So, is Cambodia more expensive than Thailand? Or not?

[hello55060]

PP is a terrible excuse for a capital city imo. Still 20 years behind times even with all that Chinese money going into Cambodia the last few years. Go to any other capital city, then go to PP straight after. It feels like you've been in a time machine. And you see piles of garbage just floating in any little stream there is. Cambodia doesn't understand the concept of recycling. 

[Sheryl]

23 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

Walk around the place and see all the drug addicts shooting up on the curbs?  That is what I saw and that is a quality life?

The place is filthy dirty no clean up or care for anything drug infested hole.

 

The addicts shooting up are seen only in certain areas, not places I would personally ever go much less live.  I live in PP 3-6 months of every year and have never, once, seen such a thing. Once only I ventured into the neighborhood where expat addicts hang out (there is an Ethiopian restaurant there), didnt see anyone shooting up but certainly saw some obvious addicts, it was quite a contrast to what one sees in the more upscale  neighborhoods.

 

Like any city, different areas have different characters. There are some quite nice parts of PP. They do, of course, cost more, and while there are bars to be found they may not be the type some prefer (i.e. not a place to casually pick up a girl).

 

The nicer parts of the city are also cleaner.

 

And the (foreign) restaurants are great.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Sheryl, any update on the general medical care situation in PP?

 

Any place you'd feel comfortable going for general medical / hospital care that's on a par with what's generally available in BKK or other larger Thai cities?

[Sheryl]

No. Still advisable to go to either Thailand or Viet Nam for anything at all serious or complex...and the entire Cambodian middle class (not to mention of course the upper class) are doing so, in droves.

 

 

[my friend I]

Malaysia also an option especially for those who would need a Vietnamese visa or are unsure of entry into the new Thailand. There are medical clinics at both KLIA and KLIA2 airports and an express train downtown to KL Central. There are hospitals next to KLSentral. Better hospital is Gleneagles.

 

If you do fly to BKK there is a separate immigration line for infirm,elderly, etc.

[my friend I]

I was told this was good in HCMCity  http://www.fvhospital.com

 

Also Family Medical Practice and S.O.S. which are more medical clinics. Expensive.

[freebyrd]

On 3/3/2018 at 8:48 PM, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Sheryl, any update on the general medical care situation in PP?

 

Any place you'd feel comfortable going for general medical / hospital care that's on a par with what's generally available in BKK or other larger Thai cities?

A new place over the other side of the river, Sunrise Japan Hospital. Really good and I've 'done time' in hospital in BKK, Manila and Phnom Penh.

[paulspad]

On 3/16/2016 at 6:34 AM, Lex Talionis said:

I've been living in Phnom Penh for the last three months and can compare it to Bangkok. PP is cheaper in every way except food. Western food that is. If you can eat Khmer then you're golden. But it just can't compare with Thai food. I've been learning to eat it via a KGF who is a good cook. But it's been a long, slow adjustment. It's an acquired taste.

A trip to a Lucky's or Bayon supermarket for western goods can send you into sticker shock real quick.

the fact your buying haagan dazs ice cream and you got ripped off by by  150g of cashew nuts that is even more expensive than new zealand its no wonder your bill is high. 

 

[bkk6060]

4 hours ago, paulspad said:

 

Yes and the date on that receipt is almost 2 1/2 years ago.

Prices have about doubled since then.

I do not see how it is cheaper.  Not cheaper from my experience then Pattaya.

 

 

 

[jimster]

On 3/1/2018 at 8:44 AM, Catoni said:

          I wasn't living in PP.....never even been there.  Maybe next time.. ?

 

      I was living in Siem Reap.   The tuk tuk drivers selling weed and "cocaine" (actually heroin) is very popular in the Pub Street tourist area... and they report you to the police.  The police will place you under arrest, return the dope to the tuk tuk driver to sell to the next fool, and then you can bribe them with a large amount of U.S. cash for the police to let you go.  

  

      Just curious....do you have the "milk scam" in PP ?   I think most of these scams target obvious tourists there for a couple of days or a week or or two or three.  

 

   After some time... I think the Khmer people can tell which ones of us are staying long term for months or years and don't bother us.    It's the obvious short term week or two tourists that are the targets for scams and criminal activity involving drugs and sex that they can hit up for big dollars to keep out of prison.  

                Perhaps the scams and corrupt police are just concentrated in the Siem Reap area due to the Angkor Wat Archelogical Park..... which attracts many more tourists than PP.     But I would expect corrupt police also in PP simply due to overall corruption of the Cambodian government. 

Are you sure they can spot the difference between a barang tourist and resident? Most tuk-tuk drivers start asking "need a tuk-tuk?" as soon as I step out of my car, which they strangely never see (why would I need a tuk-tuk if I have my own car?) so it hardly seems likely that a tourist and expat can be distinguished by them so easily. Of course tourists with dreadlocks and wearing singlets stand out as opposed to someone who wears more respectable clothing, but the only way of knowing the difference is by talking with them. Obviously if someone can speak Khmer, that will make them stand out compared to someone who only knows English. But then as soon as you hit the streets again, you'll become another anonymous barang again.

