https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2k53xAJ9PE
Hello, so quite a bit of time has passed since the last post. During this time, I was preparing for a trip and settling in Cambodia. However, tomorrow I am going to buy 4G internet, which is quite stable here (a colleague living with me got it last week, today he had his third session without any problems), and next week they should install another additional internet connection at home to safeguard against internet outages, and finally, I will be able to start a poker session after such a long time. Now, let's go through everything in order.
Prices in Cambodia:
This is probably the cheapest country I have ever been to. You can eat very delicious and filling meals for $1.5-3 (of course, there are more expensive options, but we found a place where very tasty food costs $2). You can get the cheapest beer mug in a bar for 25 cents, but the most common price is 50 cents (these mugs are 0.33l). Accommodation is also very cheap. If you like to travel cheaply, this place is definitely for you, as you can get a bed in a “dorm room” type hostel for $2. We lived in double rooms for which we paid $10 per night (5 per person) and $13 per night, but we had a pool and a free billiard table. Now we have rented a three-room cottage for which we pay $650 (you can see how it looks on the PokerioMokykla.com Facebook page by scrolling down, you will find a video). The visa costs $30 per month (and unlike in Thailand, you don't need to leave the country every 3 months). Smokers would also like it here, as you can find the cheapest pack of cigarettes for 25 cents. City transport is also cheap using tuk-tuks or scooter drivers who can take you to any place in the city for $2 (tuk-tuks usually cost a bit more). Also, things that are illegal in Lithuania are very, very cheap here. By the way, one of the main rules if you pay a tuk-tuk for transport in the city, buy food at the market or on the street, you always need to bargain. We almost always pay 2x less for transport than they ask.
Climate, people, time:
The time zone is 4 hours ahead of Lithuania (not the best time zone for poker players). The climate is very warm and humid (at night the temperature is probably around 28 degrees). Currently, it is the rainy season here, but it is coming to an end. It usually rains once or twice a day and that's it, although there are some big storms. However, from what I heard from people and read online, during the season there is practically no rain at all. People at first impression are all friendly, with smiles. It's strange to see a child in tattered clothes, without shoes, but with a smile from ear to ear. It feels like people here know how to enjoy life more. However, from talking to people who have businesses here, they said that most of them are two-faced and you shouldn't trust them, but I haven't personally encountered this yet.
Online and live poker in Cambodia:
As I mentioned, there are quite good internet providers that my colleague has already tried, and 2+2 forum members who lived here recommended and said they never had problems, so it's quite a good place for online poker. By the way, you can play on French sites like Winamax or PokerStars.fr here without any problems. As for live poker, I have only been to one casino (Lion City in Sihanoukville where we live). The casino itself looks pathetic, more like a sports poker club, a large brightly lit hall, many gambling tables and slot machines (none of which work and there are no dealers at any table except for poker), and a few poker tables where the only action happens. Currently, there are tournaments in the city only three times a week, $30 knockouts, and $11 hypers daily. I inquired about cash games, and they take place in a few other casinos, but since it's not the season, there aren't many people, and there are a maximum of 1-2 tables running everywhere. However, foreigners who have lived here longer said that during the season, it's not hard to find good cash games. Another plus here is that there are 3 big series in Cambodia, 2 WPT (one of them on the Cambodia-Thailand border, on the Thai side) and APT, and many smaller poker series in neighboring countries which are not expensive to travel to from here, and the living expenses for trips to them are much lower than in Europe. So that's it for now, I will try to post the next report with my results next Monday or Tuesday.