… another week on MyanmarMike, forums are filled with spammers and no soul seems to contribute seriously, well we’ll wait, we’ll wait …

… just excerpts, the rest you can easily figure out by yourself

Prostituted girls, most of them aged 15 to18 years of age, are found in the Svay Pak red-light district of Cambodia. Many girls are much younger. Most of them are smuggled in from Vietnam and all are bound by contracts, which last from six months to over a year. Svay Pak has the largest number of prostituted Vietnamese girls. (”The Street of Little Flowers,” rewritten from ‘Children of the Dust,’ by MIKEL FLAMM and NGO KIM CUC, Bangkok Post, 23 February 1997)

nofficial estimates say that there are as many as 15,000 prostituted persons in Phnom Penh, and that up to 35% of them have been smuggled into Cambodia from China or Vietman, mostly from the southwestern provinces of Vietnam (Long An, An Giang, Song Be, Kien Giang, Dong Thap, Can Tho and Ho Chi Minh City). Brothel owners pay traffickers from US$350 to $450 (8,750 to 11,250 baht) for each attractive Vietnamese virgin 16 years or younger. Non-virgins and those considered less beautiful are sold from $150 to $170 each (3,750 to 4,250 baht). (”Children of the dust,” rewritten from ‘Children of the Dust,’ by MIKEL FLAMM and NGO KIM CUC, Bangkok Post, 23 February 1997)

Girls bound by contacts to a brother owner have their debt to the brothel owner subtracted from the number of customers serviced. It may take from six months to a year or more to work off this debt. The fees that have been paid to their families, trafficking agents, and border guards compound the total debt. Once all debts are paid off, the prostituted person makes from $2 to $3 [50 to 75 baht] per customer, this is after the brother owner has taken their own cut. (”The Street of Little Flowers,” rewritten from ‘Children of the Dust,’ by MIKEL FLAMM and NGO KIM CUC, Bangkok Post, 23 February 1997)

Virgins, who have been sold to brothels by trafficking agents, are confined to the brothel or a hotel room until the first client comes. Due to the belief that sex with a virgin has rejuvenating properties, her first client is charged an expensive amount. Advertised as “special commodities,” virgins are also attractive in that they are less likely to have AIDS or other sexually transmitted diseases. The customer pays from $300 to $400 (7,500 to 10,000 baht) to have sex with her for one week in a local hotel chosen by the brothel owner. (”Children of the dust,” rewritten from ‘Children of the Dust,’ by MIKEL FLAMM and NGO KIM CUC, Bangkok Post, 23 February 1997)

found here

Cambodian Visa Information

On arrival by air you can pickup your tourist visa for $20USD or business visa for $25USD, If you are travelling by land though you will be charged more by the border guards. They will ask for anything from 1000 THB to 1200THB for a tourist visa. The correct charge is $20USD for Lao and Vietnam border crossings or $25USD for Thai border crossings.

If they ask for more tell them that if they don’t accept it you will complain to the Ministry of Tourism

You will need to bring 2 passport sized photos with you. At the airport a photo service is available ir you forget.

From the Cambodian Ministry of Tourism Website

There are two types of visa available for international travellers:

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Tourist visa: US$20
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Business visa: US$25
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The visa fee is waived for Cambodian nationals living abroad and holders of Malaysian passports.
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Children under the age of 14 require a visa however no fee is charged.
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Note that at the Thai border crossings the visa fee is 1000 Thai Baht.

It would seem the Cambodian government had to bow to a higher power. Still if you stick to paying $20 then they will accept it, but check your passport afterwards to ensure the correct stamps and details are recorded.

If you want to remain in the country longer than 2 months it’s worth getting a business visa on arrival as if you change your mind later you will need to leave the country and re-enter. A business visa is $25 for the first month.
Cambodian Visa Duration

When entering Cambodia if you get a business visa on arrival you need never leave the country again. Business visa of 6 months duration or longer (multiple-entry) allow you to leave and enter the country without renewing your visa. Approximate rates for the visas are:

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3 months - Single entry - $72
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6 months - Multiple entry - $140
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12 months - Multiple entry - $270

Annoyingly enough the visas take a full page in your passport.

Cambodian Border Crossings and Visa Information
Jump to the Border Crossing Information

Visas for Vietnam and Laos need to be obtained before reaching the borders, Cambodian visas are available at the borders.
Cambodian Visa Information

On arrival by air you can pickup your tourist visa for $20USD or business visa for $25USD, If you are travelling by land though you will be charged more by the border guards. They will ask for anything from 1000 THB to 1200THB for a tourist visa. The correct charge is $20USD for Lao and Vietnam border crossings or $25USD for Thai border crossings.

