The changing face of Cambodia

Cambodia news in English! Here you'll find all the breaking news from Cambodia translated into English for our international readership and expat community to read and comment on. The majority of our news stories are gathered from the local Khmer newspapers, but we also bring you newsworthy media from Cambodia before you read them anywhere else. Because of the huge population of the capital city, most articles are from Phnom Penh, but Siem Reap, Sihanoukville, and Kampot often make the headlines as well. We report on all arrests and deaths of foreigners in Cambodia, and the details often come from the Cambodian police or local Khmer journalists. As an ASEAN news outlet, we also publish regional news and events from our neighboring countries. We also share local Khmer news stories that you won't find in English anywhere else. If you're looking for a certain article, you may use our site's search feature to find it quickly.
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hanno
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Re: The changing face of Cambodia

Post by hanno »

phkachhouk wrote: Mon Apr 29, 2019 10:26 am Who the fuck wants to go to Africa!
Parts of it are a lot more beautiful than Cambodia....
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Re: The changing face of Cambodia

Post by joelightcloud »

phkachhouk wrote: Mon Apr 29, 2019 9:51 am I wonder what the answer is?
Adapt, wait for it to sort it self out?
I can see it not being in issue in 10 or 20 years time when locals are more educated, wealthier and will out compete the Chinese.
Well, I can only assume/hope that once the buildings are built that the trash will move to pastures new. I'm told there are in fact some nice Chinese people, maybe they will come? Singaporeans have been around for awhile, more and more are coming but they are only one step above the Chinese so I guess we just don't know.
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Re: The changing face of Cambodia

Post by Clutch Cargo »

SternAAlbifrons wrote: Mon Apr 29, 2019 8:57 am
frank lee bent wrote: Mon Apr 29, 2019 8:49 am After the rain in Sihanoukville
Frank, do you think the Chinese tourism developers will step in to ensure their investment is protected by putting in sustainable and effective waste disposal, including waste water?

Surely they must have serious concerns about this also??
Only at the precipice:

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Re: The changing face of Cambodia

Post by phkachhouk »

joelightcloud wrote: Mon Apr 29, 2019 10:41 am
phkachhouk wrote: Mon Apr 29, 2019 9:51 am I wonder what the answer is?
Adapt, wait for it to sort it self out?
I can see it not being in issue in 10 or 20 years time when locals are more educated, wealthier and will out compete the Chinese.
Well, I can only assume/hope that once the buildings are built that the trash will move to pastures new. I'm told there are in fact some nice Chinese people, maybe they will come? Singaporeans have been around for awhile, more and more are coming but they are only one step above the Chinese so I guess we just don't know.
One step above? What exactly do you mean by that?

That’s a pretty bold statement and quite racists if I may add.
No one can tell a Singaporean/Malaysian/Hong Kong Chinese to a mainlander, unless you ask them, so I guess you’re assuming PRC Chinese = mostly bad and all the other Chinese are mostly good?

I see casual racism is now accepted in this forum.

If anything Singaporeans are “one step above” most western countries in education, healthcare and manners.
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Re: The changing face of Cambodia

Post by phkachhouk »

No use asking FLB what he thinks. I’m not really sure why he even bothers to come here as he obviously hates the place.
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Re: The changing face of Cambodia

Post by Ravensnest »

phkachhouk wrote: Mon Apr 29, 2019 10:26 am Who the fuck wants to go to Africa!


If anything Singaporeans are “one step above” most western countries in education, healthcare and manners.
Me! There is some beautiful country there and some parts rich in wildlife. It's on my bucket list. I see you're not Singaporean....
Still here, in country...
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Re: The changing face of Cambodia

Post by phkachhouk »

Ravensnest wrote: Mon Apr 29, 2019 12:44 pm
phkachhouk wrote: Mon Apr 29, 2019 10:26 am Who the fuck wants to go to Africa!


If anything Singaporeans are “one step above” most western countries in education, healthcare and manners.
Me! There is some beautiful country there and some parts rich in wildlife. It's on my bucket list. I see you're not Singaporean....
Two quotes on two unrelated subjects.

I’m been to Singapore. Don’t like it but not because of the people. It’s too clinical for me compared to the rest of SE Asia.

Africa. Too many lions. No thanks.
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Re: The changing face of Cambodia

Post by phuketrichard »

hanno wrote: Mon Apr 29, 2019 10:35 am
phkachhouk wrote: Mon Apr 29, 2019 10:26 am Who the fuck wants to go to Africa!
Parts of it are a lot more beautiful than Cambodia....
Lived in Africa ( Zaire) for 2 years, traveled all over the north, and up the Nile thru Uganda to Kenya and Tanzania and into Spanish Sahara on the west coast
great place to get away too. :beer3:

Singapore is a great place to vacation with kids an the misses
back in the 80's, we had to go there to buy western goods and loved it

phkachhouk; ur a bitter fuck :stir:
In a nation run by swine, all pigs are upward-mobile and the rest of us are fucked until we can put our acts together: not necessarily to win, but mainly to keep from losing completely. HST
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Re: The changing face of Cambodia

