Expat kid Q&A: Life is easy here, and so is raising kids

Posted on January 28, 2014 by Lina Goldberg

In this expat series about raising kids in Cambodia, we talk to parents about the finer points of child rearing in the Kingdom of Wonder.

Greg Bloom Cambodia

Greg Bloom birdwatching with his daughter at Prek Toal Bird Sanctuary.

American expat Greg Bloom has been living in Phnom Penh since 2008, where he writes for Lonely Planet and other travel publications. He’s also the father of an adventurous 7-year-old daughter who often accompanies him on his research trips around the country. I asked Greg a few questions about raising kids in Cambodia.

What’s the best part about raising kids in Phnom Penh?

Life is easy in Phnom Penh, and that extends to raising kids. Housing and and help are both cheap. Not that this should be a reason to ignore your parental duties, but in Phnom Penh it’s more realistic to have a life outside of parenting than in, say, the US, where a live-in nanny might cost most if not all of your own salary. Leisure activities like tennis and football are also very affordable here, so parents have an opportunity to get their young ones started with a variety of sports at a young age. It’s also nice to be relatively close to the ocean, which is just 3-4 hours from Phnom Penh depending on where you go. Of course, it would be nice to be closer. In short, Phnom Penh is just a very pleasant place to live, kids or no kids.

There are also, for whatever reason, a remarkable number of kids here, especially of elementary age, so there are plenty of playmates for your rug rats. Healthy competition to provide an education to all of those kids has resulted in some excellent international schools. And of course those kids come from all over the world. This multinational exposure is something you can’t put a price on, and you can’t teach at home. Exposure to a foreign culture in the form Cambodia has to offer is another horizon-broadening benefit.

What’s the worst part about raising kids in Cambodia?

Lack of parks and open-air recreational spaces, and it’s often too hot to enjoy the few parks that exist. Outdoor activities that you might enjoy at home — like camping, hiking, river rafting, biking – are not so viable here either because it’s too damn hot or they just aren’t accessible. Those aforementioned beaches are just a little too far away to enjoy on a regular basis. The traffic and bustle of the city also won’t appeal to all.

What are your favorite activities for kids in Cambodia?

Phnom Penh & around (viable day trips):

    • Seeing a movie in an air-conditioned theater
    • Browsing books at Monument Books
    • Taking the Naga World ferry over the Mekong and biking the rural roads and trails on the other side
    • Strolling the riverfront promenade or Wat Botum Park at dusk
    • Kid’s City/Monkey Business
    • Get-togethers at restaurants like Le Jardin that have space for kids to play while the adults socialize; these places rarely exist back home.
    • Temple hopping at Oudong or in Takeo: Phnom Chisor, Phnom Da, Phnom Bayong

Weekend breaks:

    • Kayaking and swimming at the Kampot River. (Les Manguiers is arguably the most kid-friendly resort in the country.
    • Escape the heat at Kirirom National Park and hike or bike amid alpine pine forests, plus there is decent accommodation.
    • Kep for a host of good resorts and pleasant seaside beach, although beaches are disappointing here.
    • Sihanoukville (Otres Beach) and Cambodia islands (Koh Rong, Koh Rong Samloem) for beaches and snorkeling.

Longer trips:

    • Siem Reap/Angkor Wat for temples. Kids really love temples once they reach six years old or so!
    • Chi Phat ecotourism program in Koh Rong for birdwatching (my daughter loves it), biking, hiking, kayaking.
    • Stung Treng/Laos border for kayaking with Irrawaddy dolphins.
    • Kratie has a nice island resort and more dolphins (unfortunately in motorized boats, not kayaks).
    • Ratanakiri for waterfalls, elephant rides, lake swimming, gibbon spotting deep in forest for older kids and decent accommodation with pool at Terres Rouges.
    • Preah Vihear for Preah Vihear Temple. Preah Vihear Boutique Hotel in Sra Em has a pool.
    • Mondulkiri for Elephant Valley Project (mostly an option for older kids) and birdwatching.

If you could give one piece of advice to new expat parents in Phnom Penh, what would it be?

Cambodia is fun, don’t be scared to move here. Just do it. No place is ever as dangerous as you might assume. Relax and enjoy all Phnom Penh has to offer!

Review: Angkor Muscle Gym, Siem Reap

Posted on January 24, 2014 by Steven Halcrow

Angkor Muscle Gym is a cheap, local gym that sit on the banks of the Siem Reap River. At $1 for entry (including locker and towel) this is remarkable value for money. Even though the locals only pay 2000 riel, I still find it hard to complain. It may not come with the luxuries of a more upscale gym like air-conditioning or sauna, but the range and abundance of equipment more than makes up for this. That and the flexing.

