Why you shouldn’t look for an apartment in Cambodia before you arrive

Posted on August 19, 2013 by Lina Goldberg

The way normal, responsible people organize a move involves finding a home before they arrive. So when normal, responsible people move to Cambodia, of course they assume they should do the same, and spend weeks or months before their move scouring the Internet and contacting letting agents via email. While this might seem the best course of action, quite frankly, it is not.

An apartment block in Phnom Penh's Riverside neighborhood.

An apartment block in Phnom Penh’s riverside neighborhood.

Why, you ask? In general, the properties and apartments you’ll find listed online cost a minimum of double what they’re worth. The other day I saw a two bedroom apartment in my Phnom Penh neighborhood listed at $1400. I’ve seen a lot of apartments in this area, and I can say with absolutely certainty that the apartment listed should have cost around $500, maximum. But letting agents in Cambodia, especially those that deal with Western clients, raise the prices on apartments to preposterous levels when advertising online.

I’ve spent a long time trying to figure out why this is, and I’ve come up with the following possibilities:

They take you for a sucker

Letting agents know that someone searching from abroad probably doesn’t know what the going rates for apartments are in Cambodia (which is why you should buy the book). They also know that if you’re coming from a major Western city such as New York, London or Sydney, that you’re used to paying an awful lot for rent, so a $700 apartment will seem like a steal, even if that apartment is really only worth $300 on the open market. Letting agents prey on your fear of coming blindly to a country with no accommodation lined up, and your laziness in not wanting to go out and hit the streets to find a place on your own.

My least favorite expats are the ones who don’t care if they are suckers because they’ve got an expense account. There are a number of companies and organizations that give their employees a monthly per diem for accommodation. Employees for these sort of companies feel compelled to spend the entire amount allocated, and will spend $2,000 on a $600 apartment just so they feel like they are milking every last drop out of their employers. This is doubly frustrating for everyone else, because most of these types are Western government and NGO workers, which means the rest of us are basically subsidizing them to ruin the expat housing market.

The more agents mark an apartment up, the more they make

A year or two ago, you could guarantee that if you used an agent, they would take the monthly price the landlord asked for and then add $50 to it. The $600 extra for a 12-month lease would be the agent’s fee paid by the landlord. Now, however, agents are realizing that the landlords don’t really care what the apartment rents for, as long as they get the amount they originally wanted.

For example, I had a Khmer friend call about an apartment on my street and the landlord told him it was $450 per month. Then, I asked an agent about the same apartment. He told me it was $600 per month. The agent was probably going to offer the landlord $500 per month and take the extra $100 for himself. The landlord is fine with this arrangement because he’s getting more than he originally asked for, and the agent will get $1,200 to talk you into signing a year-long lease on the place. After you sign the lease, the agent’s work is done. And because the landlords are the ones paying the agents, don’t expect the agent to do anything that’s in your interest versus the landlord’s. In this example, if someone new to Phnom Penh had leased this apartment through an agent, they would pay $1,800 more per year than if they leased it directly from the landlord.

Landlords and agents that use the Internet are savvier

Many of the letting agents in Cambodia that list online are Western, and are much more aware of the previous two points. Most Cambodian-owned businesses are not online yet, and the ones that are are usually savvier than the ones that aren’t. Not in a good way, mind you. Just in the they’re going to push for the highest price possible sort of way. Which is how capitalism works, I suppose, but it’s still infuriating to see $250 apartments being rented to chumps for $800, who, once they know better a few months later, complain about it endlessly.

So what should you do?

If you’re in a panic about what you should do about accommodation when you move, don’t be. Phnom Penh particularly is one of the easiest cities to find an apartment in; the whole process won’t take you more than a few days at most. When I went hunting for my first apartment, I went to eight places in a day and moved in to my favorite the same evening. Although there aren’t as many options in Siem Reap, it still won’t take long.

So book in at a many offer deals for long stays) and take a deep breath. Finding a great deal is possible, but takes a little more time than using an agent. The best way is to walk around the neighborhood you want to live in, and look for signs on the apartments with phone numbers (look up, because most of the rental apartments available aren’t on the ground floor). Lots of time, you’ll find an English-speaker on the other end of the phone and can see the place immediately.