 

I ignore every call for a tuk-tuk except in the unlikely event i need one. However, no matter that I ignore 100 tuk-tuk drivers in a row, offers of girls and marijuana still persist, day in and day out irrespective of the time of day, whether in Phnom Penh (especially around the riverfront area), Siem Reap or Sihanoukville.

 

Therefore, I'm pretty sure every westerner in Siem Reap (and PP and SHV) has to contend with being pestered by tuk-tuk drivers, unwanted guides and other people, even if they've lived there for years.

[Sheryl]

Are you sure they can spot the difference between a barang tourist and resident? Most tuk-tuk drivers start asking "need a tuk-tuk?" as soon as I step out of my car, which they strangely never see (why would I need a tuk-tuk if I have my own car?) so it hardly seems likely that a tourist and expat can be distinguished by them so easily. Of course tourists with dreadlocks and wearing singlets stand out as opposed to someone who wears more respectable clothing, but the only way of knowing the difference is by talking with them. Obviously if someone can speak Khmer, that will make them stand out compared to someone who only knows English. But then as soon as you hit the streets again, you'll become another anonymous barang again.
 
I ignore every call for a tuk-tuk except in the unlikely event i need one. However, no matter that I ignore 100 tuk-tuk drivers in a row, offers of girls and marijuana still persist, day in and day out irrespective of the time of day, whether in Phnom Penh (especially around the riverfront area), Siem Reap or Sihanoukville.
 
Therefore, I'm pretty sure every westerner in Siem Reap (and PP and SHV) has to contend with being pestered by tuk-tuk drivers, unwanted guides and other people, even if they've lived there for years.

I'm almost never bothered in Phnom Penh. On the rare occasion I am asked if I want a tuk I just say no in Khmer and that's the end of it.

Most shops etc. instantly recognize me as a resident expat and automatically speak to me in Khmer, even if I have never been there before. Most resident expats I know report the same thing. Of course some of this may be due to not usually being around the riverfront or other tourist areas, but there seems to be something more to it. Something in my appearance or manner tells them.

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[jimster]

2 hours ago, Sheryl said:

I'm almost never bothered in Phnom Penh. On the rare occasion I am asked if I want a tuk I just say no in Khmer and that's the end of it.

Most shops etc. instantly recognize me as a resident expat and automatically speak to me in Khmer, even if I have never been there before. Most resident expats I know report the same thing. Of course some of this may be due to not usually being around the riverfront or other tourist areas, but there seems to be something more to it. Something in my appearance or manner tells them.

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If you're a barang, you'll always be a barang to the locals (same as in Thailand). It's probably because you are outside of the riverfront area that people don't automatically speak to you in English. You're probably not bothered much because you know how to avoid the tuk-tuks and other touts by ignoring them.

 

In tourist areas of Cambodia or anywhere where there are English speaking people the locals will speak to all foreigners in English. It's only away from these areas where they may speak to you in Khmer coz they can't speak English. In Thailand however I'm spoken to in Thai all the time except in some really touristy areas, but as soon as I make it clear I can speak Thai the locals will continue in Thai. At a 7-11 the tellers almost always speak in Thai but at a service station in Phnom Penh or Siem Reap they'll speak to a westerner in English.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On 4/3/2018 at 3:28 PM, bkk6060 said:

Yes and the date on that receipt is almost 2 1/2 years ago.

Prices have about doubled since then.

 

Prices for western groceries in PP have about doubled in the past 2-1/2 years?   That would be quite an inflation rate.

 

[bkk6060]

9 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

Prices for western groceries in PP have about doubled in the past 2-1/2 years?   That would be quite an inflation rate.

 

Yes, of course at least.

Just ask anyone who is there, prices are 2 to 3 times as much......

 

[Sheryl]

If you're a barang, you'll always be a barang to the locals (same as in Thailand). It's probably because you are outside of the riverfront area that people don't automatically speak to you in English. You're probably not bothered much because you know how to avoid the tuk-tuks and other touts by ignoring them.
 
In tourist areas of Cambodia or anywhere where there are English speaking people the locals will speak to all foreigners in English. It's only away from these areas where they may speak to you in Khmer coz they can't speak English. In Thailand however I'm spoken to in Thai all the time except in some really touristy areas, but as soon as I make it clear I can speak Thai the locals will continue in Thai. At a 7-11 the tellers almost always speak in Thai but at a service station in Phnom Penh or Siem Reap they'll speak to a westerner in English.
 

No, this happens in areas with plenty of (nontourist) foreigners around and with Cambodians who speak Englush well. They will still address me in Khmer.

It is not that I am ignoring the tuk tuks. They aren't calling out to me.



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[jimster]

5 hours ago, Sheryl said:

No, this happens in areas with plenty of (nontourist) foreigners around and with Cambodians who speak Englush well. They will still address me in Khmer.

