New Post has been published on https://coachscottworswick.com/lets-check-out-cambodia/
After around 19 months in Thailand I felt it was time to look for new pastures and decided to move to Cambodia. Some of you may be thinking, ‘What!! why would he do that’, moving from one of the most developed countries in Asia, to a very small and under developed country without the many facilities offered by a more advanced nation.
Stay tuned and I’ll let you know.
So I arrived in Phnom Penh the capital of Cambodia traveling by coach, an experience in itself!
Some of the roads were filled with deep pits and holes and it had been raining so muddy too, however we eventually arrived safely in Phnom Penh in the late evening in October 2014.
Fortunately, after only a short walk I was able to find a hotel for temporary accommodation while looking for a job and a more permanent apartment.
It did not take long to acquire a new position and I started work as a Tutor for a company run by an English owner. This involved some one on one tutoring and some small group work with local companies, again at a fairly low level. I continued working here until I met a guy in a local bar one evening and he told me about a language school run by IDP called ACE (Australian Centre for Education) and that I should apply there.
I suppose I should add a rather funny story (although not so funny for me at the time), one day my boss invited me to meet for lunch this was about 2 hours before my lesson with a Korean guy, very good in English but he wanted to improve even more and learn many of the idioms we have in English as well as converse with a native speaker. Anyway so at lunch my boss ordered some pizza and we had a pleasant time eating and drinking. However, unknown to me was the fact that this was commonly known as a ‘happy pizza’ in other words it was laced with cannabis.
I now had to proceed to my lesson with an executive client who spoke very good English and try to provide a good session. But that was not to be, I found myself feeling very drowsy and unable to concentrate eventually after about 30 to 40 min’s he ended the class. I’m sure he must have realised what had happened, but I put it down to not feeling very well. For me a terrible experience, as I would never drink or take mild drugs like that knowing I had a lesson to do, but quite funny looking back. What a boss right!!
This I did and after an interview, I was accepted to stat in a new branch in an area known as Toul Tom Poung. It was a brand new building with about 7 floors. This was to begin in the New Year January 2015.
All the teachers that started in this branch were new teachers and we had induction training before we started. Very professional and although they did have classes for all ages we were able to stipulate our preferences. So I chose to teach at level 4 and above which was at an intermediate level and with teenagers and adults.
Quick note; IDP is an organization in Australia I believe its government run to encourage foreign students to study in Australian Universities. They are one part of the team that makes up the IELTS exams with the British Council.
I was very please to find this position as it was my first experience of working in a well run and organized school, it also took care of our visa’s and working permits and provided medical insurance after a 6 month probationary period. We had all the necessary tools and equipment to plan our lessons and a structured curriculum using English course books. So whilst it was still required to make lesson plans they were developed around the lessons from the books, these included audio and video material.
OK, so what about Cambodia, I found it a very nice place not too much traffic compared to other major capital cities, which made it easy to get around, here I did buy a second hand scooter rather than renting as they are very cheap here. Most of the traffic is motorbikes and bicycles not so many cars as the population is still relatively poor and cars here are very heavily taxed, they cost more here than in western countries.
The driving is not so good, they do go through red lights and drive on the wrong side of the road and you have to watch for vehicles coming from all directions, but they tend to drive quite slow, so just be careful.
About the traffic police if they stop you there will be a fine, even if you have done nothing wrong, but if you keep your eyes open they are avoidable and if you keep to the outside lane a go faster it’s difficult for them to stop you. It’s also acceptable here to ignore the police if they are flagging you down, they never pursue you.
I bought my scooter and never had a license in Cambodia, didn’t have any insurance. The only expenses were the petrol, about $1 a litre and any repairs, punctures did occur quite frequently but they have many places to repair and not very expensive.
Cuisine in Cambodia mostly revolves around rice and noodles just like all the other Asian countries, meals could be bought at local restaurants for around a dollar, a can of beer about 70 cents in a store for the local brew or if in a bar $1.50 to $2. That’s if you wish to be on the economy side. But like Thailand being the capital city they have many different kinds of foods including, hamburgers, chips, Kebabs, Chinese, KFC and as in Thailand some western owners of bars and restaurants.
Of course if you venture into the small towns and villages you can only find the local foods.
Things to do, they had some small shopping malls and also one big AON mall that had just been built, with cinema that catered for blockbuster movies.
I also found a gym not as modern as the one in Thailand and no air conditioning which actually I prefer. But it had all the weights and equipment for me to work out a circuit for myself and it was only a dollar per visit.
Cambodia has many holidays, so the students and the school closed quite a bit and I decided to travel to the beach at Sihanouk about a 4 hour mini bus ride from Phnom Penh during any of the longer holidays. It was here that I noticed the scuba diving schools and being an adventurous person. I began by having an introductory course at a PADI diving school close to the beach at Sihanouk. After getting into the diving, I made my mind up to complete my open water certificate, this entailed buying some books and doing some study as well as the diving.
The centre I used had a place on an island, so we went by boat to this Island known as Koh Rong Sanloem and although there were some other small resorts it was almost a deserted beach, especially when it was out of the main season for tourists. However, on the other side of the Island, there were larger resorts and I occasionally took a walk over the hill to the other side, quite a steep climb and took about 30 to 40 min's, through a dense overgrown forest and a few streams to cross quite a nice little hike.
I got hooked on diving and went on to complete my advanced diving and also a rescue and first aid course. I thought about becoming an instructor but in the end decided against it.
I was also able to get involved with the school 5-a-side football team, we went to a local venue and played against the local teams, in my first 6 month contract we had two young guys teaching with us who were quite good footballers. So when the school had a 5-a-side competition we had a good team, even at 58, I was able to play in the side and we managed to win the competition on penalties in the final. Not bad for an old geezer.
As for the cost of living, a bit less than Thailand especially for accommodation, although I have to say, I was very blessed to find a 3 bedroom two floor apartment fully furnished, for $200 a month. Most of the rented apartments were more in the region of $250 to $300 depending on what kind of facilities you were after, Oh! and with a balcony.
Food to buy in the markets are cheap and varied you can get most vegetables that you might be used to, as well as many you have not seen before in your home country, unless you’re from another Asian country of course.
theartofmadeline
prguitarman
areudirty
izzy806
gummygunk