Broadband internet

My family and I arrived in Phnom Penh yesterday for initial contact with our office and to look for accomodation, etc.

A question that comes to mind is where to find Internet access. Of course, we can use it from the office, but how about from home? From an internet cafe? What other possibilities are there?

I googled and found:

• PPCTV was well placed among the Google findings, but some back-door trojans reside on their website. Besides, their website is out of date. I am not sure if I want to subscribe to them.
  
  
• Cambodian Broadband Technologies seems to have good offering, but they seem to cater more to business customers compared to home users. Their website also does not seem current.

• Go Online seems to have a good range of products that suit both the home user as well as the business corporations.
  
  
• Angkor Net seems to be a well grounded ISP with the right range of products.
  
  
• Yellowpages-cambodia seems to be a good directory to use to find things like these.
  

What do you think? Please recommend, if you have any ideas in this area. Thank you.

"Birdhouse"

My daughter has seen many of these around Cambodia.

Apparently, they are shrines that people would burn incense at while worshipping certain idols. I guess they are the home equivalent of the temples and wats that are abundant in this country.

They are more elaborate compared to the ones I saw in Malaysia and Singapore when I was a child. They are also yellow instead of red. (I saw a red one in the home of a German guy I met, and a blue one or two, but most of what I saw were yellow).

My daughter has yet to get the concept. She calls them "birdhouses", based on a picture she saw in one of her activity books, as she sees the similarity.

My daughter is cute, but I don't think she means any offense.

Health & polution

Does anybody know what the polution index is in Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia? How does this index compare with that of other cities like Singapore, Kuala Lumpur or Manila?

I hear that there is a shortage of medical professionals in the country. Is this true? Who then do people turn to when they need medical help?

Walking in the rain

A friend told me today that umbrellas are not common in Cambodia.

She said that people use raincoats, and do not mind getting wet.

People do not use umbrellas to protect themselves from the sun either.

Hmm. This is a potential culture-shock for us, since we try to stay dry even when it rains.

What is your experience about this?