If they ask for more tell them that if they don’t accept it you will complain to the Ministry of Tourism

You will need to bring 2 passport sized photos with you. At the airport a photo service is available ir you forget.

From the Cambodian Ministry of Tourism Website

There are two types of visa available for international travellers:

*

Tourist visa: US$20
*

Business visa: US$25
*

The visa fee is waived for Cambodian nationals living abroad and holders of Malaysian passports.
*

Children under the age of 14 require a visa however no fee is charged.
*

Note that at the Thai border crossings the visa fee is 1000 Thai Baht.

It would seem the Cambodian government had to bow to a higher power. Still if you stick to paying $20 then they will accept it, but check your passport afterwards to ensure the correct stamps and details are recorded.

If you want to remain in the country longer than 2 months it’s worth getting a business visa on arrival as if you change your mind later you will need to leave the country and re-enter. A business visa is $25 for the first month.
Cambodian Visa Duration

When entering Cambodia if you get a business visa on arrival you need never leave the country again. Business visa of 6 months duration or longer (multiple-entry) allow you to leave and enter the country without renewing your visa. Approximate rates for the visas are:

*

3 months - Single entry - $72
*

6 months - Multiple entry - $140
*

12 months - Multiple entry - $270

Annoyingly enough the visas take a full page in your passport.
Laos Visa Information

A passport and visa are required. Visas are issued upon arrival in Laos to foreign tourists and business persons at most border crossings.

You will need two passport size photographs and $30 at Wattay Airport, Vientiane; Friendship Bridge,Vientiane; and Luang Prabang Airport. Visas on Arrival are not available at the Chong Mek border crossing.

Foreign tourists are generally admitted to Laos for 15 days with a visa on arrival or for 30 days with a visa issued at a Lao embassy. The Department of Immigration in Vientiane will only extend tourist visas for one day. It is sometimes possible to get an extension for an additional 15 days by submitting an application through a tour agency. Foreigners who overstay in Laos risk arrest, and they will be fined $5 for each day upon departure.

Lao Embassies can be found in the following countries:

Australia Indonesia Russia
Embassy of Lao PDR
1 Dalman Crescent
O’Malley
Canberra, ACT Embassy of Lao PDR
Jalan Kintamani Raya
c15 No 33
Kuningan Timur, Jakarta Embassy of Lao PDR
Moscow 121069
UL
Katchalova 18
Cambodia Japan Singapore
Embassy of Lao PDR
15-17 Mao TseTung Blvd
PO Box 19
Phnom Penh, Cambodia Embassy of Lao PDR
3-3-22 Nishi-Azabu
Minato-Ku
Tokyo Embassy of Lao PDR
179-B Goldhill Centre
Thomson Road
Singapore
China Malaysia Sweden
Embassy of Lao PDR
Sanlitum Dongsie jie
Beijing 100600
Embassy of Lao PDR
1 Loront Damai Tiga
Kuala Lumpur 55000
Embassy of Lao PDR
Badstrandvagen 11
11265 Stockholm
Cuba Mongolia Thailand
Embassy of Lao PDR
7 Are calle 36A
505 Miramar
Havana, CUBA Embassy of Lao PDR
Ikh Toiruu
PO Box 1030
Ulan Bator Embassy of Lao PDR
520.502/1-3
Soiramkhamhaeng 39
Bangkapi, Bangkok
France Myanmar USA
Embassy of Lao PDR
74, Av. Raymond Poincare
75011 Paris Embassy of Lao PDR
Na 1 Diplomatic
Quarters
France Road, Yangon Permanent Mission of Lao PDR
317 East 51 Street
New York
Germany Philippines USA
Embassy of Lao PDR
Am Lessing 6
53639 Koenigswinter 1
Bonn Embassy of Lao PDR
34 Lapu-Lapu Street
Magallaness Village
Manila Embassy of Lao PDR
2222 S Street NW
Washington DC
India Poland Vietnam
Embassy of Lao PDR
E53 Panchsheel Park
New Delhi - 17 Embassy of Lao PDR
UL Rejtana 15/26
02-516 Warsaw Embassy of Lao PDR
22 Rue Tran Binh Trong
Hanoi
SR of Vietnam

Thai Visa Information

Thai visas are available on arrival at the border and cost 1000THB for a 3 month tourist visa. For more information about visa to Thailand visit the Thai Ministry of Tourism Website.

