General notes Cambodia Oct2023
Old USD banknotes, scrambling for change, ghost money, boat between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, taxi Siem Reap to O'Smach, sinkholes and broken manhole covers, road conditions, good food in Cambodia, Phnom Penh bus app, haircut.
Old USD banknotes
Cambodia uses Khmer Riel KHR and US-Dollar USD in parallel. Huge advantage for travellers from US, no need to change money at all. Small advantage for me, at the end of the trip I spend all KHR and have only USD left, which I can use worldwide.
But there is a downside: damaged notes do not get taken out of circulation by agency that issues them. Circulating 100 USD from ATM in good condition and get treated well, 50, 20, 10 in various conditions, 5 and 1 some in poor condition but accepted for payment.
A friend got a 20 USD bill in poor condition as payment from a customer. When he wanted to pay somewhere else with that note, it was not accepted. ADM didn't accept it either. We hunt down (at the restaurant where he just dropped him) the customer who paid him with this bill and get it exchanged for 2x10 USD good condition.
Years ago we met someone who has a side business to buy damaged USD notes at a discount and take them back to the US, where the central bank changes them for their full value for good notes.
See here as well: https://web.facebook.com/groups/KampotNoticeboard/permalink/2219490084926176/ Hesitant to post because everyone is probably sick of hearing it again, but.I have tried searching and obviously don't know what I am doing as I can't find anything recent. The old US dollar conundrum. A very good shape US 100 with a 1 mm rip does not seem changeable here. Tried 3 money changers including the go to lady near the Durian Roundabout AND my bank and no one will take it or even offer a discounted (for them) amount. WHo are people going to these days for this issue or am I stuck with it?
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501380779/tourists-urged-to-use-riel-digital-payments/ The suggestion was made after a tourist guide with Facebook account name ‘Khat Sam Ath’ said on social media that a group of Singaporean tourists faced difficulties in making payments in US dollar claimed to be “slightly old, dirty or torn” during their three-day visit to in Siem Reap.
So far I dodged that bullet, but now it hit me as well, I got a 50 USD note with a small rip. I tried to use it to pay three times, but all noticed the rip and refused. A money changer would have taken it at a discount. But I rather give it to a friend from US to change it there.
Can happen in Thailand as well: https://thethaiger.com/news/national/convenience-stores-refusal-to-accept-taped-banknotes-sparks-online-controversy Convenience store’s refusal to accept taped banknotes sparks online controversy, October 15, 2023
Scrambling for change
Another problem with USD notes is what I call “scrambling for change”. My bus ticket is 17 USD, I pay with a 20 USD note, but they don't have change and return the note and say I can get on the bus and pay at their main office. There I assume they have plenty of cash so I pay with a 100 USD note. After 5 minutes running around to get change, staff comes back with my note and asks for small money, so I pay with 20 USD note. Many more occasions this happened to me. When you are in a hurry, better pay the exact amount. Some shops have a note: "Minimum purchase 5 USD to break 100 USD."
Or you might get change in KHR at an unfavourable exchange rate (i.e. 1 USD = 4000 KHR to simplify conversion, whereas money changers would give you 4130 KHR). To avoid this problem, take 100 USD from ATM to money changers and get KHR.
Apart from the danger of theft or loss if someone runs around the street with your banknote to get change, there is danger of changing it to a counterfeit banknote, I have read.
I saw people use digital payment, does everyone else pay digital, and I'm the only dinosaur who still uses cash?
To a lesser extent this problem occurs in Thailand when you pay with a 1000 THB note in small shops.
Ghost money
Locals put fake money in shrines or burn it for their ancestors. The fake 100 USD look very real, only the printed security stripe and “COPY” (English and Khmer) distinguish them from real. When I first came to Cambodia, I found half of a 100 USD note (the half without “COPY”) and got in a frenzy looking for the other half. Love makes blind, and greed as well. I once was asked by locals if a 100 USD banknote is real, and I pointed out the “COPY”.
In Thailand as well, love the rhyme in title:
https://thethaiger.com/news/national/udon-thani-shopkeeper-suffers-loss-due-to-counterfeit-50-baht-notes-2 24nov2023 Bogus baht bills bankrupt shopkeeper in costly counterfeit conundrum in northern Thailand
Boat between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap
During rainy season, the water level on Tonle Sap river and lake is high enough to allow boat traffic between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, something I want to try once.
However I couldn't find any operator or timetable on the internet (but there are mixed tours, boat and bus, not what I have in mind; neither do I want a tourist cruise, I'm looking for boat as a means of public transport). Email a boat agency and ask in online forum: no boats running at the moment.
Ask at tour agency in Phnom Penh: boat leaves 7:30, costs 40 USD, takes 6 hours.
But then check at pier he pointed to (Passenger Port / Cambodian Cruises near Night Market, 11.5755, 104.9276, tour office in Titanic restaurant building): no boats, during Covid agencies went bankrupt. But there is a boat to Vietnam, I might use that another trip.
Take bus to Siem Reap, try again next year for boat.
