Cambodia scams: US dollar and currency scams

Posted on October 20, 2016 by Jen Green

Foreigners living in large cities in Cambodia have the distinct advantage of using US dollars to pay for most goods and services (for now). Americans especially will appreciate being able to withdraw funds from their US bank accounts without having to ponder the classic currency exchange question of the ages — do you withdraw in local currency or USD?

However, the lack of currency import and export controls, and other relatively loose financial regulation, leaves several traps for the unwary, and can lead to expensive and embarrassing transactions. This is not a new problem, but one that seems to bubble up especially around major holidays and during tourist season. Here are some classic Cambodia currency traps:

Ripped bills Cambodia

Ripped, torn, or worn: These US dollars were all rejected in Cambodia.

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The best backpacker hostels in Sihanoukville

Posted on October 4, 2016 by Greg Kamphuis

Before deciding which Sihanoukville hostel is right for you, it is important to understand the layout of town. There are three tourist hotspots: Victory Hill, Serendipity Beach, and Otres Beach. All areas have their own unique characteristics and are spaced along the coast around 7km apart from one another. In this guide to Sihanoukville’s best hostels, we’ll cover backpacker hostels in all three areas.

Monkey Republic Sihanoukville

Monkey Republic is one of the most popular hostels on Serendipity Beach Road.

Serendipity Beach is where all the action is. It is located at the center of the Sihanoukville coast line and delivers pretty much everything you could want from a coastal town: beach bars, loud music, and drinks served in buckets.

Victory Hill is the quietest of the three, and is more of an expat community than a tourist destination. It has some good restaurants for bargain prices, and it may be a place to keep in mind if you want to get away from the party scene in Sihanoukville.
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Which Cambodian island paradise is right for you?

Posted on September 30, 2016 by Cassie Wilkins

With azure seas lapping at white sandy beaches, palm trees, and a horizon dotted with tropical islands, southern Cambodia is reminiscent of Thailand of days gone by. Thoughts of Cambodia normally conjure up images of temples, yellow-robed monks, and children riding buffalo through rice paddies, but the country also offers island paradises with days spent lazing on lush tropical beaches and nights partying away at an all-night jungle rave. With so many options to choose from you may wonder how to choose, but this handy summary will help you find your perfect Cambodia island destination.

Where the Cambodian coast meets the Gulf of Thailand, the ocean is dotted with hundreds of islands, with over 25 off the coast of Sihanoukville and Ream National Park alone. Although some are uninhabited and others are privately owned, there is definitely a sandy island paradise somewhere that’s just waiting to tick all your boxes!

Koh Rong Koh Toch

Koh Rong is known for cheap accommodation and more fun than you can handle.

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Understanding Phnom Penh property types

Posted on September 26, 2016 by Lina Goldberg

Cambodia’s capital city has more and more housing built every day, but most Phnom Penh real estate fall into one of six categories: Traditional Khmer houses, Khmer-style shophouses, renovated shophouses, Western apartments, full-service apartments, and freestanding villas.

Cambodian wooden house

Expats romanticize Cambodian wooden houses, but they aren’t easy to find!

Traditional Khmer houses

As Phnom Penh grows, traditional wooden Khmer houses are harder and harder to find in the city. Cambodian wooden houses are made of wood and on stilts (this isn’t the first year Phnom Penh has flooded, after all); traditionally the breezy area under the house was used for hanging hammocks, lounging, and keeping livestock safe. Today, almost all available wooden houses in Phnom Penh have been renovated, and the downstairs will have been turned into a ground floor made from concrete, and many have been turned into restaurants. While the idea of a wooden house is charming, they can be hot and prone to mosquitoes — many expats find themselves spending most of their time in the concrete part of the house because it’s easier to keep cool with air-conditioning. Continue reading →

Review: Sky Angkor Airlines, Siem Reap to Sihanoukville

Posted on September 24, 2016 by Lina Goldberg

Until recently, there was only one flight from Siem Reap to Sihanoukville, and it wasn’t cheap. Last year a new airline has started offering flights between Sihanoukville and Siem Reap several times a week. It’s an all-around winner: Sky Angkor Air’s planes are new, the prices are incredibly low, and I didn’t crash on my recent flight.

