Cambodia
Although not required, small gifts with a company logo are appreciated, as are luncheon or dinner invitations. Sensitivity to politically related subjects in conversation is advisable. Avoid pointing your foot at a person or touching someone on the head. Women should wear long clothing that covers the body
Be aware of the risk of armed robbery and other crime (including sexual offenses) in Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville and Siem Reap after dark. Be on your guard against pickpockets and bag snatchers especially when travelling on local transport. Foreigners walking or traveling as passengers on motorcycle taxis in downtown Phnom Penh and other cities have had bags snatched or have been robbed at gunpoint after dark and increasingly during daylight hours. Traveling by car (with locked doors and windows) and in groups will significantly reduce the risk as will limiting night time travel around Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville and Siem Reap to well-lit public areas. Avoid isolated areas after dark, including beaches in the Sihanoukville area, where there have been an increasing number of violent incidents. Firearms are widely available, and guns are sometimes used to resolve disputes.
Banditry and extortion, including cases involving poorly disciplined military and police personnel, continue in some rural areas, particularly at night in areas between Snoul, Kratie and Stung Treng in the northeastern provinces. Chinese investors are especially favorite targets of kidnappers in part because of their families' willingness to pay ransoms quickly without contacting local authorities. Kidnappers and street criminals are usually young and well armed. If approached, visitors are advised to adhere to all demands of an assailant as refusal may result in a violent response from the assailants.
Keep a photocopy of your passport separate from the original and carry this with you at all times. Your passport, when not in your possession, should be stored in a secure location.
Local police rarely investigate reports of crime against tourists and travelers should not expect to recover stolen items.
Many hotels of various standards are available in Phnom Penh. Hotels of international standard include the Hotel Sofitel Cambodiana, the Royal Phom Peng, the Cambodiana Inn and the Pailin Hotel. Three-star hotels include the Alison and the Juliana Hotels and can be found in most provincial capitals. Hotel accommodations range in price from $5 per night at guest houses to $170 at the Hotel Sofitel Cambodiana. Reservations, while advisable, are not absolutely necessary because of the surplus of hotel rooms currently available.
Inward telephone IDD communications operate. The country code is 855. Phnom Penh 's area code is 23. International calls from Cambodia have to go through the operator. Fax is available. Airmail to Europe takes four to five days, and to the USA one week to ten days. The Post & Telephone Office (PTT) in Phnom Penh is located across from the Hotel Monorom at the corner of Achar Mean Boulevard and 126 Street and is open 0700-1200 and 1300-2300. The main post office in Phnom Penh is located on the western side of 13 Street between 98 Street and 102 Street, open 0630-2100. General post office hours: 0730-1200 and 1430-1700 Monday to Friday in Phnom Penh.
Electricity is a 220 volts AC, 50Hz. Power cuts are frequent. Outside Phnom Penh, electrical power is available only in the evenings from around 1830-2130.
220 volts AC, 50Hz and two-pin plugs are in use. Power cuts are frequent. Outside Phnom Penh, electrical power is available only in the evenings from around 1830-2130.
A,C,G
Restaurants and other businesses abound in Phnom Penh, although the city remains poor. Food stalls are also common in Phnom Penh and can usually be found in and around the Central Market, O Ressei Market and Tuol Tom Pong Market. Khmer cuisine is very similar to Thai, but with fewer spices involved. National specialties:
• Popular dishes include soup and salad, almost always incorporating Cambodia's favorite flavors of coriander, lemongrass and mint.
• There are a plethora of sweet dishes, such as sticky rice cakes and pudding.
• Succulent fruits
include banana, coconut, the durian fruit (known for its distinctive odour), jackfruit, longan fruit, lychee, pineapple and Rambutan (which has translucent white flesh) fruit, to name just a few.
• Grilled fish, or fish cut up, rolled in lettuce or spinach and dipped into fish sauce.
• Khmer cuisine is unique in its use of prahok, a fermented fish paste.
• Showing its French influence, also expect plenty of roasted turtle and frog legs.
• Rice noodles.
• The most common skewer or brochette is golden sapek: small pieces of pork tenderloin alternated with strips of pork fat and rounds of Chinese sausage, cooked on a grill over hot coals. National drinks:
• Palm wine.
• Tea.
• Choum (a rice-based spirit).
• The local beer is called Angkor.
• The most popular Khmer drink is soda water with a squeeze of lemon.
Legal drinking age: There are no age-restrictions.Tipping
: Tips are appreciated in hotels and restaurants where no service charge has been added, and by tour guides.Nightlife
The major hotels offer entertainment, and weekly Apsara dance performances are often held from November to March in some hotel gardens. The Holiday International Hotel is a popular nightclub which also offers a karaoke bar and casino. For further information, contact Diethelm Travel (see Top Things To Do).
