i feel ya brotherseidier wrote:I don't regret coming here 6 years ago, but I do feel like I came at the end of an era and I don't think I'd be as inclined to stay if I stepped off a plane today.
I'm of a wave of expats who, for whatever reason, tried to put as much distance as possible between ourselves and the coiffed, predictable lifestyles of organized home countries.The dark features that attracted me to this country; the grit, the lawlessness, the innovation, the self-reliance.. Putting aside questions of the long-term reliability of Chinese money, Cambodia is globalizing and that may be a great thing for Cambodia, but I don't quite know where I fit here among the luxury brands, fast food chains and smartphone culture.
If you could do it all over again.
- Jamie_Lambo
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Punchy McShortstacks School of Hard Knocks
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When i first come here,for a holiday from thailand,i was reminded of my time in the early 60s growing up in a small country town in Australia,what impressed me is the basic living and lifestyle,smiling faces and the very nice locals i was to meet,i guess i had no real plans on staying as long as i have but now i would not care to be anywhere else that comes to mind,i dont have to live in the city so that helps and the lake and rivers are mostly unchanged.
I'm with you too. I first arrived around when you did, and in that short time, the KOW has become a different place. I was all of about 8 in '92 when untac arrived, so it isn't realistic to wish I had moved much earlier in life. Some of the long timers are really pretty lucky for getting to experience what they did in Cambodia. We just caught the tail end of an era like you said.Jamie_Lambo wrote:i feel ya brotherseidier wrote:I don't regret coming here 6 years ago, but I do feel like I came at the end of an era and I don't think I'd be as inclined to stay if I stepped off a plane today.
I'm of a wave of expats who, for whatever reason, tried to put as much distance as possible between ourselves and the coiffed, predictable lifestyles of organized home countries.The dark features that attracted me to this country; the grit, the lawlessness, the innovation, the self-reliance.. Putting aside questions of the long-term reliability of Chinese money, Cambodia is globalizing and that may be a great thing for Cambodia, but I don't quite know where I fit here among the luxury brands, fast food chains and smartphone culture.
Were I going to move abroad in 2018, Cambodia would not be on the radar at all. I would probably skip SE Asia all together and head to Central or South America. If I were going to choose Asia, I would probably go to Vietnam or the Philippines. Unless I won the lottery, in which case I would buy a love hotel in Japan
- David Stearn
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I just wondered what you thought about Myanmar.violet wrote:I have considered Myanmar. Mostly because there seems to be a handful of people that keep suggesting I go there, Laos or Vietnam. It seems 'anywhere but here'. I do not know their motivation for seemingly wanting me out of here and somewhere else in SE Asia.David Stearn wrote:Why don't you go to Myanmar with Simon, have you ever thought about that option?violet wrote:Asking about doing it all over again implies going back in time rather than just choosing anew now.
I am always open to new, despite what I tell my friends. I am not going back though. Nor am I looking for another option. As always, decisions will be made on a whim when opportunities present themselves.
As for 'with Simon'. That is an odd suggestion and, no, I have never thought of going to Myanmar with Simon. I am reasonably sure Simon is not my type.
Don't take my post the wrong way. I was not inviting suggestions. Now, if you have opportunities to discuss, that is a different matter.
Please don't throw me in that briar patch!
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Hmmm. Ok. 'Considered' gives the wrong impression. Lightly considered for 5 mins is more accurate. I have given as much thought to Myanmar as I have to China....next to none. I am not looking to move on from Phnom Penh right at this moment. Even if I do move, not a lot of thought will go into it. My decisions, by and large, are based on gut and on compelling reason. Based on gut, I may one day find myself in Myanmar but doubt I will find myself in China. Having said that, there was a time when I had zero intetest in visiting the States...things change and I am open to change.David Stearn wrote:I just wondered what you thought about Myanmar.violet wrote:I have considered Myanmar. Mostly because there seems to be a handful of people that keep suggesting I go there, Laos or Vietnam. It seems 'anywhere but here'. I do not know their motivation for seemingly wanting me out of here and somewhere else in SE Asia.David Stearn wrote:Why don't you go to Myanmar with Simon, have you ever thought about that option?violet wrote:Asking about doing it all over again implies going back in time rather than just choosing anew now.
I am always open to new, despite what I tell my friends. I am not going back though. Nor am I looking for another option. As always, decisions will be made on a whim when opportunities present themselves.
As for 'with Simon'. That is an odd suggestion and, no, I have never thought of going to Myanmar with Simon. I am reasonably sure Simon is not my type.
