with faces like that, it's hard to cum in cumbodia. :o
-
IP addresses are NOT logged in this forum so there's no point asking. Please note that this forum is full of homophobes, racists, lunatics, schizophrenics & absolute nut jobs with a smattering of geniuses, Chinese chauvinists, Moderate Muslims and last but not least a couple of "know-it-alls" constantly sprouting their dubious wisdom. If you believe that content generated by unsavory characters might cause you offense PLEASE LEAVE NOW! Sammyboy Admin and Staff are not responsible for your hurt feelings should you choose to read any of the content here. The OTHER forum is HERE so please stop asking.
Snippets from Cambodia
- Thread starter Faidenk
- Start date
Some snippets from the Bayon Pearnik dated July/August 1998.
Canning and culture.
A recent straw poll conducted recently enquired about worker relations between expats and locals. The results showed that if you start the business and employ locals from the outset not many problems occur.
If, however, you are put in as a new manager or have to lay off staff, problems do occur. When taking over a managerial position, if the staff have been allowed to do as they want previously, it is very difficult to make them listen and change their ways. The general consensus in this position was fire them one at a time until they do listen. When having to lay people off the problems can be more serious. As one person put in this position quoted, “They don’t really respect you until you’ve had at least ten death
threats.” It became apparent that the main problem concerned staff understanding teamwork and taking responsibility for their own actions not just blaming the boss. So take care when laying people off.
Roads improve observancy doesn’t.
Nice roads are appearing all over town. Street lights and traffic lights are popping up all over the place.
Safer and smoother driving are ensured, wrong!! Being aware of what is going on around you seems to be the biggest stumbling block. Recent months have been dotted with incidents where you wait for the lights to go green and pull out, only to have a near collision with a moto suffering from the “don’t look or I might lose face” syndrome. Traffic lights seem to be considered decoration rather than functional. A sign of times was a head on collision involving two cars tearing down the middle of Sihanouk Blvd. Roads are improving speeds are increasing but driving skills and anticipation aren’t.
PS. The evening after this piece was written a trip up Monivong at 10.30pm revealed two fatal accidents
at traffic lights. One at the Pochentong intersection and one at the St 214 junction. The result of the latter was a gun fight over who was to blame, the injured parties were taken to Calmette where the gun battle continued when angry relatives arrived. Traffic lights are dangerous weapons if used incorrectly.
Ben’s bike is back (again).
Big Ben, featured last year for having his motorbike stolen and the problems of getting it returned (only
to be stolen and reclaimed again), had it happen again last week. This time it was easier to get it back as he saw it five days later on Pochentong Blvd. Two local guys were on it laughing and joking with him as they were going along, until he took out their front wheel. Down they went.
Ben stopped and started shouting “bike thief” in Khmer. A crowd assembled and the thieves ran off
before they were mobbed. A happy ending without having to hand over money.
TIP. Don’t do this near any police or it could cost you a bundle.
Canning and culture.
A recent straw poll conducted recently enquired about worker relations between expats and locals. The results showed that if you start the business and employ locals from the outset not many problems occur.
If, however, you are put in as a new manager or have to lay off staff, problems do occur. When taking over a managerial position, if the staff have been allowed to do as they want previously, it is very difficult to make them listen and change their ways. The general consensus in this position was fire them one at a time until they do listen. When having to lay people off the problems can be more serious. As one person put in this position quoted, “They don’t really respect you until you’ve had at least ten death
threats.” It became apparent that the main problem concerned staff understanding teamwork and taking responsibility for their own actions not just blaming the boss. So take care when laying people off.
Roads improve observancy doesn’t.
Nice roads are appearing all over town. Street lights and traffic lights are popping up all over the place.
Safer and smoother driving are ensured, wrong!! Being aware of what is going on around you seems to be the biggest stumbling block. Recent months have been dotted with incidents where you wait for the lights to go green and pull out, only to have a near collision with a moto suffering from the “don’t look or I might lose face” syndrome. Traffic lights seem to be considered decoration rather than functional. A sign of times was a head on collision involving two cars tearing down the middle of Sihanouk Blvd. Roads are improving speeds are increasing but driving skills and anticipation aren’t.
