Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
and sometimes on draught, prices varying from
around $1 for a glass of draught beer to around
$2-2.50 for a large bottle. Tiger, VB, Beer Lao and
ABC Stout are also readily available, and there are
many more local brews. Even if already chilled,
beer is often drunk with ice.
Spirits
are generally only found in larger
restaurants, nightclubs and Western bars. Imported
wines are available in smarter restaurants and
Western-oriented places, and can be bought in
supermarkets and minimarkets. When not downing
beer, Cambodians themselves usually prefer to stick
to local, medicinal
rice wines
, which are available at
stalls and shops where glasses of the stuff are ladled
from large jars containing various plant or animal
parts. Though quite sweet, they're strong and barely
palatable, but cheap. Another local brew is
sugar-
palm beer
, sold and brewed straight from the
bamboo tubes in which the juice is collected. It's
quite refreshing, and readily available in villages and
from vendors in the towns; it's also now available in
tourist-oriented shops in nicely labelled bottles.
pharmacies employing qualified personnel who
can help with diagnosis and remedies for simple
health problems.
Consider getting a pre-trip
dental check-up
if
you're travelling for an extended period, as the only
places to get reliable dental treatment in Cambodia
are in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. If you wear
glasses
, it's worth taking along a copy of your
prescription (or a spare pair of glasses); you can get
replacements made quite cheaply in Phnom Penh
and Siem Reap.
Vaccinations and
immunizations
It's worth checking before you leave that you are up
to date with
routine
immunizations, such as
tetanus and diphtheria. For Cambodia, you should
consider immunizing yourself against hepatitis A,
tuberculosis and typhoid; inoculations against
hepatitis B, rabies and Japanese encephalitis are
recommended if you are going to be at a particular
risk (for example if you're working in a remote area).
You'll need to produce proof that you've been
vaccinated against yellow fever in the event of
arriving from an infected area (West and Central
Africa, or South America).
It is as well to consult your doctor or travel clinic
as early as possible since it can take anything
up to eight weeks to complete a full course
of immunizations. All inoculations should be
recorded on an
international travel vaccination
card
, which is worth carrying with you in case
you get sick.
Health
Health care in Cambodia is poor. Even
the best hospitals have inadequate facili-
ties, low standards of cleanliness and
appalling patient care, and should be
used only in a dire emergency. For
anything serious, if you are able to travel
then get to Bangkok. Should you have no
option but to go to a Cambodian
hospital, try to get a Khmer-speaker to
accompany you.
In Phnom Penh a couple of private Western-
oriented
clinics
offer slightly better care than the
hospitals, at a higher cost. If you get ill outside
Phnom Penh or Siem Reap, self-diagnosis and
treatment is often better than visiting a clinic.
Wherever you seek medical attention, you will be
expected to pay upfront for treatment, medication
and food.
Although every town has a number of
pharma-
cies
(typically daily 7am-8pm) stocking an
extensive range of medications, the staff aren't
required to have a dispensing qualification, so you
may want to check the product sheets (and even
expiry dates) before you buy. Fake medicines
abound and there's no easy way to determine if
what you're buying is the real thing. Whenever
possible buy only in Phnom Penh (see p.92) or Siem
Reap (see p.156), which have a couple of reputable
Hepatitis
Hepatitis A
, a viral infection of the liver, can be
contracted from contaminated food and water
- shellfish sold by hawkers and untreated water
are particular risks in Cambodia - or by contact
with an infected person. Symptoms include
dark-coloured urine, aches and pains, nausea,
general malaise and tiredness, with jaundice
following after a few days. A blood test is needed
for diagnosis, and rest, plenty of nonalcoholic
fluids and a high-carbohydrate diet are recom-
mended for convalescence. A single shot of
immunoglobulin offers short-term protection
against hepatitis A.
Far more serious is
hepatitis B
, passed via
contaminated body fluids; it can be contracted
through non-sterile needles (including those used
in tattooing and acupuncture), sexual contact or
from a blood transfusion that hasn't been properly