Vietnam Visa Information

You will need to obtain a visa from a Vietnamese embassy/consulate before attempting to enter Vietnam.

Vietnam Visa Fees

Single Entry Tourist Visa: USD 25 (or more)
Multiple Entry: USD 40 - USD 100

Although the official rates announced by Vietnam Authority are posted as above, we experienced that these rates are quite inconsistent and might be varied in different country. For more specific fees, you can call to the Vietnam Embassy or Consulate in your country.

Border Crossings

The border crossing at Poipet provides the easiest overland border crossing to Siem Reap, from Thailand. The roads, although bad, are maintained to a reasonable degree. The Thailand side of the border is Aranyaprathet, Thailand.

The crossing at Koh Kong provides either road access to Sihanoukville and Phnom Penh or sea access to Sihanoukville and southern Cambodia.

The Vietnamese crossing at Phnom Den give international access to southern Cambodia; and the Vietnamese crossings at Moc Bai and Chau Doc are most convenient to Phnom Penh.

Cambodian Border Crossings with Laos

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Voeung Kam, Laos/Dom Kralor, Cambodia

Cambodian Border Crossings with Thailand

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Aranyaprathet, Thailand/Poipet, Cambodia (Most direct road access to Siem Reap from Thailand)
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Ban Pakard, Chantaburi, Thailand/Phsar Prom Pailin, Cambodia
*
*

Ban Laem, Chantaburi, Thailand/Daun Lem, Battambang, Cambodia
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Chong Jom, Thailand/O’Smach, Cambodia
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Chong Sa Ngam, Thailand/Anlong Veng, Cambodia
*
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Hat Lek, Thailand/Koh Kong, Cambodia (Cham Yeam Checkpoint) (Most direct access to Sihanoukville)

Cambodian Border Crossings with Vietnam

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Bavet Checkpoint: Moc Bai, Vietnam/Bavet, Cambodia (To/from Phnom Penh)
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Tinh Bien, Vietnam/Phnom Den, Takeo, Cambodia (To/from Phnom Penh or Kampot/Kep)
*

Trapeang Phlong Border Pass: Xa Mat, Vietnam/Trapeang Phlong, Kampong Cham, Cambodia
*

Ving Xuong, Vietnam/Kaam Samnor, Cambodia (”The Chau Doc Crossing”) (To/from Phnom Penh)
*

Xa Xia, Vietnam/Prek Chak, Cambodia (Ha Tien crossing) - Currently not open to foreigners, but the Cambodian government just announced that this crossing will be opened to foreigners in the near future.

found here

They quality of the recordings isn’t perfect, but the music is still able to get under your skin by being creepy, high-pitched, and distorted by the poor recording quality. And if you think about how this was the sound of a city emptied at gunpoint, the sounds of children spying on their parents, the sounds of forced labor camps, and the sounds of outright genocide… well, this music that just commands attention.

The bright red blood was spilled over the towns
And over the plain of Kampuchea, our motherland,
The blood of our good workers and farmers and of
Our revolutionary combatants, both men and women.
Democratic Kampuchea National Anthem

Best Wishes to People in Western Zone.

In this picture, U.S. soldiers survey the Cambodian town of Snuŏl after it has been almost completely flattened by U.S. bombers.

The United States dropped three times the quantity of explosives on Cambodia between 1970 and 1973 than it had dropped on Japan for the duration of World War II. Between 1969 and 1973, 539,129 tons of high explosives rained down on Cambodia - more than one billion pounds (about 400 million kg). This is equivalent to some 15,400 pounds (6,063 kg) of explosives for every square mile of Cambodian territory. Considering that probably less than 25 percent of the total area of Cambodia was bombed at one time or another, the actual explosive force per area would be at least four times this level. Source: “The Rise and Demise of Democractic Kampuchea”, by Craig Etcheson. The CIA officially estimated that 600,000 Cambodians were killed directly by the bombing campaigns. Not to suggest that history books have been “sanitized” in any way (heaven forbid!!! What society would ever lie to its children like that??), but it would be very difficult to find a grade-school textbook anywhere in the Western World, let along the USA, that gives accurate accounts of the Cambodian branch of the war in SE Asia.

On April 30 President Richard Nixon announced to a national television audience that US troops were invading Cambodia, the country west of Vietnam through which the North Vietnamese military was supplying their troops in the South. In fact, the US had been conducting bombing raids in Cambodia for over a year.