PS. The evening after this piece was written a trip up Monivong at 10.30pm revealed two fatal accidents
at traffic lights. One at the Pochentong intersection and one at the St 214 junction. The result of the latter was a gun fight over who was to blame, the injured parties were taken to Calmette where the gun battle continued when angry relatives arrived. Traffic lights are dangerous weapons if used incorrectly.
Ben’s bike is back (again).
Big Ben, featured last year for having his motorbike stolen and the problems of getting it returned (only
to be stolen and reclaimed again), had it happen again last week. This time it was easier to get it back as he saw it five days later on Pochentong Blvd. Two local guys were on it laughing and joking with him as they were going along, until he took out their front wheel. Down they went.
Ben stopped and started shouting “bike thief” in Khmer. A crowd assembled and the thieves ran off
before they were mobbed. A happy ending without having to hand over money.
TIP. Don’t do this near any police or it could cost you a bundle.
Fear & Loathing in Cambodia
For many reasons, Pailin does not have a great reputation for tourism among Cambodians or foreigners. Through the troubled 1980s and early 1990s, it was a fiercely contested region, alternately under the control of government and Khmer Rouge forces. Pailin was a major base for Khmer Rouge fighters who terrorised Battambang province until a deal in 1996 granted limited autonomy to the Ieng Sary / Ee Chhean Khmer Rouge of Pailin in exchange for peace.
Several foreigners had stumbled across into the region from the Thai side only to be met with prompt execution.
Taking all of this into account, it was not really surprising that my Cambodian wife was a little concerned when I announced that I was off to Pailin to write a travel piece.
But these are the good Khmer Rouge,” I tried to explain. “Not like the Anlong Veng or Samlot KR at all. They haven’t razed a village, conscripted locals by force of killed a foreigner in ... well ... a couple of
years.”
My own assurances of safety were beginning to sound less and less convincing so it was time for some divine advice. Off to the Pagoda.
At the Pagoda, we sat down with the head monk who studied me intently as I explained that I was off on a mission to Pailin but my wife was concerned about my safety. He continued to stare into my eyes for another minute before he spoke.
“Do you love your wife?”
“Well, yes,” I replied, wondering where his line of questioning was leading.
“Do you love your son?”
“Of course.”
“Are you going to disappear over the border into Thailand never to be seen again?”
“No!” I exclaimed.
“He’ll be fine, no problems.” Said the monk to my wife.
The old monk rubbed some lanoline into my forehead and my hair, chanted some kind of blessing and told me to get a haircut. Step one complete.
With the green light from the monks, I headed for Central Market after a brief detour to the closest barber.
Lobbing up at 10.00am for a taxi to Battambang is not a good idea. Most of the cars are gone by 9.00. I was ushered from one Nissan pick-up to the next, but having travelled that hellish 8 hour stretch before, there was no way that I was going to be bounced around in the heat, dust and probably rain with 15 others in the back of a truck. I found a clapped out Toyota sedan, negotiated a price for the front seat (30,000 riel) and waited, and waited. Taxis don’t leave for anywhere without a full load. With six places on offer, I had bought two and we were still four short after an hour of waiting. By 11.30 the driver was pulling my pack out of the boot, mumbling something about there being one spare place in the last Nissan of the day to Battambang, although he could take me alone for 90,000 Riel. Just as I was preparing to club him over the head with my bag, two smartly dressed Cambodians turned up, paid for the entire back seat and we were off.
The 306km ride northwest along Route 5 to Battambang can be best described as uncomfortable. The first stretch to Kompong Chhnang is bearable with a few interesting sights along the way – Cham villages and mosques, the temple-topped former capital of Oudong, the magic turtle – but once you get to the northern outskirts of Kompong Chhnang Province, it’s all downhill, figuratively speaking. The end of the tarmac road heralds entering the forgotten province of Pursat. One wonders what the powers that be in this province have done to deserve being totally neglected when it comes to road works. The rutted, red dirt road has been in a continual state of decline for the last half decade and there is no respite for the backside until you are out of the province into Battambang.
