Shopping with a dollar in Cambodia
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 พ.ค. 2011
- WFP's Christopher Rompre spends an hour in one of Phnom Penh's central food markets, seeing what he can buy for one dollar. He says one in three people in Cambodia lives on a dollar (or 4,000 riel) a day.
I'm a Cambodian and I can swear that in this Video, he was charged EXACTLY THE SAME as local people!!!
I had lived there for a year between 2013-2014. You won't have any problems as long as you are sensible. Dont worry!
and which shithole are you from then mr bigot
helsinki the place what nobody flys to unless its a stopover
3.14 Mg I’m also a CAMBODIAN. And the price that he bought is COMPLETELY THE SAME to us haha
3.14 Mg yeah but there are people charge England people more
It is correct that many get by on very, very little but also the representative did not haggle over prices. He allowed the market people to declare a price. Anyone who has traveled overseas, knows that no one pays face value for anything. I am not saying you could have gotten a lot more but at double the amount would have been easy.
If you want to buy something in Cambodia next time , Bring a Khmer friend with you . Dont go alone as a white person .
That seems to be about the same amount of food that you can get with one dollar in the U.S. if you are frugal (though you generally must use larger units, making it cost more per purchase).
theres a ton more you can get with that dollar if he went into the food carts he couldve gotten a plate of food he could've bought a can of beer pizza pie
did he thought he could buy 1 kilo meat with one dollar ?? Lets put all the poor people in this guys home land, where is it cheap as fuck
Great video! Thanks a bunch. :D
Remember 15 years ago when you could eat for half a dollar, or better eat and invite your local coeds (30 usd room/month + water and electricity) for 1 usd.
500 riels for a bag of cooked rice, and any kind of prepared food for 1000 riels.
I guess that people will share less and less if every price goes up...
LOL!! Christopher is so cute in a way! The way he went and bought all those stuff really makes me want to give him a hug in a sense! He seemed pretty nice about it though...
I really liked how you compare the purchasing power in such different countries as the US and Cambodia. With my association, we are raising people's sensitivity to hunger and we want to make them aware of the power and love they share when they give up on 1€. Thank you for this great content.
Thanks for sharing !
Great video can't wait to visit
Now, 6 years later 1 Dollar ist still 4000 Riel but for 1 Dollar you can have now not to much. But in many restaurants you can have a draft beer for 75 cents
In the Sates it will get you the $1 menu at McDonalds . I would say some gum, trident to be exact but that would be from $1.57 to $1.77 depending on where you buy.
Or Jack in the Box
Thats the shit i hate in Cambodia compared to Thailand: The extra Farang prices everywhere. You pay 25% to 100% more. On street markets it is almost always 100%.
As a cambodian. This is quite a great video
And also, 1$ in Cambodia is GENERALLY 4000 RIEL tho Exchange rates might change at times but it NEVER EXCEEDS 4200 RIEL.
Never go to the market with all the money in your hands, they probably charged you double the price. ;)
Diana Gonzalez
he does not know he's eating dog and cat meat..lol
Very nice. I'm live in Cambodia 🇰🇭
Not enough, you still have to pay or spices, cooking oil and cooking gas. Well firewood can replace cooking gas.
Lol that's just about correct. With one dollars, you can last 2-3 days with one dollars.
I also want to add that these people make couple of bucks just to support their families so the money you spend is worth buying for anyways.
yes. next question
Hey guys, so the main currency using in Cambodia is Dollar instead of Riel? Hows the Khmer behave? Will they like Indonesian where the kids begging money on the street? Furthermore, i'm now struggling with the Travel Visa application as i'm confusing which provider should i applied mine as an Australian? Did anyone try evisaasia? I found out there's lot of information about travel visa but not sure whether is reliable or nope. Please advise.
@jimmy dean is that what you think
how much is 1,000,000 riel equivalent to, in US dollars?
So what are the chances that I might get ripped off? I am Cambodian but was adopted at a young age and I have lived in the US for about 20 years. What are some advantages I might have? Disadvantages?