The image of the President’s hand resting over an abstract map of Cambodia circulated widely. It appeared not only in the New York Times but on the cover of Time. Millions also saw it on live television as Nixon disclosed the invasion. Several journalistic accounts commented on the sense of disbelief and helplessness felt by many viewers. Time’s cover story began,

“At one point during his television address to the nation last week, Richard Nixon lost his place in the typescript. For four or five seconds he shuffled pages, eyes darting through paragraphs to pick up the trail again. For the nation watching, it was an instant of complex psychology. There was the acute embarrassment and sympathy for the speaker who has fluffed his lines. There was also, for some, an eccentric half hope that if he could not continue, an absurdist, McLuhan logic would apply: ‘The U.S. was about to move into Cambodia, but the President lost his place in the script.’ The instant passed. Richard Nixon went on.”

For the past year the Nixon had been promoting the “Vietnamization” of the war, promising to replace US troops with newly-trained South Vietnamese soldiers. Citizens had expressed relief at the thought of American fighters coming home.

On the heels of Presidential promises of de-escalation, the April 30, announcement caused many in the United States to respond with shock and anger. Protests erupted across the country, including one at Kent State that ended in the fatal shooting of four students by National Guardsmen.

During my “Holidays in Cambodia” I remember myself hanging out in Batambang with some locals. I had a stupid attention this time to visit brother number two, Nuon Chea, Pol Pot’s left hand. He was parting the peaceful and quite life of the elderly pensioner surrounded by his beloved family and charming grand-sons in the near city of Pailin, close to Thai border. In the matter of fact so close that locals used to utter silently that Brother Number Two lives in his own kingdom between Cambodia and Thailand.   I deadly wanted to arrange some sort of interview with Mr. Death, but the locals became outraged every time I started this “O, how I could meet Nuon Chea?” banter. They used to start on weeping about hazards of such affair and how Nuon Chea’s mercenaries could easily blow my head off and so on. Well, I never accomplished the task, but the questions are still running across my head … Dear Mr. Death ….

Pol Pot’s second-in-command and chief ideologue, Nuon Chea has been called Pol Pot’s alter ego and his most trusted associate.
Nuon Chea preferred to remain behind the scenes; nevertheless, there are “more documents in the archives that implicate him in crimes than implicate Pol Pot,” according to the Cambodia scholar Stephen Heder. Faithful to Pol Pot until the end, Nuon Chea came under Ta Mok’s rule after his 1997 coup against Pol Pot.

After arranging an immunity deal with Prime Minister Hun Sen, Nuon Chea defected with Khieu Samphan in December 1998. The Prime Minister warmly welcomed them back into mainstream Cambodian society, but after a vociferous criticism from the press, Hun Sen equivocated about whether he had in fact granted the pair immunity.

In December 2002 he was called to testify on behalf of the former Khmer Rouge general Sam Bith, who was sentenced to life in prison for ordering the kidnap and murder of three Western backpackers in 1994.

After defecting at the same time as Nuon Chea, the 73-year-old is now said to spend most of his time reading, listening to music or gardening in his Pailin home.

The two returned to the Khmer Rouge-controlled enclave of Pailin after taking a brief vacation at a Cambodian resort, where Nuon Chea was goaded into accounting for his crimes. He responded, “We are very sorry, not just for the human lives but also animal lives that were lost in the war.”

The body of morbid brother number one, so peaceful.

On the news on Apr 17, 1998. The Cambodian government spokesman, Khieu Kahnarith, said the state wanted to conduct a medical investigation but thought it unlikely that the former dictator had been killed. Non Nou, the Khmer Rouge commander responsible for Pol Pot’s security, said: “If they are afraid the body was tampered with, ask his wife. She was there”

In the fifteenth century, Cambodia’s conventional capital at Angkor was under unvarying threat from the growing might of neighbouring Siam. The Khmers were enforced to lift up and move south, first to Longvek, later to Udong, and lastly to Phnom Penh. 

This position better allowed Cambodia to take advantage of the country’s vast watercourses. Located at the convergence of three rivers, ships could sail southeast from Phnom Penh on either the Mekong or Bassac to Vietnam and the South China Sea, or north on the Mekong to Laos and China, or northwest on the Tonle Sap (the river) to the Tonle Sap (the lake) and the provinces bordering Thailand.

This wonderful location allowed Phnom Penh to burgeon for some time as a major trading hub, but the threat from nearest Thailand and Vietnam never abated. It was to argue against this threat, especially from the Vietnamese, that another strange power, France, was welcomed into the Kingdom.

