[Gringo]

How are you going to infilitrate these elites then if you don't mind me asking?

[OSL]

I still haven't come up with a plan that doesn't rely on my alum network.

If/When I come up with a good answer for that I'll let you know.

[billy]

I spent a few weeks there and loved it. Its probably safer than Brazil and I spent many a night drinking staggering home drink late without a problem. Its a place with an interesting and dark history and you can still see the effects of pol pots legacy now. Siem Riep is epic of you like history but does not have the visual impact of the Pyramids. I liked it there I found Laos Vietnam and Cambodia more interesting than Thailand and they are all pretty safe. The trouble is that most of the girls there you meet in bars are either hookers or tourists. If you meet real local girls their family will probably try to arrange a wedding for you. I would put siem reip as one of the things to see before you die but Americans are not exactly known for their love of culture and history so it depends on what you are into.

[Gringo]

Siem Reap is the name of the town so comparing a town to the pyramids doesn't make sense. The Angkor Temples is what you meant and regardless of whether you like history or not are pretty visually spectacular, I fail to see how anyone couldn't be impressed. Angkor Wat is the most famous but for me not the most impressive, that was Angkor Thom, those massive buddha faces carved into the rocks are stunning. Go to Cambodia for girls and you'll probably be dissapointed (unless you're happy just to visit Phnom Pehn and pick up whores) but if you're actually capable of being interested in stuff other than girls like history, scenery, beaches, landscapes, wild life, people, food and so on you'll probably love it. Gorgeous country, great people, lots to keep you busy.

Quote:

still haven't come up with a plan that doesn't rely on my alum network.

And will this be of any value in Cambodia?

[OSL]

(05-29-2011 07:35 AM)Gringo Wrote:  

Siem Reap is the name of the town so comparing a town to the pyramids doesn't make sense. The Angkor Temples is what you meant and regardless of whether you like history or not are pretty visually spectacular, I fail to see how anyone couldn't be impressed. Angkor Wat is the most famous but for me not the most impressive, that was Angkor Thom, those massive buddha faces carved into the rocks are stunning. Go to Cambodia for girls and you'll probably be dissapointed (unless you're happy just to visit Phnom Pehn and pick up whores) but if you're actually capable of being interested in stuff other than girls like history, scenery, beaches, landscapes, wild life, people, food and so on you'll probably love it. Gorgeous country, great people, lots to keep you busy.

Quote:

still haven't come up with a plan that doesn't rely on my alum network.

And will this be of any value in Cambodia?

Yes. It's been of massive value all over Asia. I haven't tapped it in Vietnam or Cambodia yet.

The reps in Phnom Penh overwhelmingly seem to be in real estate development and natural resources, which seems to be the trend in other areas of SE Asia - especially Vietnam, Philippines, and Indonesia. This is another one of the reasons I was thinking of taking a trip to Saigon this summer.

I'm not sure if that answers your question.

[Tommy]

I've been to Cambodia. I've noticed the rich young kids speak French and go to French inspired schools.

[OSL]

Yeah, I bet Laos and Vietnam are the same.

Tommy are you in SE Asia?

[Gringo]

Quote:

Yes. It's been of massive value all over Asia. I haven't tapped it in Vietnam or Cambodia yet.

Where in Asia have you been and how has being part of this network been useful?

[OSL]

(05-29-2011 06:23 PM)Gringo Wrote:  

Quote:

Yes. It's been of massive value all over Asia. I haven't tapped it in Vietnam or Cambodia yet.

Where in Asia have you been and how has being part of this network been useful?

Summer 2006 (4 months) - Singapore, Shanghai, Seoul, Pusan

Spring, Summer 2007 (8 months) - Shanghai, Lijiang, Hangzhou, Beijing, Seoul

Winter, Spring 2010 (5 months) - Beijing, Hebei, Shanghai

Summer 2010 (first half) - Singapore (also did Phuket but actually not a strong alumni presence in Phuket)

Summer 2010 - (second half) Hong Kong, Manila

Fall, Winter 2010 - (7 months) Seoul, Beijing

This network has helped me:

-Get interviews and job offers (Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Seoul, Singapore)

-Get invited to exclusive dinners and events (Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Seoul, Singapore, Bangkok, Saigon, Jakarta, Manila). I haven't even been to some of those places yet but have gotten invitations to high level members only events

-Socialize and connect with other high level people through association (Tycoon-level real estate, finance, and natural resources CEOs in China, Korea, Hong Kong, Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam)

-I also relied on it extensively during my stints at consultancies in Beijing and Seoul - I was able to conduct a massive amount of primary research and interviewing to get expert opinions on a range of industries - from private equity to real estate to shipbuilding (go figure).

