End of First Month in Phnom Penh

There is not a lot to report about the end of this week. I have not heard back from VSO about the position I applied for there and it closed on Monday. So, I am thinking that I will not be getting an interview with them. There are, however, two consulting positions with the United Nations Development Programme that look like a good fit for me. I have begun the lengthy application process with them. Today I tried Good Time gym and it is really nice. The pool is about 5 metres longer than the pool at Diamond and being an outdoor pool it is also a little warmer. The equipment is also new and nice. They have fairly good spin bikes, a nice rowing machine, kettle balls, and even nicer jump ropes than the AusFit gym at Diamond. They also have a new squash court, two beautiful tennis courts, badminton courts, and 4 separate table tennis rooms. I thought that it was kind of like the Bellevue Athletic Club or Village Club of Phnom Penh.

The cost of living is certainly much less in Cambodia. I stopped by this 60 cent store this week. There were things like butcher knives and bowls that were 60 cents. I also got the oil changed in my moto today and it was only $5 for the whole service. Considering gas and service costs it looks like my monthly transportation costs will be about $12. There is no insurance requirement and the registration cost is nominal. When you go to a nicer store or restaurant there will be “valet” parking for your moto. This involves a young man wearing a guard uniform parking your moto and putting a bike lock on it – handing the lock key to you. When you return with your key there is a customary expectation of 500 Riel tip, which is about 12 cents. It is amazing to me that no matter how busy it is the guards always seem to remember what you rode in on.

60 Cent Store

This is the rainy season in Phnom Penh. Since I have been here it has been generally nice weather during the day and only rains at night, but it is remarkable how quickly the rain clouds come in and how hard it rains here. I took these pictures today – within minutes of each other. In the first picture it was like there was a cap on the sky. There was still decent daylight and the city was clearly visible. There was a layer of blue sky above the city, but you can see that there was a distinct line where dark rain clouds covered the city. Within a minute of taking that first picture the dark clouds traveled to where I was and it rained very hard. A few minutes later I took the second picture where you can see how dark it became very quickly, but also see a couple of small holes in the tail end of these clouds.