Phnom Penh, Cambodia... 23 Years Later - Lonely Planet Guidebook Revisited

[@inaXworldwide]

Love this, this type of 'historical' travel update is so interesting!

[@ivanmusto100]

This video really gave me nostalgia, I came to Cambodia in 2010 & still remember how things were back then

[@joshl4111]

Fond memories of sitting in the FCC 10 years ago, laughing at the brilliantly named "Starry Place for View Cocktail and Consultancy" across the side street. It was an institution, that's for sure.

[@Hea9lt9hy9]

Great comparison… great improvement for the Kingdom of Wonder..

[@darrenbayford108]

I remember visiting the floating casino back in the 90’s, we played one of the old coin push machines, wow you’re reminding me of past adventures.

[@LJ-jq8og]

Well done Sir ! 🙏

[@richardblack4958]

Love this idea. It would be cool to do it in other places/countries, too. I stayed in the Adore Hotel on the riverfront a few times back in 2017 & 2018. It got crappy reviews, and I could see why, but I loved it there. It had a certain charm, and the staff were lovely; I always got a warm welcome when I returned. Shame it closed down.

[@fzen2432]

A really great idea for a video. So much fun!

[@reachzer0868]

Love this kind of video ❤

[@copaul71]

Other channels posting another budget video and here you come posting this gem 💎 Great idea and fun to watch

[@mechagodzilla290]

Yes, they are feeding the pigeons; when I visited hawkers tried to push bird feed to me to feed them

[@richoxgen]

I enjoyed this one, I first went to Phnom Penh in 2000 and i also have that Lonely Planet issue for a later trip. My friend was one of the first three tuk tuk drivers in Siem Reap, That was in 2002. Also remember unwinding at FCC in 2008 when our luggage did not arrive when we landed in PP. (lucky it arrived the next day) cheers from Australia.

[@srgba244]

Good stuff

[@Charlie-phlezk]

Hey nice idea. Thanks for your email, I got a place in SR no issues. My worries about the internet were unfounded. Working 7 days a week online as I did back home, so, everything is going fine!

[@itchyfeetonthecheap]

That's great. Welcome to Cambodia!

[@TheHankman66]

The FCC only opened in 1992. Before that it was just two Chinese shophouses that they knocked together into one premises. The company that owns it overspent on their Siem Reap premises, then COVID came along and it's pretty much been derelict since about 2018.

[@nwils6944]

My first trip was 2002. My guess is very little still exists. I am surprised there hasn't been an accidental fire at the FCC, yet. Beer was 25 cents in the happy hour so coffee shops weren't popular. The rooms in Indochine were decent and had aircon. The same family who own it still sleep inside the hotel but it closed during the co vid and never reopened. $10 for a normal room $20 for the front 2 rooms with windows. It was only the floor above the reception.

[@daviddonnelly3878]

Hi Rayan,found a new video of yours in my KZbin feed but couldn't find it on your channel but I did re- watch a video on gyms n realized I just met ur high-school buddy Jessy at Elite gym. Unfortunately I didn't know u guys are buddies. Getting back to the video I found, that is my veggie lady n I wanna let you know " NO FLIRTTING WITH MY VEGGIE LADY" take it easy,enjoy. DAVE

[@robertwilliamson922]

@nwils6944 Everything is constantly changing. All through history. All over the world. Nothing is permanent.

[@skipperclinton1087]

@nilwils6944: Last time I was in the FCC warm tap, beer was $2.50, I think, so I never went back. That was about 5-6 years ago?

[@AmandainCambodia]

Great video! Love these ones you do reflecting on the past. Keep up the great content.

[@virginiabrewster8444]

This takes me back!!

[@mikel6728]

Interesting video thank you. Already 5 weeks here and still in the discovery phase

[@mantarayal]

We lived 4 apartments back from FCC for a couple of years in #178 around 2011-12. FCC was legendary and a very cool place to sit of an evening, having a beer and enjoying the view and the breeze. There were indeed Happy Pizza places along the riverside. 3 or 4. Oddly, the pizzas tasted better happy than not. It was all very chilled and relaxed, although the street kids (run by a notorious family) started to wear everyone out, and we started looking elsewhere to eat and relax. The bar and restaurant owners also became exhausted. I'm glad we lived there then though, and also glad back then we were able to take our Khmer family to Sihanoukville, when it was a laid back, chilled little beach town. Those were the days my friend.

[@MrChvic]

Doesn’t the book mention the backpackers’ area over by the lake (which is now drained and long gone)?

[@davin8715]

Amazing video !!!

[@GLayton123]

Living in the shadow of one of those buildings must be a welcome benefit down there it's so hot.

[@_Versz]

Go get the coffee from Erik an Nyka. Love the content, spent 7 years struggling with immigration to get my wife here from Cambodia. We both love watching about it still from the states.

[@itchyfeetonthecheap]

Very much appreciated! Glad to hear that your wife made it into the states. I hope she likes living there (but misses Cambodia a bit). 😉

[@_Versz]

@itchyfeetonthecheap We both miss it, would like to retire there eventually after our daughter grows up. For now we just see Cambodia through your vlogs, maybe a vacation there again in a few years!

