Scam Scum

'Preying On Travellers by Joleen Lunjew'

i had a phone-interview sometime back about this article - to be published in The Star's Weekender section. and finally it is out. well, after reading it, we can all say that scams are everywhere. i mean, it is business in a shameful way but knowing them - no shame!. as for my part, tuk tuk drivers can be the slimiest frog out there in Cambodia - especially Phnom Penh. for newbies, getting on a tuk tuk is fun; until you get off it. agree on a price - most importantly - get on it. soak in the carbon monoxide filled air of Phnom Penh, get out, pay and leave! single destination prices are normally acceptable by the drivers (and less hassle too). as usual, a high price will slip out of the mouth; just make sure you bargain! i would say $1/km. this is the typical price for foreigners/tourists. motodups on the other hand should be half or less than half of the tuk tuk price.

 

photo by: FCC Cambodia 

learn a few Khmer numbers - Mui (One), Pi (Two), Bai (Three), Boonn (Four), Pram (Five), Pram Mui (Six), Pram Pi (Seven), Pram Bai (Eight), Pram Boonn (Nine) and i forgot 10. local currency is called RIEL; and normally would be in thousands. thousands in Khmer is Buann. so for instance, my house to Toul Tompoung (Russian Market) would take me 15 minutes by foot and 2000 riels by motodup. so i go, "Psar Toul Tompoung - Pi Buann Riel". as for dollars, just say it as Dollars - the locals know that. whilst bargaining for an item (normally are sold in dollars to 'outsiders'), one can say "Pram Bai Dollar".

planning to use a tuk tuk the whole day? tell the driver, e.g. 9am-6pm; Wat Phnom, Vimean Ekareach (Independence Monument), Toul Sleng Museum, Killing Fields of Cheung Ek; how much? after you have visited all these exciting attractions and the driver did not demand more than what he asked for, hand him a tip. after a whole day, a dollar or two wont be too harsh on you - would it? cheers! the best way to know about the prices is to check out travel books like Lonely Planet on a Shoestring and travel forums like Trip Advisor. travel forums are more reliable as users tend to share their experiences most recently. i have my share on Trip Advisor as well- click here.

good luck on your adventures on the Khmer Tuk Tuk. personally, its much better and comfy compared to the Thai Tuk Tuks - noisy and not comfortable. hope on a Khmer Tuk Tuk and let me know! would love to know your experiences!

p/s - thanks Jo! =D

Khmer Whiskey - Homemade

i had the privilege to try my very first Khmer Whiskey - Homemade! given to me by my staff, the whiskey was bottled in a 500ml plastic mineral water. looks intimidating, but when it sips through the tongue and down the throat, expect the unexpected.

• Pale bronzed in color
• Smoother than any other whiskey in the market
• High alcohol content (i'd say maybe 50-60%)
• Strong fumes

at first i was told that it was Khmer Wine. not too shabby this country. but just as soon as it touched my tongue, the whole thought of homemade wine diminished! its frigging WHISKEY! well, miscommunication happens a lot in this country when the locals try to communicate in English with an expat. but hey, it is ALLLLLLL good! no worries there mate!

 

the poison

Foundation for a Drug-Free World: An Effective Drug Prevention Campaign on Marijuana, Ecstasy, Crystal Meth, Ritalin, and other Street Drugs

Brilliant information. Check it out. An eye-opener really to both the conservatives and fast-pacers.

Foundation for a Drug-Free World: An Effective Drug Prevention Campaign on Marijuana, Ecstasy, Crystal Meth, Ritalin, and other Street Drugs

The Evil Lamp

just when we thought that the Pixar study lamp would get away from flattening the letter 'i' in Pixar, this parody gave the letter some justice. well done!




the animation is awesome. very well done. it looked like the video took a lot of time to be developed and produced. kudos to the team! fantastic work you did!

Bangla Transport

found this on YouTube and it is amazing. these Bangladeshi workers can make you go, "WTF!". just take a look at it. now, imagine our workers can do that. heck, imagine a beeline of them carrying these bricks on their heads walking towards the site - get a camera!

