Info On Living In Cambodia

[ClaytonSeymour]

Suntyod do you know Hurley and bronwyn etc at Cantina? Went to the Heart a few times but not my scene.

I stay in a Chinese hotel for $10 - cable TV, hot water and air con... oh and a sign on the door to leave you gun at reception.

lso when I am there I book the same moto driver for the duration at $6 a day. He takes care of me, holds my bag in dodgy markets and waits for me if I go for a drink. I usually buy lunch and dinner for him

What happens if you don't leave your gun at reception?

[Naam]

ATM's are avialable in many places in Phnom Penh, dispensing USD.

And now in Sihanoukville also. Think visa costs are in the cambodia visa sticky

a few years ago i read that a certain percentage of USD cash in Cambodia is fake but nobody cares. is/was that correct or just a rumour?

by the way, big thanks for your valuable input. i am planning to spend a couple of weeks in Cambodia.

[stevenjm]

ATM's are avialable in many places in Phnom Penh, dispensing USD.

And now in Sihanoukville also. Think visa costs are in the cambodia visa sticky

a few years ago i read that a certain percentage of USD cash in Cambodia is fake but nobody cares. is/was that correct or just a rumour?

by the way, big thanks for your valuable input. i am planning to spend a couple of weeks in Cambodia.

It may have been the case a long time ago but not now. The US dollar is scrurinized quite well when paying for anything and fakes are about but not common. When you get US dollars from anywhere make sure it is in good condition and has no holes or even tiny breaks or it will not be received and you will have to take it to a specific exchange and only receive partial value for it.

This is a really important thing to keep in mind and adhere to in Cambodia or you will be left holding a useless note, people will often try to pass you damaged notes when giving change so just refuse them and ask for a replacement.

[seonai]

Hey Clayton I don't know cos i don't carry a gun !!! It's like a no smoking sign with a red line through the gun

Another odd thing is that the newspaper children scribble out the price of the paper to round the price off to $1 - jeez those kids really get to me - sitting at the FCCC and having colonial fans click click above your wine then looking out the window and seeing half naked, often missing limbs, children begging or selling on the street

[technocracy]

btw .. does anyone know , what's the national currency in Timor Leste (East Timor) ..

anyone.. well it's still.. USD

Oh come on, East Timor is the size of postage stamp and has a population of less than million people - not exactly a country that requires there own bank!

As for Ecuador you might want to read this article: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2000/jan2000/ecua-j13.shtml

Quote: "The US Treasury, not the Ecuadorian government, would then have effective control of the money supply, interest rates and other economic policies."

Cambodia *could* enforce the Riel and gain control of the economy and make it stronger - but some how I think they lack the control to do it! Also I guess the big bosses in the country like to have dollar in there accounts!

On the note of the dollar it is highly annoying that remarkably everywhere you go anything of small value you want buy is wait for it . . . . $1! Then everything as seonai says is just round up to the closest dollar - it probably doubles the 'real' expense of visiting the country!

[Sheryl]

As far as I know a foreigner can own all of a business but if you need premises the land will need to be leased for you to build and have legal ownership of the building but not the land or you can purchase in Khmer name or just lease.

That's still much better compared to the laws in Thailand where things also keep getting worse in this area. Interesting.

Yes, the legal aspects of property ownership are much easier, BUT...........legal ownership doesn't mean a whole lot. Lots of people lose their property, without compensation, because either the government or some "big shot" wants it for something.

I know many Cambodians who lost homes that way. Currently about 150 families in Chhbar Ampov face this situation...government has decided to construct a park where their homes now stand. Many thousands faced this when the main highway to Viet Nam was expanded. And I know people who lost nice homes to just single greedy individuals.

Obviously risk is highest if you get land in a coveted area (beachfront, riverside etc) but it is hard to predict. Have to assume the possibility of total loss wherever you invest.

Sad but true..............

