Moved to Phnom Penh last year from the US and work as an English language teacher. There are dozens upon dozens of private schools that offer English language programs, so it's no wonder a large amount of young people have a working knowledge of English. Glad you enjoyed your stay.
Thanks for this video. I've been to Phnom Penh twice, both times in the 2010s before the COVID emergency. There were far fewer high rises and the city for me was much more laid back than the experience you described. Clearly it is changing. I hope the best for the people there--Cambodians are amazing and resilient. Cheers, Guy
I visited Cambodia in 2014 and I'm planning on going back this winter with my husband. The whole experience there encapsulated why I love to travel. The warmth of the people, the ancient history, the food and culture. I had a bicycle in Siam Reap which was loads of fun. But one thing that I found fascinating and so moving especially upon reflection, was how open and earnest the people were about talking about the genocide. Not in a preachy or histrionic way at all. Always just to share a very recent and shocking historic fact. The importance of not forgetting or whitewashing a horrific history is such and admirable trait of the Cambodians. It challenged me to sit with my emotions regarding things I can barely imagine and called upon my empathy without reservation and reminded me of the danger in forgetting our history. I experienced real humanity in Cambodia and will always appreciate my experiences there.
Regarding Khmer Rouge, I'd recommend reading The Lost Executioner. I picked it up somewhere in Siem Reap for reading material on the flight home. There's probably food smeared on some pages because I didn't want to stop reading, juggled the book and the food tray! Literally flipped to the last pages as we landed. It is chilling because it makes you wonder who is walking among us every day. Also the book describes the beginning actions of tyranny, from people who were there and escaped in time.
Those TukTuks really get around: we took one while visiting Sintra, Portugal. Running up and down the mountainsides, it was the most thrilling ride we have ever experienced. Disney has nothing in comparison :)
Currently in PP now. This is my 3rd time to Cambodia. You really need to set aside your first world view. It's a beautiful country with their culture, food, and the people are kind. I will probably retire here. Glad you enjoyed it.
As fellow full time travelers we believe all change is good if you are not happy. All of our global travels are focused on enjoying are surroundings. We always book the best accommodations within our healthy retirement budget. Traveling to and from sketchy accommodations can be uncomfortable, restrictive and unsettling. We do not post blogs so we only have one goal...having a good time. In our younger years we adventure traveled to Papua New Guinea, N. Sulawesi, Chuk Island, Ecuador (decades before it was safe) and more. We are over taking risky trips and use our prior experiences to gage of our comfort level as to new locations.
Great video - thanks! So glad you both stayed and shared your experiences…sometimes those uncomfortable moments while traveling end up making the most impact and changing your views on the world…part of the magic of traveling.
I'm glad you stayed. We went years ago and visited both the museum and the fields. Very emotionally draining. How can humans do this to others? I want to go back to Siem Reap. It looks like it has changed a lot.
I have lived in Phnom Penh a couple of times, but never liked it much. Too many people. Too much time stuck in non-moving traffic. No sidewalks and walking in the street is very dangerous. Several bad experiences. But, not so very far away is Kampot and I love it here. Plenty of places for people to gather and enjoy. Highly affordable. Great places to walk and exercise along the riverfront. A nice variety restaurants and cuisine to enjoy. Nice to live in Cambodia.
Kampot is a great place. I do live in Phnom Penh and am doing fine here. But am considering a move to Kampot as well. Plan on a visit soon to check around.
They even have a South-Korean local village in SR which call "Suwon Village", Include Korean-both, Primary/High school, Man Cambodia is something's else
I will always be sad the world didn't intervene sooner. Pol Pot killed people just for wearing glasses. He thought they must be educated and could read. He wanted to wipe out anyone who could oppose him. My tour guide was a boy when the genocide happened. He said they split up his family, sending his father to work on a farm somewhere else. They allowed his mother to live because she was a good cook and prepared food for some of the officers. One day (for fun), one of the officers took my guide out and tied him to a tree where there was a fire ant mound. He was ten. His grandparents died during Pol Pot's regime. Everyone in Cambodia lost family members. Everyone.
It was Vietnam that intervened, eventually, by invading. The U.S. government was quite critical of that at the time iirc, but it all seems to have worked out.
@@AmeliaAndJP My late mother was fond of those “ancient aliens” shows back in the day. I used to tease her by speculating that given the way humans were behaving her aliens must have put something in the water to soften us up for an invasion. She passed three years ago - I can’t imagine what she’d think about what’s happening now.
I live in PP, Grab often takes a zig zag route between two points, something to do with their GPS AI. Their main competition is PassApp which has more direct routing.
@@DrT.H.C Nahh mate, that area has got nothing on the Riverfront area? what is there to see in BKK 1? just a heap of other expats & nothing else...no other city in SE Asia can match the beauty of the Riverfront area of Phnom Penh, with great hotels, restaurants & an excellent riverside walk area.
