Marinaris wrote:LexusSchmexus wrote:How do you guys in cars mentally cope with the traffic? I used to tell myself I'd never buy a car here, but I know one day I will. My main reasons were the absurd costs mentioned above and the lost hours spent sitting in an idling car. There are days I know I get more done in a busy morning than I possibly could in two days of driving in a car (running errands, exploring new shops looking for specific products etc). I guess a restructuring of my habits would be necessary (take the bike for busy days, but the car of going I'm the countryside or just visiting one or two places when I know I can get everything I need there). Do you guys just do one thing at a time and zone out with the radio on or something? Do you keep a motorcycle for nearby errands or peak hours?
Driver costs 200$/month, can keep working in the car even in jam
I used to have one of the best drivers I could have wished for - a bit more than $200/m honestly speaking, but even then I increasingly found it hugely frustrating to sit in traffic for so long. I'm an oddball at work now, all other expats use car & driver, I take my motorbike. I can get to & from my office bottom end of Monivong & home in Toul Kork generally under 25 mins, in a car the journey is easily an hour plus. I use my car for the supermarket run at the weekend & otherwise let Mrs. Spigz enjoy the delights of Phnom Penh traffic.
The other thing I love about being back on a motorbike is the ability to take different routes, explore the city a bit more off the beaten path, enjoy the sights/smells and for want of a better expression, "connect better" - there's something very "bubble" or disconnected from the back seat of a car. It is something that worries me more and more, CxOs blissfully unaware of the 95%+ of the population that don't drink coffee at Browns, go to Aeon Mall(s) or enjoy Topaz lunch sets. I remember the very early days of Wing & getting a visit from a ANZ Banking Group (not ANZ Royal) senior exec - she had one whiff of a wet market in Steung Meanchey and could not wait to get back to the office to check the financial reports instead. That was back in 2009, not a long has changed methinks.
All that off-topic stuff said, I'm back in a car next week - road trip to all the Northern provinces in a 3 day sprint to check up on a bunch of stuff, can't wait.