It's also given me a direct key to dating girls in the upper class social circles, also through association.

I'm not saying this to brag. I wouldn't have posted this information if you hadn't asked me.

http://www.upenn.edu

It's a good network

I've relied very heavily on this network and want to see if I can come up with a system or blueprint of infiltrating regional elites without having to rely on other alums too much.

[billy]

(05-29-2011 07:35 AM)Gringo Wrote:  

Siem Reap is the name of the town so comparing a town to the pyramids doesn't make sense. The Angkor Temples is what you meant and regardless of whether you like history or not are pretty visually spectacular,

And will this be of any value in Cambodia?

I know what I meant but for people that don't know about the Temples of Angkor Siem reap is the town you need to head for. Last I checked the bus from Bangkok said Siem Reap on it not; The temples of Angkor. Cheers for being patronising though.

[Gringo]

Siem Reap is the nearest town yes, but that's all, the temples are outwith Siem Reap and are called the Angkor Temples.

[OSL]

Aaaaanyway I'm thinking of coming here when I do my inevitable visa run.

I might stay for a while for, as I mentioned, network building and learning pradal serey at Paddy's gym. Maybe also to get blazed out of my mind. This doesnt seem like the kind of place where I wanna be banging locals due to HIV and really bad poverty.

Didn't someone mention WIFI being pretty bad here?

[Aliblahba]

I looked into Cambodia a few years back when needing a place to lay low for a few months on the cheap. The only info I found is here.

http://www.rorysirishbar.com

$11 for a room w/ ac and free wifi didn't seem too bad.

It looks a little seedy, but then again some of my best business has come from places like these.

[Gameabroad]

I just returned from nine nights in Cambodia; 6 nights in Phonm Penh and 3 in Siem Reap. Here's a trip report:

Phonm Penh

Ranking (0-10)
Girls: 4
Hotel: 6
Food and drink: 10 - seriously awesome and cheap
Things to do: 7
Overall: Go for awesome food, beer, and cheap living and to see the Pol Pot regime. Local talent is bad for the region. Lots of backpackers if you're into that.

Girls: Most of the girls are not much to look at especially when compared to the rest of the women in the region. Thais, Filipinas, Indonesians, Vietnamese, and Singaporeans all rate higher in my eye. Fortunately about 30% of the country is Vietnamese or a mix. You'll find some local talent in the casino at NagaWorld and you can try your daygame on locals in the public parks near the Independence Monument and near the Royal Palace; here you'll find tons of girls playing volleyball, walking/jogging, or doing a sort of line-dancing aerobic exercise. Backpakers can be found in any of the cafes. Put in a fair effort at these places before you find yourself with inflamed testicles of the blueish hue and succumb to the girly bars on street 136. Just ask the tuk tuk driver for pub street. Sharky's for free-lancers if you're hopeless.

Hotel: Stay at Nagaworld Casino; get on agoda.com to book it. This place has the only casino and has some decent looking staff. It's right in the middle of everything.

Food and drink: The food is amazing; everywhere. I didn't have one meal that wasn't less than amazing...and cheap. Try 'Le Wok' for dinner, 'Pacharan' for tapas, 'Cafe Fresco' for breakfast or lunch any/every day, 'Aussie XL Bar' for good drinks and greek food...and say hey to Carl for me. Try 'Cadillac Bar' for a good drink and chat with Kenny. Try 'Freebird' for some wings and poppers. 'Atmosphere' for a steak. There's too many amazing restaurants, it's a wonder how they're all so inexpensive, serving great food, and staying in business.

Things to do: Go to S-21 prison camp and then go to the Killing Fields. Follow that with a trip to the gun range and shoot an AK, M-16, or something insane like a RPG or grenade launcher at a cow; no shit! Take a boat up the Mekong but take at least a 12 pack; beer costs nothing. The Royal Palace is not worth the time.

Siem Reap

Ranking (0-10)
Girls: 3
Hotel: 5
Food and drink: 9 - seriously awesome and cheap
Things to do: 10
Overall: Go for Angkor Wat and the other temples. Eat food, drink beer. Local talent is bad for the region. Lots of backpackers if you're into that.