@@georgedickens261 how about Independence Monument, Vietnam Friendship Monument. Statue of the King, Wat Botum Park, Wat Langka, NagaWorld, lots of great Coffee shops, Restaurants,etc.? Nothing?
We are still traveling around SE Asia and loved our time in PP. We only booked 3 nights there and wished we had allowed a LOT more time. We plan to go back later this year and spend a few weeks. We're full time nomads so have plenty of time. How long were you there?
In Vietnam, I discovered my ride was a motorbike, whose driver insisted he could manage my large duffle bag and my backpack, no worries. I was terrified - but we did get there ok. Not recommended though!
I know this video isn't about Europe or Italy specifically but what do you know about Italy 1 euro home purchase, is it worth it, my family came from Italy around 1900, we've visited several times but have been considering moving there thanks
Hi. I'm not of Italian heritage but I've watched several of those 1 euro house purchases (CNBC, CNN, etc). It's not really 1 euro. You'll have to pay transfer taxes, agents fees, etc before it can be yours. The houses also need a lot of repairs. Buying a house will not give you EU residency (if you're a non EU citizen), so you're still subject to the 90 days limit for Schengen zone. However, if you have Italian heritage and want to get Italian citizenship by descent, then I suggest that you do so soon. The Italian govt sometimes change the requirements (to make it harder). The consulate & courts are also inundated with applications. The channel of Rafael di Furia talks abt this. As of now, there is no language requirement (but that might change - some countries require that you pass a language test before they grant citizenship). Also re: taxes - if you're a resident in Italy (stay there for > 180/ 183/ 186 days, not sure) then they'll also tax your income. I'm not sure of the specifics but that's what I remember from Rafael's vids.
Angelina Jolie is a citizen of Cambodia and has a child she adopted from there. Phnom Penh seems amazing and totally different from overly commercialized, crowded cities over run by tourists. I will go this year.
i often go to cambodia from malaysia where i live for the last 14y and phnom penh, i can say that it is an expensive place..restaurants prices arent cheap !.. of course, influencers will show that eating in the streets is cheap but if one lives there for sometime, street food isnt for everyday menu lol..as soon as you go to a restaurant, then prices arent that cheap anymore and i notice that cambodian food isnt healthy, they put lot of sugar in their dishes..even the fried rice got sugar! never saw this anywhere else than cambodia..renting a unit in a condo that is comfortable will also cost you pretty penny unless you stay in a khmer type of apartment...compared to KL where i stayed, phnom penh is definitely expensive -for what it is ..plus these days, there are lot of china people everywhere and many of them are gangsters operating scam centers!!..there are easily noticeable ...tattoos and crew cut hair style driving 4x4!!...otherwise the place is nice if it wasnt for the points mentioned above...
Simply not true. We spent 3 months in KL last fall. It is more expensive than Phnom Penh for lodging and food. Similar lodging in a high rise condo was 30% cheaper in Phnom Penh. Dinner at restaurants was half the cost compared to KL. Grab tuk tuk rides in PP were 90 cents to $1.50. Grabs in KL were $2.50 to $4 for a similar distance.
@@AmeliaAndJPdon't know where you stay in KL, I live here for the last 14y in a condo 82sqm unit 2 bedrooms 2 bathroom fully furnished with free WiFi/Netflix for 700usd/mth located right in the golden triangle, Bukit Bintang. But it's true grab is cheaper in pp, and you got tuktuk but can't take tuktuk during rush hours otherwise you breathe cars exhaust 😊. But I found restaurants in pp pricey, payment in USD. Simple dish can cost 4-5usd no fancy restaurant, of course I don't talk about Khmer eatery places which are cheap like mamak in KL where one can find nasi goreng or roti for 1+USD.
Traffic in Thailand is very similar to. I describe it as a driving merging culture. As a driver I just deal with motorbikes as if I am driving in a stream and the motorbikes are the water moving around me. Don’t make any sudden moves with your car and the motorbikes will take care of themselves. Honking is considered rude.
I live in Seim Reap . The bigger Ramok Tuktuk will have room for luggage. It's pronounced Tuktuk not Tooktook . The traffic has gotten bad . The sidewalks are used by motorcycle. Sidewalks will be poor condition all over SE Asia BTW. Except Singapore, KL . It's a cooperative culture not an individualistic culture. That's the mentality of SE Asia. Thank you.