[Gnarpjohan]

As far as I know a foreigner can own all of a business but if you need premises the land will need to be leased for you to build and have legal ownership of the building but not the land or you can purchase in Khmer name or just lease.

That's still much better compared to the laws in Thailand where things also keep getting worse in this area. Interesting.

Yes, the legal aspects of property ownership are much easier, BUT...........legal ownership doesn't mean a whole lot. Lots of people lose their property, without compensation, because either the government or some "big shot" wants it for something.

I know many Cambodians who lost homes that way. Currently about 150 families in Chhbar Ampov face this situation...government has decided to construct a park where their homes now stand. Many thousands faced this when the main highway to Viet Nam was expanded. And I know people who lost nice homes to just single greedy individuals.

Obviously risk is highest if you get land in a coveted area (beachfront, riverside etc) but it is hard to predict. Have to assume the possibility of total loss wherever you invest.

Sad but true..............

I see your point when it comes to land ownership in particular. But I had owning, controlling and running a business in mind - not necessarily one for which land ownership is needed. If some skills are needed to run the business, I suppose the risk of hostile takeover by "big shots" is lower. Are there any reports of foreigners losing business ownership in dubious ways?

[A_Traveller]

There are few restrictions on foreigners owning business in Cambodia. As might be expected the designations come from a French perspective, :-

Joint Stock Company {S.A} Not less than 7 shareholders.

Limited Liability Company {S.A.R.L.} From 2 shareholders up to 30.

Sole Proprietorship Limited Company

Commercial Partnerships {Société En Nom Collectif [sNC]} Each of the partners is held personally jointly and severally liable for the debts of the partnership.

Representative Offices To facilitate the sourcing of local goods and services and to collect information for its parent company.

Corporate licensing is through the Ministry of Commerce.

Data required including completed application to Ministry of Commerce.:-

Articles of company: 3 Originals

Copies of passport or ID card of owners: 3 copies {each}

Photographs of owners {4x 6 colour}: 3 Photos

Confirmation letter of company's location in Cambodia

Statement of bank in Cambodia {Deposit 20% of capital}: 1 Original & 2 Copies

Processing takes a few weeks

On the land point, constitutionally a foreigner may not own land in Cambodia. However, long term leases are recognised.

Regards

[ClaytonSeymour]

As far as I know a foreigner can own all of a business but if you need premises the land will need to be leased for you to build and have legal ownership of the building but not the land or you can purchase in Khmer name or just lease.

That's still much better compared to the laws in Thailand where things also keep getting worse in this area. Interesting.

Yes, the legal aspects of property ownership are much easier, BUT...........legal ownership doesn't mean a whole lot. Lots of people lose their property, without compensation, because either the government or some "big shot" wants it for something.

I know many Cambodians who lost homes that way. Currently about 150 families in Chhbar Ampov face this situation...government has decided to construct a park where their homes now stand. Many thousands faced this when the main highway to Viet Nam was expanded. And I know people who lost nice homes to just single greedy individuals.

Obviously risk is highest if you get land in a coveted area (beachfront, riverside etc) but it is hard to predict. Have to assume the possibility of total loss wherever you invest.

Sad but true..............

I see your point when it comes to land ownership in particular. But I had owning, controlling and running a business in mind - not necessarily one for which land ownership is needed. If some skills are needed to run the business, I suppose the risk of hostile takeover by "big shots" is lower. Are there any reports of foreigners losing business ownership in dubious ways?

Maybe it would be worth carrying a gun? Or paying someone else to carry one for you?

[Sheryl]

"Maybe it would be worth carrying a gun? Or paying someone else to carry one for you?"

You don't want to start playing that game in Cambodia. Moral issues aside, you'll lose.

Re business ownership, there have been foreigners who have lost businesses, foreigners who are still successfully running them, and foreigners whose businesses simply went bust. (#rd category being the largest!).

Best advice I can give is to live in the country a while and get to know the culture and how things work there first before deciding if it is an environment you think you can operate successfully in. There's no way to predict this in advance. Some people are able to tune into the subtle way things are communicated and the internal logic of the place and some are not.

