The Best of Cambodia & Laos

48
PLANNING YOUR TRIP TO CAMBODIA
3
STAYING CONNECTED
adventure and cultural tours, which help
fund their aid work. Asian Adventures
(www.asia-adventures.com) is a Phnom
Penh–based company offering a huge variety
of tours all over the country under
their guiding ethos of responsible tourism.
CELLPHONES
Cellphones are plentiful in Cambodia as
are available networks. The situation is
chaotic, however, with many networks
that don’t always connect well with each
other. Dropped calls, endless bleeping,
and “network busy” notices are the norm.
Until recently, it was hard to buy a local
SIM card without proof of residency (this
was to reduce the incidence of kidnappings,
according to the authorities). That
is now changing, although the rules
remain confused and different dealers will
In Koh Kong, the Oasis Resort (& 016/
331556; www.oasisresort.netkhmer.com)
offers local excursions to mangrove forests,
waterfalls, sites for dolphin-watching, and
secluded beaches.
9 STAYING CONNECTED
Telephone Dialing at a Glance
say different things. You can buy a SIM
card for about $2, and $5 top-up cards are
available everywhere all over the country
as scratch cards. The main providers are M
Phone code 011, MobiTel code 012, Bee
Line code 090, Smart Mobiel 010, Star
Cell code 098, Cube code 013, and Metphone
code 097. MobiTel is the most
widely used. Some foreign networks are
roaming-enabled in Cambodia. It not
advised to use them though, unless you
plan on remortgaging your house. The
roaming rates are ludicrously high.
• To place a call from your home country to Cambodia: Dial the international
access code (011 in the U.S. and Canada, 0011 in Australia, 0170 in
New Zealand, 00 in the U.K.), plus Cambodia’s country code (855), the city
code (23 for Phnom Penh, 63 for Siem Reap), and the six-digit phone
number (for example, 011 855 23 000-000). Important note: Omit the
initial “0” in all Cambodian phone numbers when calling from abroad.
• To place a call within Cambodia: Dial the city or area code preceded by
a 0 (the way numbers are listed in this book), and then the local number
(for example, 023/000-000). Note that all phone numbers are six digits after
the city code.
• To place a direct international call from Cambodia: To place a call, dial
the international access code (00), plus the country code, the area or city
code, and the number (for example, to call the U.S., you’d dial 00 1 000/000-
0000).
• International country codes are as follows: Australia, 61; Canada, 1;
Hong Kong, 852; Indonesia, 62; Laos, 856; Malaysia, 60; Myanmar, 95; New
Zealand, 64; the Philippines, 63; Singapore, 65; Thailand, 66; U.K., 44; U.S., 1;
Vietnam, 84.