[@Amish.]

Great video

[@travelaroundlife]

What a great idea! Thanks

[@sukikom2259]

Such an interesting topic to cover. Thank you 😅

[@EvanandLemon]

Love the videos! Donated some money on your website, so get that well deserved drink at Elephant Bar! We stopped by Raffles Long Bar in Singapore and the drinks and service were awesome. Cheers! 🍻

[@itchyfeetonthecheap]

Yes! Thanks so much! Funnily enough, the day before this video was posted, I got an invitation to attend an event at the Elephant Bar, so I might just have some Christmas dinner there too. 🍻 Stay tuned!

[@sovannkh7107]

Amazing ❤

[@bobjackson4720]

Thanks!

[@bobjackson4720]

Thanks for you help with the book. In the end I got it printed in Australia, and now all have been sold. I love your videos, they are quality.

[@itchyfeetonthecheap]

That's amazing! I'm going to read the copy you sent me. Maybe over the holidays. Thanks so much!

[@TannerMcCuin]

Takes me back. My first trips to Cambodia was around this time. I remember reading that guide back to front before heading out. There were def tuktuks. But it was a few years later 2004/5 I believe so a lot probably changed. Internet cafes were a thing still, I remember landing at night and our tuktuk dropped us off in front of a lady bar called I think... Candy bar without prompting. All I remember is my friend ordering a seafood pizza from the bar - in retrospect a daring move. There were still military checkpoints here and there. My more recent returns have been worlds different experientially - happy for the Khmer and their prosperity, though miss some of the charm and chaos of those early days.

[@TonyKeepingItClean]

Excellent.

[@stephenworthington-white8294]

First night in Cambodia I stayed at the Capitol Guesthouse!! It had no windows so I just stayed one night. Surprised it is still there!

[@skipperclinton1087]

@stephen: If it's the same Capitol I've stayed at, those stairs were killers. That was in 2013. I couldn't do them now, though.

[@fmtnic]

I remember sitting in a hotel in Ban Lung in 2006 reading a Lonely Planet from the 90's. I don't remember what year exactly but it was very interesting.

[@robertwilliamson922]

Photo copied books. Yeah. I saw that in Siem Reap during two months I spent there in 2017. Bought one book after haggling to get the price down a bit. Arkoun chraen ..for the videos Ryan. Best wishes to you and Sarah from a fellow Canadian. I can’t wait to come back to Cambodia and spend my last years there. 🙏🏼 ✈️ 🌴 🌴 🌴 👋🏼 😃 🇰🇭 🇨🇦

[@sophaman9193]

Thanks for sharing your video again Ryan please 🙏 enjoy the nice weather in my beautiful country Cambodia it's cold now in Toronto this morning 7 am i took a walk around 1 degrees below zero and windy. Ok take care bye from milton Ontario Canada 🇨🇦

[@itchyfeetonthecheap]

Too cold.

[@karenrn5607]

Very interesting. Surprised the beer is the same price! 😮

[@darrenbayford108]

Hi Ryan, great topic, keep them coming! PS don’t loose the book. Could come in very handy once someone invents time travel.😂😂😂

[@itchyfeetonthecheap]

It's on my shelf. Maybe I'll make a version of this video for Siem Reap.

[@darrenbayford108]

@ yes that would be very interesting

[@dorankim9654]

Interesting

[@robertdagge200]

We stayed in the Renakse during the '97 coup. You should have bougth Off the Rails... - batshit crazy book but that is really how PP used to be. Insane place

[@RickJesky]

Was station ,and living at Le Royal 69,70. History in the making. Oh my. 😟

[@itchyfeetonthecheap]

Wow. I bet you've got some stories.

[@CYICU82]

good one. you can still ride elephant 🐘 in Phnom Penh safari.

[@stephenworthington-white8294]

That book is from the year I went to Cambodia!! Some of the main streets in Phnom Penh were still dirt!! I loved it. Stayed at a floating guesthouse for a dollar a day! Peace

[@Kimbuja777]

Hey Ryan, Off topic. I was wondering if you can do a video on Cambodian outlets. Here in Canada, we have two prong and three prong plugs. My laptop has 3 prongs and I was wondering if I can use my laptop in Cambodia without an adapter. If I need an adapter, can one be purchased in Cambodia?

[@itchyfeetonthecheap]

A lot of places you'll be able to use the 3 prong. And adapters are cheap here.

[@Kimbuja777]

Awesome!! Thank you so much Ryan. I'll be in Cambodia in a week. 😊

[@markopolo8845]

Amit Gilboa stayed at the Capitol Guesthouse during his adventures detailed in “Off the Rails.” He changed the name of guesthouse in the book to the Majestic Guesthouse. It’s quite a good read. Things were pretty crazy back then.

[@mikewilliams8511]

That bookseller is Mike. He may have been selling newspapers on the Riverside when that book came out.