If not, ask your guesthouse to give them a call, or enlist an English-speaking tuk tuk driver to help you with your search. Most tuk tuk drivers are happy to take a daily rate of $10-15 to drive you around a neighborhood and help you look for properties. If he does help you score one–and doesn’t try and get an agent fee out of the landlord–reward him generously for he’s just saved you hundreds of dollars. Even if you end up using an agent, use one that doesn’t list the properties online. For all of the reasons listed above, agents that don’t list online usually have far better deals than the ones that do.

*Edited to add: The one exception to all of this is finding apartments online through expats who are looking for new tenants to take over their lease, or landlords who ask other tenants of theirs to post something online about other available apartments in their buildings. I’ve found good deals this way, and so has Ramon (who reminded me of this fact in the comments).  You can find a listing of online forums and Facebook groups to make contact with other expats in our Web Resources section.

We’ve got more complete details on how best to search for a house, villa or apartments in Cambodia in the How to find an apartment section of the book.

Review: Golden Banana Bed & Breakfast and Superior Hotel, Siem Reap

Posted on August 16, 2013 by Lina Goldberg

The Golden Banana hotels in the Wat Damnak area are some of the area’s best accommodation options. They’re also some of the most confusing, with four distinct properties under the same name. We’re here to review all of them, from least expensive to luxurious.

Golden Banana Siem Reap pool

The Golden Banana Bed & Breakfast and Superior Hotel share a lovely pool. Splish splash!

The Golden Banana Bed and Breakfast and the Superior Hotel are the least expensive options of the four. Located across from one another, they share a pool and a restaurant, which are located at the Superior Hotel. All of the Golden Banana properties are located down a very cute private lane, which leads to the Golden Banana ghetto–the four properties are all just a few steps away from one another.

The hotels share a few features in common. All of the hotels have friendly staff with excellent English, and they have tuk tuk drivers that offer the standard temple tours for around $20, depending on which temples you want to see. If you’re planning a Siem Reap trip to see the temples, it’s nice to be able to hire a tuk tuk directly from your hotel and have them bring you back at lunchtime for a dip in the pool before heading back out for more temples. Visiting temples is hot, sweaty work, so I would recommend trying to fit as many dips in the pool as possible throughout the day–it’s a can’t-fail strategy.

Golden Banana Siem Reap balcony view of the pool.

The view of the pool from a Golden Banana Superior Hotel room balcony.

The Golden Banana is just next to Wat Damnak, and a five to seven minute walk to the Old Market and Pub Street. It’s also just a few minutes from my favorite restaurant in Cambodia, Cuisine Wat Damnak (don’t miss eating there at least once if you can). There are lots of lounging areas at the hotel, as well as pool loungers and shaded seating. The Golden Banana properties bill themselves as gay-friendly, but the crowd is mixed.

The Bed and Breakfast is the oldest of the properties, and if you book a standard room, you’ll end up at the Bed and Breakfast. Even though they share one listing on Agoda and one website, it’s two different places, and rooms listed as superior rooms are in the Superior Hotel. Confusing enough for ya? Here’s the breakdown.

Golden Banana Bed & Breakfast

The rooms at the Golden Banana Bed & Breakfast are the shabbiest of the bunch, but still represent great value because of the access to the pool. All rooms include air-conditioning, hot water and free WiFi, and they’re all equipped with televisions. They’re small and not particularly bright, but they’re clean, serviceable and come with a free breakfast next door. If you’re looking for a budget guesthouse with amenities, this is the way to go.

Golden Banana Bed & Breakfast room

Golden Banana Bed & Breakfast rooms are small but perfectly formed. And did you see the pool?

Rooms cost $25 for a single, $28 for a double and $31 for a twin in high season and are $3 less in low season. However, you’ll often find lower prices on Agoda all year, with rooms starting at $20. If you’re looking on Agoda, rooms listed as standard rooms are at the Bed & Breakfast.

