Things You'll Need:
- To remain relaxed at all times
- To remain aware, despite being so relaxed
- To learn to trust the Khmer people, & not be a 'falang' pain-in-the-youknowwhat, making yourself a victim.
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Step 1
Get to know the Khmer people. Khmer = Cambodian, and it is pronounced "khmai", not "kay-mer", as many foreigners say. Greet locals with "Soh S'bai" (hello), and smile! Khmers are friendly, life-loving people, and respond well to like-minded people. Their smiles will knock you out - they are like nowhere else in the world. Also keep in mind that the majority of Khmers are Buddhists, which mean that they are some of the least likely people in the world to be dishonest or scam someone. They have karma in mind!
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Step 2
With those first tips in mind, relax a bit. There are really only a few places where someone may try to pull a fast one - border areas, in Phnom Penh, or in Seam Reap. Otherwise, as noted, the locals are more interested in trying out a few words of English on you, jumping next to you as you have your picture taken, or getting you to drink a glass of cold Angkor draft with them!
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Step 3
Border scams: Unfortunately, many traveler's first experience upon entering Cambodia is a bus that stops at the bus operator's hotel/restaurant for and extended (several hour) 'break' while waiting for the connecting bus. "This has never happened before!", he will say. Do you believe him? Do you get upset and accuse him of being a scam artist? Not worth it. You probably paid just $5 for a pretty long stretch of road, you can't expect perfect service! Our advice - Don't book longer stretches across the border if you can help it. If you book all the way to Phnom Penh from Laos (for example), you WILL run into delays. Stay cool. It still takes a long time to travel in Cambodia - for everyone.
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Step 4
Orphanage visits: One of the saddest scams running. Tuk-tuk drivers (generally in Phnom Penh) offer to take you to visit a local orphanage, and tell you that they need rice, basic hygiene supplies (toothbrushes, etc) and some other basics of life. They thanks you for your interest in helping 'their people'. BE AWARE: They will try to do the shopping for you, since you do not speak Khmer. They will bargain a good price, then translate into English for you, and double the price in translation, pocketing the difference. Rotten losers! We had this happen to us - a jerk who goes by "Mr T" in the Lakeside area. His family runs an internet cafe there - he swindled the kids out of $40.00 of our donations - that would have bought the 36 kids an extra meal a day for a month...
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Step 5
Markets: Foreigners (the Khmer word is 'falang') pay higher prices. Not so much a scam as just pushing the price a bit, but if you shop locally, you want to feel like you're getting a good deal! It's great to support the local economy, and Khmer produce is excellent quality. It's easy to get the good price - here's how:
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Step 6
Learn to count to five. "Moy, pi, bay, buan, pram." Then six to ten is easy - pram moy, pram pi, pram bay, pram bwan, dap. You see? Six is "five - one", seven is "five two" etc. Dap is ten. This will be enough to impress the locals, especially if you remember "So s'bai", and "Aw kon" (thank you)
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Step 7
Since the Cambodian currency - the riel - is very inflated, you'll be working in thousands ("paen"). So, you ask how much that pineapple costs, and get the answer, "dap paen riel" (ten thousand riel). Smile, and make a counter offer, maybe, "pram paen riel" (five thousand riel). It will take some practice to do this, but the experience of communicating with Khmer people directly is worth more than what you'll save by bargaining!
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Step 8
In general: Westerners tend to go off nervous, worried that they will be scammed. Somehow we always point the finger across borders into less fortunate countries and say, "that's where the rip-offs happen!" Well, the truth is, you are less likely to run into any kind of crime, even petty theft, in Cambodia than anywhere in the US or Europe. Take the normal precautions, and you will be fine. If you respect local culture, and don't treat Cambodia like a place to stumble drunken and yelling through the streets and abusing the locals, this respect will be returned - many times over.