[@phonsoyang]

Boeung Ket jersey looks good on you

[@itchyfeetonthecheap]

Thanks! I think I need a new one though.

[@eddiegrant58]

I read "Off The Rails In Phnom Penh" recently! Great read but not for the faint-hearted.

[@itchyfeetonthecheap]

I kind of regret not buying it now.

[@michielberkheij4966]

Have been thee 2 komen in 2001 and alsof in 2007. Bizarre how rapidly this city charges.

[@ChrisKirtley]

The Dara Reangsey was our home-from-home in Pnom Penh! We used to sit at that exact same table and have the stewed pig foot that was always bubbling away on the veranda. Is it still? We recognized our waiter on your video😂

[@sukikom2259]

How cool is that..😅

[@itchyfeetonthecheap]

The pig is still there! It's funny, the hotel was pinned on my map, but I couldn't remember why. Then as I left I saw the pig foot and I remembered you recommending the stewed pig foot there. I need to go back. It's a great spot to sit and people watch.

[@ChrisKirtley]

@@itchyfeetonthecheap Ha, that's great! - make sure you get it with the mustard greens☺

[@chrish8903]

Nice job. No beer inflation. Wow. Must be the only place in the world where that is true. Mass tourism ain't all bad.

[@dannyho6786]

no classical dancing 4U today ?

[@TheAdventureCloset]

That Thai restaurant has some good Tom Kha Gai

[@skipperclinton1087]

@TheAdventure: They had some great steamed sea bass, but I stopped by three times in the day asking if they had it, and they said yes. Went back every time, and they didn't, so I just stopped going.

[@dannyho6786]

where's old Sarah ? Ooot working today ?

[@happy4ever305]

OMG. I watched that Lonely Planet in the USA, 23 years ago? It seems like not long ago.

[@chhenginglong5305]

FCC is under renovation

[@itchyfeetonthecheap]

Are they going to reopen it, or open another business?

[@chhenginglong5305]

@ yes soon

[@chhenginglong5305]

@ open as FCC again

[@cookietulis6252]

I kind of miss those old LP days. Most of those guidebooks would take a couple of years to research, write, edit, publish. Likely this one was being prepared as early as 1998. Everyone knew they were outdated, so would force people to be sociable....hang out in backpacker bars/hotels/restaurants etc brainstorming the better crap which had been born since the guidebook had come out. These days all you see is people on their phones - sad.

[@ChrisKirtley]

Yeah, I went to India last year and it suddenly occurred to me that I wasn't using LP. In the old days it was essential for backpacking, but now you can just look stuff up on the Web.

[@cookietulis6252]

I first visited Phnom Penh in the 1990s right after the coup. It was extremely dangerous - on par with anything you would get in Sub-Saharan African or Central American capital cities. The army hadn't been paid in 2 years, and would set up checkpoints after dark to extort passersby to make up for their lack of salary. The likelihood of getting robbed at gunpoint by them or the police was higher than getting bailed up by actual criminals. Back in those days, the FCC was like an island of civilization. Sad it is gone. I've been to every South east Asian country, many dozens of times, but what I personally experienced in my few visits back in the day to Cambodia is enough to make your hair curl. Seriously was the Wild West. I read that book "Off the Rails in Phnom Penh", and it really wasn't that far off the mark. The stuff people get up to when they are subjected to extreme poverty, pretty much no laws exist, and those which do can easily be bypassed with a $10 bribe.

[@pAuL-nb2ud]

To the AY-BLAB 😂 I’m dying 🏍️!!!! Btw, on the subject of books, I’m big into vintage out of print small publishers like the one ☝️ “Off The Rails…” How is the book store scene there ? Exists? Or is it people selling on street like this dude !?

[@itchyfeetonthecheap]

I know of only a couple book shops in the city. Royal in TTP.

[@rithychin4338]

FCC is the first pizza restaurant in Cambodia. They also put the quote on their pizza box as I remember.

[@nikanio4875]

The only good thing about FCC is location, their food and drinks SUCK! It’s just a fancy place for over rated people to hang out. And of course tourists. I personally never like them. La Croisette way better. If you have a chance try it, it still there. Thanks for the video.

[@itchyfeetonthecheap]

I've been to La Croisette. It's nice.

[@jerrycooke6511]

Well, your Raffles is cheap. In Singapore almost 2 years ago it was 36 dollars for a Singapore Sling. I had two as I knew it was going to be expensive...but was quite shocked at how expensive. In Singapore, locals pay less for everything, rather like Acapulco.

[@itchyfeetonthecheap]

I'll be finding out soon if it's worth the $12. Stay tuned.

[@EvanChorm-le6tn]

Temples scenes and jungle scenes. Well it’s not offensive if the garden Kingdom of Atlantis regressed back to egalitarian tribal jungle democracy. I’m a fraternal twin coming bodhi alien raised American so I’m not offended by it. From jungle to garden requires it to progress back into a civilized, feudal economy, hierarchal, garden kingdom.