Golden Banana Superior Hotel

The Golden Banana Superior Hotel is great value for money, with large, lovely rooms that overlook the pool that’s shaded with banana trees. Upstair rooms have cute, tiled balconies for those that want to sun worship or perv on pool-goers. Rooms are light and airy, with air-conditioning and flat-screen TVs with cable. Bathrooms have hot water overhead showers with good water pressure–something that you won’t find everywhere in Siem Reap. Twins and triples have large beds and they’re willing to put another bed in for an extra $10. Rooms have a desk and mini-bar with relatively cheap Asian beer, and there’s also a bar downstairs. Personally, I think these rooms are great and it’s where I usually stick family and friends who are visiting (and sometimes I stay there myself!)

Golden Banana Superior Hotel room

This photo doesn’t do the rooms in the Golden Banana Superior Hotel justice, they’re big and lovely.

In the high season, rooms cost $35 for a single, $45 for a double, $55 for a twin and $65 for a triple, and are $7-10 less in low season. Again, prices on Agoda are usually lower than booking direct and they often have special promotions. If you’re booking with Agoda, rooms listed as superior rooms are at the Superior Hotel.

Coming soon, reviews of the Golden Banana Boutique Hotel and Golden Banana Resort!

Golden Banana Bed & Breakfast
Golden Banana Superior Hotel
Wat Damnak, Siem Reap
T: 012 885 366; 063 761 259; 012 287 988
Book rooms at Golden Banana on Agoda
www.golden-banana.com

We’ve got more reviews of hotels and guesthouses in Siem Reap.

Living the dream: Cambodia

Posted on August 7, 2013 by Lina Goldberg

Last month I wrote a piece for International Living. Titled ‘Discovering an Affordable New World,’ it ran in the magazine’s Living the Dream column. How appropriate! I’ve re-posted the article below.

Wat Phnom, a Buddhist temple in Phnom Penh which was originally built in 1373.

Like many expats in Cambodia, I ended up in the Kingdom of Wonder completely by accident. But living in Phnom Penh, I feel like I’ve discovered the secret to a laid-back lifestyle that is almost entirely devoid of the high-pressure, wearing-high-heels stress I endured when I worked in a cubicle in New York and London.

Before coming to Cambodia, I worked at Google in the US, Ireland and the UK. After five years I quit my job to go backpacking around Asia and South America. Ten months of travel later, I applied for a fellowship with an American non-profit in Cambodia. In three short months I fell in love with Phnom Penh and the expat lifestyle there, and once my fellowship concluded, I never left.

Phnom Penh is a city in the midst of massive development, where six-story buildings are thrown up overnight without regulation or oversight. But there is still plenty of Asian small-town feel, such as the farmers who sell ripe, juicy mangos for $0.25 apiece on the side of the road, or the stalls serving strong, sweet iced coffee that’s the perfect antidote to Cambodia’s tropical heat. The city feels untamed and full of potential, and the locals are friendly and happy to have a laugh with anyone, be they Khmer or expat.

I’ve been in Cambodia for three years now, and that has allowed me to pursue a career that I love. I’m a freelance writer, publishing articles about food and travel for local and international newspapers and magazines. Recently I wrote a book, Move to Cambodia: A guide to living in working in the Kingdom of Wonder. It’s a guide for new expats that discusses step by step everything you need to know to expatriate to Cambodia, answering all of the questions that I had when I moved, and quite a few others, as well.

I love the freedom that being a freelancer affords me. And making my base in Cambodia, where the cost of living is so low, allows me to have the lifestyle I’d always dreamed about but never thought possible.

In Phnom Penh a one-bedroom apartment can be had for between $150 and $500 per month, depending on what level of luxury you require. If you are frugal, you can survive in Cambodia on less than $1,000 per month, although most expats prefer to budget a bit more. In Cambodia, luxuries that I’d never allow myself at home are easily affordable. I can have a pair of leather shoes made to order for $22, a dress tailored for not much more than that, and a weekly manicure for $6.

Despite its classification by the UN as a “least developed country,” Cambodia has a lot to offer expats. Phnom Penh has a wealth of fantastic international restaurants, wine bars and a vibrant nightlife and live music scene. It has Western-style gyms and grocery stores that stock American, British and French brands—these days you can get nearly anything you could want, from chorizo to cocoa powder. There are definitely things I miss, like public transportation, but most problems have a uniquely Cambodian solution. For transport, for instance, I take tuk tuks, which get me anywhere in Phnom Penh for between $1 and $3.