Angkor Muscle Gym, Siem Reap

Where Siem Reap’s muscle go to work out.

Angkor Muscle Gym is primarily a body building gym where the emphasis is on free weights and other forms of resistance training. This is made apparent by the fact that there are only a handful of cardio machines, all of which are in perfect working order, probably due to the fact that no one seems to use them very much. (And if you do want to use the Life Fitness treadmill, it costs an additional $1 for every 20 minutes.)

There are a load of dumbbells, several benches (decline, incline and flat) Smith machine, two cable machines, lat pull down, squat rack, dipping stations and pretty much every other type of bench or machine that you could want. This abundance of equipment is great for an efficient workout as even if someone is using the thing you want to use, there will be something else you can use instead that will do the same thing.

There is also a reasonably sized studio area at the back for more aerobic-based workouts and plenty of mats for stretching or pilates/yoga-type exercises.

Inside Angkor Muscle Gym, Siem Reap

Some of the equipment is old, some of the equipment is new, but everyone is flexing.

Every time I visited there were at least a couple other foreigners there. Not that the locals would care–they all seem far more interested in checking themselves out in the mirror to worry about what some barang might be doing. Their perpetual flexing meant that at some points it felt as though I was not, in fact, in a gym at all, and instead had wandered into some weird human peacock farm. 99% of the clientele are Cambodian, a further 99% of them are topless and 75% of them spend their rest periods between sets flexing. At any gym I have visited in the UK this would be seen as unbearably vain (most of the people I know will wait until they are in the confines of their bedroom before beginning the gun show), but at Angkor Muscle Gym they are proud to show off their hard work. Some might think that such a concentration of testosterone would have a negative effect on anyone not participating in the flex-a-thon but everyone is having fun and smiling, which in my opinion helps to create a very enjoyable and fun environment in which to work out.

It is a growing scene in Siem Reap and the posters on the wall of the more successful patrons of the gym competing in bodybuilding competitions is testament to the hard work that goes into the place, which is the home of ABBA, the Angkor Body Building Association. Personal training is also available with the same guys that are on the posters and the price I was quoted was a paltry $5 an hour, although I would anticipate a few language barriers.

For women looking for a good gym to use, I would recommend Angkor Muscle Gym but be prepared as the testosterone shot is pretty intense. This actually made my female friend a bit uncomfortable, purely because she was not ready for it. If you are looking for a cardio-machine based workout then this may not be the place. But if you are willing to give it a shot, it will help you relax if you have an idea of what you are doing workout-wise before you go in. Once you start, though, you will realize that the locals care more about their muscles than you.

To find Angkor Muscle Gym, from the Old Market area, cross the Old Market Bridge and make an immediate right and walk along directly by the river until you see it. It’s less than a 10 minute walk from the Old Market. (See it on Google Maps here.)

Angkor Muscle Gym
Open 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.
House #0471, Watdamnak Village, Salakomreuk Commune, Siem Reap
T: 012 970 443
facebook.com/Angkor-Muscle-Gym

Expat kid Q&A: It makes a difference

Posted on January 13, 2014 by Lina Goldberg

This is the first of a new expat series about raising kids in Cambodia, where we talk to parents about the finer points of child rearing in the Kingdom of Wonder.

Narisara Murray and family

Family life in Siem Reap.

Narisara Murray has been living in Siem Reap with her husband John McDermott for a decade now. They have a four-year-old son and recently became parents to a baby girl. I asked Narisara a few questions about raising kids in Cambodia.

What’s the best part about raising kids in Cambodia?

The supportive environment and help with childcare. By and large, Cambodians are warm and friendly to kids and it makes a difference to feel welcomed into a restaurant or shop, where staff might play with your child, giving you a little more time to enjoy your meal or make your choices. About childcare, I find that my friends in my home country (the US), especially the families with two working parents, often have to wrestle tough choices about childcare, which is usually pretty expensive. My husband and I both work at home and we’re lucky that we can afford a wonderful nanny at home, so that we can participate in our son’s day and see how he’s doing, but get our work done at the same time.

What’s the worst part about raising kids in Cambodia?

A higher risk level than I’m used to in my home country. Poisonous snakes have been sighted in our garden, including cobras and green tree pit vipers. Dengue is always a concern, especially during rainy season.

What are your favorite activities for kids in Cambodia?

My four year old loves to go for “nature walks” — from Siem Reap, we can drive a couple miles into the countryside and find places with plenty of nature for a four year old to explore, or go to the Angkor archeological zone and wander around paths through forested areas there.

If you could give one piece of advice to new expat parents in Cambodia, what would it be?