From Cambodia’s second largest city of Battambang, travel to Pailin can only be made by pick-up. 100Baht (yes, we’ve left the land of the Riel) for a seat inside the cab or 50 Baht for a bench seat out back for the 2 hour, 80km trip. The graded dirt road takes you through the former battle lines and still populated IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camps. Regular roadside villages extend as far as Traeng but from there on it’s nothing but scrubby hills and roped off minefields. CMAC has cleared the roadside area until about 25km outside Pailin, but this last stretch is real no-man’s land. No houses or people, although the partially cleared forest indicates that some people frequent the area.
The road then winds into the mountains, thickly forested for some stretches then totally cleared land. No houses or people, although the partially cleared forest indicates that some people frequent the area.
The road then winds into the mountains, thickly forested for some stretches then totally cleared for others. It takes a final ascent and then enters the sprawling town of Pailin.
This former Khmer Rouge stronghold greets arrivals with the curious image of a temple topped hill and one of the most unusual looking pagodas in the country. Strange indeed considering the Khmer Rouge’s attitude towards religion. The main drag continues down past government offices, a couple of restaurants and numerous gem dealerships to the central town square-cum-football field-cum-gem mine and the market.
The thing that struck me immediately about Pailin was how orderly things appeared. There was little rubbish and what traffic there was moved slowly and courteously. The main road was a bit of a shambles, having just been dug up and graded by the “Koreans”, I was told. The same person, a Pailin resident for the last 10 years recalled with a smile that these Koreans had won a hotly contested bid to pave the main road and lay guttering in the hope that they would strike it rich in gems. “Good plan but what they didn’t know is that we had dug up the road twice already!” This probably explained why the paving was progressing at a snail’s pace. Already Pailin was feeling like a separate country.
On the first afternoon in town, my companion and I, two of only three westerners in town found ourselves invited to the opening of a new Ministry of Agriculture building. I’d been to a couple of these sort of functions before – stand in the sun, listen to long incomprehensible speeches and clap on cue. We were told it started at 4pm so we turned up at 5 hoping it would be pretty much over. What we hadn’t banked on was a live band and tables set for 500 guests.
We were ushered to a table with two empty seats and were met with cold stares. These battle-hardened soldiers, all sporting new RCAF uniforms have the strangest eyes; a kind of milky, glazed look.
“Malaria,” suggested my friend. “Seeing too much death,” I countered. When I arrived back in Phnom Penh my wife assured me that it was from eating human liver. Whatever it was, it gave me the
hebee jeebees from across a small table.
The food arrived and the band cranked up. Then the Singha beer, then Thai “Regency VSOP Cognac”. Half an hour later we were all sharing similarly glazed eyes and toasting each other’s health. “Democracy! Development! Peace! Stop Khmer killing Khmer!”. Within an hour, we were stumbling through the hand dance. The same soldiers who would have shot us without a second thought two years ago were now fighting with each other to dance with us. Totally bizarre. Many people knock Cambodians for their inabilities, but they certainly all share the ability to have a good time.
The next day we managed to blag a ride around the region with a visiting NGO prospector. Not prospecting for gems or timber but for some do-gooder type projects. The hilly countryside alternates
between scarred landscape from logging, gem mining and war to thick virgin forest. I have my suspicions that the untouched forest, especially close to town is preserved to hide the entire town if needed. Indeed the side of Phnom Khieu that faces Pailin is thickly forested while the far side is totally bare.
Cleared areas are periodically cultivated with a little rice, coffee, chilli, bananas and other fruit. Rural villages are few and far between and very very poor.
Back in town we took a look at the new casino and had a wander around the market. I was surprised to learn of how many traders were from out of town; Battambang, Siem Reap, Kompong Som, Kampot, all over. Pailin certainly has an allure of being a frontier town with great opportunity to make some money. This and the general opinion that the authorities were not corrupt were reportedly the biggest drawcards for Pailin’s newest residents.
And tourism in Pailin? There’s the casino and new Teng Bunma hotel on the horizon which will draw a certain type of tourist. But really, more than Pailin having anything in particular to see or do, it’s another fantastic corner of Cambodia to experience.
