It was five years ago I lived in PP. Clueless tuk tuks and taxi drivers haven't changed.

1. From 155, I tell the tuk tuk driver attached to the hotel I am going to Sihanouk Blvd. to the Cellcard office. I mimic big tower. You know, Mobitel office, on Sihanouk, between St 51/Pasteur and 55 -- only I simplify until your eyes would bleed listening to me. Another guy runs up and asks where I'm going and he explains to the Clueless Transport Provider No. 1. He doesn't look like he got it. He takes me to the Cellcard office on the Russian Market. Failure. I grab another and explain all over again to little comprehension. Clueless Transport Provider No. 2 at least gets me to Sihanouk and since he's slowing down due to being lost, I jump off at the ABA Bank across the street from Mobitel HQ. (Here is a Canadian owned bank that won't take Canadian dollars to buy US dollars. <smacks head>)

2. I use Exnet taxi call service for the first time to pick me up at Dolce Vita and take me (back) to Russian Market. I use the Joma Bakery address. Clueless Transport Provider No. 3 accepts and goes all the way to Joma without picking me up. Doh! I watched him on the map bypass 172. I double checked my Pickup and Destination. Yup. 172 to TTP. The second Exnet guy smartly calls me. But he has never heard of Sundance, Dolce Vita, but did hear of Blue Dolphin, however I don't think he knew that was on 172 because he calls me to tell me he's there but wasn't. Then I said Wat Ounalom. Bulls-eye!

Just had to get this off my mind. Yes, I would buy a motorcycle almost immediately were I to move here again.

PS Good news was the airport taxi driver was faultless.

LOL, I just give them directions enroute - and if I don't know, I use Google Maps and give them directions from that.

Compared to VN taxi drivers, Cambodian drivers are geniuses.

^^If you get a local to your area you're in luck. Unfortunately that's rarely the case now.

PP motodops/Tuktuks are a nightmare, 9/10 i have to give them directions on route
i just rent bikes when im in PP now, have my own bike when im in SHV

I rarely use them, preferring to drive, but almost never have any problems when I do hire one.

Khmer do have a funny sense of humour though. Could easily be done deliberately by the driver who is thinking "this dude is speaking to me like I'm a retard, I'm going to be that retard".

A blank face is a blank face no matter the nationality you're instructing. Pretty simple body language.

Hanno: My experience in Vung Tau is similar. If you have to tell the driver where Vung Tau Plaza is (giant tower residence on main east-west arterial Le Hong Phong, with Co-op Supermarket, FFS), you're going to be lost if you haven't done your research. And VT is small and simple. I know a good deal of the city already. At times, I have to tell the drivers where to go and how to get there, which, in concept, is mind boggling.

It would be the exception to be find most drivers knowledgeable about their city in SEAsia. In Bangkok, actually, tye're pretty good, if they will take you. LOL

Jerry Atrick wrote: ↑Mon Jun 12, 2017 10:49 pm I rarely use them, preferring to drive, but almost never have any problems when I do hire one.

Khmer do have a funny sense of humour though. Could easily be done deliberately by the driver who is thinking "this dude is speaking to me like I'm a retard, I'm going to be that retard".

I think they lack the guile. Not a clever bunch as a whole.

You have got to remember that a vast amount of tuk tuks in PP now aren't from PP. They are here to try and get by during the rainy season, when all the farm work has finished for the year, until the planting season begins. There are also many here now from the provinces with their families trying to make ends meet due to loss of land through debt. Once again. Estimates of between 12 and 15% of the land has been forfeited to the loan institutions. That's quite a few families. The one's who don't go to Thailand etc, often come to PP and join the ranks of, iirc, around 7000 Tuk Tuks.

The thing I dislike most about them, apart from causing traffic jams, is the way they always want to charge foreigners a lot more, which is why we get targetted more than the locals with the Tuk tuk Sir! Often distracting us when crossing a dangerous street or junction.

juansweetpotato wrote: ↑Tue Jun 13, 2017 12:56 pm the Tuk tuk Sir! Often distracting us when crossing a dangerous street or junction.

Haha so true. The last thing you need when trying to cross busy intersections with tuk tuks and motos coming from every direction is to be distracted by these guys. I wonder how many accidents they cause?