by Regular Joe » Mon Nov 28, 2016 8:37 pm
When I first moved to Phnom Penh, I lived in an " apartment" near City Mall and Olympic Stadium. The add was very nice, stating the building was built to western standards, most of the inhabitants were Australians, New Zealanders, Americans etc. The photo of the building was evocative of a French Colonial building with cafe's and bistros on the ground level, and modest 1 bed, or 2 bed apartments with private baths. The pictures of the interiors were very nice. Flatscreen tv. And wifi included. housekeeping was available for an additional fee of $15/month and should you choose to use the lift that was $15 month also. The price was a very enticing $125 month excluding electricity and water. You could choose between rooms with AC and fan, or just a fan which were even cheaper at $110 month. A one months rent deposit was required, and leases were required. I opted for the one month and I'm glad I did. I'd been in Cambodia 1 day when I rented, so I wasn't that familiar with the lay of the land. This neighborhood was really depressing, very dirty with garbage everywhere the street smelled fetid, and the street had 3 masssge parlors on the block. The apartment catered to these gentlemen who needed and extended stay as well. . The managers spoke not a word of English, and the night shift managers consisted of a couple of grade school boys. The place was filthy, there was constantly something breaking be it the AC, the TV, the toilet. Though it wasn't a nightmare, it was generally unpleasant. My western compatriots all appeared to be shady characters of some type. I got the impression one was on meth, another hiding from the law with his bad hair dye job. As I said it wasn't a nightmare, but after a month I left for different quarters. And this being Cambodia, my utilities added up to exactly my deposit ( though 2 out of 4 weeks I was out of the city) and so there was no refund. I expressed my displeasure at no refund, but eventually gave up the fight. The lady manager insisted on getting me a tuk tuk to riverside. Later I found out she told him to take me to Vietnam and drop me off.
When I first moved to Phnom Penh, I lived in an " apartment" near City Mall and Olympic Stadium. The add was very nice, stating the building was built to western standards, most of the inhabitants were Australians, New Zealanders, Americans etc. The photo of the building was evocative of a French Colonial building with cafe's and bistros on the ground level, and modest 1 bed, or 2 bed apartments with private baths. The pictures of the interiors were very nice. Flatscreen tv. And wifi included. housekeeping was available for an additional fee of $15/month and should you choose to use the lift that was $15 month also. The price was a very enticing $125 month excluding electricity and water. You could choose between rooms with AC and fan, or just a fan which were even cheaper at $110 month. A one months rent deposit was required, and leases were required. I opted for the one month and I'm glad I did. I'd been in Cambodia 1 day when I rented, so I wasn't that familiar with the lay of the land. This neighborhood was really depressing, very dirty with garbage everywhere the street smelled fetid, and the street had 3 masssge parlors on the block. The apartment catered to these gentlemen who needed and extended stay as well. . The managers spoke not a word of English, and the night shift managers consisted of a couple of grade school boys. The place was filthy, there was constantly something breaking be it the AC, the TV, the toilet. Though it wasn't a nightmare, it was generally unpleasant. My western compatriots all appeared to be shady characters of some type. I got the impression one was on meth, another hiding from the law with his bad hair dye job. As I said it wasn't a nightmare, but after a month I left for different quarters. And this being Cambodia, my utilities added up to exactly my deposit ( though 2 out of 4 weeks I was out of the city) and so there was no refund. I expressed my displeasure at no refund, but eventually gave up the fight. The lady manager insisted on getting me a tuk tuk to riverside. Later I found out she told him to take me to Vietnam and drop me off.