For many reasons, Pailin does not have a great reputation for tourism among Cambodians or foreigners. Through the troubled 1980s and early 1990s, it was a fiercely contested region, alternately under the control of government and Khmer Rouge forces. Pailin was a major base for Khmer Rouge fighters who terrorised Battambang province until a deal in 1996 granted limited autonomy to the Ieng Sary / Ee Chhean Khmer Rouge of Pailin in exchange for peace.
Several foreigners had stumbled across into the region from the Thai side only to be met with prompt execution.
Taking all of this into account, it was not really surprising that my Cambodian wife was a little concerned when I announced that I was off to Pailin to write a travel piece.
But these are the good Khmer Rouge,” I tried to explain. “Not like the Anlong Veng or Samlot KR at all. They haven’t razed a village, conscripted locals by force of killed a foreigner in ... well ... a couple of
years.”
My own assurances of safety were beginning to sound less and less convincing so it was time for some divine advice. Off to the Pagoda.
At the Pagoda, we sat down with the head monk who studied me intently as I explained that I was off on a mission to Pailin but my wife was concerned about my safety. He continued to stare into my eyes for another minute before he spoke.
“Do you love your wife?”
“Well, yes,” I replied, wondering where his line of questioning was leading.
“Do you love your son?”
“Of course.”
“Are you going to disappear over the border into Thailand never to be seen again?”
“No!” I exclaimed.
“He’ll be fine, no problems.” Said the monk to my wife.
The old monk rubbed some lanoline into my forehead and my hair, chanted some kind of blessing and told me to get a haircut. Step one complete.
With the green light from the monks, I headed for Central Market after a brief detour to the closest barber.
Lobbing up at 10.00am for a taxi to Battambang is not a good idea. Most of the cars are gone by 9.00. I was ushered from one Nissan pick-up to the next, but having travelled that hellish 8 hour stretch before, there was no way that I was going to be bounced around in the heat, dust and probably rain with 15 others in the back of a truck. I found a clapped out Toyota sedan, negotiated a price for the front seat (30,000 riel) and waited, and waited. Taxis don’t leave for anywhere without a full load. With six places on offer, I had bought two and we were still four short after an hour of waiting. By 11.30 the driver was pulling my pack out of the boot, mumbling something about there being one spare place in the last Nissan of the day to Battambang, although he could take me alone for 90,000 Riel. Just as I was preparing to club him over the head with my bag, two smartly dressed Cambodians turned up, paid for the entire back seat and we were off.
The 306km ride northwest along Route 5 to Battambang can be best described as uncomfortable. The first stretch to Kompong Chhnang is bearable with a few interesting sights along the way – Cham villages and mosques, the temple-topped former capital of Oudong, the magic turtle – but once you get to the northern outskirts of Kompong Chhnang Province, it’s all downhill, figuratively speaking. The end of the tarmac road heralds entering the forgotten province of Pursat. One wonders what the powers that be in this province have done to deserve being totally neglected when it comes to road works. The rutted, red dirt road has been in a continual state of decline for the last half decade and there is no respite for the backside until you are out of the province into Battambang.
From Cambodia’s second largest city of Battambang, travel to Pailin can only be made by pick-up. 100Baht (yes, we’ve left the land of the Riel) for a seat inside the cab or 50 Baht for a bench seat out back for the 2 hour, 80km trip. The graded dirt road takes you through the former battle lines and still populated IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camps. Regular roadside villages extend as far as Traeng but from there on it’s nothing but scrubby hills and roped off minefields. CMAC has cleared the roadside area until about 25km outside Pailin, but this last stretch is real no-man’s land. No houses or people, although the partially cleared forest indicates that some people frequent the area.
The road then winds into the mountains, thickly forested for some stretches then totally cleared land. No houses or people, although the partially cleared forest indicates that some people frequent the area.
The road then winds into the mountains, thickly forested for some stretches then totally cleared for others. It takes a final ascent and then enters the sprawling town of Pailin.