I'm going to find out in a couple of days. I'm totally not Cambodian. 100% white guy but, I'm friendly. Wish me luck.
I was born American. My parents were refugees to the US but I lived in Cambodia a few years ago. The chances are high of getting ripped off. Until I learned to speak Khmer it was a rather common thing to happen. You have to consider though that most people are willing to negotiate a price and in any market place (including the one in the video, I used to go to) there's about a dozen people selling the same thing so you can actually get them in a bidding war. Also for most things like food even if they raise the price for you it's going to be a pretty petty difference since everything is so cheap. Also being Khmer but not native they will get a kick out of it so it let me get in on people's good side and most of the people you can get friendly with will actually cut you a good deal. Buying from the same person regularly also will do that. It's an awesome benefit to a more personal shopping experience.
For things other than food it can be a little more difficult. I am not a particularly good negotiator but a tip that I came up with is tell yourself that you are going to walk away at least a couple of times from a sale. A lot of them will freak out and start slashing prices when they see you turn your back.
As far as disadvantages you shouldn't have many. Just be aware of your surroundings (theft, traffic, food poisoning). Not any I can really think of being American/Khmer myself and having lived there 2 years. Great place and being Khmer will make it a special experience.
Thanks! This is incredibly detailed and so helpful! Do they have a lot nursing opportunities? I'm studying to become a nurse and would like to go to underserved countries to help where I can.
You'll have no problem finding opportunities to help. There's plenty of NGOs (non-government organizations) and charities doing all sorts of humanitarian work. Personally I worked with LDS charities. I would just make sure that it's an organization that is in line with your personal views. Example, a lot of people want to help but they just give people a crutch that's just going to be pulled out from under them. It's that whole teach a man to fish verses just giving him a fish thing. I'd prefer to teach. I guess nursing would be more straight forward but just make sure you do your research on who you're working with. I've seen a lot of charities that are more like no expense paid for vacations than actual humanitarians.
Your welcome. Great thing your doing. Always happy to help. Let me know if you have any other questions
G
i bought all the children in my grandmother's village ice cream for less than two dollars & you can buy a little snack sized bag of clams for about 400 riel as well.
In Vietnam when they see you foreign country price going up even if you ride a taxi they drive you circles they can make more money.
@steveUKok I totally agree with you. Although for $1.00 US he got way more for his money than he would've in the States. Street meat in NY is at least $2.00.
About 80% of Cambodians are actually subsistance farmers growing rice. Any excess rice is either exchanged for what they can't grow or sold. This gives them a yearly income of about $1 per day. By and large they grow most of the food they eat. However their lives are marginal. There is no excess income for expenses such medical expenses if needed. So they sell land, then there is often not enough land left to grow enough food for the family to eat. The urban unemployed often do live on $1/day.
Yeah sure you got so many stuff for a dollar, but you've forgotten it also takes a dollar to ride the public motorcycle going to the market. The tuk-tuk costs 5 dollars for a ride inside Phnom Penh when I was there March 2011.
My mom came home today with $150 worth of groceries for thanksgiving, it wasn't much more than what this guy had.
they saw he saw not a native cambodian and they added up the price a little bit, that's what i think..
Some people in my country are rude sometimes if u dont know
Absolutely
@amineaiffa
im cambodian but i think you may be correct
Hi guys I'm going to Cambodia soon any advise?
@Khrloveee
Siem Riep, Killing fields. I enjoyed Laos more though
r u a local from Cambodia?
That's not much for a dollar in SE Asia. Some rice, a couple of eggs a few weeds and some grease. In China in 2007 (exchange rate has changed since) $1 was 10RMB. For that, you could get a huge bowl of noodles in a restaurant that contained good meat and vegetables. At a local market, I could have got your rice, weeds, chicken legs and a half pint of cooking oil.
a dollar now is like 2500 to 3000 in cambodia now..