The expatriate population in Phnom Penh is large—although Cambodia’s laxity about gathering statistics means no one is quite sure how large—and very diverse. Cambodia offers one of the most readily attainable long-stay visas in the world, with a year-long visa available to most nationalities for just under $300. The expat social scene is friendly and it’s easy to meet other foreigners who have made a home here. The biggest downside is that most expats in Cambodia tend to socialize only with each other and don’t have many local friends.

Cambodia is one of the easiest countries in the world to move to. Since I left the States, this is the third country I’ve relocated to, and although it’s the most “foreign” it was also the most painless one to settle in. The commitment level is low, apartment leases can be had for as little as three months’ rent with a month’s deposit, the visa is easy and anything you need can be found in Phnom Penh. For those thinking of coming, I would suggest not wasting any time.

When I compare my life now—wearing flip flops every day and doing work that I love—to my high-anxiety existence working at a corporate job, I can’t believe how lucky I am. I have so much more time to do the things that I enjoy, like traveling, cooking and reading, and the things that were so important before, like owning an expensive handbag or the latest gadget, now seem ridiculous. When I walked away from my old life to go traveling I was not sure exactly what I was looking for. But whatever it was, I found it in Phnom Penh.

Pets in Cambodia: How to import a dog or cat (or adopt one here)

Posted on July 25, 2013 by Lina Goldberg

Looking for more up-to-date info about exporting pets from Cambodia? Check out our brand-new pet export guide!

One of the questions we hear from expats is whether or not it’s possible to bring their pets in and out of Cambodia. Happily, the answer is a resounding yes! We talked an expert on the matter, Nicola Scales, the president and founder of PPAWS, the Phnom Penh Animal Welfare Society about moving with pets to Cambodia and adopting pets in Cambodia. Here’s the low-down.

If you are looking for a pet, consider an abandoned Cambodia pagoda dog.

MTC: How can expats bring their dog or cat with them to Cambodia?

NS: It is relatively easy to bring pets in although there is little written documentation of the process. It is simplest to have your pets fly with you, you can just pick them up from the baggage department and walk out of the airport with them. If they come via a pet relocation service, there are often hidden costs added that are difficult to verify or determine ahead of time, due to the lack of documentation on the subject.

Do expat pets need special vaccinations to come to Cambodia?

Nothing special is needed, just the standard vaccinations and rabies shots–the same as most countries.

If expats want to adopt a pet in Cambodia, what is the best way to go about it?

Expats can contact PPAWS, especially if they are interested in kittens or young cats–the advantage being we often give them their first vaccination so it is cheaper in the long run. Alternatively Madame Loan at CAPA often has dogs or puppies (but she has been known not to allow certain people to adopt her rescue animals, possibly based on nationality). The alternative is to just go to a pagoda; there are many kittens and sometimes puppies abandoned there and if they ask the monks they are usually quite happy for them to take them.

What should expats consider before they adopt a pet in Cambodia?

Before you adopt any animal, please consider your future plans. Cats and dogs can live up to 20 years. Only take in a pet if you are certain that you will be able to care for it and bring it with you if you move away. Adopting a dog or cat should be for life, not just for while you are living in Cambodia!

Are there veterinarians in Cambodia? Where can expats go for pet healthcare?

I recommend Agrovet, this is a European veterinary clinic with mainly French vets but also a Spanish vet.

There are many abandoned kitties that need loving homes.

What is PPAWS (Phnom Penh Animal Welfare Society) and what do they do?

PPAWS was set up to try and help the abandoned cats and dogs in the pagodas of Phnom Penh. At the current time we focus on two pagodas. The funds come mostly from my wages as a teacher and so we are limited by this fact, and when I am working, that also limits how much I can do. But if people find abandoned animals, they can ring me and I’ll advise or try and help. I cannot take them in as I already take in rescue animals from the pagodas.

Can I take my pet with me when I leave Cambodia?