And don't invest more than you can survive losing.

[stevenjm]

And if you don't take Sheryls advice or find yourself in a position of trouble or threat of losing business etc I can be PM'd and can perhaps help you. But be warned I will make a moral judgement call on the situation before getting involved.

[ClaytonSeymour]

And if you don't take Sheryls advice or find yourself in a position of trouble or threat of losing business etc I can be PM'd and can perhaps help you. But be warned I will make a moral judgement call on the situation before getting involved.

I'd suggest that making "moral calls" in the line of business your talking about would be the fast route to the poor house.

Come on, many of the people who are going to need your services are hardly going to be "innocent." I would very much doubt that you'll be in a position to be too selective if you want to make a good living from this.

[stevenjm]

And if you don't take Sheryls advice or find yourself in a position of trouble or threat of losing business etc I can be PM'd and can perhaps help you. But be warned I will make a moral judgement call on the situation before getting involved.

I'd suggest that making "moral calls" in the line of business your talking about would be the fast route to the poor house.

Come on, many of the people who are going to need your services are hardly going to be "innocent." I would very much doubt that you'll be in a position to be too selective if you want to make a good living from this.

Your probably correct but I will draw a line with things that I can sleep at night and things that I can't.

[Gnarpjohan]

And if you don't take Sheryls advice or find yourself in a position of trouble or threat of losing business etc I can be PM'd and can perhaps help you. But be warned I will make a moral judgement call on the situation before getting involved.

Sounds like you have some dubious business idea in mind

I think I can guess but I don't want to be involved with anything of the kind.

[stevenjm]

And if you don't take Sheryls advice or find yourself in a position of trouble or threat of losing business etc I can be PM'd and can perhaps help you. But be warned I will make a moral judgement call on the situation before getting involved.

Sounds like you have some dubious business idea in mind

I think I can guess but I don't want to be involved with anything of the kind.

No. I just like helping people. anyway how about we just drop it and get back to the Cambodia info.

Edited October 12, 2007 by stevenjm

[kaz49]

And if you don't take Sheryls advice or find yourself in a position of trouble or threat of losing business etc I can be PM'd and can perhaps help you. But be warned I will make a moral judgement call on the situation before getting involved.

Sounds like you have some dubious business idea in mind

I think I can guess but I don't want to be involved with anything of the kind.

No. I just like helping people. anyway how about we just drop it and get back to the Cambodia info.

I would just like to say I have found this thread interesting to say the least, and would like to ask a very basic question relating to the original post.

Mail Services - are they reliable these days? I have a small package (no drugs, guns, money or anything of that nature) just some photos and souvenirs I promised to post from Bangkok to a Cambodian friend I met their recently. He lives in a village outside of Siem Reap. Would I be best to post to main post office Pokambor Ave and he could collect there? Does the post office hold mail there for collection and for how long? or through EMS? DHL?

Thanks in advance.

[jerry921]

Thanks for all the good info.

I'm a single 47 y/o computer geek who's tired of high pressure jobs. I pretty much have enough saved to retire to Cambodia, but I'm really too young to just do nothing. My ideas include trying to run an internet cafe and trying to teach computer programming. I wouldn't need to make enough to cover all my expenses at either one; if I could, for example, make enough money on the cafe to pay the rent and otherwise break even that would be cool, I could live upstairs with my rent paid by the business.

I also have quals to teach Comp Sci at the college level if there's any chance for that (teaching CS in English that is).

Any chance to any of this? Or is the cafe business already flooded in PP and Sihanookville?

[Sheryl]

The mail "service" is very unreliable to say the least. EMS or DHL is the best bet, be sure to list the recipient's phone number on it and get the tracking number.

If the person you are sending it to has any friends or relatives working at any comopany in Siem Reap, better chance if you sent to a commercial address within Siem Reap than to an individual...ask him.

[Tammi]

Thanks for all the good info.

