Trip Report For Phnom Penh, Cambodia

[4evermaat]

And I just thought of one more thing. Private mail carriers. FedEx, UPS, DHL, etc, to mail packages or document envelopes internationally. Has anyone had any experience with dropoff locations or overall experience with receiving package? Do they deliver door to door, or do I have to go to the station and pickup? I see myself possibly mailing some important documents overseas and need to know if FedEx et.al lives up to the reputation.

While we are there, has anyone used EMS service at gov't run post offices? Efficient?

[tombkk]

Lots of questions

{snip} For banks, for example, they're supposed to require a work permit, but in reality it's a lot like Thailand in that you can get an account with just a long-term visa if you catch the right person at the counter.

I believe I had only a tourist visa when I opened my bank account. It might have been the person at the counter.

The difference to Thailand is that the people at the counter in Thailand actually follow the bank's rules these days. the banks are supposed to follow the Bank of Thailand rules.

Long-Term Visa

The 12 month Ordinary visa works similarly to a Non-Imm B in Thailand, granting you permission to conduct certain business-related activities, but not to work. In reality, no one is checking on you in Cambodia and the only way the issue even comes up is if you open a phsyical business or openly compete with people. If you're making deals with friends for some consulting jobs or if all your work is remote then it's not an issue. The advantage to having a long-term visa for navigating around is pretty much what you alluded to about Thailand - and, of course, since it's so cheap and it's multiple entry, if you plan to travel a lot it's handy.

Not like Thailand, because the Cambodia 12 months' extension of stay automatically allows you to exit and re-enter as often as you like. The Thai Non-Imm is for 90 days, but if you get an extension of stay for a year, after submitting a ton of documents, you still have to pay for a re-entry permit.

You are very knowledgeable about Cambodia. How long have you lived there?

[goforit]

I just found this thread and there is some very interesting and helpful information I was looking for. As I plan to move to Phonm Penh sometime before the end of the year, I am trying to get all my affairs in order and answers to some important questions I still have.

The first is finding out what is the best method(s) for transferring funds I now have in Thailand. Currently, I have a fair amount of Thai Baht, some in cash/some in bank accounts, a USD foreign account, a GBP foreign account and American Express travelers checks.

I had considered taking the travelers checks I now have to Cambodia but from what I can gather, Cambodian banks would charge me a 2% fee to cash them. On the other hand, if I cash them first in Thailand (I believe it is only 33 baht per check), I would first have to get baht and then convert again to USD, either in Thailand or Cambodia.

I'm hoping someone else has had experience with this and can provide me some suggestions on what the best way to go is. Thanks for your help.

[4evermaat]

I just found this thread and there is some very interesting and helpful information I was looking for. As I plan to move to Phonm Penh sometime before the end of the year, I am trying to get all my affairs in order and answers to some important questions I still have.

The first is finding out what is the best method(s) for transferring funds I now have in Thailand. Currently, I have a fair amount of Thai Baht, some in cash/some in bank accounts, a USD foreign account, a GBP foreign account and American Express travelers checks.

I had considered taking the travelers checks I now have to Cambodia but from what I can gather, Cambodian banks would charge me a 2% fee to cash them. On the other hand, if I cash them first in Thailand (I believe it is only 33 baht per check), I would first have to get baht and then convert again to USD, either in Thailand or Cambodia.

I'm hoping someone else has had experience with this and can provide me some suggestions on what the best way to go is. Thanks for your help.

in addition to the other questions i had above, i am also interested in this one. from the OP and initial follow-ups, I it seems only USD is used and small change under 5 USD or 1 USD is given in the local currency. This is different from penang, where THB could be used at some of the guesthouses (that doubled as "authorized" money exchangers. They had Malaysian Riggit, and the banks fx screens seems to take the currencies from the border countries. I would be surprised if a local money exchanger could hook you right up. assuming you brought cash. Would be interesting if the local exchangers would even deal with travelers cheques.

[tombkk]

I just found this thread and there is some very interesting and helpful information I was looking for. As I plan to move to Phonm Penh sometime before the end of the year, I am trying to get all my affairs in order and answers to some important questions I still have.

The first is finding out what is the best method(s) for transferring funds I now have in Thailand. Currently, I have a fair amount of Thai Baht, some in cash/some in bank accounts, a USD foreign account, a GBP foreign account and American Express travelers checks.

I had considered taking the travelers checks I now have to Cambodia but from what I can gather, Cambodian banks would charge me a 2% fee to cash them. On the other hand, if I cash them first in Thailand (I believe it is only 33 baht per check), I would first have to get baht and then convert again to USD, either in Thailand or Cambodia.

I'm hoping someone else has had experience with this and can provide me some suggestions on what the best way to go is. Thanks for your help.

in addition to the other questions i had above, i am also interested in this one. from the OP and initial follow-ups, I it seems only USD is used and small change under 5 USD or 1 USD is given in the local currency. This is different from penang, where THB could be used at some of the guesthouses (that doubled as "authorized" money exchangers. They had Malaysian Riggit, and the banks fx screens seems to take the currencies from the border countries. I would be surprised if a local money exchanger could hook you right up. assuming you brought cash. Would be interesting if the local exchangers would even deal with travelers cheques.

