Ridiculous Prices

Well Phnom Penh shops are a melting pot of unusual goods and ridiculous prices, both positively and negatively. We keep in mind that our salary here is about 3-4 times less than in Australia, so bargains are not always worth grabbing. I have taught the kids to multiply prices by 4 to see what the equivalent would be against our wage in Australia before we decide something is necessarily affordable - that has been a very good check for them before they ask for something. For example, Nathan and I explored the limited range of cheeses, one of the first we looked at was $50 a kilogram, needless to say, unaffordable! Bread is about $1 a loaf, we can live with that - though that is a plain white sandwich loaf, but a big box of Special K is $9 - toast has become the breaky of choice for the kids because I cannot justify Australian cereal and other imports taste a bit like cardboard, but they don't mind at all.

Mind you, if you come to visit us, then there are wonderful bargains to be had for the tourist!!!

You can get custom made shoes from a bootmaker for about $20 while the ones in the stores are $10 - $30 and do not seem to come bigger than a ladies 7!

Nathan got three T shirts in the markets for $5, though girls t shirts are often $2.50 - $5. A cold 300ml bottle of coke is about 35cents. My Nokia mobile phone which was about $300 on ebay in AUS can be bought for less than $150 here.

The list goes on, and the lesson to be learned living here is to adjust your lifestyle to suit the items and prices best available, while keeping a few luxury's so that you have that little bit of familiarity to savour. (Even if vegemite is $5.50 a jar).

Contrasting Views

The contrasting views from our Cambewarra House, Singapore Motel and Phnom Penh House.

Our house in Phnom Penh which we are subletting is the top floor of a two storey house. It is quite large and in parts ornate, though simply furnished. The house is surrounded by tall metal fencing, barb wire and locked metal gates.

Neighbouring houses contrast each other in the size of the buildings, yards and security. (However it is not unusual to see simple houses with motorbikes or cars in their yard.)

The neighbours seem aloof but friendly. I have had a number of opportunities to practice my Khmer whether it be meeting the landlord, introducing the family to the house helper or buying drinkable water from a local sidewalk shop.

Fiona :-)

Here in the Phnom Penh Heat

We arrived in Phnom Penh on Tuesday evening 22 July after a short stop over in Singapore. The kids handled the flights well, it appears Nathan is nolonger afraid of flying. We were met by a staff member from the school who picked us up and brought us into town. We stayed the first night at the house of the school Principals, Mark and Jane Prothero and their children Eden and Alfie. It was good to meet others from the school and for the kids to start to make friends. The next day even more staff members dropped by to say hello. We were later taken for a small shopping trip to Lucky's supermarket before coming to the house which we are subletting for six months.

First impressions: Phnom Penh is bustling, loud, poor, hot and smells like cooking spices, - for me the smell is almost sickening at times, but I am sure I will adjust.

Fiona