When I visited Phnom Penh, for a couple of days I stayed with a friend who was a volunteer at an NGO. She stayed at a fairly local area, maybe 30 min walk from Wat Phnom (a big temple). What surprised me was the posters saying something like "no pedophiles allowed - you'll be jailed". It was a bit shocking as I hadn't seen posters of that kind anywhere else in SE Asia. So yes, there is that component. I hope their govt has done something about it. In that neighborhood, there were also some streets which had lots of trash. Just like any big city, PP has its pretty parts (riverside walk, the Palace, malls, etc) but it also has a dark side. My friend also warned me about pickpockets & bag snatchers, so be alert. I felt safer in Siem Reap & liked the vibe of a smaller city. Between PP & SR, I would choose SR for living (PP if for working). I would suggest to visit both & see/ feel for yourself. Visit the museums too (esp those related to the Khmer Rouge/ genocide).
You arrived late to the party. I was first in Phnom Penh in 1993 when UNTEC was still there to keep the Khmer Rouge out. I flew from Bangkok to PNH on a Russian airplane with a Russian pilot. The airport had real charm -- inside and out was plastered with bullet holes. My buddy and I took a boat up to Siem Reap. We were the only visitors at Anchor Watt (the ruins are well worth visiting). In looking around Siem Reap for a place to stay we wandered into King Sihanouk's villa complex and the caretaker offered to rent us a villa for $10 USD but passed on it as it was too musty. In May 1994 went down to Sihanoukville. While waiting for a single engine puddle jumper to take us back to PNH we ran into the Prime Minister Norodom Ranariddh (son of King Sihanouk), his two daughters were flying with us back to PNH and then onto Switzerland where they were going to college (they spoke English like California Valley Girls). While waiting for the plane I got in a chit-chat with the Prime Minister about the need to replace the septic system at the three beach "hotels" with a proper sewage treatment system. And then the Chinese came in and ruined the city with their failed mega-casinos. Those were the halcyon days of Cambodia. Now PNH looks... well, boring.
@CaptainGyro I went to Angkor Wat by speed boat in 1995, and it was very beautiful with nothing rebuild. Travel by boat was really amazing when the boat passed by Tonle Sap. Beautiful memories
That French themed part of Phnom Penh is mostly deserted. Most of those buildings are unoccupied , businesses gone & hardly anyone lives there. It’s just another Chinese “ghost city failure”. Most of the city skyline is full of unoccupied or abandoned projects. Sihanoukville on the coast is worse…..there’s nearly 600 high rise abandoned buildings & Casino projects that are listed for demolition. All built with Chinese “black money”.
When I first moved to Phnom Penh, there were no skyscrapers. It changed a lot in the nine years that I lived there. And yes, the buildings are mostly unoccupied.
Most of the retail space was occupied in those buildings. We went into a watch store and several other people were in there looking around. I wouldn’t call it a ghost city, but it did seem like the housing units were not heavily occupied. We’ve seen abandoned high rise buildings throughout SE Asia. Some from the 2008 meltdown. Some from the pandemic lockdowns. Probably a lot from the Chinese schemes.
I was in Phnom Penh in 1997 and the genocide museum had a map of Cambodia made up of human skulls. Fortunately that map was taken down in 2002 but you can easily find photos of this map on the internet. Totally ghoulish and horrific ...
After listening to the 1st minute or two of your video re: tuk tuk drivers, I did a quick search to see if Cambodians are starving...because what you described is how people behave in countries where they are...quite literally...unable to feed their family. 70% of their total income is spent on FOOD. THAT is why people are resorting to such extremes to drive you to a hotel. For them, it's literally about whether orn not they get to eat.
That’s one reason for some, but not the only reason for all. They’re also very angry with Grab because tourists are charged the going rate and drivers can’t price gouge us or take a circuitous route to run up the meter.
Depends on what you call "expat life". PP has a small-ish number of expats, mostly young - English teachers, NGO workers, volunteers, etc. I met some of them as the friend I stayed with was a volunteer (she stayed there for 6 months). She brought me to an expat bar which had live music. The band was all composed of "barangs" (white foreigners). The crowd was a mix of barangs and locals (again, mostly young crowd). In the neighbourhood where my friend lived, there were posters saying "pedophiles not allowed - will be jailed". So yeah, there is that element. It's a big city with its good & bad sides.
Wow-like Siem Reap (SR), Phnom Penh (PP) has changed a LOT since our 2006 visit (had to look the date up). At the time we took an all-day bus ride from SR to PP (don’t think air travel was even possible), skyscrapers, malls, and beautiful river walk (which you showed) didn’t exist. Having visited nearly all of SE Asia (which I highly recommend to anyone), I’d characterize PP in 2006 as the armpit of SE Asia. At the time, other than the undeveloped river walk (where insects for eating were for sale) and the Royal Palace-we didn’t think PP had much to offer-although we didn’t regret visiting. We visited the Cambodian War Museum in SR so (as you say) it was an emotional experience and don’t think anyone in our family had to be reminded of those atrocities in PP as well. On the way to our hotel, we walked from the river to the Central Market as the neighborhood was poorly lit and folks were staring us down. Nothing happened but I suppose I was concerned for my wife and 2 kids and not for myself. Anyway, great video and hope to re-visit Cambodia very soon. 👍🏻
It's not unusual to meet someone and think they're nice only to find out over time they're not who/what you thought they were. This also works the other way around.
