Why do you live in Cambodia?
I must have committed a major crime in another life. Whereas, all the other expats seem to have committed a major crime in this one.

Kuroneko wrote:
No! What matters is how do we effectively reduce road deaths for motorcyclists using the best available evidence.

Get rid of cars and lorries.


What's the point of having a license, or just about anything here that offers proof of achievement, unless you stamp out corruption first?

The very first business of the day should be the restructuring of the courts and invigilating bodies. May as well lay in your hammock and drink a cold beer while you wait for that to happen.

https://cambodiaexpatsonline.com/topic7489.html#p109624

eriksank wrote:If you insist on living in Cambodia, there is something here that you seriously like. That also automatically implies that there is something back home that you seriously dislike. I live in Cambodia because I thoroughly detest man-made law and man-made regulations, while there is very little of that in Cambodia. That means that I am pretty much free to do as I please here. Back home is a regulation hell. I really got sick and tired of that.

I think that's a very ignorant statement. Although i don't live in Cambodia, i can see or rather 'could' see the appeal in living there, when i visited the place not knowing what i know now. I spoke to ex pats, and whilst it was like you describe (in the past), things are changing fast. Regulations are coming in and the once carefree Cambodia is getting quite strict compared to the past. Put overstrict on certain things that tourists like, into the current dynamics, and things are far from ideal.

Since reading Cambodian news the last few years, it has made me very aware that ignorance truly is bliss. You probably wouldn't want to 'live in Cambodia' if you knew the bad sides to it. The apparent lawless part means that there is a lot of crime and shit in the Country that really needs sorting out badly. The country has it's tourist gem, but step outside and you see terrible traffick accidents, murders of sleeping families, women burnt because of jealousy with acid or fire, terrible corruption, bad tourists, paedophiles, orphanages scammers, ngo trash, fake monks, deforestation, uxo deaths/injuries, heartbreaking news, the list goes on!!

Cambodia has a long way to go, and no doubt a tourist can escape from the problems by living in their own Snookie bubble on the beach, (and not reading the news), but i certainly find the more i know, the less inclined i feel about living there, and it isn't the hippie paradise it once was, although a few months travels is another thing.

Kuroneko wrote:So in what way do you ensure that riders understand and follow the road traffic laws and are competent to ride in a safe manner? In what way do you keep track of repeat offenders and impose bans if necessary?

His Excellency the Cambodian Prime Minister has answered that question most satisfactorily in the article and I totally agree with him.

Concerning the western NGOs, they have been warned multiple times in the past not to meddle with Cambodian politics. A large number of individuals employed by them have already been expelled out of the country, at numerous occasions. His Excellency, the Prime Minister of Cambodia has promised many times in the past that this policy will be beefed up and executed more rigorously.

Kuroneko wrote:No! What matters is how do we effectively reduce road deaths for motorcyclists using the best available evidence. Pagna Kims remark on waiving driving licences being a dangerous move is wholly justifiable.

We don't care what Pagna Kim and her western or western-funded local NGOs may think. Cambodian politics is none of their business.

Kuroneko wrote:"According to Chariya, they are the leading cause of death for Cambodian men aged between 15 and 45. When it comes to motorcycle fatalities alone, men aged between 25 and 29 years old account for 40 per cent."http://www.phnompenhpost.com/7days/moto ... s-increase

That is the problem of the Cambodian men and not of these foreign NGOs. The idea of using force against that demographic of men, "for their own good", is preposterous and totally ridiculous. These men are not children. They are the ones deciding what the rules should be, and not these western NGOs.

Kuroneko wrote:Sensible or not? I dont know if you drive a MC in Phnom Penh or for how long. I have been driving here for 20 years and do around 1000km a month in Phnom Penh. Over the last year the driving has got insane and any measures to reduce road deaths and improve driving is sorely needed. There are people working seriously on the issue.

Whatever these measures should be, it is the Cambodians themselves who will decide about them. Nobody has ever asked these western NGOs to come over and manipulate Cambodian politics behind the back of the Cambodian population. They do that all the time and everybody is getting sick and tired of that.

shnoukieBRO wrote:You probably wouldn't want to 'live in Cambodia' if you knew the bad sides to it. The apparent lawless part means that there is a lot of crime and shit in the Country that really needs sorting out badly ... you see terrible traffick accidents, murders of sleeping families, women burnt because of jealousy with acid or fire, terrible corruption, bad tourists, paedophiles, orphanages scammers, ngo trash, bad monks, deforestation, uxo deaths/injuries, heartbreaking news, the list goes on!! Cambodia has a long way to go ...

I live here and I like it here. I never said that the place was perfect. And so?

All of the problems that you have mentioned, will either be solved (or possibly addressed) by the Cambodians themselves, or else not at all. What we are not going to have here, is western NGOs running the show.

Concerning the "bad monks" remark, that is probably one bridge too far. Criticizing other people's religion is very bad practice. I am not Charlie. I don't believe in that approach. Even the papacy has clearly mentioned that the Charlie kind of behaviour is not acceptable. Do you know what that means? It means that they burn you at the stake and we just look the other way. I am not going to lift one finger for anybody who criticizes other people's religion, culture, or traditions. On the contrary, I will be very forgiving for any negative reactions. Just like the Pope, I have forgiven already the individuals who massacred the Charlie Hebdo journalists, because forgiveness is the essence of religion.

eriksank wrote:Concerning the "bad monks" remark, that is probably one bridge too far. Criticizing other people's religion is very bad practice.

I mean fake monks, you know, Cambodians who actually insult their own Religion. Mind you that's pretty irrelevant in terms of the kind of horrors that occur in Cambodia on a daily basis. Trust you to pick on such petty points!


Btw, It seems pretty obvious to me that you're living in your own bubble of ignorance. There is nothing wrong with that as long as you admit to it. Personally i don't see how someone can not ignore such hideous happenings. If you think it doesn't effect tourists, then think again. Far too many Tourists and expats are dying. Just look at the news-err, or in your case, don't........

shnoukieBRO wrote:Far too many Tourists and expats are dying.

I have been here for decades, and according to the latest rumours, I am allegedly still around. Maybe I don't go around insulting monks. That could also be part of the explanation.

eriksank wrote:

shnoukieBRO wrote:Far too many Tourists and expats are dying.

I have been here for decades, and according to the latest rumours, I am allegedly still around. Maybe I don't go around insulting monks. That could also be part of the explanation.

So you're nothing more than a troublemaking troll then?

You're aim here is to annoy posters?

Ahh well, as much as i loved my Camby holidays, i always was aware of a few rotten eggs....

Are you one of the Deportee's??

eriksank wrote:[Just like the Pope, I have forgiven already the individuals who massacred the Charlie Hebdo journalists, because forgiveness is the essence of religion.

That's mighty big of you, but look into your heart brother and tell us that you have also forgiven those evil NGOs (and also Snookiebro for mentioning that bad monks exist - shame on him ) Admit it, you don't want those NGOs spoiling your fun - nothing wrong with that, and you are not alone, but it doesn't make you the pope. That's ok, we can't all be the pope

I moved to Cambodia so I could bad-mouth NGOs, get a good education, free health care, pass my driver's license, eat prahok without being arrested, and also to give myself a fair chance of finishing up decapitated in a traffic accident or murdered for a secondhand Honda Dream. And because of the pope of course. (??) I am also hoping to turn Cambodia into Syria by complaining about weddings, and in my spare time I write Fb pages or troll forum threads complaining about NGOs and people who complain. It's a busy schedule so i don't have time for insulting monks .