It is relatively easy to take animals with you to everywhere but Australia and New Zealand. Even the UK no longer has requires animal quarantine, instead the animals do a three month in-country quarantine after a blood test to make sure they have rabies antibodies. My advice is get your pets vaccinated and keep up with the vaccinations. Check out what you will need to take your pet back to your own country and put money aside and plan for this eventuality. There is more information about exporting your pet, including airline recommendations, on the PPAWs site.

PPAWS (Phnom Penh Animal Welfare Society) Clinic

Clinic open Tuesday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sundays 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
189 Street 37, Beoung Tumpun, Phnom Penh
T: 017 293 654; 017 517 365
ppaws.com

Snaps: New new Khmer architecture

Posted on July 19, 2013 by Lina Goldberg

Architectural detailing in Phnom Penh.

I took this photo in Phnom Penh in 2010 because, quite frankly, it was one of the ugliest things I have seen in this city. Architectural detailing is an easy way for homeowners to announce to their neighbors that they are the proud owners of lots of questionably-gotten new money. The most famous architectural movement was called ‘New Khmer architecture’–this is ‘New new Khmer architecture.’

Expat Q&A: Phnom Penh is unrecognizable now

Posted on July 15, 2013 by Lina Goldberg

In this series, an offshoot of our Expat Q&As, we talk to expats that have been living in Cambodia for years and years about how the country has changed since they arrived. The (sometimes grumpy) old timers of the expat scene have the best stories to tell, and this week’s expat, Irish national Brian Dee, is no exception.

Phnom Penh, when the streets were paved with gold. Or dirt.

Brian Dee first visited Phnom Penh in 1999, as part of a tour of the region. He has been living here permanently  since 2005, and in that time he’s seen a lot of changes.

MTC: How has Cambodia changed since you first visited in 1999 and when you moved here 8 years ago?

BD: “Phnom Penh is almost unrecognizable from how it looked when I visited first in 1999. Back then, the city was quite a dingy place. Most of the side streets were unpaved and covered in potholes, which meant that motorbikes had to go a lot slower. There was very little street lighting, so it was very dark at night and not many locals seemed to go out after dark. There were no traffic lights, so even though there was nothing like as much traffic, you’d get these incredible mash-ups at intersections. There didn’t appear to be many cars other than old Camrys or white NGO 4WDs. There were no tuk tuks, and Honda Cubs and Daelims were the main form of transport. The only “big” bikes were Honda Degrees ridden by foreigners.

There were derelict houses dotted around town, usually with squatters living in some corner of them and fires burning in the yards. A whole lot more people were living on the streets, I remember looking across from the Sharky’s balcony and about 100 people slept along that stretch. It was uncommon to see any respectable woman out at night.

The old police station on Rue Pasteur where Golden Sorya Mall now is.

There weren’t very many bars around, and there were major distances between them which didn’t seem safe to walk. From what I’ve been told the place had calmed down a lot in the past few years and was much safer than it had been in the 90s.

By the time I came here to live in 2005 it had changed a lot from those days, there were far more businesses open in the evenings and many more people out and about at night. It was still a very conservative place and the only women you’d see wearing anything other than long skirts were sex workers.

A Phnom Penh slum from the early aughties.

In 2005 there were massive slums around the city. Koh Pich had just been evicted, it was farmland back then but they’d fenced it off and put up watchtowers to prevent anyone from returning. Nearby were thousands of wood and corrugated iron shacks in the Tonle Bassac area. A lot of the shoe-shine boys, glue-sniffers and street-walkers came from that area. I had been a volunteer in the area and I knew many people who lived there so I spent quite a bit of time around the place. There was a karaoke shack where the Australian Embassy is now, and I spent many good evenings there. All those slums were evicted between 2006 and 2008 and the people were packed off to the sticks.

Wat Botum Park, back in the day.

The city had very few buildings higher than 5 floors, and although many streets had been paved, it wasn’t unusual to find muddy, rutted ones. There were three outdoor stages around town, one in the Tonle Bassac slums, a small concrete bowl-shaped one in Wat Botum Park and a big one where the night market is now. These were popular places for local people to watch shows at in the evenings. All the parks were quite decrepit places then. The Wat Botum park was very dusty and the trees where the children’s playground had squatters living under them. Where the children’s playground is at Wat Phnom were a load of shacks selling coffee and telling fortunes. There were a lot of street-walkers plying their trade in the evenings around all the parks, even right up near Independence Monument it’s quite surprising how pleasant they have become. The Riverside was quite a mess, and the quay opposite Psah Chas had collapsed.