A diamond in the rough?,so I have not been to Cambodia for maybe 20 years,I 1st went 30 years ago,back then there was one bar in Siem reap,yes on bar,after visiting 154 countries the one place to blow your mind is Dhaka Bangladesh 🇧🇩,anyone who truly believes in open borders should be taken there,it’s like no place on earth,I live in Bangkok and find it to be one of the best city in the world and has some of the cheapest food in the world,i hope you give Bangkok one more go,but they did have very serious air quality problems last week,thank you for the videos
I went to Dhaka in 2010, I found it very hard to navigate through the city, only a few hotels were allowed to take foreigners, I walked through the city for days on end & never saw another white person in all that time, there were no tourists at all anywhere, everywhere i went the people just stopped & stared at me like i were from another planet, very disconcerting, everywhere i walked i could not find a cafe or anywhere to sit down for a meal, i had to buy food & drink from stalls & eat standing up, definitely the most harsh trip in my travels around South East Asia & would never return to that country again.
Saw a video of an American expat who lived there who walked around his neighborhood to show everything he needed was close by. Siem Reap is more my speed but I guess if you prefer big cities this one is manageable. My biggest concern is stomach upsets. I was very susceptible and got really sick in Mexico. Elsewhere too. And I did take precautions. A city that size would never be boring!
Kenneth, you are right to take precaution...but it's getting better now. Even a native, coming from the states for vacation, have to avoid fresh not cooked food at the beginning. When suspicious, try just a tiny bite the first time. Cooked, hot food seemed OK for most visitor.
At their ages I wouldn't dare risk traveling to certain countries, human beings play with fire until they get burned. Find your purpose in life before the song stops playing, traveling like a train without brakes is not a permanent purpose, only in the spirit do we find purpose, it's getting late, vanity of vanities all is vanity and dust in the wind
Our purpose is to explore the world and educate our viewers about it. We’ll eventually settle down but we’re enjoying the ride for now. We’re pretty excited about it and a lot happier than you seem 😟 And we’re not that old!
Many westerners have a long remembered time of the Khmer Rouge & think that Cambodia is still the Wild West of Asia, it is not like that anymore & hasn't been like that for a long time, it is still poor as hell in areas though the people in general are mild & accepting, possibly because of Buddhist background of most Khmer! There are more dangerous countries in the so-called developed west to contend with than poor little Cambodia for sure!
Moved to Phnom Penh last year from the US and work as an English language teacher. There are dozens upon dozens of private schools that offer English language programs, so it's no wonder a large amount of young people have a working knowledge of English. Glad you enjoyed your stay.
Thanks for this video. I've been to Phnom Penh twice, both times in the 2010s before the COVID emergency. There were far fewer high rises and the city for me was much more laid back than the experience you described. Clearly it is changing. I hope the best for the people there--Cambodians are amazing and resilient. Cheers, Guy
I visited Cambodia in 2014 and I'm planning on going back this winter with my husband. The whole experience there encapsulated why I love to travel. The warmth of the people, the ancient history, the food and culture. I had a bicycle in Siam Reap which was loads of fun. But one thing that I found fascinating and so moving especially upon reflection, was how open and earnest the people were about talking about the genocide. Not in a preachy or histrionic way at all. Always just to share a very recent and shocking historic fact. The importance of not forgetting or whitewashing a horrific history is such and admirable trait of the Cambodians. It challenged me to sit with my emotions regarding things I can barely imagine and called upon my empathy without reservation and reminded me of the danger in forgetting our history. I experienced real humanity in Cambodia and will always appreciate my experiences there.
I'm here in PP right now. Love it! I live in N.Thailand and find this city much cheaper and user friendly than Bangkok. Great food choices too!
I love Phnom Penh. I’m considering retiring there. I can’t wait to get back.
I have visited Phnom Penh several times starting back in 2007. My husband was stationed with the American Embassy there 1972 for a year.
You guys are awesome. Happy travels and take us along!
Thank you for your video. Cambodia has moved up my list of places to visit when I retire.
Always look forward to your videos and your honest observations.
Regarding Khmer Rouge, I'd recommend reading The Lost Executioner. I picked it up somewhere in Siem Reap for reading material on the flight home. There's probably food smeared on some pages because I didn't want to stop reading, juggled the book and the food tray! Literally flipped to the last pages as we landed. It is chilling because it makes you wonder who is walking among us every day. Also the book describes the beginning actions of tyranny, from people who were there and escaped in time.
Thanks for the recommendation. It is terrifying that these people exist and humanity continues putting them in power.