2 Dollar Bill Ya'll

i was at a small village in Kandal province not long ago and was walking around a market when this note caught my attention. this money changer had a US 2 dollar bill stuck at the display. it was not long ago since i started using the US currency so my first thought about this bill was that it is fake. but then my local staff said its real, and there are people using it. i was curious of its genuine state.

 

the bill that ticked my curiosity 

according to Wiki, the 2 dollar bill face design is the oldest of all current US currency, adopted in 1929. on the reverse side, it is the second oldest - adopted in 1976. Former President Thomas Jefferson is the dude on the face of the bill and the picture on the reverse of the note is engraved picture of "The Declaration of Independence" by John Trumbull. for more information on this rare bill, check out the Wiki site here.

 

picture courtesy of Mike Vine <mikevine.wordpress.com> 

this currency bill is the least circulated and used bill amongst all currency bills, hence my curiosity of its genuine state. the funny thing is, when the bill was first printed and circulated in the country, many took it as a "collectible" instead of daily usages. now, i regret not buying the 2 dollar bill when i had the chance. hopefully there are other money changers  in Phnom Penh itself that has this bill. bugger!

Away From The City's Hustle & Bustle

Again, i was away for quite sometime. i apologize for that. by the way, Happy Belated Chinese New Year to ya'll!

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i was recently in Kampong Cham, one of Cambodia's many provinces - is the third largest city in the country. not as popular amongst the tourist compared to Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, this province lets you experience the true Khmer lifestyle, along with French colonial buildings and architecture. the locals here are much more laid back compared to the hustle and bustle of Phnom Penh. it did remind me of Vientiane, Laos where the locals behave pretty much alike. chilled out and very settled in their very own habitat. just like Vientiane, Kampong Cham has the Mekong River as a companion and the riverside is just as calm as the former. there are quite a number of guesthouses situated close to the Mekong, by the riverside; as told from SEA On A Shoe String guidebook.

 

what are you looking at? got a problem with what i am doing? 

  

sunset

  

Japan - Cambodia Friendship Bridge 

you must be wondering what am i doing in this province. well, it was work related. we have an activation roadshow here in the outskirt districts of Kampong Cham, which landed me here. the journey to the concert location took almost an hour from the city itself. deep inside the rubber plantation, a very small village which houses a primary school is the location. as we drove through the rubber plantation, i was seriously wondering where on earth are we, and are we on the right track. as we hit the dusty and rocky roads, we reached the school, much to my relief. this is an NGO event, Child Protection Concert - sponsored by the American Embassy. they were launching the newly built basketball and volleyball court in the school compound.

 a market in the outskirt district

 

good rubber

  

get a face mask boy! 

as we started setting up the roadshow booths and so forth, many village children started popping at our booth - pasting a very curious look on their faces. it was their first time seeing such a setup in their village i'd assume. they were curious and eager. we decided to have fun with them by sticking temp tattoos on their arms. then more came as one started to show it off to their friends. the kids were charming - kids being kids.

 they are talking about us

 

Americans' contribution to the country 

the concert started off with a few local singers and comedians on stage. by 8pm, the compound was filled! locals from villages nearby and afar started to arrive at the concert site. vendors of all sorts - food, drinks, game stalls, gold sellers, etc can be found all over the compound. my assumption of the total amount of people were at least 5000. makes me wonder where'd all this people come from. the night went on - singers dazzling the crowd, my crew selling sim cards like hotcakes, locals getting drunk.

 

locals invited up on stage to have a laugh 

  

we are like honey, cause we are sweet 

as the concert come to a close, we were delighted. after a FULL day of working, all of us were tired to our socks! using our last pound of energy to close the whole setup, packing and uploading assets to the truck, we finally arrived at our hotel almost 2am. everybody was in their room, KNOCKED OUT!

 

Pepsi didn't dare to promote their latest product - gasoline in a bottle