Post by phkachhouk »

phuketrichard wrote: Mon Apr 29, 2019 2:04 pm
hanno wrote: Mon Apr 29, 2019 10:35 am
phkachhouk wrote: Mon Apr 29, 2019 10:26 am Who the fuck wants to go to Africa!
Parts of it are a lot more beautiful than Cambodia....
Lived in Africa ( Zaire) for 2 years, traveled all over the north, and up the Nile thru Uganda to Kenya and Tanzania and into Spanish Sahara on the west coast
great place to get away too. :beer3:

Singapore is a great place to vacation with kids an the misses
back in the 80's, we had to go there to buy western goods and loved it

phkachhouk; ur a bitter fuck :stir:
I find it amusing you called me bitter. (No need for name calling. I’ve been polite to you)

Singapore. Yeah sure 80s. Great.
Yawn. Times have changed. Stop living on past experiences. It’s obvious you’re an old man who’s pent hundreds of years visiting amazing places.

Look where you ended up?
Great plan.
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Re: The changing face of Cambodia

Post by cambodianduck »

JerryCan wrote: Sat Apr 27, 2019 6:54 am Not saying there aren't issues in SHV, but I wanted to just chime in and say that the casinos are the front page issues and that the progress and change that has been brought to the other parts of Cambodia in terms of businesses, (some) infrastructure, and dare I say law and order have been much welcome.

If you just got to Cambodia a few years ago then it might seem like a corrupt shit heap, and it is of course, but if you can remember the days before HE was in charge, or even just 10-15 years ago, then this place truly has changed for the better in many ways. Roads are better, power is better (even with the power cuts, it's not like we're in the dark ages, we've only gone back to 2007), markets are better, product selection is better, long distance bus travel is better, hell, there's even flights from SHV to Phnom Penh now...

So while I'm no fan of the Chinese (even though I married into a Chinese Khmer family), without them, the country wouldn't be on track to changing for the better. As much as other countries poured into the coffers of the piggies up top, it only bought a handful of Land Cruisers and Range Rovers and left those at the bottom scraping for scraps as usual so I don't know about you, but I realise that while my attitude to better a country and ideas would not have included attracting the gambling crowd and fast money type to invest in the country, I have to say it's probably been for the best.

We can always think of things to complain about, but truth be told, life really is getting better for the masses here.

(Hope that tone was a positive one, because had a long day yesterday and my language may not reflect positivity).
I be honest, as someone who lived in Cambodia for past 10 years and in Sihanoukville since 2 years ago let me tell you how I feel and where this is heading.

Cambodia have always been a poor country after the khmer rouge war, majority of the city population was slain, most were intellectuals and future of the country. A lot of countries have tried to invest in Cambodia but not many have success stories because it is not easy to manage the people here, most of the people did not have proper education after the war and as a result their mentality when it comes to working responsibility is different from what we expect of them.

Anyways back to Sihanoukville. Yes things were cheap there few years back, popular backpacker destination and for locals on holiday. It was just a small village with nice beach and some hotels. During low season there be little people visiting and the locals don’t make much money. Their salaries ranges from $80-150 a month only.

My wife's relatives are from Sihanoukville born and lived there ever since the war, we always visit them prior to the boom. They have been telling us life in Sihanoukville is boring and there is not enough employments, not enough tourists during low season to make money even for businesses.

Cambodia welcomes investments from every country but China is the only one that is really investing in Cambodia now. Sihanoukville is now going through major urbanization, bigger roads, drains, huge construction of hotels and casinos, yes obviously we all know this is still not enough because they really need more workers for the trash collection company and educate the people living there to not simply dump their trash. But the locals that are employed by the Chinese are receiving a double to triple raise in salary. Those who can speak mandarin can make up to 8 to 10x of what they could before. Before it was hard to find a job but now it is hard to find an employee for your business. People have to hire from other provinces. I have friends and families that are receiving $400-500 income now for working with the Chinese companies and the mandarin speakers up to $1000. Go have a look at the posts in jobs forums or facebook groups, you will see the NON-Chinese companies just paying the usual $150-200 still, some even less. So who is helping the Cambodians more when it comes to employments, other companies just trying their best to pay the minimum as they can for cambodian workers.

Houses in city center that before could only rent for $200 a month is now renting for $2000 a month. Land price from $100/m2 became $1000-200/m2. People who owned properties here became instant millionaires. Of course the locals who previously rented in the city have to move further out of town to afford the rents, but it is about 5-8km away to Sangkat 1 which is opposite of Angkor Beer factory about 20mins away from the city center, which is not exactly too far. The rentals there are still low as before in the city, affordable for the locals but now they make more money from employment, resulting in more money saved.

It is understandable that people that say they do not enjoy this place anymore is because it is no longer the cheap, undeveloped town anymore. But no place should be poor and underdeveloped just to satisfy the happiness of visitors or tourists, the people of the province should have the chance to change.

Most other countries have already past this rapid development stage, most may never seen how it was done but this is Cambodia, we all know the standards here are rather low when it comes to law and enforcement. It may look ugly now but lets wait for the end results in the next 10-20 years time, it might be a good ending for the Cambodian people maybe?
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