Gettingaround

But for every garment worker that goes back to their Province there will be two to take their place. There's no labour shortage here.

I'm in St 110 just two or three blocks away. All the chatter is about the situation. A truck just backfired and everyone jumped in reflex. The view seems to be that this will strengthen resolve and everyone will regroup tomorrow. Maybe not Freedom Park but somewhere. It doesn't look like this will snuff the candle.

This isn't rocket science. Zero education on road safety + zero enforcement of existing, good, traffic laws = more accidents, deaths & costs. Fix the education, fix the enforcement then it will improve

I can't find any mention in the Cambodian or international press. Maybe, just maybe the Thai soldiers got lost, got spooked and one of them shot himself in the foot. If anyone has any press references I'd love to read them.

Or take your shoes to one of the many repair shops and get them to do it for less than the price of the glue. There's a very good one just North of Wat Phnom. Go along St 47 for two block and it's just left in the intersecting St. I think it's St 88.

Thanks Sheryl. I found Lucky Moto today. It's actually at 413, not 431. For future viewers on this topic. You can renew your Cambodian Driving licence at Lucky Moto, #413, Monivong Blvd. It's on the West side of Monivong just yards from the intersection with St 182. You will need your old licence, 4, yes 4, passport size photos and $33. Pick up 3 or 4 business days later.

My Cambodian driving licence is about to expire. A local friend did the running around to get it last year but he is no longer in PP.I am in PP. Does anyone know where I go to renew and how much? etc. Is there a place that will do the 'queuing' to get it done for a small consideration?

And there goes Cambodia's garment industry.....

.. and more importantly. There go their jobs. Yes they are low paid but the options are few and payeven less.

I don't know about the tax levels (though Sheryl's post looks authoritative) but they have certainly clamped down. My organisation has a container of humanitarian flood relief equipment stopped at the border point. I would like to think that it's an attempt to cut out (down?) the 'unofficial taxes' that have been the norm for years. Let's see.

The key lesson learnt is how not to pursue genocide cases.

I can only speak about the Aranyaprathet/Poipet crossing. There is good long term parking on the Aranyaprathet side adjacent to the border point. Head for the border crossing and it's on the left at a cross road just before you get to the check area. It's ground level with sun shelters for parking cars. Can't remember the price but it's reasonable.

There are two ways of looking at this. Here is the Cambodian way:

http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/thailand-asks-un-court-to-dismiss-preah-vihear-case-19315/

I'm in Phnom Penh where the power cuts are very frequent. The power company here is saying they are going to buy it from Thailand to relieve the shortage here!! It would be interesting to know how much is being sold abroad by Thailand.

Is there no limit to this stupidity? the reason the link hasn't been used is because there is nothing to link - the Cambodian metre gauge tracks have been out of use for years, and while there are plans to refurbish the line AFAIK it is far from complete.

That is where Thaksin comes in to make money on the Cambodian side. People tend to forget that Cambodia is even more corrupt than Thailand.

And if Cambodia change gauge it'll screw the line that they have just reopened from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville. And everyone's waiting for the truck mafia to sabotage it. What's the truck mafia like in Thailand? Trainspotters? It ain't going to happen in Thailand and it ain't going to happen in Cambodia.

I lived in Thailand for a year and I've been living in Cambodia since November last year. Not long I know. BUT the standard of English among young people in Cambodia far exceeds what I experienced in Thailand. The key difference appears, to me, to be that Cambodian schools clamour for native English speakers to teach in their schools. Many schools proudly claim "all lessons conducted in English" and the parents can't wait to sign their kids up. I am friends with several Khmer families here and can have full conversations with their teenage kids. Many in their late twenties upwards have little or no English.

So, has it come about by government action? Not really, I'm told it's always been easy to get a business visa and work permit here. Mind you that's a huge difference between Thailand and Cambodia right there. It's much more that Khmer parents WANT their kids to learn English as they see it as a route to success, whether here or overseas. I never sensed that in Thailand.

The news is spreading:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21437938

Many thanks hansnl. Excellent info. I'll sort out the car passport and get a short trip planned.

I want to drive my Cambodia registered LHD car though the Poipet border into Thailand for a 3 week holiday. I have driving licences for Cambodia, Thailand & UK. I also have a retirement visa for Thailand. Has anybody done this or do you know where I could get definitive information?

My experience from Sept 2012. I tried to take my Thai registered car through Poipet border crossing. I was turned back at the Customs building. The reason was that my car was right hand drive and therefore not suitable. The official wouldn't budge even when I asked if there was a 'special' permit that I might buy for cash. A friend had a little more luck at the Trat border. He was given Khmer red plates but told be could only drive nearby. He ignored this and wasn't stopped and fined. Insurance is impossible. Thai insurance doesn't cover Cambodia and you need, at least, a Cambodian driving licence and it's an annual premium.

My experience is as follows. Border point Aranyapathet/Poipet. August 2012. I obtained a 'car passport' in Thailand for my Thai car. You can do this at the Transport Office where you live in Thailand. At the Thai exit border everything was fine. At the Cambodian entry border my passport was stamped for entry and I was told to take the car to the Immigration Office. After a good deal of confusion and referral upwards I was informed that it was impossible for me to take my car into Cambodia because it is right hand drive (RHD).

Cambodia drive on the right and so my car was not suitable! I enquired whether there was a "special permit that I could buy". No there wasn't. I returned to no man's land, parked at a casino and proceeded into Cambodia on foot and got a taxi. (It was only $55 to Phnom Penh which is 250 km away).

I subsequently found out that Cambodia made it illegal to drive a RHD car around 2002. The Khmers had been given a year's notice to get their cars converted. This was a big joke as the cost was about the same as most people's annual salary. So the law has never been enforced for Khmers driving Cambodian cars. It has, though, been enforced for new arrivals. A friend of mine had a little more luck when he crossed at Trat. He was given temporary red number plates and told he could only drive locally. I imagine that this means within the province. For my trip I needed to get to Phnom Penh which meant going through several provinces so this may also have played into my refusal. Looking back I am glad I didn't take my car. Most of the roads in Cambodia are abysmal. Even the National Roads have stretches of big, deep potholes. Better to have the taxi driver wreck his suspension.

I hope this helps others.