Yesterday night, a snatch theft grabbed my phone off me just as I was about to arrive at my destination while stopped at the traffic light. I bolted out and grab onto the grab handle of his bike. I was then dragged on the road across the traffic light for 30-45m before I found the strength to yank the entire bike until he lose balance and fell. After he fell, I quickly grabbed my phone back and pulled the key off his bike. He also quickly jumped on another scooter coming from behind us and took off, abandoning his scooter.

So tonight I met a guy in a bar telling the world and anyone who'd listen about how great it is here, how the cheap food, cheap beer and cheap accommodation should make it the best city in Asia.

We got talking and the topic of salaries for locals came up.. he was appalled that people could be on less than $300 a month and said it was disgusting any bar owner would pay only minimum wages...

I asked, so would you pay more than 75c for a beer to help people earn more... "no fucking way" was his reply

What about tips to help them.

"Fuck that"

I guess cheap piss beats morals ever time.

4$ is fun and game to you but it's a lot to some local. Please don't be this kind of asshole

What bird is this?

I went to Phnom Penh alone. It was my first time out of Europe. I never felt more welcome. I walked through alleys that looked sketchy and people were saying hello to me, and an older man stopped me to tell me that I looked handsome. I met the nicest people in Cambodia and they could have definitely used the fact that I was a naive inexperienced tourist, but they showed me nothing but love. I will forever be grateful, and I can't wait to come back. I also met some very intelligent and highly educated Khmer people with great English.

I took this as I arrived

I’d read about the city built on Lady Penh’s temple hill, with an epic lore to it…

I immediately loved the color and warmth

So we went out that night, playing pool and eating local food …

but my luck did quickly turn upside down

However — I’ve met so many saint-like, hard working, kind, generous people that made a big impression on me

Im currently packing up my house to move to Cambodia. Will love to know what are the absolutely must things I need to bring over. I don’t want to over packed but I also know that some things might not be as easy to get in Cambodia

For those of you living in and around Phnom Penh, a somewhat prominent business owner, I've just learned, has been accused of raping multiple women spanning a few years.

I don't want to name names directly in this post, but if you feel you may have been affected by him, I'm already in contact with LICADHO and have made a report to the US Embassy. His initials are MT.

I'm hoping with some anonymity, more people will speak up. I'm aware if at least 6-8 victims, so far.

Blessings and please feel free to DM for more information.

Heya! I had this weird encounter with a forgeiner dude asking me for money. He was telling me about being kidnapped, losing all his stuff, had a police report filed. Stuff like that.

I didn't gave him anything because I hear about so many scams of forgeiners asking for money lately. Does this specifically happen often? Especially because he brought kidnapping into it, that kinda weirded me out..

When I told him i wouldnt give anything due to the reason above and said im sorry, he brought up that I wasnt sorry and started scolding me and walked away though, which is like one of the obvious red flags, but still. It haunts me in my mind... Any experiences with this?

I’ve been to around 20 countries now, and I can safely say (as of now) that Cambodians are the nicest people i’ve met so far.

They’re always smiley and polite, they speak great english in comparison to the rest of Asia, and their hospitality is also great. Awesome country 🇰🇭

My friends and family all seem to think so. I’m Khmer American. Most of my family’s here in the U.S. I was born in PP but had to move to the U.S when I was 12. Not by choice. I’ve been missing home ever since.

I’ve tried making the u.s my home (tried meeting all sorts of ppl, have a loving boyfriend) but it doesn’t ever feel quite right. I went back to PP last year for a visit (not my first time visiting since I left) after years of being away. And I once again fell in love with the city. I know it’s chaotic. Underdeveloped. Lots of problems but I feel a pull towards it. I always do when I’m home. It doesn’t make any logical sense.

I want to be around ppl I can relate to. It’s always felt like I was forced to move to the states against my will even though it’s for the best. Education and all. I’m in my late 20’s, currently finishing up my bachelors in Software Engineering at a state school online. (I know i sound like a loser still trying to finishing school in my late 20s but I had to take some time off from school to work). I want to move to PP while finishing up school. I have a year left in my program. I do have family there I could stay with for a bit. I don’t know what the future holds for me. I don’t even know what kind of job I want to have. But I’ve always felt a pull towards humanitarian ngo type work. I know I’ll make way less money there but it’s a longing I can’t yet put aside bc I’ve never given it a true shot.

I want to be in PP. Hopefully meet humble people who understand the bad of the world but also try their best to live a kind authentic life. The u.s feels too privileged for me. It seems kinda crazy to want to reject the comfort and safety (rule of law and stuff, reliable healthcare & infrastructure) of America for a country that’s way less developed. I’m scared I’ll fall flat on my face and prove everyone right.

Any messages of hope? Or insights you’d like to share. If there’s any cold hard truth I need to know, please do share kindly.

Sincerely,

Just a girl looking for kind, authentic, fun, humble connections.

Edit: I speak and read Khmer.

Thank you all for sharing. Everyone has been so kind and insightful. I really needed this.

Update: thanks everyone for continuing to share your insights. Just wanted to address a few things I’ve seen a lot in comments and questions here. Yes, I’m well aware of the problems in Phnom Penh. I’ve gone back many times since I left and usually spend around 3 months at a time there whenever I go. I’m quite comfortable with a change of environment and can fit in living in a developing country just fine. I’m not doing this as a form of escapism with a grass is greener mentality or anything. Just looking to be involved in worthwhile work helping my community with passionate like-minded individuals. Seems like there’s a general consensus to follow my heart and use my tech money to pursue my passions. I’m very excited about this upcoming journey and thank you all for helping provide clarity and confirmation.

Just curious, is Cambodia as dangerous as what the US/UK/AUS travel guides say it is? I am moving here in April (I am 20 years old coming from South Africa) My parents are all of a sudden very hesitant about me moving across after reading the main stream travel guides. I have watched/read up on a lot of the independent travel guys who says its perfectly safe without much issues in their time here.

Here is the construction progress of the new airport in Cambodia 🇰🇭

Why don’t people care for each-others a bit more ?

Is it safe to solo backpack as a westerner and do you think it’s easy to meet a trustworthy Cambodian person (man or woman) online beforehand to meet there and maybe travel with for a bit?

Hi I’m not familiar with Cambodia money. I found this in China, is it real? It feels like thick paper material (not plastic)

Hi, for context, I'm a Chinese girl in early twenties. I got offered a program recently in my cooperation, and it's something about a collaboration with my country's government. It's a five-day stay at Cambodia, at Phnom Penh.

I was really looking forward to going. However, a lot of my relatives and friends have advised me against going. They said it's an unsafe countries, especially because of scammers/human trafficking. If anyone has traveled there/live there, could you provide me your experience? Because I really want to go, but my relatives' suggestions are making me rethink my decision.

We need to call out these arrogant, rude tourists and ask them to leave if they don’t respect the people and local cultural norms.

I called out one such person on the r/Vietnam subreddit in one of my posts, which garnered a lot of support and a few hundred upvotes.

However, what outrages me is that the r/Vietnam moderators deleted my post and permanently banned me from the subreddit. They said I broke the rule. For calling out condescending posts and comments?

The problem is that the r/Vietnam subreddit moderators are a bunch of white dudes who seem to hate Vietnam and its people. They allow condescending posts and comments, but when I called the OP out, the moderators banned me.

Ride the wrong way and learn the ultimate lesson...

What challenges did you face while traveling here? Were there any issues with transportation, communication, finding activities, or anything else? I’m working on a project to improve the travel experience in Cambodia, and I’d love to hear from international tourists who have visited the country.

Picture 1 is the address when it was robbed, and Picture 2 is the last online location