World Traveller2

Thank yous to all three of you: UbonJoe, Treetops and BritTim. I will recommend that he read all three of your posts *plus* do the logical thing - check with the gatekeepers, his airline(s). I am a bit confused by the punctuation in the CAAT statement of policy. Still not sure about the 'and', 'or' and comma. Medical insurance required for transit or not? I will study the resources you have recommended. One has to virtually be a lawyer to travel!

Does a fully-Pfizer vaccinated (X2 plus booster) citizen of Switzerland coming from Cambodia require anything special (PCR test, medical insurance etc) to transit 4+- hours through BKK airport enroute to Switzerland? Traveller already has his ticket, arriving on Thai smile from PNH, then onward with Swiss Air to ZRH. Travel date is mid-February this year, i.e. in less than ten days hence.

Vietnam has now opened to foreign tourists? Just received from Skyscanner a notification that vaccinated foreign tourists can visit Vietnam if you go on a tour and gave medical travel insurance. https://www.skyscanner.ca/travel-restrictions/Vietnam/29475319?origin=29475328&vaccinationStatus=fully-vaccinated Anyone going?

Agreed, for the promiscuous male Cambodia transformed from party town to celibacy village very quickly. Phnom Penh is now a charming city for those who want to marry and lead a quiet life. The worst abuses of P4P (human trafficking and child prostitution) were greatly reduced but the 'baby was tossed out with the bathwater'. Cambodian society was *never* tolerant to prostitution, it and the State just had more important issues to deal with, such as security and infrastructure issues. And I find it curious that 'hookup' apps exist in Thailand and Vietnam but are absent from Cambodia. Likewise, uncensored discussion forums. Cambodia is in many ways more like monolithic and homogenous State-controlled Vietnam than playground Thailand. Just my two cents worth. But my main practical concern about Cambodia is price compared alternatives: compared to Turkey, India, Indonesia etc. I don't see the value.

Thanks for this. Worthwhile maybe for a medium-term stay, but borderline for two and a half months. Not sure it's worthwhile even to reduce government snag of interest for term deposits. My accounts are marginal amounts. The big question for me is not how suitable is Cambodia, but how does it compare to everywhere else that is open during COVID and welcoming retired tourists: Turkey, India, Colombia etc. Actually I hear India has cancelled the validity of all long-term visas, but I haven't verified.

It's all a matter of taste, budget and lifestyle, isn't? I stay in Asia six months per year, so $60 per month for permission to stay in any country is a bit of an 'ouch'. I am a tea-totaller so I couldn't care less about the price of beer and whiskey. Cambodia is a conservative Theravada Buddhist culture - half of that reality I don't like, half I do. Regarding intergenerational matches, not only is there a law preventing Charlie Chaplin-waif marriages, women in their twenties hooked up (very short term or long term) with semi-geezers is really looked down upon in Cambodia compared to Philippines. Plus, Filipinas plain like Americans (and this includes their behaviour to other Anglos). I am not convinced Khmers do. Kep is a trendy place to live. It has its charms but I am a big city man who loves public mass transit or at least buses and ferries. Bangkok (tiring), Singapore (very expensive) and Kuala Lumpur (05:30 alarm), HCMC (frenetic traffic). Trust me, I have spent a considerable amount of time in all these places. PNH used to be my favourite. Now I am questioning all of ASEAN as a place to hang my hat. I didn't like Ukraine and Serbia. So this leaves in my 'give them a try' list Colombia and Sri Lanka. Excepting P4P, Istanbul and including P4P, Hanoi are both much better deals for sojourners than Phnom Penh. This is especially true if one is on a budget of under USD1600 per month, as I am. Produce is expensive in Cambodia because there isn't a developed agricultural industry here except for rice and a few niche market spices. I was just at Aeon, admitedly the capital's premier supermarket. Everything was 50-60% higher priced than Central Foodland in Thailand. Never mind Big-C or Makro. Nepal and India make more sense (especially since I can't eat Thai, Khmer, Filipino or Viet food due to being a strict bivalve-vegetarian). Much cheaper to eat in South Asia. If I was Muslim I would choose Pakistan (cheapest country) or if I was a secular Sunni Muslim, Turkey. If atheist and a carnivore Cuba. Every place has its pros and cons. Cambodia just has too many cons for *me*. Maybe 'your place' is Antarctica or Berln. To each his own.

Without competitive banking services, without great P4P and without easy visas - what's the attraction of this country? The shopping and 'nightlife' isn't as good as Thailand; the food and medical care value isn't as good as India; it isn't as cheap and efficient for operating a factory with local workers as Vietnam; and it's not as easy to stay long-term and have a much younger wife or gf as Philippines. So, why even stay in Cambodia unless you're a well-funded NGO (raising rental market prices) or related to goverment cronies. Cambodia has lost its shine. For 10-20 years actually. Is it just me? And it's getting worse, for multiple reasons. I mean for expats and tourists. There does seem to be a trickle *up* of foreign aid! I see all kinds of la-de-dah shops now. Infrastructure has improved but not commensurate with prices. Value for rental units and hotels is much better in Thailand. And everything is still imported. Geez, that socialist basketcase dependent on China Sri Lanka is probably a better choice. I suppose it's because last year I was in Turkey. Compared to on the ball Turkey (a whole other post) Cambodia has no appeal to me anymore. No place is perfect, of course. But geez, eyes wide open if you have the flexibity to live anywhere in the world. Do your homework or a test visit before you get all starry-eyed about retiring in Cambodia.