Don't take my post the wrong way. I was not inviting suggestions. Now, if you have opportunities to discuss, that is a different matter.
The last year or so of my life has seen me stray from that approach a little...lost touch with my gut....and the results are still coming in.
If I were to move on from PP any time soon, It would involve crossing oceans. My gut tells me that.
The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.
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I agree 100%. Such changes will always be a future fact in life if you choose to stay in an 'undeveloped' country. 'Development' is almost guaranteed to take the worst of modern living if the people are generally thoughtless, greedy and short-sighted. PP has become a mess; there are zero green spaces; traffic is a serious issue due to idiotic driving, car size and a 100% lack of social awareness; there is little morality (see how people flee an accident); far too many buildings of character are being knocked down; and the county is (still) being run by criminals. Seemingly nothing has been learnt since 1993 (again, see the local expertise at navigating a simple traffic roundabout).seidier wrote:I don't regret coming here 6 years ago, but I do feel like I came at the end of an era and I don't think I'd be as inclined to stay if I stepped off a plane today.
I'm of a wave of expats who, for whatever reason, tried to put as much distance as possible between ourselves and the coiffed, predictable lifestyles of organized home countries.The dark features that attracted me to this country; the grit, the lawlessness, the innovation, the self-reliance...and the privilege of pedaling down the street in shorts and sandals and still being treated like royalty because I'm white and therefore assumed to be rich...those features are eroding in wake of economic development and access to credit when even the guy next door making $200/month is honking at you behind the wheel of his Camry. Putting aside questions of the long-term reliability of Chinese money, Cambodia is globalizing and that may be a great thing for Cambodia, but I don't quite know where I fit here among the luxury brands, fast food chains and smartphone culture. I think an aspect of living in Cambodia that has always appealed to me - that it's easy to be yourself because Cambodians don't expect you to conform to their norms - has been because Cambodia's soul has always been up for sale to the highest bidder. The highest bidder used to be white social misfits and underachievers living on $1000/month, but there's a new player in town with different priorities, and Cambodians' attention and loyalties are shifting accordingly. Appearance over quality. Augment reality with borrowed money.
Money. Money. More money.
Shorts and sandals don't really cut it anymore, not in Phnom Penh, anyway. For the first time I'm starting to feel pressure to compete on their level in their value system and I don't like it. I think my clock is ticking.
However it is what it is. Zurich or Phnom Penh? For better or for worse, most foreigners who stay here will still probably choose PP. Believe it or not, many foreigners who live in Kinshasa, DRC, love that hole of a city. Same story (except the standard of driving and level of conversation - with Congolese- there is much higher).
Accept the short-falls - if you can't, leave. However if you move to an even more undeveloped country, chances are you will just see it all happen again.
I did warn you all, after the last ASEAN Conference in China.
I was derided as a crank, but as someone said, the beardy, leery, drunken, loud, lecherous, shorts wearing pensioners and the beardy, leery, drunken, loud, lecherous, shorts wearing backpackers aren't welcome anymore.
Asia wants it's identity back and it will succeed. They don't need us any more.
I was derided as a crank, but as someone said, the beardy, leery, drunken, loud, lecherous, shorts wearing pensioners and the beardy, leery, drunken, loud, lecherous, shorts wearing backpackers aren't welcome anymore.
Asia wants it's identity back and it will succeed. They don't need us any more.
They wear SHORTS??? Well that just does it then. Out with 'em.Pu Li wrote:I did warn you all, after the last ASEAN Conference in China.
I was derided as a crank, but as someone said, the beardy, leery, drunken, loud, lecherous, shorts wearing pensioners and the beardy, leery, drunken, loud, lecherous, shorts wearing backpackers aren't welcome anymore.
Asia wants it's identity back and it will succeed. They don't need us any more.
- Lucky Lucan
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Just hang out another few months, avoid the temptation to leave like a hipster whose flat white wasn't at quite the right level.seidier wrote:I don't regret coming here 6 years ago, but I do feel like I came at the end of an era and I don't think I'd be as inclined to stay if I stepped off a plane today.
Romantic Cambodia is dead and gone. It's with McKinley in the grave.
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How much access does the average Khmer have to credit? I have noticed that my friend who I talk to makes so little yet her family has like 3 new cars, a flat in a nice neighborhood by the Khmer Rogue prison, et al. I guess this is true of America as well, where we have like 40k millionaires in places like Phoenix, but I don't understand why with such low monthly wages and (what I understand to be) a lax property rights system, there would be an eagerness to lend.Jamie_Lambo wrote:i feel ya brotherseidier wrote:I don't regret coming here 6 years ago, but I do feel like I came at the end of an era and I don't think I'd be as inclined to stay if I stepped off a plane today.