Taxi Siem Reap to O'Smach
Ask at tourist information for bus or van to O'Smach: no bus or van. He has data from 12 transport companies and none of them run a bus or van to O'Smach, and he seemed knowledgeable so I believe him.
Ask a tour agency: they don't have shared taxi, but individual taxi 45 USD. Elsewhere I get a quote of 55 USD for private taxi.
But I don't give up that easily, ask other travel agencies and get the information I'm looking for: shared taxi to O'Smach for 12 USD, 5-6 passengers (Toyota Sienna) but have to book a day in advance. However, when I ask in the morning she makes a call and gets me on a taxi that goes 11.
Departure 11:30, two passengers, our luggage and a mocy and several parcels in a Lexus RX300. The other passenger has interesting stories, used to live in Thailand but found the visa situation difficult and has been in Cambodia for over 10 years. A story I have heard in variations many times before. He is doing a visa run to Thailand. Deliver several parcels and a mocy along the way. After delivering parcels and taking out our luggage, before the car was crammed:
When I last went this route in Mar2020, it was similar, we had car front windows taped to the roof of the taxi.
This is a quiet border crossing, immigration quick, and on the Thai side they have vans to Surin.
Just as the boat, it pays to ask at least 3 different businesses because even though it's related to their job, they might not know.
Sinkholes and broken manhole covers
One of my areas of interest is sinkholes and broken manhole covers. One day I'm going to publish a book, with pictures and coordinates, “Sinkholes and Broken Manhole Covers in South-East Asia”, and here I have the cover picture for the volume for Cambodia:
The hole is so big, they put an entire broken concrete bench in it:
But cannot yet see it on satellite image 10.60664, 104.1827.
The soil that is washed out goes into the sewer and blocks it, requiring dredging. In Thailand I have seen convicts do it (barred car for transportation, and their clothes and car inscription “prison”), here a picture from Vietnam:
There is a saying, in German: “Lieber Schamlippen küssen als im Schlamm schippen müssen”, my translation to English: “Better to kiss labias than to shovel mud” but with a triple rhyme in German. Attributed to Aristotle, undocumented.
Road conditions
The new tollway from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville is open. Road from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap is fine, but only one lane. Elsewhere roads often in poor condition.
The middle part of the trip from Sihanoukville to Kampot is in such a bad condition, I still clearly remember my one trip by van in 2021 and will not go again until the road is better. A local friend jokingly said he go three orgasms (from his ass bumping on the seat) when he rode a van. Fortunately, there is the train.
The road from Kampot to Vietnam has stretches with poor surface, or no surface just soil, and potholes as well.
When I was cycling around Siem Reap, I came across this road. Should have carried the bike, by pushing it the mud got stuck on wheel and didn't fall off once I reached better road, I had to remove it with a stick. It seems some holes were so bad even a tractor can't pass, so they put a truckload of rubble in it and wait for entropy to even it out.
The hardships I endure to entertain my readers!
Good food in Cambodia
In general, street food in Thailand and Vietnam is better than in Cambodia. But there is some good food in Cambodia as well. Most bakery and cakes I had in Thailand were disappointing, I gave up eating local bakery and cakes. But Eric Kayser has the best bakery I have come across between Berlin and Taipei. It's not cheap, but they have happy hours. In Phnom Penh from 19:30 to 20 (closing) everything half price. In Siem Reap between 20 and 22 (closing) buy 1 get one free (i.e. of two items, you pay the more expensive and get the cheaper for free). Eric Kayser has branches in Thailand, but with different products, not as good as in Cambodia.
I enjoyed durian flavored yogurt in Vietnam, and they have similar in Cambodia. But couldn't find any in Thailand so far.
One of my big questions in life is “Can there be anything better than four cheese pizza?” or “Why is there no five cheese pizza?”. These can now be answered: yes, there is! Pizza 4 P's has branches in Vietnam and Cambodia. https://pizza4ps.com/ : Pizza 4P's is Vietnam-based Japanese Italian pizza restaurant. That's quite a step from Italy to Japan to Vietnam! I ate at various branches, always happy with the food. And now in Phnom Penh I tried their five cheese pizza and it's good! You can mix pizzas, here is five cheese on left side.
Another place I can wholeheartedly recommend, based on going several times and trying several dishes, is Mamma Shop Italian Restaurant in Siem Reap. Free drinking water, free bread before meal, free small brownie afterwards, no service charge or VAT. Music, light, aircon good.
Phnom Penh bus app
Google maps has bus stops in Phnom Penh, but not bus lines. Before I used “Stops Near Me Phnom Penh Bus” app, but now found “Phnom Penh City Bus” app works better. I couldn't change language to English in settings, but live location has everything I need: map, lines and live location of bus. Read here as well about bus in Phnom Penh: https://www.tourismcambodia.com/tourist-information/phnom-penh-city-bus.htm
Haircut
When I went for haircut, I had to pay 10k (2.50 USD, he said same price as for Khmer people) on the street, which is rather expensive. I think last time I paid 8k or even 6k. And days later, I could have gotten a free haircut at F3 (Friends Futures Factory).
Copyright 2023 ChristianPFC except linked pictures