Fearing Vietnamese violent behavior, King Norodom signed a treaty of protectorate with France in the 1860s. This granted Cambodia some gauge of defense from its neighbors, but it eventually led to Cambodia becoming a colony in 1884. For the next eighty years, the French successfully ruled over the kingdom. Most agree that it left the Khmers with a insufficient inheritance.

When the Japanese occupied Cambodia during W.W.II, the French gone. At the war’s end, Cambodia became an state under French regulation. In 1953, Cambodia lastly gained sovereignty from the French, guided by the wily King Sihanouk, who had been specially selected for the throne as a young man by French officials eager to have a accommodating monarch.

Independence manifested the start of a brief Golden Age for Phnom Penh. As its neighbors began to swirl with revolt, Cambodia was calm and well-off. But at the start of the Vietnam War, King Sihanouk, who had subjugated politics in the country for almost two decades, estranged both the left and right with exploitive policies. He was ousted by General Lon Nol and went into exile in Beijing, China.

The Vietnam War again brought disorder to Cambodia. Although the country was officially neutral, the Americans secretly bombed the country’s border regions in a misguided attempt to get at North Vietnamese fighters. The anguish of villagers affected by the bombing, along with the belief that Lon Nol’s government was prevalent with bribery, fuelled disaffection among the peasantry. The Khmer Rouge faction was born, and fighting stretch across the country.

The capital finally fell to the Khmer Rouge on April 17th, 1975. Almost no one had foreseen what would happen next. The Khmer Rouge warned the city’s denizens of an impending American air strike and strained them to escape into the countryside. This was the commencement of a radical social experiment to turn Cambodia into an agrarian society by banishing all the city’s inhabitants.

While Phnom Penh was basically a ghost town for the four years of Khmer Rouge rule, not all bustle in the capital came to an end. One school in central Phnom Penh became the  most infamous prison, Toul Sleng, codenamed S-21.

The Khmer Rouge was driven from control at the start of 1979 by the Vietnamese. This was precipitated by a number of Khmer Rouge border raids on Vietnam. The Vietnamese set up a new administration headed by Khmer Rouge members who had previously defected to Vietnam together with then Foreign Minister and current Prime Minister Hun Sen.

The country’s first elections took place in 1993. The two main parties vying for power in this election were Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) and the royalist National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful, and Co-operative Cambodia (FUNCINPEC), which had been formed in 1982 by the exiled King Sihanouk and was headed by his son Prince Ranariddh.

The frontrunner of this election by a contracted periphery was FUNCINPEC, but Hun Sen refused to turn down muscle. The king had returned from exile, and he stepped in to negotiator a deal between the two sides. They would split control, and there would be a First and a Second Prime Minister. Yet, all this accord did was to holdup the predictable confrontation.

Again, the Khmer Rouge came into play. While they had lost the country to the Vietnamese, they had managed to hold onto border regions such as Pailin and Anlong Veng with support from Thailand and China. Now that Hun Sen and Prince Ranariddh were locked in a contest of wills, the Khmer Rouge suddenly became very important again. The Khmer Rouge in Pailin, led by Ieng Sary, cut amnesty for surrender deals for their territories. Those in the north entertained overtures from FUNCINPEC.

Rumours of a coup d’etat swirled in the capital. Boats carrying arms destined for supporters of Prince Ranariddh were stopped by Hun Sen’s gunships en route to Sihanoukville. Fearing that the remaining Khmer Rouge in the north could be used as a counter to CPP power if allowed to ally themselves with Prince Ranariddh, forces loyal to Hun Sen led a bloody coup d’etat in July 1997.

The prince fled the country. So too did Sam Rainsy, a former FUNCINPEC member kicked out of the party in 1995 for criticising the government, who had started a his own political party. Scores of opposition lawmakers were murdered in the struggle.

Cambodia’s next elections were held in 1998. Both leaders of the opposition parties returned to enter the fray, but Hun Sen finally won control of the country. Yet, the fairness of these elections was questioned by many people, and so this was only the beginning of a messy political saga that continues to this day.

The typical Phnom-Penh center scene… All these luxury cars passing lend a hand to put out of your mind that you are in the capital of one of the poorest country in the post-colonial world. The advertisement postings on top of the buildings congregate irony – most of the city dwellers are dying carcasses because of extreme poverty, the city eat and breathe corruption and all these “American smiles” on the tooth paste commercial make you sick.

The convenient way to explore the city is to arrange the bike and to start making circles. All the street names are straightforward arithmetic; so if you looking for a way out try not to go astray in the modern anti-utopia madness of Phnom-Penh City.