I'm of a wave of expats who, for whatever reason, tried to put as much distance as possible between ourselves and the coiffed, predictable lifestyles of organized home countries.The dark features that attracted me to this country; the grit, the lawlessness, the innovation, the self-reliance.. Putting aside questions of the long-term reliability of Chinese money, Cambodia is globalizing and that may be a great thing for Cambodia, but I don't quite know where I fit here among the luxury brands, fast food chains and smartphone culture.
I have never lived in Cambodia mostly because of this forum, lol. I have an okay job in America and don't see any reason to go into the unknown. The real dealbreaker for me is how darn conservative the women are. I understand that's their right and I have no problem with it; I just know it's not the right place for me if I have to practically marry a woman to get her to do anything.
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For a start it's "Rouge" as in the French word for red and not "Rogue". Nobody wanted to live in that prison neighborhood for ages but then the land prices got serious. With the women I agree to some extent, it's very frustrating to have so many beautiful women around who are absolutely not interested in casual scenes! However, if you put yourself in their shoes it's understandable that they have to be careful and not sully their reputations. Its a bit like 1950s Europe as far as those morals go.merchantsmutual wrote: How much access does the average Khmer have to credit? I have noticed that my friend who I talk to makes so little yet her family has like 3 new cars, a flat in a nice neighborhood by the Khmer Rogue prison, et al. I guess this is true of America as well, where we have like 40k millionaires in places like Phoenix, but I don't understand why with such low monthly wages and (what I understand to be) a lax property rights system, there would be an eagerness to lend.
I have never lived in Cambodia mostly because of this forum, lol. I have an okay job in America and don't see any reason to go into the unknown. The real dealbreaker for me is how darn conservative the women are. I understand that's their right and I have no problem with it; I just know it's not the right place for me if I have to practically marry a woman to get her to do anything.
Romantic Cambodia is dead and gone. It's with McKinley in the grave.
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Lucky: I don't buy that argument in a big city like Phnom Penh. This isn't svay rieng where everybody is going to notice them hanging with some white dude. They can do it on the DL pretty easily. I live in a big city too.
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Nah. It's just a big bunch of villages like many other cities, and villagers like to gossip.merchantsmutual wrote:Lucky: I don't buy that argument in a big city like Phnom Penh. This isn't svay rieng where everybody is going to notice them hanging with some white dude. They can do it on the DL pretty easily. I live in a big city too.
Romantic Cambodia is dead and gone. It's with McKinley in the grave.
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Hmm, that could be construed as either an insult or praise for me.I am reasonably sure Simon is not my type.
I have never lived in Cambodia, apart from a brief spell working at Golden Gecko software company in PP. I ended up in Myanmar for the weirdest of reasons ==> to get away from my bipolar ex-wife whose behaviour was sending me towards an early grave, and in an attempt to be issued with the first amateur radio (ham) licence in Myanmar since 1962.....
Happily, I was successful on both counts, (but it took many years for the second reason). I lost contact with my ex, who is (from what I hear), happily conning $$$ from naive Scandanavian pensioners. Only a few weeks ago, I was finally issued with my ham licence.
Myanmar is definitely not everyone's 'cup of tea'. I used to live in Yangon in 2012/13, but I'm not keen on that city now (too crowded, dirty and packed with cars). The 2 best things about Myanmar are (IMHO), the people and the countryside. The worst thing (again IMHO) is Burmese food, which seems to consist mainly of the genitalia and intestines from obscure species, fried in Castrol GTX engine oil.
I'm very happy in Myanmar, because I had very strong reasons to 'make it work' for me. Now I have money in the bank, am way, way way more healthy (not eating Burmese food!) and fitter than I ever was in Thailand, enjoy riding my dirt-bike in the Shan hills, have achieved nothing short of a miracle with my little educational charity (last year I supported 10 orphanages and monastic schools with school equipment, text-books etc - this year that number of schools will exceed 25, all financed from my international school salary - money goes a long way in Myanmar to buy school supplies...).
As for a new partner... nah, no thanks! Been down that route 3 times, been 'scammed' 3 times
If I could do it all over again? Well, I wouldn't behave like a rich prat as I did when I had $$$ before. I wasted it on houses, cars, women and holidays. If I had had more sense and caution, I'd probably still be rich. But my experiences have made me realise that you can be 'rich' without $$$.