Girls: Same as Phonm Penh except no seedy girly bar street. More backpackers though. Beer and spirits are so cheap though, you aught to be able to drink anything pretty and still have money in the morning.

Hotel: Go on agoda.com and pick the best rating for money. I stayed at Golden Temple it was in the area and good price for value. Hotels are cheap.

Food and drink: You have to eat at Nest and get the steak or surf and turf; it was one of the best steaks I've ever enjoyed. Two meals and a bottle of good red was under a hundred. Try Red Piano and some other joints along Pub Street.

Things to do: I'm not big into temples and stuff but the Bayon Temple, Angkor Wat, and the rest of the temples were absolutely amazing. It's $20 for a day pass and well worth it. Spend a day or two at the temples, then get back to Phonm Penh and then head to the beaches at Sihnaoukville (I didn't have time to get there).

[OSL]

Nice. Is it as insane and chaotic as everyone makes it seem?

By people's descriptions I feel like I'd be splattered with mud/feces and then hit by a truck upon arrival.

[CrackerJack]

From what I remember Cambodia was a dump. Didn't go to Angkor though so my opinion is heavily biased by Phnom Penh. That ever present weird sweet rotting smell will never leave me. The only memorable thing I remember were 6ft+ piles of rotting garbage and rats running around like Thai street dogs. Girls were very average, and so was the food. Which makes me curious about Gameabroad's culinary experience. My taste buds might have been affected by gagging while passing street food stalls with a combination of raw meat juice on the cutting board surrounded by flies in a vicinity of a huge rotting pile of all kinds of shit, and a few rats here and there.

I understand it's a poor country and sometimes public infrastructures don't exist to clean up a bunch of rotting shit, but Cambodia is not my first poor country and comparing to others they seem to lack this hygienic thought on individual and basic level.

Some people don't get bothered by this and consider it as 'rough, chaotic, unspoiled' or some other hip bacpacker vocabulary, but to me Phnom Penh was a dump.

I wonder how are other Southern parts of the country.

[Entropy4]

Cambodia is a shithole. Yes, it is lawless. But in a dirty, third-world kind of way, not a cool, let's party kind of way. It's worth visiting though. And Angkor Wat is definitely worth the trip. But I would never stay there for more than a week. You'd have to pay me to stay there. And girls? Hah... yeah, OK.... if you're into picking up trashy impoverished girls who will do absolutely anything for the equivalent of a $5 footlong meatball sub at Subway, yeah go for the girls. You sick fuck. But me? No thank you.

Internet/Wifi is practically non-existent there too. I remember having to check my email in an open-air internet cafe that literally had dead bugs stuck between the keys of the keyboard. It was like a Pentium 100Mhz and the connection was slower than a 56k modem. I think it took me like 20 minutes just to get into my Gmail account.

Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed going. The culture is interesting if you understand their recent history. Phnom Penh is one of the most unique cities I've ever been to. See The Killing Fields. See Angkor Wat. Maybe hang out one night. But for the love of god, don't stay there. When you're done, get the fuck out and go back to Thailand. Thailand is 100x better.

[Gringo]

Quote:

Food and drink: The food is amazing; everywhere. I didn't have one meal that wasn't less than amazing...and cheap. Try 'Le Wok' for dinner, 'Pacharan' for tapas, 'Cafe Fresco' for breakfast or lunch any/every day, 'Aussie XL Bar' for good drinks and greek food...and say hey to Carl for me. Try 'Cadillac Bar' for a good drink and chat with Kenny. Try 'Freebird' for some wings and poppers. 'Atmosphere' for a steak. There's too many amazing restaurants, it's a wonder how they're all so inexpensive, serving great food, and staying in business.

Did you try an Cambodian food when you were there? It's really quite delicious.

Quote:

Nice. Is it as insane and chaotic as everyone makes it seem?

By people's descriptions I feel like I'd be splattered with mud/feces and then hit by a truck upon arrival.

It's not that chaotic at all, much less so than Bangkok or Saigon for example. Not nearly so many people, less traffic etc. It's all good.

Quote:

From what I remember Cambodia was a dump. Didn't go to Angkor though so my opinion is heavily biased by Phnom Penh. That ever present weird sweet rotting smell will never leave me. The only memorable thing I remember were 6ft+ piles of rotting garbage and rats running around like Thai street dogs. Girls were very average, and so was the food. Which makes me curious about Gameabroad's culinary experience. My taste buds might have been affected by gagging while passing street food stalls with a combination of raw meat juice on the cutting board surrounded by flies in a vicinity of a huge rotting pile of all kinds of shit, and a few rats here and there.