This former Khmer Rouge stronghold greets arrivals with the curious image of a temple topped hill and one of the most unusual looking pagodas in the country. Strange indeed considering the Khmer Rouge’s attitude towards religion. The main drag continues down past government offices, a couple of restaurants and numerous gem dealerships to the central town square-cum-football field-cum-gem mine and the market.
The thing that struck me immediately about Pailin was how orderly things appeared. There was little rubbish and what traffic there was moved slowly and courteously. The main road was a bit of a shambles, having just been dug up and graded by the “Koreans”, I was told. The same person, a Pailin resident for the last 10 years recalled with a smile that these Koreans had won a hotly contested bid to pave the main road and lay guttering in the hope that they would strike it rich in gems. “Good plan but what they didn’t know is that we had dug up the road twice already!” This probably explained why the paving was progressing at a snail’s pace. Already Pailin was feeling like a separate country.
On the first afternoon in town, my companion and I, two of only three westerners in town found ourselves invited to the opening of a new Ministry of Agriculture building. I’d been to a couple of these sort of functions before – stand in the sun, listen to long incomprehensible speeches and clap on cue. We were told it started at 4pm so we turned up at 5 hoping it would be pretty much over. What we hadn’t banked on was a live band and tables set for 500 guests.
We were ushered to a table with two empty seats and were met with cold stares. These battle-hardened soldiers, all sporting new RCAF uniforms have the strangest eyes; a kind of milky, glazed look.
“Malaria,” suggested my friend. “Seeing too much death,” I countered. When I arrived back in Phnom Penh my wife assured me that it was from eating human liver. Whatever it was, it gave me the
hebee jeebees from across a small table.
The food arrived and the band cranked up. Then the Singha beer, then Thai “Regency VSOP Cognac”. Half an hour later we were all sharing similarly glazed eyes and toasting each other’s health. “Democracy! Development! Peace! Stop Khmer killing Khmer!”. Within an hour, we were stumbling through the hand dance. The same soldiers who would have shot us without a second thought two years ago were now fighting with each other to dance with us. Totally bizarre. Many people knock Cambodians for their inabilities, but they certainly all share the ability to have a good time.
The next day we managed to blag a ride around the region with a visiting NGO prospector. Not prospecting for gems or timber but for some do-gooder type projects. The hilly countryside alternates
between scarred landscape from logging, gem mining and war to thick virgin forest. I have my suspicions that the untouched forest, especially close to town is preserved to hide the entire town if needed. Indeed the side of Phnom Khieu that faces Pailin is thickly forested while the far side is totally bare.
Cleared areas are periodically cultivated with a little rice, coffee, chilli, bananas and other fruit. Rural villages are few and far between and very very poor.
Back in town we took a look at the new casino and had a wander around the market. I was surprised to learn of how many traders were from out of town; Battambang, Siem Reap, Kompong Som, Kampot, all over. Pailin certainly has an allure of being a frontier town with great opportunity to make some money. This and the general opinion that the authorities were not corrupt were reportedly the biggest drawcards for Pailin’s newest residents.
And tourism in Pailin? There’s the casino and new Teng Bunma hotel on the horizon which will draw a certain type of tourist. But really, more than Pailin having anything in particular to see or do, it’s another fantastic corner of Cambodia to experience.
Attachments
From Bayon Pearnik
Jan 1999
Everything You Need to Know About Men
1. Men like to barbecue. Men will cook if danger is involved.
2. Men who have pierced ears are better prepared for marriage. They've experienced pain and bought jewelry.
3. Men are very confident people. My husband is so confident that when he watches sports on television, he thinks that if he concentrates he can help his team. If the team is in trouble, he coaches the players from our living room, and if they're really in trouble, I have to get off the phone in case
they call him.
4. Men like phones with lots of buttons. It makes them feel important.
5. Men love to be the first to read the newspaper in the morning. Not being the first is upsetting to their psyches.
6. All men are afraid of eyelash curlers. I sleep with one under my pillow, instead of a gun.
7. A good place to meet a man is at the dry cleaner. These men usually have jobs and bathe.
8. All men hate to hear "We need to talk about our relationship." These seven words strike fear in the heart of even General Schwartzkopf.