It is not that I am ignoring the tuk tuks. They aren't calling out to me.



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Maybe in your local area but I challenge you to go to somewhere (outside a tourist area but where there are still likely to be English speakers) and get spoken to in Khmer automatically. I don't know what you look like, but if you're a typical barang, then I don't see why people would treat you differently from the next barang unless they can remember you from a previous encounter or know you live in the area.

[Sheryl]

I go all over. Same. I often marvel at it...I don't know how they can tell, but they can. My expat friends report the same.

 

In general I find the Khmer much more perceptive about foreigners than are Thais. They are well aware of differences between nationalities and quick to figure out what country someone is probably from, what sort of person they are etc. etc.

 

For whatever reason they still have you pegged as a tourist type. This may change with time.

 

Meanwhile in Thailand (I divide my time between the 2 countries) for more than a decade straight the staff of the local gas station kept going into a tizzy when I pulled in assuming that they couldn't communucate with me. Somehow they never remembered me despite coming there often plus never considered that someone driving a car themselves in Thailand with local plates probably speaks at least a little Thai....

 

The situation only resolved when the gas station began to hire Cambodian migrants!

 

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[Destiny1990]

Yes.. 

fyi Thailand i think is the lowest priced country in Asia. 

[4737 Carlin]

On 6/19/2018 at 11:48 PM, Destiny1990 said:

Yes.. 

fyi Thailand i think is the lowest priced country in Asia. 

Vietnam is cheaper than Thailand for most things. Cambodia is more expensive than both countries for the important stuff - it also has some of worst food I've ever encountered.

[LucysDad]

2 minutes ago, 4737 Carlin said:

Vietnam is cheaper than Thailand for most things. Cambodia is more expensive than both countries for the important stuff - it also has some of worst food I've ever encountered.

 

 

I think you must be going to the wrong places in Cambodia; I have had some great food in Pnohm Penh ans Siem Reap.

 

 

Not local food, of course, that is drab and invariably lacks spice.

 

[Destiny1990]

2 minutes ago, 4737 Carlin said:

Vietnam is cheaper than Thailand for most things. Cambodia is more expensive than both countries for the important stuff - it also has some of worst food I've ever encountered.

I never been to Vietnam yet but I doubt it’s really cheaper then Thailand.

. Maybe the moderators can make it a new thread?

 

Which Country is more expensive Thailand or Vietnam?

[LucysDad]

1 minute ago, Destiny1990 said:

I never been to Vietnam yet but I doubt it’s really cheaper then Thailand.

.

 

 

I have been 4 times and my experience is that it is, when comparing like for like.

[Destiny1990]

Just now, LucysDad said:

 

 

I have been 4 times and my experience is that it is, when comparing like for like.

Its an opinion love to hear more.

i have been in Many asian Country’s and alway Thailand was the least expensive.

[rhodie]

58 minutes ago, Destiny1990 said:

I never been to Vietnam yet but I doubt it’s really cheaper then Thailand.

. Maybe the moderators can make it a new thread?

 

Which Country is more expensive Thailand or Vietnam?

Go to Vietnam. It is much cheaper than Thailand and Cambodia.

[LucysDad]

53 minutes ago, Destiny1990 said:

Its an opinion love to hear more.

i have been in Many asian Country’s and alway Thailand was the least expensive.

 

 

 

Can you give some examples........ maybe I am going to the wrong places in Thailand ?

[bkk6060]

25 minutes ago, rhodie said:

Go to Vietnam. It is much cheaper than Thailand and Cambodia.

Much cheaper for what?

A youth hostel dorm and a can of beer?

Some semblance of a quality life is important to some people...

[Destiny1990]

53 minutes ago, LucysDad said:

 

 

 

Can you give some examples........ maybe I am going to the wrong places in Thailand ?

Jomtien huahin bangkok..

[rhodie]

2 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

Much cheaper for what?

A youth hostel dorm and a can of beer?

Some semblance of a quality life is important to some people...

Much cheaper for virtually everything in my humble opinion. I am not into youth hostels so not sure, but for beer , I agree. Been many times and COL is rising nowhere near what it is in Thailand. Whether it be for a holiday or as an expat. Go have a look. 

[balo]

I stayed in Hanoi for a week , and I can't say the prices were much cheaper than in Thailand. I am thinking about coffee, food, beer, and hotels. 

 

Also I went to the local supermarket , and tried to compare prices on normal food, like fruits, milk, bread etc.  And my conclusion  was it's about the same prices as Thailand , but the selection of imported food is really poor.  

 

 

[HowFatIsUrDog]

if you have grown accustom to consuming many thai convenience store packaged drinks etc then cambodia will be more expensive for those things because bringing things across any thai border costs more than it should talking like 50% more from a minimart in PP compared to 7-11 in thailand, same for many fruits all seem imported from thailand and cost more.
overall i would say recently PP is more expensive for me than bangkok for instance, wasnt always that way.