Collapsed Sisowath Quay in the aughties.

Nowadays Phnom Penh is a much more modern-looking city. On the downside, there is an awful lot of ostentatiousness which wasn’t so apparent before. The city has become unaffordable for anyone with meager means.  I’ve concentrated on the capital because it’s where I spend most my time, some things have changed in rural parts, but not in such an obvious way as here. I still like this city a lot, but can’t help feeling that much of what I originally liked about it has disappeared. “

A more creative approach to Cambodian wedding portraits

Posted on July 5, 2013 by Lina Goldberg

I’ve decided to give up my self-proclaimed reign of expat Khmer studio portrait queen, and bestow the title on American expat Hilary Ford. You may remember Hilary from her amazing zombie Khmer studio portraits (and her Expat Q&A). This time, Hilary hit the photo studio and request that they Photoshop in some people that weren’t able to attend…like Richard Simmons and “our dirty friend Peter.”

If you’ve taken your own Cambodian studio portraits we’d love to see them! If you haven’t gotten any yet, we have tips on how to make the most of Khmer wedding photography (and they aren’t just for weddings!)

Khmer studio portrait

Hilary and friends, we at Move to Cambodia salute you!

7 Reasons why you should move to Cambodia

Posted on July 4, 2013 by Lina Goldberg

Khmer440 has a hilarious post up called 7 Reasons Why You Really Shouldn’t Move to Cambodia where writer and almost-expat Gavin Mac quips “Cambodia Parent Network? Good grief. That’s like starting the Chernobyl Gardening Club.”

Who wouldn’t want to move to this?

And while we acknowledge that the greatest humor is rooted in truth, and that the article is laugh-out-loud funny (in the way that people laughed out loud long before they LOLed), we would like to draw your attention to the reasons we’ve long suggested that Cambodia is the perfect place to expatriate to.

Getting a visa is easy. For less than a dollar a day, almost anyone can get a visa to stay in the country. Cambodia has one of the most relaxed visa programs in the world…for now.

The cost of living is low. Cambodia is cheap. Not as cheap as a lot of backpackers hope, but it’s still very inexpensive to live here. Most expats can survive by working part-time, a luxury they would not have back home.

The weather. Okay, maybe most expats can’t agree on this one, but anyone who has lived through a harsh, snowy winter can appreciate Cambodia’s year-round warm temperatures…although most do agree that hot season can be unpleasant.

Cambodia is filled with great opportunities. Whether you’re looking to get work experience in the development sector, teaching experience in the classroom, or material for your novel, Cambodia offers an abundance of opportunities for those willing to pursue them. Foreign experience is highly valued here, and most expats are able to find a job easily. In fact, many are able to find jobs that they wouldn’t be regarded as qualified to do at home.

The locals are friendly. Serial expats know that in many countries settling in can be difficult due to difficult locals. Cambodians can be difficult, of course, but they’re always friendly. If Thailand is known as the “land of smiles,” Cambodia could be called the land of genuine smiles. Even small interactions like bargaining with a tuk tuk driver usually involve smiles and laughter. Male expats also find that their charms are magnified in Cambodia and that they are far more impressive to Khmer women than to the girls back home.

Life is easy. It’s a mystery as to why, but expats in Cambodia just seem to have easier lives than they do in their home countries. Maybe it’s because they’re finally able to afford to have someone else clean their apartments, or just that they’re working fewer hours, but foreigners who’ve settled in Cambodia fall in love with the country. They may whine and complain, but don’t believe them. If they’re here, they’re having a good time.

Cambodia expats are funny. While it’s true that weirdos are drawn to Cambodia, the country is full of some of the most creative, interesting and entertaining people that I know. Sure, they might have gotten bullied in school, but in Cambodia they’ve found a place where they can be themselves. So, Gavin, when you finally decide to move we’ll welcome you with open arms.