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Hello everyone,

I am looking for a "Cyclo" to ride around with my son. I checked Khmer24, but I had no luck. Does anyone know where I can buy one and the cost?

Street 158 (near Wat Koh) there is/was like a cyclo graveyard. I was told once $600 for one. Could be just the haggling start price of course, they're pretty old.

Please update with any information you find. I would love to make an e-cyclo.

Most cyclo drivers don't even own their bikes. They rent them from depots. It's always been like this. Also, many cyclo drivers are former Khmer Rouge combatants. Not that it makes a huge amount of difference, war is war.

The KR Trooper part is neat, I can't say I am surprised that something like that war and the type of soldiering required for it has bonded these guys due to the way they stick together and their ages. The KR connection to the cyclo doesn't make a lot of difference @John Bingham but it's more than a little interesting. I am also curious to know more about this ''rental of cyclos business from places you call depots and that its been this way forever...'' Could you tell us more please or link it maybe?

I like the cyclos too, I think if one had cash on hand negotiations could be made with the actual owners of them or the graveyards up by Wat Koh that Timmy mentions might be another option. They might be on a limited amount of cyclos these days and very few if any are made and the value could get into thousands of dollars soon if that is the case.

Could be some answers here ?
Cyclo threads:
newsworthy/cyclo-inferno-t45905.html
general-chatter/local4local-group-aids- ... 45300.html

Life as a Cyclo Driver
Kosal | Publication date 24 September 1993 | 07:00 ICT

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The career of cyclo driving has existed for as long as anybody can remember in Cambodia.

So much so that these often wizen faced men and their three-wheeled machines have

become a part of the landscape of many of the cities and towns throughout the country.

Over numerous generations, cyclo drivers have been regarded as free workers, because

the people who do this business are bound by few of the regulations and strictures

that control the lives of most working people. They can stop or take a holiday any

time they wish without anybody caring for or limiting their freedom.

Moreover, for many regimes they have not had any proper rules governing their work-the

drivers have needed no papers or driving license nor are they required to report

to anybody. The cyclo drivers can enjoy their low priority the same as the palm tree

climbers did in the French colonial days-they had no cards nor were they required

to pay taxes.

Yet, we have noticed that there are very few people who take this career for life.

People often go into this job to earn more money for their living once their farming

duties are finished for the year.

Most of the people who come to the city to sell their labor are from the nearby provinces

of Prey Veng, Svay Rieng, Takeo and Kompong Speu.

Through interviews with a number of cyclo drivers, it becomes apparent that their

daily wage is not regular nor is it plentiful. Many drivers said they end the day

with only enough money to pay for their three meals.

Every 10 or 15 days, the cyclo drivers will go home to visit their families with

whatever money they can save and after a four or five day holiday they will comeback

and resume their pushing and peddling.

Some of the drivers complain that they can never become rich. Although they don't

have to invest any capital, making money this way is very hard; people have to rely

on their physical strength.

As for the cyclo-drivers who choose this business for their life's work, their living

conditions, are little different.

An old man with a gray beard we met in front of the Monorom Hotel said it is not

necessary to use a lot of labor if you know how to attract customers.

"In the Sihanouk regime, I only gave lifts to foreign customers and made a lot

of money; at that time I could feed my wife and children the same as the others-I

could have an easy life in town. But, because more and more people are taking this

business, so my income has dropped substantially," said the driver, who looked

to have worked in this field for a couple of generations.

He said that without other income channels he cannot afford the costs of daily living.

But he also said he had been in the business too long to change now.

Despite the fact that this job is very hard, poverty has forced many Khmer people

to do it.

If we want to see the number of cyclo drivers decline, then the countryside agriculturural

sector has to be developed and jobs created there.

It should be noted that, there are estimated to be some 12,000 cyclo-drivers currently

working the streets of Phnom Penh. It is only an estimate because their are no controls

on the workers. At present, no social bodies are responsible to assure their welfare.

Even during the Sangkum Reastr Niyum, we had an associatison of porters, but not

for the cyclo-drivers.

- This article was translated by Moeun Chhean Nariddh from the Khmer language

newspaper, Reasmey Kampuchea.

This may also be of interest if still operating -

Cyclo Conservation and Careers Association (CCCA)

https://www.ccc-cambodia.org/en/ngodb/n ... mation/121

CBEQ wrote: ↑Thu Oct 14, 2021 1:28 pm Hello everyone,

I am looking for a "Cyclo" to ride around with my son. I checked Khmer24, but I had no luck. Does anyone know where I can buy one and the cost?

Did you end up getting one?