@randhill Probably :)
I think if he had gone to one of the local produce/food markets he could have gotten more stuff. Toul Tom Pong is notoriously more expensive for food- all the locals know it. Also, if you speak Khmer you tend to get better prices (source-I live in Cambodia right now).
Do the homework before traveling to any other countries especially in Asia. You need the bargain skills to save a bunch. Riel can go a long way if you know how to spend it . We (two of us) spent our retirement for six months there and this is our bills: $300 (per month) for a nice clean guest house in Sihanoukville Coast with a fridge, AC, countertop with sink if you want to cook your own food, and a queen bed, $10 for 3 good daily meals like rice, fish, chicken, pork, beef, veggies (not western meals) , and $80 for a monthly renting moped. This was Not including a .50 cent cold draft beer on the beach all day and a $2 for beach massage for 1/2 hour!!!
who would think in 1975 quarter of the people were killed off...the history of Cambodia should never be forgotten.
You will be ripped off regardless of being foreign. If you're not their locals, they will charge you the stranger's price. I travelled and pass by small towns just to pick up some beverages and snacks, and they always charge extra 500 or 1000 riel on top of the market value. All you need to do is walk towards the next stall and they'll offer you the normal price.
No, they stopped being a problem in 1979. By the 1990's they completely disappeared.
Cambodians usually charge more for the non-locals, especially on the staple foods.
@randhill me too!!!!
I paid almost the same in Philippines
well thats still more than what you get at walmart for a dollar and you must considere many people have other ways of getting food like hunting fishin and farming for themselves instead of buying it
I want to visit Cambodia, Khmer empire very much!!!!!
@sparkl1nwat3r Bargaining in south asia is normal, people do it every day for food, taxis, services, products, whatever. And the whole 'experiment' was to see how much food he could get for 4,000 rial anyways..
Something that really pisses me off about society at a global scale is the way people get away with the saying of "This currency is worth more than yours" specially if the currency is just paper bills.
@OKlikeoaktree Yeah I am also that way too. With what I think can be the most novel thing to say about something and it backfires in my face out of proportion.Although I agree with you on the video where this guy is showing a one sided representation of what you can get with one dollar in Cambodia. I am already planning for a trip next year possibly for April!
I could buy the same thing in the states. Think about it... 2 eggs is like 40cents out of the dozen you buy. A tiny bit of lettuce would be like 40cents and rice I can get for 50 cents per boil bag. I have no clue how this is a deal to go to cambodia lol
lol relax people, good video.
A dollar doesn't seem like much. but if you know where to go and how to spend it, even a westerner could eat really healthy on that one dollar. 20 hard boiled quail eggs 800 Riel. Spend another 1000 Riel on fresh fruit, maybe 300 on some steamed tubers (root potato like thing), that leaves enough for 2 cold beers from the neighbors psuedo 7-11 and a dinner of "Locha" made right in front of you by the guy that pushes the food cart/rolling kitchen down your street. I did it for years. You won't.
Wow, I don't think I can eat only that much in a day.
Used to.
I love cambodia and cambodian.
have you EVER heard about the khmer rouge ?
Silly man, Central Market is an institutional old French feature of Phnom Pehn. Go furthermore in to off-centre streets and you will easily find prices up to 75% off compared to Tonle Sap/Mekong riverside quartier.
i would buy a full days worth of ka tiew (noodle soup) ^^
If you are a local, you can buy way more than that. Indeed, you are in country side, 400o riles would be more than to feed the whole family of 3 or 3 members. Vege, brohok( mud fish) and some fat meat.
Ever heard of the Khmer Rouge?
LOL those lasts are like car sales men here in the CAnada. You need to haggle and negotiate bro!
YAY! Cambodia!
have i told u lately that i miss you...have i told you lately that i love you.
same here
I like to come and watch this stuff to remind myself how lucky i am.
