Quick tips for Cambodia

• Inside cities there is no mass transportation (metro, bus) there are only taxis (very few and very expensive) tuktuks (a motorbike pulling a carriage) and motorbikes (my favorite way to get around)
• If a driver offers you a price, offer him half of that or less (which would be closer to the real price most people pay). Negotiate and you will both end up with a fair price.
• Feel free to walk away from a driver. This is part of the negotiation process.
• Try the foods, all of them, from the deep fried insects to the fruits you have never seen. If you don’t know how to eat it, ask someone, I’m sure they will love to teach a silly foreigner how to east something as simple as deep friend water bugs.
• Most meals should cost you about $1 per plate, if the restaurant wants more try to negotiate or go somewhere else.
• When a food is “Happy” that food is loaded with marijuana, this includes candies, pizza, shakes, drinks at the bar and even some soups!
• $1 is enough to get a motorbike to take you about 8km. $2 for 8km in a tuktuk. Don’t get ripped off, negotiate prices every time. 50 cents (two thousand Cambodian real) is about the cheapest you can offer someone to take you someplace.
• Don’t buy books off the street, not only are they pirated but many are low quality, and missing pages.
• Don’t buy anything from children or give them any money. If you do you are encouraging them not to go to school. Let me explain this. Children can make $10 a day begging. Most people will make 2-3$ a day working, so some families keep their kids on the street begging to make money for the family. While this is a short term solution for the family, when a child grows up begging they will have no future available to them.
• You can buy other books and trinkets from other sellers but still I don’t recommend it. The one legged amputee might have a disability but that doesn’t mean he cannot work a real job. There are land mine victims working every type of job all over Cambodia. Almost all of them have access to free prosthetics (many street beggars don’t use prosthetics because they want you to feel extra sorry for them). If you want to help Cambodia and the Cambodian people please donate money to reputable organizations, charities, and orphanages.
• The local equivalent to the “911” emergency line in Cambodia is 117 for police, 118 for fire, and 119 for ambulance.
• You can get lots of poorly copied American $100 bills at the market, these are to burn for the afterlife, do not try to use them or take them out of the counrty. Playing with them is fun, but frowned upon by Khmer people. If you carry excess stacks around with you, you might be robbed.
• Malaria, Dengue fever, and Japanese encephalitis exist in Cambodia; mosquitoes carry them. Do wear mosquito repellent. However, don’t be too afraid, the odds of you getting any of these is very slim.
• Dysentery is very common in Cambodia, several episodes a year is not uncommon. Every pharmacy has medicines that can kill the bacteria that cause your symptoms. You will likely get dysentery, you will be able to identify it due to the stomach cramps and explosive diarrhea. Take the medicine, and you will usually be fully healed in an hour or two. That is because you are not infected, but e coli bacteria is camping in your intestine and your body is trying to flush it free.
• Outside of Phnom Penh you can easily find a guesthouse for under $5. If they want more you can negotiate easily. Again, walking away is part of negotiations here. Under $5 includes a bed and a fan and a private bathroom. For hot water, air conditioner, or a refrigerator expect to pay more.
• In Phnom Penh guest houses will cost a little more but still are cheap. 5-8$ for the conditions above. But you can still find really cheap ones in the ruins of riverside for $3.
• Most guest houses have free maps and information about the area they are in. Ask the staff to help you find some good places to visit and see. I suggest always learning where the local market is as you can find lots of affordable food there.
• Make sure your windows are closed or have mosquito nets. I once didn’t do this; I woke up with 40 mosquito bites concentrated on my ribcage. I did not get malaria from this. Hurray!
• Guesthouses sell bus tickets and travel packages at highly inflated rates (sometimes 50% of the ticket cost). Travel agents usually sell bus and travel tickets at prices that are competitive with or lower than the bus station (yes, this is odd). I buy all of my tickets at travel agents or bus stations if they are nearby.
• The prices of food at guesthouses, like the room costs, isn’t fixed, you can negotiate.
• Never tell a tuktuk to just take you to a cheap guest house. They will want to take you to an expensive one so that they can get a cut of the amount you pay.
• Many guest houses will rent bikes, if yours doesn’t, find one that does. $1 a day is a normal cost, although some charge more for the same or better bikes.
• DO NOT leave any valuables in your room unless you have a safe that is attached to the wall. Thieves do steal non-attached safes when they think the insides are worth it.