This e-visa has created a quagmire of bureaucratic BS with banking at my Cambodian bank. Short story according to presumably 'know your customer' rules of National Bank of Cambodia one cannot update passport info, or change phone number affiliated with account, or get a new validity-period ATM card *with an e-visa*. With a normal visa, no problem. A six-month plus rental contract will do the trick. During lockdown my bank was able to quite simply, or so they say. Now we are neither in lockdown nor normal non-COVID times. Clearly Immigration and banking divisions of the Kingdom of Cambodia did not have a talk to discuss the practical effects. I asked my bank staff point blank if they are now refusing tourist accounts. They said no, but how the heck is anyone supposed to do international banking in Cambodia under the current rules? I'll bet I can't wire money in it out because they don't know where I sleep. Cambodia 5-10 years ao was an unsung offshore banking centre. No longer. Also MFIs (microfinancing institutions) used to provide great interest on term deposits. That stopped three years ago I observed on my last trip here in 2018. Screw ups and anti-market eeconomy! Is is it just this one bank? Weird thing is this bank is actuated with foreigners (Kazhaksthan and South Korea) as far as I know. Maybe they don't want the little guy's money to play with?

Unless regulations have changed since I worked in Cambodia 16 years ago, perhaps the most expedient way to get a Pfizer booster is to pay via an agent (pretty much the only hassle-free way then, and I presume now also) to get a long-term (6-24 month) visa, then as a resident qualify for a free booster? Or are there logistical obstacles and complications? I would post in the most logical sub-forum but rather than questions and discussion of COVID-19, that section appears to be only official news, i.e. government and media announcements (but not debate). To draw out of a hat two unrelated and random medical subjects - mental illness and sexually-transmitted diseases, those subjects are discussed in liberal terms of engagement (of differing opinions and personal experience), so what's so unique about a pandemic that this forum and it's competitors are controlling the dialogue so strictly? Even if it amounts to the bubonic plague, why the sacred cow? Is there some legal restriction in Cambodia on discourse on this subject? It's not that I even have anything particularly shocking to say or ask. But as soon as I see a fence, my first impulse is to hop over it.

Local businessman recmmended I get Cellcard for capital use ( too many dropped calls in countryside - get Metfone for domestic travels) bevayse most popular service with businessmen and therefore free same network calls. But what I forgot to clarify is what network is most popular with lower market users (tuk tuk drivers etc). In any case, he said that every Cambodian businessman has two or even three SIMS! I signed up for Cellcard at HQ on Sihanouk where they fouled up. Also, we all (customers of every network) get to hear COVID.-related public service announcements every time we get a non-connectable. And we can't turn them off. This is what happens when you have laws. Sorry, this is the anarchist in me coming out. Conservative countries like Cambodia and Singapore (effectively all of Asia) get on my nerves sometimes.

As in every country (?) it is complicated, and often close to impossible to make 'apples with apples' comparisons between companies because the features and pricing are obscure. To me anyway. At PPN outdoor kiosks after exiting secure sites Smart airport seems to have a better deal, albeit similar to Cellcard. I will probably end up using whichever has the best uocountry reception, since I will be in some non-urban areas. Second major factor is which company do most Khmers use (to keep call debits minimal)? Opinions please! Here is my perfunctory assessment based on what I was told at airport kiosks. Keep in mind that they focus on tourist cards. Buying in city from HQ will have more choices... Metphone $10 - 100 GGB - Call: for another $2 get 30 minute credit - Language pronlems with staff CCellcard - many options - Free calls to same network. Calling other networks costs 8 cents per minute, maximum length 5 minutes. - 8 GB $8 but 50 GB only $10! Smart -Spend $8 and you get $3333 credit. I triple checked this. - 8 GB - Calls0.06 per minute - Texts 0.01 Problems I had three years ago with Cambodian cell service companies were nothing to do with price (data is cheaper than Thailand and a lot cheaper than Canada and Turkey) were call drops, spam texts (from company itself) and inability to get messages from company in English I forget what company it was, but despite being told it had been changed, I kept getting everything in Khmer.

Standoff at Air Asia check-in (DMK) resolved by superviser relenting, admitting he was wrong. No one upon arrival at PNH asked for insurance

At Air Asia check I ant DMK now. Supervisor shows me official Cambodian governmemt website where medical insurance is "encouraged" but says Immigration at PNH has informed AA staff that it is compulsory. We are at a standoff. Any suggestions?

Since there appears to be very little interest in my experience at MedConsultClinic I'll give you the brief report... I got my lab results but I had to do an extra step to get it.Tjen results came within 10 minutes (but 28 hours had passed). Not happy that report reads 'not detected' instead of 'negative'.

Off-topic incidental findings.... There is a UFM Fuji Super(market) very closeby. But it is closed due to staff 'being affected by COVID'. There are numerous upper middle class shops in the complex (and vicinity) and mosquitos also. Perhaps this is due to there being a small stinky mini-khlong nearby