Don’t worry. Siem Reap is a wonderful place for a child to grow up: compared to a major city, there is so much access to nature and natural life. People here are used to raising kids without iPads, iPods, TVs, etc. It’s easier to unplug here. I don’t want to be hypocritical — our son loves his iPad, but he’d also just as soon go play in the garden, look for tadpoles and lizards, make a play building out of fallen bamboo twigs (nature’s Tinker Toys), or watch the cows amble down the road. I hope these are things he’ll always remember about his childhood.

Is it safe to visit Cambodia right now?

Posted on January 7, 2014 by Lina Goldberg

If you’ve been following the news, you might be worried about visiting Cambodia right now. Protests by the opposition party (CNRP) have been going on since the August election that left the ruling party (CPP) with a thin margin of votes, a thin margin that the CNRP says they didn’t actually receive. Over the last week, though, garment factory strikes turned into violent demonstrations, and the government used force to clear Phnom Penh’s Freedom Park of protesters. So, what does this mean for you, you might wonder?

Phnom Penh riot police

Phnom Penh is in a state of alert, but a drowsy sort of alert.

Very little. While this may seem like the end of days for those reading the long-term expat Ken Cramer, who has seen this sort of thing before.

While the protests in Phnom Penh’s Freedom Park were going on over the last few days, I walked around the riverside, the city’s main tourist area. Had I not known about the protests, I would not have realized anything was out of the ordinary–everything in Phnom Penh is completely business as usual. Restaurants, bars and movie theaters are open and tourist attractions are not currently affected.

It’s important to note that while some of the protests have turned violent, no tourists or expats have been targeted. Both the CPP and CNRP are well aware that tourism drives Cambodia’s economy and no one wants to do anything to endanger those tourist dollars. So even when protests are happening at Freedom Park, the tourism industry has been entirely unaffected. The garment factory demonstrations have been the most violent, with several strikers being killed, but this took place outside of central Phnom Penh, in an area no tourist would ever find himself.

The best advice we can give is that visitors should avoid the protest areas and if they see anything that looks like a demonstration, protest or large group of people, it’s best to avoid the scene. Yesterday the protests were banned, and citizens are not allowed to gather in groups larger than ten people, but it remains to be seen if these rules will be followed. If you do see a protest, going to take photos, watching or getting involved is not advised, because when billy clubs start swinging they’re just as likely to crack your melon as anyone else’s.

Right now all of the protests are happening in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, Kampot, Kep, and Sihanoukville are entirely unaffected. In Phnom Penh the worst that tourists may experience is some slight traffic delays when there are marches happening, but even those are fairly minor.

It’s likely going to be several weeks before the next stage of Cambodia’s political future becomes clear. If the situation does escalate, we’ll revise our advice at that time, but for now, don’t worry about coming to Cambodia.

What Americans need to know about paying taxes in Cambodia

Posted on January 6, 2014 by Lina Goldberg

In today’s post, Move to Cambodia talks to David McKeegan, the co-founder of Greenback Taxes, a firm that specializes in preparing US tax returns for American expats. I’ve personally used Greenback since I moved to Cambodia  and have been very happy with the work they have done and most importantly, their level of responsiveness. If you’ve used bigger firms for your taxes, you’ll know how much that means (PwC I’m looking at you). Greenback Taxes is the first Move to Cambodia advertiser–but only after I had already been a happy customer for my last two tax returns.

If you’re an American in Cambodia or an American planning on moving to Cambodia, listen up. David has answered all of your tax-related questions here (and if you have more, please feel free to leave them in the comments).

As an American expat in Cambodia, what are my responsibilities in regard to paying taxes?

“Americans living in Cambodia are required to file a US tax return each year. The US taxes its citizens on worldwide income, so any income you earn in Cambodia is subject to US taxes. Fortunately, those that qualify as a resident of another country (through the Physical Presence test or the Bona Fide Residence test) can utilize several deductions and exclusions to offset their tax liability:

  • The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion – This allows you to exclude up to $97,600USD of yearly income

  • The Foreign Tax Credit – This is a dollar for dollar credit for the taxes you pay in Cambodia.

  • The Foreign Housing Exclusion – This allows you to deduct a certain amount of your housing expenses to offset the cost of living abroad.

In addition to US tax obligations, Cambodian residents are subject to Cambodian taxes on their worldwide income; non-residents are taxed on their Cambodian-sourced income only. For tax purposes, a resident is someone who has their principal abode in Cambodia or is present for more than 182 days in any period of 12 months ending in the current tax year.

Both residents and non-residents are subject to Cambodian Taxes on Salary (ToS). ToS includes salary, remuneration, wages, bonus, overtime, compensation and fringe benefits as part of your taxable income. Taxes are withheld by your employer so you do not need to file a Cambodian tax return. However, self-employed individuals must file a yearly tax return.”