About the USD traveller's cheques: I'd say you'd be better off cashing them in Cambodia rather than cashing them in Thailand into THB and then converting them to USD.

Small change is given in Riel, there are no US coins in general circulation in Cambodia.

I have a USD account in Phnom Penh and transfer money from my account in Bangkok. I can transfer to any account in the world, as long as it is in my own name, as "savings". (Privilege of having a work permit in Thailand.)

Thai Baht was widely accepted in Cambodia (as it is in Laos), but that stopped with the anti-Thai riots some time ago (has it been 10 yeas yet?). They don't accept Ringgit.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

In Cambodia, you'll get paper USD as change for anything down to $1 amounts. Under $1, which would be coins in the U.S., you'll get paper riels... the original local currency, at the rate of about 4000 riels to $1.

[cardholder]

I just found this thread and there is some very interesting and helpful information I was looking for. As I plan to move to Phonm Penh sometime before the end of the year, I am trying to get all my affairs in order and answers to some important questions I still have.

The first is finding out what is the best method(s) for transferring funds I now have in Thailand. Currently, I have a fair amount of Thai Baht, some in cash/some in bank accounts, a USD foreign account, a GBP foreign account and American Express travelers checks.

I had considered taking the travelers checks I now have to Cambodia but from what I can gather, Cambodian banks would charge me a 2% fee to cash them. On the other hand, if I cash them first in Thailand (I believe it is only 33 baht per check), I would first have to get baht and then convert again to USD, either in Thailand or Cambodia.

I'm hoping someone else has had experience with this and can provide me some suggestions on what the best way to go is. Thanks for your help.

Take a Thai bank debit card. Canadia bank don't charge for Asean withdrawals, Kasikorn charged me 150 Baht fixed (I took out $500).

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I believe most or all of the Thai banks have a 2%+ fee on any transactions made using their card outside Thailand. Check the terms of your particular Thai bank card re that...

[goforit]

Does Canadai bank have an ATM fee for withdrawals using a US debit card?

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Nope... they're free...and as best as I can tell, may be the only local bank in Cambodia that is. And the nice part is, like all the others there, dispenses genuine (we hope) U.S. greenbacks...

Edited May 3, 2012 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[goforit]

Thanks for the info on Canadia. I've sent a number of emails to several Cambodian banks looking for more information but it's difficult getting a response from them. Probably need to fly over and set up accounts first and then transfer funds via SWIFT. Carrying a lot of baht and greenbacks to Cambodia probably wouldn't be a very smart thing to do.

It looks, however, like I'm going to need to cash the travelers checks I've got in Thailand or lose a lot in fees based on the 2% Cambodian banks are charging. The rest I'll try to do with bank to bank transfers.

[FarangTalk]

There's hardly any tax on booze that's why it is so cheap in Cambo.

Off there today to see a friend and will come back with several bottles as per usual.

Buy from Bayon Market on Monivong or Supercheap on St. 360. Great selections of spirits and wine in both places. I usually bring wine back. It's not fake, after drinking hundreds of bottles of it I can testify to that. If you buy JW off the street then you run that risk, but not from those two retailers.

All the wine is imported and taxed by customs. Cellars D'Asie are the importers to Cambo.

I also buy my cheese in Cambo; mozzarella and cheddar about $30 for 2.5kgs works out far cheaper, as well as other items.

Picked up a pair of original Salomon shoes last time, paid $25, saw the exact same pair in Central World at 5,000thb.

Edited March 18, 2013 by FarangTalk

[bhatmasterson]

BTW, for anyone who's been there more than me, can you answer...

What do Cambodians in PP and city places do for the kinds of things that 7/11s provide here???

That definitely seemed to be a missing piece, and I overheard other tourists constantly asking the hotel staff the same kinds of things... where to go for a quick shopping for toothpaste, or shampoo, or sodas, etc etc...

CalTex Service Stations look a lot like 7/11 inside and have a lot of the same items.

[britgent]

Seriously considering a move to PP.

I see a Myanmar section, am I missing a Cambodia section here?

Edited March 20, 2013 by britgent

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I was intrigued by PP when I visited there awhile back, and began this thread... No, I don't believe there's a separate forum or subforum here for Cambodia...

Of all the different issues I considered and tried to learn about, the one that seemed paramount for Cambodia and PP was the quality of available medical care there, which supposedly isn't great, and significantly lower level than that available in Thailand.

That's something any potential retiree or expat thinking of moving there would want to consider.

There other thing is, of course, you don't really come to fully understand someplace, including Thailand, until you've lived there for an extended period of time. My perception of Thailand now is a lot different than when I first moved here... though as well, Thailand itself has changed a lot since I first moved here.

I suspect the same would be true for Cambodia... Though I suspect, in many ways, Cambodia might be improving as the years pass, considering where it started. Not sure you can say the same thing about Thailand's likely future ahead.