Hello everyone,
What are the best ways you've found for keeping in touch with friends and family back home while living in Cambodia? How frequently do you stay in touch with loved ones?
Are there local equivalents to common instant messaging and online video calling services that you prefer or are more widely used?
If there is a sizeable time difference, how do you manage this?
Do you make international phone calls from a landline or mobile phone from Cambodia? What do you think of the cost?
Thank you for sharing your experience.
Priscilla
Keeping in touch while living in Cambodia
Priscilla
25 October 2017 11:51:30
42358
JoeKhmer
26 October 2017 08:57:21
2159
Hi Priscilla.
My experiences are quite limited.
Got no family left, and just two friends back in Europe.
With one friend I exchange emails, I have met him in Thailand a few times as he is married to a Thai.
The other friend keeps in touch through Messenger, more personal chat in real time. He will also arrive here in Cambodia next month for a 3 week holiday.
My Thai ex and my step-daughters (living in Sweden) stay in touch through Messenger too.
The occasional contact with a New York guy I know goes through email, sometimes Messenger.
There is a 12 hour difference, so his morning is my evening, no problem though.
The 6 hour difference with Europe is no problem, their wake-up time is afternoon here.
I never call internationally.
Hope this is sufficient.
Cheers.
Joe
petercambo
31 October 2017 10:27:15
29
Hi Priscilla, I do not have any family but mail and speak with friends in other countries using: Messenger, Line and Whasapp.
Regards, Pedro.
Catoni
13 November 2017 21:59:16
3
For keeping in touch with people in Canada while in Siem Reap, Cambodia for a couple of months in 2017, I simply used Google gmail. I try to avoid things like "Facebook".
For my cell phone, (Kyocera DuraXE) I removed my Canadian Virgin Mobility SIM card when I got on the plane in Canada, and bought a Cambodian SIM card when I arrived in Siem Reap. Phone calls from Siem Reap to Canada were surprisingly dirt cheap. The Cambodian SIM card I bought was with "cellcard" ..a Cambodian company.
There are other Cambodian cell companies... but I think cellcard is the biggest, and with the most coverage in Cambodia.
In Bangkok for a while before flying back to Canada, I pulled the Cambodian SIM and bought a TrueMove SIM in Thailand.
You can top up your "cellcard" SIM card at lots of places in Siem Reap, Cambodia... and top up your Thailand SIM card at any 7/11 in Thailand.
Switching SIM cards when I travel helps ensure I don't get hit with nasty "roaming" charges and gets me great cell service for very little cost.
I simply store my SIMs in a little credit card size holder I got on Ebay. It takes up almost no room in my wallet. (I carry two wallets when travelling... my real one in a front zipper pocket, and a give away wallet I can surrender, that has expired cards and a couple of small bills.)
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