9. Men are sensitive in strange ways If a man has built a fire and the last log does not burn, he will take it personally.
10. Men have an easier time buying bathing suits. Women have two types: depressing and more depressing. Men have two types: nerdy and not nerdy.
11. Men have higher body temperatures than women If your heating goes out in winter, I recommend sleeping next to a man. Men are like portable heaters that snore.
12. Women take clothing much more seriously than men. I've never seen a man walk into a party and say "Oh no, I'm so embarrassed; I've got to get out of here. There's another man wearing a black tuxedo.”
13. Most men hate to shop That's why the men's department is usually on the first floor of a department store, two inches from the door.
14. If a man prepares dinner for you and the salad contains three or more types of lettuce, he is serious.
15. If you're dating a man who you think might be "Mr Right," if he a) got older, b) got a new job, or c) visited a psychiatrist, you are in for a nasty surprise. The cocoon-to-butterfly theory only works on cocoons and butterflies.
16. No man is charming all of the time Even Cary Grant is on record saying he wished he could be Cary Grant.
17. When four or more men get together, they talk about sports.
18. When four or more women get together, they talk about men.
19. Men are less sentimental than women. No man has ever seen the movie THE WAY WE WERE twice, voluntarily.
20. Most women are introspective: "Am I in love? Am I emotionally and creatively fulfilled?" Most men are outrospective: "Did my team win? How's my car?"
21. If a man says, "I'll call you," and he doesn't, he didn't forget. He didn't lose your number. He didn't die. He just didn't want to call you.
22. Men hate to lose. I once beat my husband at tennis I asked him, "Are we going to have sex again?" He said, "Maybe — next year."
23. Getting rid of a man without hurting his masculinity is a problem "Get out" and "I never want to see you again" might sound like a challenge. If you want to get rid of a man, I suggest saying, "I love you.. I want to marry you. I want to have your children." Sometimes they leave skid marks.
24. Men are self-confident because they grow up identifying with superheroes. Women have bad self-images because they grow up identifying with Barbie.
Jan 1999
Everything You Need to Know About Men
1. Men like to barbecue. Men will cook if danger is involved.
2. Men who have pierced ears are better prepared for marriage. They've experienced pain and bought jewelry.
3. Men are very confident people. My husband is so confident that when he watches sports on television, he thinks that if he concentrates he can help his team. If the team is in trouble, he coaches the players from our living room, and if they're really in trouble, I have to get off the phone in case
they call him.
4. Men like phones with lots of buttons. It makes them feel important.
5. Men love to be the first to read the newspaper in the morning. Not being the first is upsetting to their psyches.
6. All men are afraid of eyelash curlers. I sleep with one under my pillow, instead of a gun.
7. A good place to meet a man is at the dry cleaner. These men usually have jobs and bathe.
8. All men hate to hear "We need to talk about our relationship." These seven words strike fear in the heart of even General Schwartzkopf.
9. Men are sensitive in strange ways If a man has built a fire and the last log does not burn, he will take it personally.
10. Men have an easier time buying bathing suits. Women have two types: depressing and more depressing. Men have two types: nerdy and not nerdy.
11. Men have higher body temperatures than women If your heating goes out in winter, I recommend sleeping next to a man. Men are like portable heaters that snore.
12. Women take clothing much more seriously than men. I've never seen a man walk into a party and say "Oh no, I'm so embarrassed; I've got to get out of here. There's another man wearing a black tuxedo.”
13. Most men hate to shop That's why the men's department is usually on the first floor of a department store, two inches from the door.
14. If a man prepares dinner for you and the salad contains three or more types of lettuce, he is serious.
15. If you're dating a man who you think might be "Mr Right," if he a) got older, b) got a new job, or c) visited a psychiatrist, you are in for a nasty surprise. The cocoon-to-butterfly theory only works on cocoons and butterflies.
16. No man is charming all of the time Even Cary Grant is on record saying he wished he could be Cary Grant.
17. When four or more men get together, they talk about sports.
18. When four or more women get together, they talk about men.
19. Men are less sentimental than women. No man has ever seen the movie THE WAY WE WERE twice, voluntarily.
20. Most women are introspective: "Am I in love? Am I emotionally and creatively fulfilled?" Most men are outrospective: "Did my team win? How's my car?"