I’ve heard that if I don’t make that much money in a year, I don’t have to pay taxes. Is that true?

“US citizens must file a tax return if their income is above a certain threshold, even if there is no tax liability. It is indeed possible, and likely, that you won’t pay any US taxes while living abroad.

It is also possible you won’t pay any Cambodia taxes if you make a small amount of money. Cambodian residents earning 500,000 KHR or less per month, pay a Cambodian tax rate of 0% and do not owe taxes on salary. But from there, tax rates are progressive depending on your income, ranging from 5% to 20%. It’s important to note that a flat tax rate of 20% applies to non-residents.”

What if I’m self-employed?

“For self-employment or investment income, 6,000,000KHR or less per year is exempt from tax. Above this threshold the rates are progressive, ranging from 5% to 20%.

For those who are self-employed, it is important to note that even if you don’t owe taxes to Cambodia, your income must be reported on your US tax return. This may result in taxes being owed to the US. Self-employment tax, for example, is assessed based on your gross income before you apply the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion or other deductions.”

If I don’t owe any taxes, why should I file a tax return?

“Americans living abroad whose income is above a certain threshold are required to file a US tax return each year, regardless of whether or not they will owe American taxes. Currently the thresholds are:

  • Single with income over $9,350

  • Married filing jointly with income over $18,700

  • Married filing separately with income over $3,650

In addition, it’s important to note that you may need to file a state tax return, depending on the state you resided in prior to your move overseas.”

What is FBAR (Foreign Bank Account Report) and how does it affect expats in Cambodia?

“All US citizens are subject to FBAR filing if certain thresholds are met. Any US taxpayer with $10,000 or more in foreign bank accounts at any point in the tax year must disclose this money through an FBAR form. This is a cumulative account total, so if you have 3 different accounts that total $10,000 or more, you will be required to file. As of September 2013, all FBAR forms must be filed electronically–no paper filings will be accepted. Penalties for failing to file FBAR when required are steep, so it is important to disclose your account balances if you meet the threshold.”

If I haven’t filed a tax return in several years, what should I do? Will I get in trouble? 

“If you haven’t filed US taxes in several years, it is important to get caught up as soon as possible. While you may not actually owe taxes to the US, you still have filing requirements. It is especially important to get current if you are subject to FBAR filing, as the penalties for failing to do so can be steep. If you are behind in FBAR filings or believe you owe taxes to the US, there are two programs available to help you.

The Streamlined Program is for low-risk taxpayers who do not owe more than $1500 in taxes for any tax year. The Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) is suitable for those who owe a greater amount of taxes or are significantly behind in FBAR filings. While acceptance to this program comes with hefty penalties on balances owed, you will likely avoid any criminal prosecution that may result from your delinquency.

Snaps: Another goregous day on Koh Totang

Posted on January 5, 2014 by Lina Goldberg
A view off the pier at Koh Totang, Cambodia.

A view off the pier at Koh Totang, Cambodia.

This isn’t the first time I’ve posted a beautiful photo of Koh Totang, and it’s unlikely to be the last. I’ve spent a lot of time on the islands off of Cambodia’s coast, but Koh Totang was particularly picturesque. Almost entirely deserted save for one set of eco-bungalows at a place called read her review here) and the place was so beautiful that we took hundreds of photos between the two of us. As we were about to get into the boat to take us to shore, I stopped to take a few snaps off the pier. Aren’t you tempted?

UK grocer Waitrose products arrive in Cambodia

Posted on January 3, 2014 by Lina Goldberg

Brits and Anglophiles are sure to rejoice when they hear the news that Waitrose products having been appearing on the shelves of Lucky supermarkets in Cambodia. The UK grocer is known for their high-end and expensive groceries (think Whole Foods) but also offer a more affordable line of Waitrose-branded items. Their store-branded line as well as the Cooks’ Ingredients and Prince Charles’ own Duchy Originals are being carried in Cambodia.

Products spotted have included an extensive collection of dried and canned beans and legumes–including several that were previously unavailable in the Kingdom of Wonder–honey, mayonnaise, salad dressing, cereal and muesli, tea, sauces, marmalade, lemon and orange curd, chutneys, jams and jellies, baking ingredients including the long awaited baking powder and cream of tarter, dried soups, capers, peppercorns and pickles. Prices are marginally higher than they cost in the UK, but are still quite reasonable ($1.95) for a can of imported beans. I’ve heard reports that some items are actually cheaper than in the UK, but was unable to confirm. Honestly, it all seems too good to be true. I would suggest buying as much as possible as quickly as possible, both to encourage Lucky to buy and stock even more products and as a hedge against the possibility that this is a one-time shipment.