Those TukTuks really get around: we took one while visiting Sintra, Portugal. Running up and down the mountainsides, it was the most thrilling ride we have ever experienced. Disney has nothing in comparison :)
I never get tired of hearing Amelia and JP's heavy midwestern accent. It's so cute.
Thanks for coming to Cambodia.
Thanks for this. I'm in Ho Chi Minh City in a few weeks and was on the fence about a quick trip to Cambodia. This convinced me to go.
¡Gracias!
Gracias! 😊
Currently in PP now. This is my 3rd time to Cambodia. You really need to set aside your first world view. It's a beautiful country with their culture, food, and the people are kind. I will probably retire here. Glad you enjoyed it.
As fellow full time travelers we believe all change is good if you are not happy. All of our global travels are focused on enjoying are surroundings. We always book the best accommodations within our healthy retirement budget. Traveling to and from sketchy accommodations can be uncomfortable, restrictive and unsettling. We do not post blogs so we only have one goal...having a good time. In our younger years we adventure traveled to Papua New Guinea, N. Sulawesi, Chuk Island, Ecuador (decades before it was safe) and more. We are over taking risky trips and use our prior experiences to gage of our comfort level as to new locations.
Had a great time there, Kampat and Siem Reap
Great video - thanks! So glad you both stayed and shared your experiences…sometimes those uncomfortable moments while traveling end up making the most impact and changing your views on the world…part of the magic of traveling.
Very true!
I'm glad you stayed. We went years ago and visited both the museum and the fields. Very emotionally draining. How can humans do this to others? I want to go back to Siem Reap. It looks like it has changed a lot.
Amelia keeps getting prettier as the years go on. You sir are a lucky man.
Looking amazing in that black off the shoulder dress! 👍👍👍
I'm considering moving back to Phnom Penh. I lived there from 2008 to 2017.
I have lived in Phnom Penh a couple of times, but never liked it much. Too many people. Too much time stuck in non-moving traffic. No sidewalks and walking in the street is very dangerous. Several bad experiences. But, not so very far away is Kampot and I love it here. Plenty of places for people to gather and enjoy. Highly affordable. Great places to walk and exercise along the riverfront. A nice variety restaurants and cuisine to enjoy. Nice to live in Cambodia.
Kampot is a great place. I do live in Phnom Penh and am doing fine here. But am considering a move to Kampot as well. Plan on a visit soon to check around.
Thanks for providing specifics, helps a lot in deciding to visit.
@ Good idea to check it out for yourself.
Looking forward to the live steam tomorrow! Stay safe and enjoy Cambodia!
You two lovely people keep me sane!
Great city… plan to move there soon…
They even have a South-Korean local village in SR which call "Suwon Village", Include Korean-both, Primary/High school, Man Cambodia is something's else
I will always be sad the world didn't intervene sooner. Pol Pot killed people just for wearing glasses. He thought they must be educated and could read. He wanted to wipe out anyone who could oppose him. My tour guide was a boy when the genocide happened. He said they split up his family, sending his father to work on a farm somewhere else. They allowed his mother to live because she was a good cook and prepared food for some of the officers. One day (for fun), one of the officers took my guide out and tied him to a tree where there was a fire ant mound. He was ten. His grandparents died during Pol Pot's regime. Everyone in Cambodia lost family members. Everyone.
When you give any government too much power, they're going to end up using it. The U.S. was based on the idea of limited government for a reason.
Communism is about hatred for life and the living.
It was Vietnam that intervened, eventually, by invading. The U.S. government was quite critical of that at the time iirc, but it all seems to have worked out.
It’s a shame humanity keeps putting these psychopaths in power. The world governments are littered with them right now.
@@AmeliaAndJP My late mother was fond of those “ancient aliens” shows back in the day. I used to tease her by speculating that given the way humans were behaving her aliens must have put something in the water to soften us up for an invasion. She passed three years ago - I can’t imagine what she’d think about what’s happening now.
I live in PP, Grab often takes a zig zag route between two points, something to do with their GPS AI. Their main competition is PassApp which has more direct routing.
Great video guys! Thank you for sharing. :-)
I look 👀 to visit Cambodia 🇰🇭 later this year.
You should have stayed at the Riverfront area, plenty of good hotels along the river, best area in PP!
@@georgedickens261
That's the main tourist hub.
Way too much traffic there.
BKK 1 is the premier area!
@@DrT.H.C Nahh mate, that area has got nothing on the Riverfront area? what is there to see in BKK 1? just a heap of other expats & nothing else...no other city in SE Asia can match the beauty of the Riverfront area of Phnom Penh, with great hotels, restaurants & an excellent riverside walk area.
@@georgedickens261 how about Independence Monument, Vietnam Friendship Monument.
