Am moving from London to Phnom Penh Cambodia to begin teaching in 15 days

[gettoefl]

Have downsized a life of stuff to basically one bag and just making final preparations.

Wish me luck!

[WonderSeeker]

Grats! 

I'm about to wrap up my first year doing TEFL. Top 5 best decisions I ever made in my life.

May I ask why Cambodia? I'm curious what upsides you saw there. And how do you plan to live your life on time off?

[gettoefl]

2 hours ago, WonderSeeker said:

Grats! 

I'm about to wrap up my first year doing TEFL. Top 5 best decisions I ever made in my life.

May I ask why Cambodia? I'm curious what upsides you saw there. And how do you plan to live your life on time off?

Thank you WonderSeeker. I was torn between Thailand and Cambodia. Had offers in both. Cambodia just about edged it. Better pay and contract and visa so much easier. I feel it's more an unknown quantity than Thailand. I like adventure and challenge. Much more amenable to expats than Thailand which has dropped its rose-colored spectacles about all things foreign. Cost of living cheaper and better quality housing available in PP. 

[Elliott]

Awesome! Cambodia!!

[gettoefl]

14 minutes ago, Elliott said:

Awesome! Cambodia!!

Yes! known as Land of Wonder - for any other wonderseekers out there

Edited Friday at 12:58 PM by gettoefl

[WonderSeeker]

15 hours ago, gettoefl said:

Thank you WonderSeeker. I was torn between Thailand and Cambodia. Had offers in both. Cambodia just about edged it. Better pay and contract and visa so much easier. I feel it's more an unknown quantity than Thailand. I like adventure and challenge. Much more amenable to expats than Thailand which has dropped its rose-colored spectacles about all things foreign. Cost of living cheaper and better quality housing available in PP. 

Yeah, Thailand seems too crowded and touristy. Good on you.

[Lyubov]

I’m sorta based out of Thailand. I haven’t been to Cambodia yet but idk if I want to while there is a conflict. Just because I want access to Thailand. 

[OmniNaut]

20 hours ago, gettoefl said:

Have downsized a life of stuff to basically one bag and just making final preparations.

Wish me luck!

Good on ya mate!

Have fun.

I can give you some pointers if you like, I have lived in Cambodia for 6 months.

[Joseph Maynor]

2 hours ago, WonderSeeker said:

Yeah, Thailand seems too crowded and touristy. Good on you.

I don't think this fits all of Thailand.  It is a little bit too generalized.  

[gettoefl]

8 hours ago, OmniNaut said:

Good on ya mate!

Have fun.

I can give you some pointers if you like, I have lived in Cambodia for 6 months.

Would be sweet my friend as I am leaping into the unknown. Are you still there? I got a few nice pointers here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/cambodia/comments/1umh41f/i_will_relocate_this_month_from_london_to_phnom/

Edited Saturday at 03:00 PM by gettoefl

[gettoefl]

9 hours ago, Lyubov said:

I’m sorta based out of Thailand. I haven’t been to Cambodia yet but idk if I want to while there is a conflict. Just because I want access to Thailand. 

Yes there is ill-will and resentment between the two but daily life I hear isn't affected by it.

[Lyubov]

17 hours ago, gettoefl said:

Yes there is ill-will and resentment between the two but daily life I hear isn't affected by it.

What I mean is sometimes on the Thai end they won’t let you in if you’ve been to Cambodia recently. I want to access Thailand because it’s my main hub as a digital nomad so I don’t want to potentially be denied entry. But I think most tourists have no issues going between the two. 

[gettoefl]

5 hours ago, Lyubov said:

What I mean is sometimes on the Thai end they won’t let you in if you’ve been to Cambodia recently. I want to access Thailand because it’s my main hub as a digital nomad so I don’t want to potentially be denied entry. But I think most tourists have no issues going between the two. 

Yes Thailand is becoming really nit-picky over who is allowed to enter. The entry process is discretionary and arbitrary - the luck of the draw. Cambodia is the opposite. Visas are issued like confetti.

[OmniNaut]

@gettoefl

The last time I was in Cambodia it was March 2022, so some information could be outdated.

