Thinking of traveling to Cambodia? Read this

Anything and everything about Thailand
Post Reply
User avatar
Gaybutton
Posts: 21461
Joined: Sat Jul 31, 2010 11:21 am
Location: Thailand
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 1306 times

Thinking of traveling to Cambodia? Read this

Post by Gaybutton »

Cambodia seeks to outdo Thailand in its tourist reopening

By Barry Kenyon

November 15, 2021

In a dramatic announcement on local radio, Cambodian premier Hun Sen said that, effective November 15, the whole country including Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, together with the famous temple complex at Angkor Wat, was fully open. A previous policy decision had restricted visitor entry until the end of January 2022 to the southern beach and gambling resort of Sihanoukville.

He also announced that fully-vaccinated tourists can now enter Cambodia by land, sea or air without any quarantine whatsoever. The new health requirement is a RT-PCR negative test result within 72 hours of departure, plus a more simple antigen test on arrival. The premier promised that tourists would be delayed only 20 minutes waiting for that test result. Phnom Penh Governor Khuong Sreng said the move was nothing less than brilliant and timely.

By comparison, Thailand is still insisting on one-night quarantine in hotels on arrival whilst a full RT-PCR test is administered and the result notified. Also, the detailed rules for the Thailand Pass entry certificate differ according to the country of departure, whilst alcohol consumption restrictions in Pattaya, Phuket and Bangkok are all different. There have also been numerous complaints about the Thailand Pass website, its ambiguities and its collapses.

However, a closer look at premier Hun Sen’s announcements reveal that there are still issues to be resolved there too. The various Cambodian embassies round the world have not yet updated their websites, with some stating tourism is still banned, whilst others are maintaining 3 or 7 days quarantine is still required. It is also not yet clear which particular visa short-term visitors will apply for, whilst the former popular model of “30 days visa on arrival” has not been reinstated. Applications to embassies are still the order of the day in both Cambodia and Thailand. You can’t simply turn up.

Nor has prior medical insurance been determined. Thailand imposes a minimum of US$50,000 cover for Covid related illness for all entrants with some, for example retirees, subjected to extra “all causes” general health cover. According to the Khmer Times, Cambodian officials have not yet decided whether the former rule about needing a cash deposit of US$2,000 and US$50,000 medical insurance will still be in place. Until now, all entrants were required to insure only with Forte, a Phnom Penh-based company, which apparently refused cover to anyone aged over 75. Lots to sort out there.

Local travel agents say the new rules, when clarified, are primarily aimed at Chinese tourists who are the mainstay of the foreign holidaymakers in Cambodia. At the moment, the Beijing government refuses to authorize package tours and discourages individual leisure travel abroad by imposing 14-21 days strict quarantine on returnees. Almost all vaccines in use in Cambodia are Chinese-made. The Chinese health authorities are said to be likely to permit holiday travel to Cambodia before any other destination. Truly a pilot scheme whenever it actually takes off.

https://www.pattayamail.com/latestnews/ ... ing-379395
User avatar
Undaunted
Posts: 2567
Joined: Fri Aug 12, 2016 8:47 am
Has thanked: 23 times
Been thanked: 368 times

Re: Thinking of traveling to Cambodia? Read this

Post by Undaunted »

I’ve been to Phnom Penh many times and had great times, now this is a wonderful alternative to Thailand for gay travelers.
"In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king"
Jun

Re: Thinking of traveling to Cambodia? Read this

Post by Jun »

I thought the cash deposit in Cambodia was to cover quarantine costs, so if there's no quarantine, I would hope the deposit would no longer be needed ?

As for Chinese visitors, well as far as I can tell China is still pursuing a zero covid policy at home, with draconian measures every time there is an outbreak & 2 week quarantine for people returning. Until they abandon that folly, there will be few outbound travelers.

So far, I've been to Cambodia 5 times and it has its merits. However, the easiest place in the world to hire a cute Khmer lad is Pattaya. In normal times there is a better selection of available lads in Pattaya than Phnom Penh.
Of course, lads can be found Phnom Penh, but more effort is required. Some won't budge for less than $50, so they get $0.
Meanwhile, places like Siem Reap used to have bars where about a dozen willing lads would be after any prospective customer who walked through the door, whereas these days* it's a case of picking through a thin selection on Grindr.
Highlights of the last trip included visiting the excellent Toolbox bar and the sauna.

Had Cambodia announced this 2 relaxation months in advance, with all the ducks in a row & the detail finalized, I might have considered it.

[*Last visit in December 2018 & comments based on pre-covid conditions]
travelerjim1
Posts: 96
Joined: Sat Jun 22, 2019 11:41 pm
Has thanked: 204 times
Been thanked: 11 times

Re: Thinking of traveling to Cambodia? Read this

Post by travelerjim1 »

Report from expat landing in PP...

Trip Report
Arrived today Bangkok to Phnom Penh on Cambodia Airways. Online tourist visa and one way flight. Check in counter forced me to buy Forte insurance. I didn't have to show cash or hotel reservation but needed to provide address and phone number where I will stay. Everything was really smooth and only about 25 people on the flight. I bought a sim card at airport exit and headed into town. I noticed that many restaurants and cafes didn't survive the pandemic but there's a good number of new ones. Excited to rediscover this place!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/333901840112789
Jun

Re: Thinking of traveling to Cambodia? Read this

Post by Jun »

No recent updates for the only Phnom Penh gay bar I'd go out of my way to return to. Obviously Toolbox.
https://www.facebook.com/ToolboxBarPP/

Admittedly I would also go out of my way to visit certain saunas.
Post Reply