I'm a single 47 y/o computer geek who's tired of high pressure jobs. I pretty much have enough saved to retire to Cambodia, but I'm really too young to just do nothing. My ideas include trying to run an internet cafe and trying to teach computer programming. I wouldn't need to make enough to cover all my expenses at either one; if I could, for example, make enough money on the cafe to pay the rent and otherwise break even that would be cool, I could live upstairs with my rent paid by the business.

I also have quals to teach Comp Sci at the college level if there's any chance for that (teaching CS in English that is).

Any chance to any of this? Or is the cafe business already flooded in PP and Sihanookville?

Googel "Trevor Sworn" and "Yejj Info Co. Ltd" which is run by Trevor who is a computer geek too and runs classes - at least did last time I saw him.

[stevenjm]

The incoming mail through the post office is not that bad but the outgoing is atrocious and, as Sheryl said, your better getting it delivered to a hotel or business address. Also they will probably try to hit you with a delivery fee of a couple of dollars and forget about small provinces or outlying areas for post office.

IT positions available and teaching positions in IT also available and net cafes saturated but does not seem to stop the customers, big income for net cafes is their voip phones but these are officially illegal but everyone still has them anyway.

[jerry921]

The incoming mail through the post office is not that bad but the outgoing is atrocious and, as Sheryl said, your better getting it delivered to a hotel or business address. Also they will probably try to hit you with a delivery fee of a couple of dollars and forget about small provinces or outlying areas for post office.

IT positions available and teaching positions in IT also available and net cafes saturated but does not seem to stop the customers, big income for net cafes is their voip phones but these are officially illegal but everyone still has them anyway.

Thanks for both replies!

[Tammi]

The incoming mail through the post office is not that bad but the outgoing is atrocious and, as Sheryl said, your better getting it delivered to a hotel or business address. Also they will probably try to hit you with a delivery fee of a couple of dollars and forget about small provinces or outlying areas for post office.

IT positions available and teaching positions in IT also available and net cafes saturated but does not seem to stop the customers, big income for net cafes is their voip phones but these are officially illegal but everyone still has them anyway.

Thanks for both replies!

Re outoing mail from Phnom Penh: Take to main post office; The clerk will tell you a price; you say you have never paid so much before; she will give you another price; She will put envelope(s) in drawer, you say you'd like the stamps put on the envelopes; she will put stamps on envelopes and put back in drawer; you say that you'd like chop put on stamps; she will chop and you will put in post box.

In truth, maybe it's better now - I did notice a supervisor at a desk behind the clerks.

[Sheryl]

Thanks for all the good info.

I'm a single 47 y/o computer geek who's tired of high pressure jobs. I pretty much have enough saved to retire to Cambodia, but I'm really too young to just do nothing. My ideas include trying to run an internet cafe and trying to teach computer programming. I wouldn't need to make enough to cover all my expenses at either one; if I could, for example, make enough money on the cafe to pay the rent and otherwise break even that would be cool, I could live upstairs with my rent paid by the business.

I also have quals to teach Comp Sci at the college level if there's any chance for that (teaching CS in English that is).

Any chance to any of this? Or is the cafe business already flooded in PP and Sihanookville?

With your qualifications I think many teaching opportunities as private, English-language curicuula colleges are springing up right and left these days in Phnom Penh. Salary not likely to be good, but the work would be interesting and rewarding (younger generation here is very keen to learn) and hours easy. Would also be opportunities at international high schools, somehwat better (but still low) pay.

In addition, innumerable computer schools giving lessons.

A few of the private colleges:

- Build Bright

- Pannastra (possibly the best of the lot)

- University of Cambodia

A ferw of the international high schools:

- International School of Phnom Penh

- Northbridge

- British International School (or name something like that)

- Western

But there are lots more....

If you sincerely like working with young people and teaching then I think you will find Cambodia a very exciting place. There was a huge "baby boom" in the 1980's and these kids are extremely motivated and eager to learn, with English and computer skills at the top of their lists.