Statue of the King, Wat Botum Park,
Wat Langka, NagaWorld, lots of great Coffee shops, Restaurants,etc.?
Nothing?
Thanks for sharing your experience.
We were there in Nov. 2019 for 3 days as part of a guided tour. We went to the museum and the graveyard as part of the tour.
We are still traveling around SE Asia and loved our time in PP. We only booked 3 nights there and wished we had allowed a LOT more time. We plan to go back later this year and spend a few weeks. We're full time nomads so have plenty of time. How long were you there?
Take the 2 lane highwat from Phnom Pen to Kam Pot if you want a thrill. I did that a few times and very sure I was going to die each time.
Take the van / small bus for about $10. I've done that and have had NO issues.
Get change in both currencies is huge. I am waiting for my Vietnam visa in Thailand but may switch if I don’t get a response in a couple days.
In Vietnam, I discovered my ride was a motorbike, whose driver insisted he could manage my large duffle bag and my backpack, no worries. I was terrified - but we did get there ok. Not recommended though!
Yikes! Glad you made it safe.
My wife and I follow you and travel ourselves. We live close to the Peak at Huan Yu Center ( U Mall) Yes Cambodia has a lot
Fantastic. Always like what you share. Inner Peace
I know this video isn't about Europe or Italy specifically but what do you know about Italy 1 euro home purchase, is it worth it, my family came from Italy around 1900, we've visited several times but have been considering moving there thanks
Hi. I'm not of Italian heritage but I've watched several of those 1 euro house purchases (CNBC, CNN, etc). It's not really 1 euro.
You'll have to pay transfer taxes, agents fees, etc before it can be yours. The houses also need a lot of repairs. Buying a house will not give you EU residency (if you're a non EU citizen), so you're still subject to the 90 days limit for Schengen zone.
However, if you have Italian heritage and want to get Italian citizenship by descent, then I suggest that you do so soon. The Italian govt sometimes change the requirements (to make it harder). The consulate & courts are also inundated with applications.
The channel of Rafael di Furia talks abt this. As of now, there is no language requirement (but that might change - some countries require that you pass a language test before they grant citizenship).
Also re: taxes - if you're a resident in Italy (stay there for > 180/ 183/ 186 days, not sure) then they'll also tax your income. I'm not sure of the specifics but that's what I remember from Rafael's vids.
Angelina Jolie is a citizen of Cambodia and has a child she adopted from there. Phnom Penh seems amazing and totally different from overly commercialized, crowded cities over run by tourists. I will go this year.
Cambodia is awesome...cheap.. friendly people...lots of English speakers.
Thanks JP & Amelia for another great, inspring and informative video.
Glad you liked it! 😊
Did you visit euro park while in Phnom Penh .
i often go to cambodia from malaysia where i live for the last 14y and phnom penh, i can say that it is an expensive place..restaurants prices arent cheap !.. of course, influencers will show that eating in the streets is cheap but if one lives there for sometime, street food isnt for everyday menu lol..as soon as you go to a restaurant, then prices arent that cheap anymore and i notice that cambodian food isnt healthy, they put lot of sugar in their dishes..even the fried rice got sugar! never saw this anywhere else than cambodia..renting a unit in a condo that is comfortable will also cost you pretty penny unless you stay in a khmer type of apartment...compared to KL where i stayed, phnom penh is definitely expensive -for what it is ..plus these days, there are lot of china people everywhere and many of them are gangsters operating scam centers!!..there are easily noticeable ...tattoos and crew cut hair style driving 4x4!!...otherwise the place is nice if it wasnt for the points mentioned above...
Simply not true. We spent 3 months in KL last fall. It is more expensive than Phnom Penh for lodging and food. Similar lodging in a high rise condo was 30% cheaper in Phnom Penh. Dinner at restaurants was half the cost compared to KL. Grab tuk tuk rides in PP were 90 cents to $1.50. Grabs in KL were $2.50 to $4 for a similar distance.
@@AmeliaAndJPdon't know where you stay in KL, I live here for the last 14y in a condo 82sqm unit 2 bedrooms 2 bathroom fully furnished with free WiFi/Netflix for 700usd/mth located right in the golden triangle, Bukit Bintang. But it's true grab is cheaper in pp, and you got tuktuk but can't take tuktuk during rush hours otherwise you breathe cars exhaust 😊. But I found restaurants in pp pricey, payment in USD. Simple dish can cost 4-5usd no fancy restaurant, of course I don't talk about Khmer eatery places which are cheap like mamak in KL where one can find nasi goreng or roti for 1+USD.
Where did you stay? Please link Airbnb or hotel name.
We ❤ Cambodia!
Traffic in Thailand is very similar to. I describe it as a driving merging culture. As a driver I just deal with motorbikes as if I am driving in a stream and the motorbikes are the water moving around me. Don’t make any sudden moves with your car and the motorbikes will take care of themselves. Honking is considered rude.
