John Bingham wrote: ↑Wed Apr 19, 2023 10:23 am

khmerovitch wrote: ↑Wed Apr 19, 2023 9:48 am
In the cities, a lot. The downtown areas of all the major cities are overwhelmingly devoted towards them. The only place I lived that didn't feel like this was Siem Reap.

The downtown areas of every city are used for commerce by locals and dominated by ethnic Chinese. Where are all these cities with downtown areas "overwhelmingly devoted towards (sexpats)"? Battambang? Kampong Cham?

I'm talking about downtown PP, downtown Kampot, downtown Sihanoukville. Battambang and Kampong Cham seem to attract more retirees. Sorry but I'm not in that demographic. I also don't speak Khmer and neither do a lot of the returnees who share my grievances.

For someone to make a joke about not being welcome anywhere, when that is the unfortunate reality of how most returnees feel, is pretty despicable and says a lot about that person. Most of us don't feel like we have a home while many expats have so easily found a second one.

If you want to deny an aspect of the culture that's very palpable because it makes you feel some type of way about yourself that results in such aggressive defensiveness, then by all means go ahead. But I myself know that I am not alone in feeling like this no matter how much you try to insist I am.

The original post was made by someone who in other communities is a self-professed, insane shit-stirrer, with a history of making a ridiculous number of fake accounts and even interacting w himself like the psycho he is. But I'll leave him to it, for now.

I've lived in Cambodia on and off for 7 years. I love the country, the locals are the friendliest people I've met pretty much anywhere in the world. There is a certain vibe here that I really miss when visiting Thailand or Vietnam, even though those countries have a lot more going on in many ways. I've always felt very at home and welcome in the Kingdom of Wonder.

But have to agree that the sexpats are a problem, or the general attitude of a lot of Westerners here anyway. There are a LOT of bitter people who who resent living here, complain all the time, and have serious mental and substance abuse problems. They are resentful towards any foreigners who are not living in the same state of degeneracy, and they also treat the Khmer people with enourmous disrespect. I find these types everywhere, drinking and smoking themselves to death, bitching the whole time about their self-created dramas and just making the rest of us Westerners look bad. It's my only problem with living in Cambodia. Honestly, it is a testament to the kindness and tolerance of the Khmer people that they put up with these idiots. Of course the bitter sexpats will jump in and say the Khmer only care about money, but if you are a mental and physical trainwreck, paying young women to date you, then of course you would have met people who care about your money, you don't have anything else to offer. In fact the money is compensation for your utter repugnance.

We have a great life here. It's hot all year round, everything is cheap, there are hardly any rules, the people are so lovely. It's a paradise for me, but a lot of people here have figured out how to make it their personal hell.