I understand it's a poor country and sometimes public infrastructures don't exist to clean up a bunch of rotting shit, but Cambodia is not my first poor country and comparing to others they seem to lack this hygienic thought on individual and basic level.

Some people don't get bothered by this and consider it as 'rough, chaotic, unspoiled' or some other hip bacpacker vocabulary, but to me Phnom Penh was a dump.

I wonder how are other Southern parts of the country.

Cambodia is not a dump at all. You went to the capital only so it's hard to make an opinion on the whole country. PP isn't the nicest of palces at face value but it's not so bad, interesting and exciting place. Why anyone would go to Cambodia and NOT visit the Angkor Temples I'm not sure?

Cambodian food is actually pretty good, chicken luk lak, amok fish / chicken, beef and green peppers in pepper sauce etc...oh not to mention the deep fried tarantulas, yum yum. Cambodians are pretty cautious about hygiene on the whole, I always ate on the street and not a single problem.

Other really nice areas of Cambodia are Kep, Kampot and mostly Sihanoukville. This place is great, beaches, bars, restaurants, raves, live music, casinos and nearbye deserted islands. Fun place to spend a few days.

Quote:

Cambodia is a shithole. Yes, it is lawless. But in a dirty, third-world kind of way, not a cool, let's party kind of way

I disaree, it's defo a cool, lets go fucking mental and do what ever we want, hedonistic kind of place. Practially legal and easily available drugs, 50cent pints of beer, crazy people, girls up for anything (whores mostly however). Cambodia is great.

Quote:

Internet/Wifi is practically non-existent there too

There's internet everywhere and it's decent considering it's a 3rd world country.

Thailand probably is 'better' and certainly can be more fun but Cambodia is awesome in so many ways.

[CrackerJack]

[quote='Gringo' pid='69025' dateline='1309289361']

[quote]From what I remember Cambodia was a dump. Didn't go to Angkor though so my opinion is heavily biased by Phnom Penh. That ever present weird sweet rotting smell will never leave me. The only memorable thing I remember were 6ft+ piles of rotting garbage and rats running around like Thai street dogs. Girls were very average, and so was the food. Which makes me curious about Gameabroad's culinary experience. My taste buds might have been affected by gagging while passing street food stalls with a combination of raw meat juice on the cutting board surrounded by flies in a vicinity of a huge rotting pile of all kinds of shit, and a few rats here and there.

I understand it's a poor country and sometimes public infrastructures don't exist to clean up a bunch of rotting shit, but Cambodia is not my first poor country and comparing to others they seem to lack this hygienic thought on individual and basic level.

Some people don't get bothered by this and consider it as 'rough, chaotic, unspoiled' or some other hip bacpacker vocabulary, but to me Phnom Penh was a dump.

I wonder how are other Southern parts of the country. [/quote]

[quote]
Cambodia is not a dump at all. You went to the capital only so it's hard to make an opinion on the whole country. PP isn't the nicest of palces at face value but it's not so bad, interesting and exciting place. Why anyone would go to Cambodia and NOT visit the Angkor Temples I'm not sure?
[/quote]

Like I mentioned my experience is limited to Phnom Penh and to me it has all the 'qualities' of a dump.

My initial plan was to do an overland trip to Angkor and maybe stop for a day or two somewhere along the way but eventually decided against it. I am aware of their recent and ancient Khmer history but like I am also interested in Roman history I don't particularly feel the need to go out of my way to visit Rome. I am more of an anthropologist than an explorer and I find observing local cultures and their everyday ways to be more interesting than snapping few pictures of a famous landmark or monument (which also means not dealing with so many tourist and with that a lot of touts and scammers, and indian tailors, hehe).

[quote]
Cambodian food is actually pretty good, chicken luk lak, amok fish / chicken, beef and green peppers in pepper sauce etc...oh not to mention the deep fried tarantulas, yum yum. Cambodians are pretty cautious about hygiene on the whole, I always ate on the street and not a single problem.
[/quote]

Didn't find it inspiring at all. Cambodians being cautious about hygiene is a bit much. When I sit at an outdoor restaurant with 3 rats running around and nobody batting and eye, and being surprised that I am surprised to see rats literally running between my feet, dirty dishes laying around when slow, empty cans and tissues on the floor with the cook and waitress just walking carelessly around with no customers except me. I haven't experienced this sort of carelessness anywhere, even in piss poor Burma.