❤❤❤
I live in Seim Reap . The bigger Ramok Tuktuk will have room for luggage. It's pronounced Tuktuk not Tooktook . The traffic has gotten bad . The sidewalks are used by motorcycle. Sidewalks will be poor condition all over SE Asia BTW. Except Singapore, KL . It's a cooperative culture not an individualistic culture. That's the mentality of SE Asia. Thank you.
Cooperative vs individualistic culture - very interesting observation.
Is it a clean city, was you room quiet ?
Pretty clean compared to other countries in the region and our room was quiet at night.
💜
Great video. Thanks for sharing. Very informative.
When I visited Phnom Penh, for a couple of days I stayed with a friend who was a volunteer at an NGO. She stayed at a fairly local area, maybe 30 min walk from Wat Phnom (a big temple). What surprised me was the posters saying something like "no pedophiles allowed - you'll be jailed". It was a bit shocking as I hadn't seen posters of that kind anywhere else in SE Asia.
So yes, there is that component. I hope their govt has done something about it. In that neighborhood, there were also some streets which had lots of trash.
Just like any big city, PP has its pretty parts (riverside walk, the Palace, malls, etc) but it also has a dark side. My friend also warned me about pickpockets & bag snatchers, so be alert. I felt safer in Siem Reap & liked the vibe of a smaller city.
Between PP & SR, I would choose SR for living (PP if for working). I would suggest to visit both & see/ feel for yourself. Visit the museums too (esp those related to the Khmer Rouge/ genocide).
You arrived late to the party. I was first in Phnom Penh in 1993 when UNTEC was still there to keep the Khmer Rouge out. I flew from Bangkok to PNH on a Russian airplane with a Russian pilot. The airport had real charm -- inside and out was plastered with bullet holes. My buddy and I took a boat up to Siem Reap. We were the only visitors at Anchor Watt (the ruins are well worth visiting). In looking around Siem Reap for a place to stay we wandered into King Sihanouk's villa complex and the caretaker offered to rent us a villa for $10 USD but passed on it as it was too musty. In May 1994 went down to Sihanoukville. While waiting for a single engine puddle jumper to take us back to PNH we ran into the Prime Minister Norodom Ranariddh (son of King Sihanouk), his two daughters were flying with us back to PNH and then onto Switzerland where they were going to college (they spoke English like California Valley Girls). While waiting for the plane I got in a chit-chat with the Prime Minister about the need to replace the septic system at the three beach "hotels" with a proper sewage treatment system. And then the Chinese came in and ruined the city with their failed mega-casinos. Those were the halcyon days of Cambodia. Now PNH looks... well, boring.
Sounds like a fascinating time in Cambodia!
LOL
@CaptainGyro I went to Angkor Wat by speed boat in 1995, and it was very beautiful with nothing rebuild. Travel by boat was really amazing when the boat passed by Tonle Sap. Beautiful memories
I live here now (have for the past several years) and I can assure it is not boring. Perhaps the problem is with you.
@ So what do you do for excitement in PNH?
I love Cambodia and I just got an apartment in Siem Reap. Phnom Penh is just too hectic and big city for me.
That French themed part of Phnom Penh is mostly deserted. Most of those buildings are unoccupied , businesses gone & hardly anyone lives there. It’s just another Chinese “ghost city failure”. Most of the city skyline is full of unoccupied or abandoned projects. Sihanoukville on the coast is worse…..there’s nearly 600 high rise abandoned buildings & Casino projects that are listed for demolition. All built with Chinese “black money”.
When I first moved to Phnom Penh, there were no skyscrapers. It changed a lot in the nine years that I lived there. And yes, the buildings are mostly unoccupied.
Most of the retail space was occupied in those buildings. We went into a watch store and several other people were in there looking around. I wouldn’t call it a ghost city, but it did seem like the housing units were not heavily occupied. We’ve seen abandoned high rise buildings throughout SE Asia. Some from the 2008 meltdown. Some from the pandemic lockdowns. Probably a lot from the Chinese schemes.
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Back in my Punk days, the DK's had a song Holiday in Cambodia ... which referenced the rule of Pol Pot.... How things change over the years
Wow, really getting sold on Cambodia. The ease of visa, plus tax situation too…
I was in Phnom Penh in 1997 and the genocide museum had a map of Cambodia made up of human skulls. Fortunately that map was taken down in 2002 but you can easily find photos of this map on the internet. Totally ghoulish and horrific ...
Banks were invented in Italy. My homeland is germany. There is legend in Eastern Europe of the bank that make people rich.
Lots of Chinese money being invested in Southeast Asia ...airports etc
I’m not sure if it’s good or bad but I don’t trust Chinese investment.