I spent last weekend at Harrahs casino Cherokee NC.
gas to get there and back=$60
hotel room 3 nights= $700
golf=$100
gambling-thousands
Ruths Chris 3 dinners and drinks=$400
lunches=$100
breakfasts=$50
entertainment/shows/shopping=$500
and all you folks want to complain about how bad we have it in the USA
gimme a break
I want to say that cambodia people are interested of foreigber who come to buy/meet them so they will talking friendly and sell fair . In this video it is the real price .
Not bad for 1 dollar,,, healthy food
'...15 million people... 1 in 3 a dollar a day' Well, that's interesting because Cambodia's population has a young population due to its history. That means many of these 1 in 3 are children if not all. Consider that. Also Cambodians rarely eat alone. They share their meals so meals are even cheaper. And on top of that rural Cambodians often gather a lot of indigenous plants and animals to eat with their meals or as their meals. Plus rice comes from their villages labor costs. Open your eyes.
Lol. I'm Cambodian.
It's funny when non-Cambodians try to speak our language. I burst laughing.
actually, everything is more expensive now. It makes living that much harder for poor.
Im a native Cambodian. I am sure hes charged the same as everyone else.
It doesn't cost that much these day now.
no. its what my cat thinks. she was using my laptop at the time
Shop around , that isn't the only place to buy food .
@MaSSiVe0101 This is how you need to bargain like locals do in every life.
For a dollar you got yourself lots of food there buddy. In the states I bet you can't even get a hot dog for that.
Oh my God!!
you just gotta bargain to get better deals
I love Cambodia, love khmer, Khmer PRIDE. Khmer foods awesome. White in My country speak khmer, he can used dollar for food, understand we had plenty foods, Khmer PRIDE rock Cambodia
They charge him more cause he's a foreigner, trust me, I've been in and out of that country and it happens a lot, they assume foreigners have a lot of money and are gullible so charge them extra hoping to score a few extra bucks
Why did you stop making videos? dude... start making more videos.... You realize you could have been the TH-cam channel that is focused on food travel with the highest subscriptions
Lmao I've met some of these sellers in the video 💀
@spytagoras slightly more food? You can't buy anything for 1 dollar in US.....
yeah 1 dollars is 4000 Riel, enough for a meal for lunch!
whatttt ? daily i spend $50 to have a lunch lol
imaynaya imay where are you from? Dubai? London or another expensive life style city? lol This is Cambodia, one of the most poorest, most corruption goverment (ms. Hunsen), most destroyed country in the world.... and etc
The cost of living is pretty cheap in Cambodia. But people have riotted against Vietnamese these days so I feel a little nervous when I visitted this country last week
yeah lol
Trung Nguyen NYC so my question is ..is it safe to visit Cambodia now a days or not ? :o
in all these vids, there is no way that the locals cannot even afford food, of course its possible if food prices increase because they are diverted to the rich, but local farmers will provide for the people.
Aye!im from cambodia phnom penh too! XD i see many people come to cambodia and said that cambodia are great!well idk..i sort of like to speak english more than speaking khmer XD
I am Tuktuk driver to Phnompenh city always listen cnn
Keeping it riel
@BuddhaOn3Lov3R1 no its not
@Chimchar7089 about 250.
l love Siem Reap my beautiful city
Is that near Angkor Wat?
+Gustavo Rodriguez This video was in Phnom Penh . And yes ,Angkor wat is in SiemReap .
Thanks.
+Gustavo Rodriuez
Noulis Ali xxx the same thing to me I was a great way to get the hang out and get it right away and I don't think that it would have a nice person who has been a long time day and night in with a lot of people in my head and a few weeks and I'm still in the world is full and I love the fact is the only thing I have to be the first half and I love the fact I can get a new phone case and that he is not an easy way to get a new one and I love the new update it was the first place
it is expensive ,i live in EU country,and with 1 dollar you cand buy same things,and of what i read it, in the US is the same....so it is expensive...1 dollar for 2 eggs and a cup of rice
That's not all you can get for a dollar. He got the Burung price
I LIKE SACH KRORK , WITH RICE AND CUCUMBER