21. If a man says, "I'll call you," and he doesn't, he didn't forget. He didn't lose your number. He didn't die. He just didn't want to call you.
22. Men hate to lose. I once beat my husband at tennis I asked him, "Are we going to have sex again?" He said, "Maybe — next year."
23. Getting rid of a man without hurting his masculinity is a problem "Get out" and "I never want to see you again" might sound like a challenge. If you want to get rid of a man, I suggest saying, "I love you.. I want to marry you. I want to have your children." Sometimes they leave skid marks.
24. Men are self-confident because they grow up identifying with superheroes. Women have bad self-images because they grow up identifying with Barbie.
then what are you waiting for ??!!..............buy a couple houses and turn them into whorehouses............
........until Zionist stooge, Hun Sen kena ''regime change'' lah...............
that's why the French were only too willing to lose Cambodia as a colony...........
How to rent a property in Cambodia by a expat in Cambodia
1. Get a map of the town/city you live in.
2. Draw a perimeter around the area you want to live in.
3. Be able to recognize the Khmer script for ˜for rent/sale. The sign is normally posted on the outside of the property in question. If you see the sign on the first floor balcony, it is that level that is for rent. ( I'd appreciate someone checking the sign, I seem to have lost my own photo)
4. Get on a motorcycle and drive around the area.
5. Take DISCREET photos of the property and save with the St. suffix, ie #1, St. 240, together with the phone number. The number will be on the sale/rent sign. II use the photos to weigh up options later. If you have a really good memory, just write down the address.
6. During this process, avoid talking to owners/Khmer onlookers at all costs if possible. It's easy to understand that the best time to do this would be at night, when you would also get a good idea of the noise levels in the area.
7. Once you have surveyed your area, go home.
8. Make a list of things you need regarding the apartment. Here is my list:
Quiet: this takes independent research, as an owner will tell you what you want to hear, and many Khmers are immune to noise that annoys westerners. If you see dogs, chickens, metal shops, karaoke bars, RUN! If you hear freshie boy kids doing karaoke at the home next door, RUN!
Separate entrance.
Aircon (this can be installed by negotiating if they don't have it, I paid an extra month's deposit as the owner spent $400 on a Panasonic inverter) Western toilet
Glass and steel windows for quiet and security
Partly furnished, I have my own bed, desk, fridge, gas cooker etc.
2 bedrooms
Secure parking for two motos
Reliable electricity (it goes without saying that the owner will seldom be honest about this, so you may need to visit EDC <Electricite du Cambodge, equivalent to PUB)
Water that does not rely on an electrical pump if the above is dodgy.
Cable TV/internet. Most houses renting will have cable TV, but few will have internet.
Normal fee for shared TV is $5/month, internet I sup to you.
Decent water pressure (check at peak times, 6am-830 am)
I have my own electrical water heater, which goes when I do. About $100.
Does not face west (too hot in the afternoon)
Now that you have your list, find a Khmer friend to make phone calls for you to ask the rental price and check what each property has in terms of your requirements. In addition, they should ask what deposit is required. One month is standard. If they say 2 or more, and you want to negotiate it, do so if you like the place when you see it..
Write down the rentals next to your list of properties.
Take your Khmer friend and visit the places. If rental prices are adjusted when you visit, RUN!
OK, so let's assume you have found a place. Next step, sign the lease, right?
NO! FAIL!
You should check the lease for the following, which should be clearly stated IN WRITING (your Khmer friend should check the Khmer, and you should get an English copy signed and thumb-printed by the lessor):
I write these things down before and my wife explains them to any potential lessor.
1. Electricity rate should be at EDC rate, no levy by the owner. Apartment should be sub-metered. The tenant should pay at least half the cost of this, you can buy meters for less than $20. Keep a record of your readings and payments. You can organize payment via Wing, Google that.