Sky Angkor Airlines Cambodia

Sky Angkor Airlines flights Siem Reap to Sihanoukville for cheap.

Sky Angkor Airlines, formerly SkyWings Asia Airlines, is a joint Korean and Cambodian venture and is flying the first international flights in and out of Sihanoukville Airport, to Korea, Japan, and China. Their fleet consists of three full-size Airbus A320-200s, which is reassuring to the passenger who might be skittish about flying domestic flights in Cambodia on smaller propeller planes.

The Siem Reap to Sihanoukville flight is part of a triangle route to allow Korean passengers to hit the temples of Angkor and the beach. As such, it hasn’t been advertised at all, and on both of my flights last week fewer than 20 of the 200 seats had passengers. That might be why the tickets are between $112 and $160 for a round-trip flight, which is incredibly low compared to the dominant player on the route, Cambodia Angkor Air, who charges between $230 and $300 for a return flight.

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Is Sihanoukville gay friendly?

Posted on September 23, 2016 by Greg Kamphuis

If you count the number of gay bars and gay hotels in Sihanoukville it would be easy to come to the conclusion that this is not a gay-friendly town.

Located in a vibrant and beautiful seaside town with a population of nearly 200,000 people, Sihanoukville’s only gay bar seems a bit lonely when compared to similar-sized cities in Thailand. However, with the help of a gay friend who lives in and loves Sihanoukville, I decided to dig a little deeper than just a simple bar count.

The first step of my investigation was a series of conversations which confirmed that what is true for gay culture in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap is also true in Sihanoukville: the ultra-accepting and friendly Khmer culture extends equally to homosexuals and heterosexuals.

After plenty of insightful conversations with both straight and gay Cambodians and expats, I was convinced that Cambodia is like any other progressive country. They still have some traditional families and rural communities where it is difficult to be LGBT, but for the most part sexual orientation does not play a role in how you will be judged.

Gay Sihanoukville

OGA Bar, the heart of Sihanoukville’s gay community.

The second step of my mission to find out if Sihanoukville is gay friendly took me to OGA Bar, the lone gay bar in town and the heart of the gay community, and I emphasize heart! Continue reading →

Surviving dengue fever in Cambodia

Posted on September 20, 2016 by Lina Goldberg

A few weeks ago I suffered through dengue fever…again. This is either the second or third time I’ve had the virus in Cambodia, and I’m sharing my experiences here both to garner sympathy and as a cautionary tale.

dengue fever Cambodia

Getting dengue fever in Cambodia — not a good buzz.

Every time I have had dengue, despite showing similar symptoms, it has hit me differently. Last month I was feeling fine when all of a sudden I got a terrible lower backache that I attributed to sitting in front of a computer for too long. But a few hours later I started vomiting, and shortly after that was running a fever, getting the chills, and feeling like electric shocks were running up and down my body. I went from feeling dandy to being in the the grips of a serious bout of dengue in just a few hours. For two days I thought I was going to die, but it disappeared just as quickly as it came on — my fever subsided on the third night and I went back to feeling normal, although very tired and run down. Continue reading →

Review: Suns of Beaches hostel, Koh Rong

Posted on September 15, 2016 by Lina Goldberg

The amusingly named Suns of Beaches is a brand-new Koh Rong hostel on a beautiful private beach. It’s so new, in fact, that they have just started accepting their first guests. We took a tour of the place and saw what was on offer and are confident that Suns of Beaches is going to be popular.

Suns of Beaches Koh Rong

The private beach in front of Suns of Beaches on Koh Rong.

Right now there’s an eight-bed mixed dorm bungalow, with more on the way. One night in the dorm costs just $3.50, which is a steal. This is a soft opening price and will almost certainly go up in the future. There are also camping options, in the form of tents on the beach, each with a double futon mattress and pillows. Continue reading →