It is the longest time I spent in Singapore since moving to Cambodia in mid-2006, and I find myself settling in a routine that makes it hard for me to want to return to Cambodia. I was home for almost a month now and I am aware that I wrote only one entry at this time. I just really enjoy yourself this holiday.
Singapore is clean, efficient, wired and comfortable. Everything works as you expect it, and not as expensive as people think. Allocated items such as homes and cars are very expensive, but outside the home and transport comparable to that of Cambodia, sometimes even cheaper than Cambodia. (Internet-one thing that certainly cheaper! I am so happy can also watch Youtube video on broadband cable, continuously 100 Mbits. we pay equivalent USD56 per month, compared to USD60 to 128 Kbps in Cambodia!)
Just yesterday, I met some friends in the village of Holland in the western part of the island. I live in the North-East. The journey requires a bus, train and bus and took me just over an hour. Public transport-all with air conditioning. For the entire trip I paid about SGD 3.30 or USD 2.10. In Cambodia, USD2 you tuk-tuk ride 10mins. You can hire a motorbike, as I do, because it's cheaper, but not by much. For this distance I would have to pay at least worth USD1, going through the heat and dust or smog. I wrote about this before, as the lack of public transport (and other shared services) means that people end up paying more.
Food is very reasonable in Singapore, and I can get my favorite boneless Hainanese chicken rice for as little as SGD2 (approx USD 1.35). The old market in Siem Reap one dish worth 2000 Riel (USD 0.50) and rice was another 1000 riels. For the same amount of chicken meat, I would like to pay a comparable amount in Cambodia (chicken prepared with bones in Cambodia), if not more. Many varieties of fruits and vegetables are surprisingly cheaper in Singapore than in Cambodia, even in supermarkets. We bought a kilogram of fresh, medium sixed, shrimps, another day for SGD 5.90 or less than KZT.
In this regard, Singapore is both the United States or any other developed country. Things are often much cheaper than in developing countries simply because there is so much competition. In addition, there is so much stuff on sale, if it does not sell, retailers will keep lowering prices for stocks to move. So if you're willing to wait or know where to look, you can get things really good quality at reasonable prices.
On the contrary, the imported stuff is so rare in Cambodia, retailers can charge a premium and still find buyers. I am constantly shocked at how expensive some things are lucky. And I would never buy electronic goods in Cambodia; they are often double, we pay for in Singapore.
Then we have sites like second-hand shops. Australian cash converters belong is one place where you can buy a second-hand camera, coffee makers, irons, or pots and pans at low prices. Singaporeans throw out so much useful stuff, you can always find something interesting. Golf clubs are an example: many Singaporeans think buy branded Club will help their swing and then find out otherwise, or lose interest or update their clubs again.
I often think I should start a second-hand shop in Phnom Penh. There are always things to pick up every time, when the leaves of expat. And all the money for financing was trafficking group as Riverkids.
Of course, if you're looking for is well in Singapore, you can. The second night I was home, friends took me to dinner at the American-style restaurant in Singapore Flyer. There, a burger worth SGD16 (approximately USD 10.50) and cheap bottle of wine, SGD50 (USD33), except for 10 per cent service charge and 7% goods and services tax. (Alcohol is notoriously expensive in Singapore for State taxes. cigarettes are too expensive, worth USD7 in package, or seven times, in Cambodia) on the street Pub Siem Reap, sandwich, albeit much smaller, about USD 3.50 and a bottle of wine, maybe USD15. Of course you can get really expensive stuff in posh hotels in Cambodia.
I also enjoyed swimming and cycling regularly here in Singapore. My parents live in what is called a condominium, apartment with amenities like a swimming pool and gym and sometimes tennis courts. Many Singaporeans pay to live in villas, but don't have time to use the premises, so I get to use the pool, which is almost always empty. I also really like riding a bike on a smooth, paved roads. I used to have a motorcycle enthusiast, cycling from home to the University, a journey that normally takes about an hour. My friends and I would also like to "Hill on a bike" (not mountains in Singapore!) at Bukit Timah Hill.
My bike Trek old now, but it was expensive, and I did not take him to Cambodia because I'm sure it would get stolen.
Because I am on a budget, I am not a wallow in Cambodia, although expat friends pay import time to use some of the hotel pool. I rarely cycle. We walk most of the time recently I was talking to a friend of Singapore horse lessons (USD20 per hour) in Siem Reap. He said it was cheap and this is a Singaporean, but I couldn't bring myself to pay USD20 per hour, because that is what most Khmers will take about 2 weeks to earn.
After this visit, however, I made some decisions about living in Cambodia. I found that I need from time to time to spend money on things that make me happy, such as swimming. I also decided to go at least one session riding. I feel that I need to do these things, because otherwise, Cambodia too much struggle. I feel disadvantaged. I think people should little pleasures in life, it can be (for me it's the Internet and swimming).
I tried to live asketičeski almost 3 years in Cambodia, but as an Australian expat friend pointed out — the whole point of why we are here is to raise the life of Cambodians our standards rather than live as poor Cambodian. She said this in the context of water heaters. She, like many of my expat friends do not have a water heater, so she showers with cold water. Me too, where I live and work in a workshop in Phnom Penh. I think we think: If our Cambodia team-mates can live like this, so that we can. I also think we are doing so out of guilt, because we consider ourselves not better (morally, I mean) than the Khmer, so we did not deserve better.
But I think that my friend makes a good point that the transition to Cambodia does not mean that the Russians should abandon What things back home. It's not morally better and therefore deserve better, but what you are accustomed. A sense of deprivation due to not getting what you are used to. You don't miss what you don't know. So while many Cambodians do not think that hot shower and probably would prefer cold, it is harder for an alien who shower in warm water, his whole life. Nevertheless, one must draw a line to the notion of basic necessities. For me, Airconditioning. This is something I can do without.
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