The old French colonial buildings are bare bones of the modern Phnom-Penh. The modernistic Bauhaus by French free-masons architects create the unique atmosphere; mystical, tranquil and depressing.

“Getting around in Phnom Penh” by great journalist Rich Garella provides amazing introduction for all Cambodia newcomers.

“Cambodians avoid walking as if they lived in Los Angeles. But a walking pace is the best way to soak up the details that make Phnom Penh so fascinating. Some of those details are right underfoot: Watch where you are stepping at all times. Not only are there are uncovered drainage holes that you are well advised not to fall into, but there is an impressive variety of substances you may not want to engage with too directly.

To cross busy streets, you must stride determinedly into the traffic, looking directly at oncoming vehicles but without actually catching anyone’s eye. If they see that you saw them, they will assume right of way. Remember oncoming vehicles can come on from any direction. Do not slow down or speed up more a little, or you will be hit. Just keep walking and show no fear. Sounds scary, right? Try getting up next to some locals and crossing in their shadow.

Wheelchair Access

Although there are plenty of people who use wheelchairs here, there are very few ramps per se. As far as I know there is no accessibility law; there certainly is no evidence of one. Many sidewalks have curb cuts for car parking, or the curb is missing anyway. Sidewalks themselves are not very good, divided up with ridges etc, but there is usually some way to get around the obstacle, thanks to Cambodians’ dependence on motorbikes, which they also roll everywhere. People using wheelchairs usually travel in the roadway. Many buildings in towns have level access to the ground floor, except for newer ones. Elevators are rare. However, there are lots of people around who are happy to carry a person and the chair up and down if necessary. They may or may not ask for a small donation, of course. The main problem may be in-town transit. The best option is probably a car and driver. The other ways to get around are motorbike taxi and cyclo.
You can spot moto-taxis by the baseball caps and sunglasses on the guys who drive them. Pay around 1000-2500 riel for a ride, depending if it’s one or two people riding, how far, and if it’s day or night. Just ride, then pay at the end; you don’t have to set a price first. A whole day’s riding around will cost $5-7. Remember that random moto drivers will not know where they are going, and do not know how to read a map. You have to point the way–if you don’t, you may notice that the moto is circling aimlessly around town. The word for “stop” is between “chowp” and “chope”. Moto drivers who hang out at the foreigner hangouts will know the foreigner places. They will also soon learn where you live, who your friends are and who you are going out with. Some of this information is rumored to find its way to the Ministry of the Interior.

Similar advice applies to the cyclos, but these quiet and non-polluting pedal-powered vehicles are much slower. If you are touring, they are great for a leisurely look around. They can also carry amazing loads: three of them moved my entire household including several large pieces of furniture. Many cyclo drivers are rice farmers who come into the cities during the dry season, and rent their cyclos to make money in the day and to sleep in at night. You will see them clustered in cyclo villages here and there throughout Phnom Penh, especially at night when the pedalers, who have rented them, use them for lodging. A cyclo ride costs about half of what a moto ride costs, though visitors are expected to be more generous.

Bicycles are for sale in stores all around the Capitol Guesthouse on Street 182. The “mountain bikes” are cheap–about $100 for the best of them–but of poor quality. Mine fell to pieces in about a year, thanks in part to Phnom Penh roads, which vary from smoothly paved major roads to unpaved, rutted, rocky, swampy, side roads. A more solid choice is the Pee-Wee Herman style Pheasant bicycle favored by Cambodian women, or the somewhat sleeker single-speed Vietnamese or Chinese road bike ($50-70 new). And then there are the trusty antique touring bikes, usually made of a variety of pieces knocked together. These are available for $20-30. I haven’t noticed any bike rental places, but any guesthouse should be able to arrange it. For information on cycling in the Cambodian countryside, see Biking Southeast Asia with Mr. Pumpy.

Near the Capitol, but on Monivong, is the Hong Kong Hotel, next to which are two similar motorcycle rental shops. Foreigners must leave their passports as a deposit, and pay $5-7 per day for a motor scooter or a 250cc dirt bike. Two things to keep in mind: Cambodian traffic has rules that take time to get used to; and if the motorbike is stolen, you will have to pay for it, in effect buying it for the nice people who robbed you.
Buying a moto: prices start around $250 for an old one. A license plate, registration and driver’s license are required by law but not by reality. Many motos and cars have no plate, or sport a vanity plate made at home or on the street corner. ”

Looking for more Rich Garella’s writings? Check here !