I did not spent much time in Phnom Penh. I almost got robbed once, luckily a local stepped in to get my bag back. Be careful. Touristy places attract a lot of scammers and robbers.

Use PassApp app (Uber) to book TukTuks, if you don't use the app, negotiate a price before you get in a TukTuk or taxi.

Siem Reap: Almost all of the time I spent was in Siem Reap,I liked the vibe of this town, it's basically the (tourist) outpost for the Angkor Wat temples. I'm not a big city guy, Siem Reap is more laidback without being to quiet. If you want something in between crazy busy city life and rural province this is a nice place. But for each their own ofcourse, maybe you're more into city life. But Siem Reap is a tourist place, so you will meet a lot of different kind of people there. 

If you stay long enough there you will meet more the long stay expats there, there can be some out of there people in these kind of places that attract expats. I met a few weird ones mainly in Siem Reap. The longer you look around the more homeless white guys you will see there. They lost money because of scamming girlfriend or a addicted to drugs and alcohol. Have some crazy stories from the homeless white guys I met there.

Also heard stories of pedos refuging in Cambodia because it's easy to get in to the country. That's the downside of an easy visa process you also attract that kind of people.

Angkor Wat temples: If you are into this kind of thing it's amazing, it's a blend of Hindu and Buddhist influence because it was build and expanded in different eras. Rent some bicycles, because it's BIG. The largest temple complex in the world. If you stay close for a longer time or visit there often go for a day pass each time. I was there two times and had a three day pass each time. After two days you are temple tired. So if you have the option spread it out.
Archeologic restoration volunteering: not sure if it's still there but, there are still restoration projects going on there, I heard there are volunteering options. If I ever go back to Siem Reap for a longer time I will definitely look into that.

Floating villages: There are a couple of them around, well worth the visit. Go one time during dry season and one time during wet season, makes a major difference. There are a couple of floating villages which are fake uphold for tourists, and try to get the most money out of you by trying to get you to donate to the local schools. Do some research before you go which ones are legit.

 

Night sleeper bus: Cheap way to travel around between provinces, most comfortable for me, but that's just because I can't sleep while in a sitting position, the night buses are bunk beds. Mind you the size is limited. I, with my 172cm just barely fit stretched out. If you are taller then that maybe not that comfortable.

Kamppot: heard it should be nice, more of a spot for the locals for relaxing during the weekend.

Sihanoukville: stay away from that place, it's a casino town, built by and run by the Chinese Mafia. Lots of shady shit going on there, including human trafficking. 

Koh Rong: part of an cluster of Islands in the south nice tropical beaches and some diving there.

Sex tourism: be mindful of the bigger implications this industry has. Sex tourism is accepted within poorer family circles as a means of survival. Sometimes even encouraged. But as an Actualizing individual see the bigger implications this has.

Dating a local: Be careful there is a lot of using and abusing going in between westerners and locals. from both sides. Locals using Westerners for a meal ticket, Westerners (usually with mental problems) using local women as cheap housemaids they can fuck. Think with your brain not your dick. There will be a big difference in mindset, intelligence between the women from the province without a proper education or someone with an education living and working in PP.

Same Same But Different common phrase said in SE Asia. Within Expat circles this is a popular movie about a German guy who had encounters with a local girl. 

Language: Outside the business and tourist areas you will be hard pressed to find people to speak English. Learning the Khmer language is quite difficult. Maybe you have more talent for languages than I have. 

Laos - Vietnam route: A lot of tourists (mostly backpackers) do the Cambodia - Laos - Vietnam (bus)route. Never done it but should be quite nice and not to expensive. Although there have been a lot of border skirmishes in that area so I don't know if it's easy to cross borders

Saving face: this part of Asian culture is quite unfamiliar to Westerners. If you really want to understand and integrate, try to learn more about saving face and what it entails.

The Pol Pot and Khmer Rouge era left a big scar on the country including how the culture developed from there. I did not do to much investigation in the culture side, but it's quite interesting to learn about and observe.

Be mindful how you behave in public spaces. It's easy to get into trouble even if you are trying to do a good thing.

 

Edited yesterday at 05:51 AM by OmniNaut

[Hojo]

We hope you the best Hoffman.