After listening to the 1st minute or two of your video re: tuk tuk drivers, I did a quick search to see if Cambodians are starving...because what you described is how people behave in countries where they are...quite literally...unable to feed their family. 70% of their total income is spent on FOOD. THAT is why people are resorting to such extremes to drive you to a hotel. For them, it's literally about whether orn not they get to eat.
Yes hence a place to avoid. Desperate people also resort to crime.
That’s one reason for some, but not the only reason for all. They’re also very angry with Grab because tourists are charged the going rate and drivers can’t price gouge us or take a circuitous route to run up the meter.
PP definitely worth a visit. Personally, if you are seeking the expat life, I don't believe its ready for prime time, just yet.
Depends on what you call "expat life". PP has a small-ish number of expats, mostly young - English teachers, NGO workers, volunteers, etc. I met some of them as the friend I stayed with was a volunteer (she stayed there for 6 months).
She brought me to an expat bar which had live music. The band was all composed of "barangs" (white foreigners). The crowd was a mix of barangs and locals (again, mostly young crowd).
In the neighbourhood where my friend lived, there were posters saying "pedophiles not allowed - will be jailed". So yeah, there is that element. It's a big city with its good & bad sides.
Wow-like Siem Reap (SR), Phnom Penh (PP) has changed a LOT since our 2006 visit (had to look the date up).
At the time we took an all-day bus ride from SR to PP (don’t think air travel was even possible), skyscrapers, malls, and beautiful river walk (which you showed) didn’t exist. Having visited nearly all of SE Asia (which I highly recommend to anyone), I’d characterize PP in 2006 as the armpit of SE Asia. At the time, other than the undeveloped river walk (where insects for eating were for sale) and the Royal Palace-we didn’t think PP had much to offer-although we didn’t regret visiting. We visited the Cambodian War Museum in SR so (as you say) it was an emotional experience and don’t think anyone in our family had to be reminded of those atrocities in PP as well.
On the way to our hotel, we walked from the river to the Central Market as the neighborhood was poorly lit and folks were staring us down. Nothing happened but I suppose I was concerned for my wife and 2 kids and not for myself.
Anyway, great video and hope to re-visit Cambodia very soon. 👍🏻
It's not unusual to meet someone and think they're nice only to find out over time they're not who/what you thought they were. This also works the other way around.
A diamond in the rough?,so I have not been to Cambodia for maybe 20 years,I 1st went 30 years ago,back then there was one bar in Siem reap,yes on bar,after visiting 154 countries the one place to blow your mind is Dhaka Bangladesh 🇧🇩,anyone who truly believes in open borders should be taken there,it’s like no place on earth,I live in Bangkok and find it to be one of the best city in the world and has some of the cheapest food in the world,i hope you give Bangkok one more go,but they did have very serious air quality problems last week,thank you for the videos
I went to Dhaka in 2010, I found it very hard to navigate through the city, only a few hotels were allowed to take foreigners, I walked through the city for days on end & never saw another white person in all that time, there were no tourists at all anywhere, everywhere i went the people just stopped & stared at me like i were from another planet, very disconcerting, everywhere i walked i could not find a cafe or anywhere to sit down for a meal, i had to buy food & drink from stalls & eat standing up, definitely the most harsh trip in my travels around South East Asia & would never return to that country again.
Saw a video of an American expat who lived there who walked around his neighborhood to show everything he needed was close by. Siem Reap is more my speed but I guess if you prefer big cities this one is manageable. My biggest concern is stomach upsets. I was very susceptible and got really sick in Mexico. Elsewhere too. And I did take precautions. A city that size would never be boring!
Kenneth, you are right to take precaution...but it's getting better now. Even a native, coming from the states for vacation, have to avoid fresh not cooked food at the beginning. When suspicious, try just a tiny bite the first time. Cooked, hot food seemed OK for most visitor.
At their ages I wouldn't dare risk traveling to certain countries, human beings play with fire until they get burned. Find your purpose in life before the song stops playing, traveling like a train without brakes is not a permanent purpose, only in the spirit do we find purpose, it's getting late, vanity of vanities all is vanity and dust in the wind
What a sad life you “live.”
Our purpose is to explore the world and educate our viewers about it. We’ll eventually settle down but we’re enjoying the ride for now. We’re pretty excited about it and a lot happier than you seem 😟 And we’re not that old!
Many westerners have a long remembered time of the Khmer Rouge & think that Cambodia is still the Wild West of Asia, it is not like that anymore & hasn't been like that for a long time, it is still poor as hell in areas though the people in general are mild & accepting, possibly because of Buddhist background of most Khmer! There are more dangerous countries in the so-called developed west to contend with than poor little Cambodia for sure!
"At their ages" 😂 they're in their prime for traveling like the are
Is passing judgment & criticism your purpose?