Category Archives: Cambodia

Travel Advisory – What’s With Cambodian Money Scams?

I’m am on my 4th trip to Cambodia and over this short period of time, about 4 years, a lot has changed. So much so that Cambodia is really not a place to visit. If you do, come specifically to see the temples.

Don’t Shit Where You Eat

It’s obvious that Cambodia survives on tourism and corruption. Really a shame honestly. Being the history between America and Cambodia I can understand some animosity to a degree. However the blatant racism is not just targeted toward Americans. Maybe there is a more worldly animosity that Cambodians have that me, as an American, am not aware of. Travelers who re-visit places regularly, like me, seem to be waking up to the scams in Cambodia. All over review websites people are speaking out about how they were scammed out of money in one way or another. What’s honestly going on here is the people are following the example of the government. Steal whatever you can and lie if they catch you. I don’t say that haphazardly. If you meet an honest Cambodian, they will tell you.

The Ripped Bill Scam

This happens all over Cambodia. Because Cambodian people are not educated on how to verify that a US bill is real or not they will not accept torn or bend US dollar bills. Boggles my mind why they are using my countries money and don’t know what it’s supposed to look like. Anyway, on to the scam.
For an example, you are eating out. The waiter brings the check, you stuff some US bills in the check billfold and he takes it. What happens next is they switch the bills on you claiming that they are ripped bringing you back bills that you can’t spend. What really happened is the restaurant takes in the ripped bills from Cambodians and pass them on to tourists. One place this happened to me at requested that I pay in US dollars before I even ordered coffee.

How To Avoid This Scam

This makes your trip to Cambodia a real big pain in the ass but you have to be focused on your money 100% of the time. Demand that the waiter look over all bills, US or Cambodian, and approve them BEFORE he leaves your sight. Better yet, have them bring the change and trade the bill money for the change at the same time. Be sure to check every single bill they give you. How’s that for shitting on your travels. You can’t even have a leisurely breakfast.

High End Places Won’t Scam Me

No matter if it is a large place or small place do not be fooled that you as a tourist are an outsider. There is no doubt a Cambodian alliance that is above anything. Even if the place is owned by a foreigner, Cambodians run the businesses. Best believe they are looking out for each other.

Half US Dollars Half Cambodian Real Scam

This is another SUPER common scam. When you make a purchase they give you change in Cambodian Real claiming to know the exchange rate. It’s a lie.
Because you don’t know what the exchange rate is they will short change in Cambodian Real. Happens all the time and when you call them out for trying to rip you off they claim is was a mistake. If you want to believe that, go ahead. But the God’s honest truth is most Cambodian market stall owners want to rip you off.

The Hidden Money Scam in Cambodia

Everywhere you go this is the first thing people that you exchange money with will do. Rather than laying out the money and counting it honestly the shop owner will hide the bill you gave him or her behind something. You can no longer see your bill. At this point they will pop up and say “The bill is ripped” or “This bill is fake” and hand you back what you think is the bill you gave them. What really happened is they switched the bill and left you with a counterfeit or torn bill. Similar to the ripped bill above but this can happen anywhere, not just a restaurant.

A Warning: Don’t Invest In Cambodian Land

While you are here you may be approached on how great of a time it is to buy land. Don’t be fooled. Chances of you actually seeing a fair return are slim. By the time an investor sees any of the profit there really will be about 5% of actual, if you are lucky. Cambodia is not cut and dry. Whenever someone decides to they just come down and tell you to pay them whatever, and if you don’t, well who knows. The quote was “They will not let you live there”. Whatever that means.

Nightlife Scams

I have a few bits to add about Cambodian Nightlife Scams. That is paid content but it’s well worth it. Should you decide to have “company” while you are here spend a couple dollars and let me set expectations for you trip to Cambodia.

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To Ankor Thom

Chang let me drop my bag and get settled into the room. I used an hour or so to upload some pictures because my iPhone was full and iCloud failed. I used an FTP client to upload to one of my hosting accounts. Didn’t know there was such a thing but there are tons of them, I used FTP Client Pro.
After an hour or so Chang and I took off to get tickets to Ankor Wat and Ankor Thom. We stopped at an ATM then at the ticket building. $20 USD for a one day pass to both Ankor Wat and Ankor Thom. There is a museum just outside of the ticket building … next time.
Chang suggested we start at Ankor Thom and that’s what we did. When we pulled up Chang gave me the run down of the locations at the Ankor Thom complex and told me where I would find him when I was done. It was a great way to get around the complex without having to move along. Being a bit of an architectural history buff I needed a little extra time to analyze the carvings in the walls. It was really interesting to see the remainder of the headers and footers of doorways, you’ll notice that there is a hole for the door hinges at all of the openings. Walking through Ankor Thom you get the feeling of a military fortress. There are small passages and doorways everywhere they let you crawl through. Really exciting if you are into historical Asian architecture. As you move through the rest of the complex you’ll see that it begins to look more like a training ground and compound all in one, again with a high lookout tower.
I don’t think I made it to all of the corners of the complex, in fact I’m positive I didn’t. I’d smelled some BBQ on the way in and I was hungry. I made my way back to the meeting point and Chang was there just like he said. Awesome!!

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Welcome To Siem Reap, Cambodia

Flying into Siem Reap was easy from Bangkok. The flight was supposed to be a little over an hour but we were well under that. From the window of the plane the Cambodian landscape seemed to be pretty spread out. There were no large buildings and the airport was relatively small. You have to pay to get into Cambodia. $15 USD and another $15 USD if you do not have a passport photo of yourself. So $30 USD to get into Cambodia. I happened to have about $75 USD in some Twenties and Fives so I made it happen without a trip to the ATM.
They get you through this airport REALLY quick even with printing the photo. In fact, all over Thailand and Cambodia they really shuffle you through the airports relatively quickly. Everyone through customs was more than friendly.
As I walked outside I was met by my Tuk Tuk driver, Chang, almost instantly. He shook my hand and showed me the way and asked where would I like to go. I found Chang and his brother Daniel on AirBnB and booked their small rooms for $10 USD just outside of Ankor Wat.
Riding through Siem Reap was much different than Thailand. First you are driving back on the right side of the road. Second there are American cars there. Third the symbolism and statues are much different. Funny for being not so far away.
There was also a clear difference in buildings in Cambodia. There were not many buildings over 1 story tall and much of them could use repair. A good description to paint a picture would be to say some buildings looked “Bombed Out” or “Looted”. One of the only ATM’s I saw was the one Chang took me to after I dropped my bag at the room was attached to a building that looked like this. To the left was what looked to be the leftovers of a jewelry store and to the right was a small convenience store, no formal front door, just a convenience store in a bombed out building. I bought stuff.

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