2. Water should be at municipal rate.
3. Garbage removal at municipal rate.
4. Right of fair access to the owner should be provided for by mutual agreement, appointment only.
5. Certain items under maintenance should be the owner's responsibility: wiring, plumbing, aircon, leaking roofs, painting etc.
6. Minor items such as light bulbs and things you damage/break are your responsibility.
7. A provision should be that you give one month's notice, and that the lessor then uses your deposit instead of you paying rental for the last month.
8. Change all the internal locks, and do not give the owner a copy of keys.
9. Make sure you have bike insurance; the owner is generally not responsible for loss/theft, so get disk locks/chains.
1. Get a map of the town/city you live in.
2. Draw a perimeter around the area you want to live in.
3. Be able to recognize the Khmer script for ˜for rent/sale. The sign is normally posted on the outside of the property in question. If you see the sign on the first floor balcony, it is that level that is for rent. ( I'd appreciate someone checking the sign, I seem to have lost my own photo)
4. Get on a motorcycle and drive around the area.
5. Take DISCREET photos of the property and save with the St. suffix, ie #1, St. 240, together with the phone number. The number will be on the sale/rent sign. II use the photos to weigh up options later. If you have a really good memory, just write down the address.
6. During this process, avoid talking to owners/Khmer onlookers at all costs if possible. It's easy to understand that the best time to do this would be at night, when you would also get a good idea of the noise levels in the area.
7. Once you have surveyed your area, go home.
8. Make a list of things you need regarding the apartment. Here is my list:
Quiet: this takes independent research, as an owner will tell you what you want to hear, and many Khmers are immune to noise that annoys westerners. If you see dogs, chickens, metal shops, karaoke bars, RUN! If you hear freshie boy kids doing karaoke at the home next door, RUN!
Separate entrance.
Aircon (this can be installed by negotiating if they don't have it, I paid an extra month's deposit as the owner spent $400 on a Panasonic inverter) Western toilet
Glass and steel windows for quiet and security
Partly furnished, I have my own bed, desk, fridge, gas cooker etc.
2 bedrooms
Secure parking for two motos
Reliable electricity (it goes without saying that the owner will seldom be honest about this, so you may need to visit EDC <Electricite du Cambodge, equivalent to PUB)
Water that does not rely on an electrical pump if the above is dodgy.
Cable TV/internet. Most houses renting will have cable TV, but few will have internet.
Normal fee for shared TV is $5/month, internet I sup to you.
Decent water pressure (check at peak times, 6am-830 am)
I have my own electrical water heater, which goes when I do. About $100.
Does not face west (too hot in the afternoon)
Now that you have your list, find a Khmer friend to make phone calls for you to ask the rental price and check what each property has in terms of your requirements. In addition, they should ask what deposit is required. One month is standard. If they say 2 or more, and you want to negotiate it, do so if you like the place when you see it..
Write down the rentals next to your list of properties.
Take your Khmer friend and visit the places. If rental prices are adjusted when you visit, RUN!
OK, so let's assume you have found a place. Next step, sign the lease, right?
NO! FAIL!
You should check the lease for the following, which should be clearly stated IN WRITING (your Khmer friend should check the Khmer, and you should get an English copy signed and thumb-printed by the lessor):
I write these things down before and my wife explains them to any potential lessor.
1. Electricity rate should be at EDC rate, no levy by the owner. Apartment should be sub-metered. The tenant should pay at least half the cost of this, you can buy meters for less than $20. Keep a record of your readings and payments. You can organize payment via Wing, Google that.
2. Water should be at municipal rate.
3. Garbage removal at municipal rate.
4. Right of fair access to the owner should be provided for by mutual agreement, appointment only.
5. Certain items under maintenance should be the owner's responsibility: wiring, plumbing, aircon, leaking roofs, painting etc.
6. Minor items such as light bulbs and things you damage/break are your responsibility.
7. A provision should be that you give one month's notice, and that the lessor then uses your deposit instead of you paying rental for the last month.
8. Change all the internal locks, and do not give the owner a copy of keys.
9. Make sure you have bike insurance; the owner is generally not responsible for loss/theft, so get disk locks/chains.
Similar threads
