance now they've set the visa at a whopping 70$ !! genius ... vietnam style.

really, as much as i bash thailand their neighbours keep doing their best to make thailand look good in comparison, the whole SEA is such a fucked up hostile place for a honest tourist.

dont worry, they need you and they know it very well.

but that is probably, why they get so hostile.