"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?

Khmer Rouge

I watched a programme called "Cambodia: fields of hope" on television a few weeks ago.

I don't know how old this programme is. I was surprised to hear the narrator say that the film-makers were accompanied by the police; especially when they travelled out of Phnom Penh, because the police felt the need to protect them in case the Khmer Rouge rebels attacked them.

The documentary said that the Khmer Rouge era is over, but the risk was still around.

Is this still true? Or is the documentary simply dated?

Killing animals

I remember reading that more than 90% of Cambodians believe in Theravada Buddhism. Is this number correct?

If so, then comes the question about killing. If I remember correctly, Buddists do not believe in killing, since that prematurely ends the life of another, who is hoping to find the peace of Nirvana through reincarnation.

Ie. will we be able to buy and eat meat in Cambodia? If there are no butchers, perhaps there would be no meat?

What will people think of us, if we were to kill a rat, or swat a mosquito, or spray inseciticide around the house?

Cheap bus ride

My wife read a warning about some cross-country bus rides.

Apparently, some cheap ones do not take you the whole distance as they advertise. They will take you part of the way, and then ask you to pay more in order to continue the journey.

Otherwise, they will take you to some overnight accomodation, where you have to pay for the accomodation.

The alternative is to be left in some place you are unfamiliar with.

Is this true?

ATMs in Cambodia

I read somewhere that there are few ATMs in Cambodia.

However, the ANZ Royal Bank has a few, and one can find out where they are through their webpage.

Even so, having an ANZ bank account from Australia or New Zealand does not help. ANZ will treat transactions as having occurred at a foreign ATM, so there are no exemption from fees. This is because the banks are separate entities, as they are governed differently.

Oh well. Does anybody have any experiences using ATMs in Cambodia that they may wish to share?