[quote]
Other really nice areas of Cambodia are Kep, Kampot and mostly Sihanoukville. This place is great, beaches, bars, restaurants, raves, live music, casinos and nearbye deserted islands. Fun place to spend a few days.
[/quote]

Next time I will probably by a 'Minsk' in Vietnam and do a road trip along the coast and maybe venture into less populated cities in Cambodia, will see.

[Gringo]

Quote:

Like I mentioned my experience is limited to Phnom Penh and to me it has all the 'qualities' of a dump.

My initial plan was to do an overland trip to Angkor and maybe stop for a day or two somewhere along the way but eventually decided against it. I am aware of their recent and ancient Khmer history but like I am also interested in Roman history I don't particularly feel the need to go out of my way to visit Rome. I am more of an anthropologist than an explorer and I find observing local cultures and their everyday ways to be more interesting than snapping few pictures of a famous landmark or monument (which also means not dealing with so many tourist and with that a lot of touts and scammers, and indian tailors, hehe).

PP can definitely be called a dump but you specifically said "Cambodia was a dump" which definitely isn't true, it's a gorgeous country. If you were that interested in Khmer history I'm sure you'd take the relatively short journey to Siem Reap. The Angkor temples are far more than just some 'tourist sight' they are some of the most breathtaking sights I've seen, incredible really.

[Spike]

A lot of negative views here, i love Cambodia. I,ve been there 2 months. I got laid like a rock star there. For free of course.

In time i will post my story on my website

http://www.aroundtheworldin80girls.com

[Lumiere]

(07-03-2011 02:23 PM)Neil Skywalker Wrote:  

A lot of negative views here, i love Cambodia. I,ve been there 2 months. I got laid like a rock star there. For free of course.

How exactly?

To me getting laid like a rock star means choice of many different women any night of the week (without paying).

I dont really see how you did that in Cambodia.

I banged a few chicks in the 2-3 weeks I was in Cambodia too including local chicks and vietnamese chicks but only by walking a minefield of p4p chicks in the regular bars including girls that would outright lie to me and tell me it was free and then tried to ask for money after and all of the resulting hassle that went with it.

My over all views of the the place was good in that it is crazy and kind of the wild west of SE asia and a lot like thailand used to be when thailand was good (around 15 years ago) but I think you are over-stating the place when it comes to pussy.

[oldnemesis]

(07-03-2011 02:23 PM)Neil Skywalker Wrote:  

A lot of negative views here, i love Cambodia. I,ve been there 2 months. I got laid like a rock star there. For free of course.

By saying "for free" you mean that you made it clear in advance that you will not pay them anything, or you just did not give them any money (even if they asked) after sex?

[Spike]

(07-03-2011 06:50 PM)oldnemesis Wrote:  

(07-03-2011 02:23 PM)Neil Skywalker Wrote:  

A lot of negative views here, i love Cambodia. I,ve been there 2 months. I got laid like a rock star there. For free of course.

By saying "for free" you mean that you made it clear in advance that you will not pay them anything, or you just did not give them any money (even if they asked) after sex?

Two girls asked me for some money but i made it clear upfront that i wouldn't pay them. So i didn't.
I didnt mind buying them a beer or food if the stayed with me, i'm not a total scrooge.

I was with 5 different girls the first week in PP. I stayed on lakeside. I stayed away from bar girls in girlie bars but met lots of them while staying lakeside. They didnt ask me for money.

I've been with a total of 13 girls while in Cambodia. ( 2 months, first 2 weeks only sightseeing /sick )

[Lumiere]

(07-03-2011 06:50 PM)oldnemesis Wrote:  

(07-03-2011 02:23 PM)Neil Skywalker Wrote:  

A lot of negative views here, i love Cambodia. I,ve been there 2 months. I got laid like a rock star there. For free of course.

By saying "for free" you mean that you made it clear in advance that you will not pay them anything, or you just did not give them any money (even if they asked) after sex?

Always made it clear in advance every time and refused to even leave the bar with them unless its clear they accept and understand.

Not doing so is a road to ruin and police hassle in lawless Cambodia.

You pretty much have to adopt the assumption of 'she is a hooker until she proves otherwise' in Cambodia and the only way to know for sure is AFTER she has gone home without asking for money AFTER you banged her.

There are plenty that will lie and say its ok and still ask for money.