AsiaLIFE

Expat life in the Penh is quintessentially transient. We come, we make friends, we leave. Then what? AsiaLIFE Guide asks the recently departed about adjustment and what they miss most about life in Cambodia.

Job in Cambodia: Editor

Now living in: New Zealand

Were you ready to leave when you did?
I was definitely ready, though to fly out over that flat expanse and away from the frangipani was terribly sad.

What was the strangest thing you found yourself having to adjust to once you left?
The traffic was swift and I crossed the roads very tentatively, rather than stepping out from the kerb in Phnom Penh knowing the motos would zip around me. I also found it difficult to come to terms with the small-talk – the New Zealand weather-talk.

What do you miss most about Phnom Penh?
Many, many things – the wind before the rain, the rain, the flame trees, the way you could turn a corner and have the hem on your skirt repaired by someone at a Singer on the pavement, and the Cambodian people.

Adam
Time: 20 months

Job: Trailing spouse

Now living in: Australia

Ready or not?
We had no choice otherwise we would have lost our house to the bank, so no, I guess not.

Strangest thing?
The lack of noise, smells and people on the streets. I also forgot just how much motorists hate cyclists over here.

Miss?
Friends and people smiling, the ease of which you can get around in Phnom Penh, and all those smells on the streets.

Lis
Time: 1.5 years

Job: So many! Intern at DC-Cam, volunteer at Friends, Writer for AsiaLIFE

Now in: U.K.

Ready or not?
After a year and a half in Cambodia, I felt it was time to depart. I had seen lots of close friends come and go and felt I had got all I could get from the experience. It was time to move on.

Strangest thing?
I can't really handle shopping malls anymore. They are just so big, so commercial, so busy, so expensive, and so air-conditioned! I find them completely overwhelming. I also hate the idea of established public transportation. I can't help wishing I could flag down a moto driver and be quickly carried to wherever my heart desired.

Miss?
Joy-riding, people-watching on tuk tuk, nights out at Memphis, fresh lime juices, Chinese noodles, summer dresses and flip flops, the sense of community, feeling like my life was spontaneous and adventurous, Mekong boat cruises, and some fabulous, wonderful, amazing people.

John Lathrop
Time: 7 months

Job: Novelist

Now in: Canada

Ready or not?
I was ready. I went there to obtain ideas, characters, colour and copy for a novel. It took me four months, not seven.

Strangest thing?
No longer having to adjust. No longer looking forward to a new twist on a new life.

Miss?
The people. Both Khmer and expat. I miss the gentleness and the courtesy of the Cambodians. Living in Canada, I also miss the Cambodian climate. I miss living in a Buddhist country. I miss eating my eggs and bacon on the restaurant terrace, across from Wat Lanka watching the ashes of the deceased rising slowly upward through the hot, heavy air with the smoke from the cremation.

Brian Unger
Time: 4 years

Job: Special Advisor for iREACH

Now In: Canada

Ready or not?
Yes, though I do miss Cambodia, its people and expat friends.

Strangest thing?
Not seeing smiling people walking amid a huge variety of people on and in vehicles, rather seeing people always in cars, wine by the glass at US$9, a good dinner for two at US$80 to US$100.

Miss?
Working with Khmers and an exceptional array of expat experts as well as the more affordable massages, wines, dinners.

Chris Leather
Time: 4 years

Job: Management Advisor


Now In: New Zealand

Ready or not?
Yes, we left with no regrets about our decision. I worked with people whose difficult lives were controlled by the powerful elite. When the system you can’t control starts to get too much up your nose, it’s time to go.

Strangest thing?
I have to wait a week to fix absolutely anything, not having a local market where I could go and buy fresh produce that wasn’t in plastic containers, the petty complaints of my countrymen/women who live such privileged lives. I really can trust the traffic to be coming from the direction I expect.

Miss?
Never being cold, our biking mates and adventures, and always finding someone on the side of the road who could fix my punctures! Mangoes, mangosteens, passion fruit, big fat prawns from Kabco Market, croissants from Comme a la Maison, big hunks of fresh brie from Veggys, Russian Market retail therapy, being smiled at all the time, and our gorgeous apartment with 310 degree views over the river, parks and rooftops.