WHAT PEOPLE GET WRONG ABOUT CAMBODIA 🇰🇭

[00:00:00]Spend 5 minutes online reading about Cambodia and you'll quickly build a picture >> [music] >> of what this country is supposed to be.

[00:00:10]A developing country, a backpacker destination, a next pop playground, a country defined by its past. And while none of these descriptions are completely wrong, they're also nowhere near >> [music] >> the full story.

[00:00:30]One thing I have noticed over the years that people can form an opinion on this country very quickly.

[00:00:38]Sometimes just after a short visit.

[00:00:43]Sometimes after just reading an article online.

[00:00:49]Sometimes having never been here at all.

[00:00:53]They become convinced that Cambodia has a habit of proving people wrong.

[00:01:02]And the longer you live here, the harder it is to put the country into one single box.

[00:01:11]Moving to Cambodia 20 years ago could change your life.

[00:01:18]Not because people were smarter, not because people worked harder, but because they arrived at the right time.

[00:01:31]Simply being here at the time created opportunities.

[00:01:36]And I must admit, when I first came, I did feel like a big fish in a small pond.

[00:01:45]But now, I don't think it is the same. One of the things that foreigners think when they get here now is that they have got here early.

[00:01:57]They have not. And that raises an interesting question. If Cambodia isn't early anymore, is it still a land of opportunity? This might sound a bit harsh, but I think a lot of foreigners arrive here with an outdated mindset. They think that being foreign gives them the advantage.

[00:02:22]They think that speaking English gives them the advantage. They think by opening something Western will give them an advantage.

[00:02:34]These assumptions are becoming less every year. Somebody did ask me recently, "I'm thinking about coming and opening a business in Cambodia. What do you think I should do?"

[00:02:47]Uh I don't have the answer to that, but what I will say is if you would like to open a business here, first of all, the country makes it very, very easy to do that.

[00:02:59]Secondly, if you were to do that, then you need to focus towards [music] and aim towards young Cambodians, young Cambodian professionals. I would not recommend you [music] opening a business here based on what you think expats or tourists would like.

[00:03:22]Unless maybe your pockets are very deep and you're in it for the long haul.

[00:03:29]Another thing that people often get wrong is thinking that Cambodia is defined by its past.

[00:03:39]Now, don't get me wrong. History is important. It should never be forgotten what happened here.

[00:03:47]But if history is the only thing people think of when they think of Cambodia, they are missing a huge part of the story. Cambodia focuses hugely on the future as well.

[00:04:03]One recent piece of evidence on that is the new mega airport.

[00:04:10]I've seen a lot of criticism about the airport.

[00:04:14]The size of it given the amount of tourists that are coming. But Cambodia are thinking ahead.

[00:04:22]People said the same thing when Singapore built Changi Airport.

[00:04:28]Cambodia's vision is long-term, not short.

[00:04:33]50% of the population are under 27 years old.

[00:04:40]One of the youngest populations in Southeast Asia.

[00:04:46]Quite incredible, really.

[00:04:49]People building careers, people building businesses, people building a future.

[00:04:56]That's Cambodia, too. Many young Cambodians are very ambitious.

[00:05:02]You see students planning careers, young people starting businesses, people working as digital creators, influencers, people working remotely from coffee shops. This is all happening while new buildings are rising across the city.

[00:05:23]For decades, Cambodia was known as one of the least developed countries in the world. Today, the United Nations have said that Cambodia is on track to leave that status in 2029 after meeting the graduation criteria after two separate reviews.

[00:05:45]Now, that's going to be challenging as well as it will reduce aid.

[00:05:51]And Cambodia has got to figure out what they are going to do about that.

[00:05:56]But, it is yet another sign of how the country is progressing. It does not mean the country has fixed every problem.

[00:06:07]Far from it.

[00:06:09]But, what it does tell you is that it is a country on the move.

[00:06:17]>> [music] [music] >> Over the years, I've met lots and lots of foreigners here.

[00:06:31]And a lot of them are what you might call dreamers.

[00:06:36]They believe that just coming to Cambodia alone is going to fix all their problems.

[00:06:44]Perhaps Cambodia can provide direction.

[00:06:50]But, it's not the magic cure. I think it was my last video, I said that wherever you have to go or wherever you choose to go in this world, you need to take yourself with you.

[00:07:04]So, if you're not motivated and have no discipline or ambition, Cambodia is not going to fix that.

[00:07:14]Who are the people most likely to succeed?

[00:07:19]It's the people that come with experience, knowledge, skill, an income, a service, the specialists, the online worker, the consultants, the people who can solve problems.

[00:07:39]The winners tend to create value rather than just look for it. And the foreigners that learn, that adapt, that respect the country, they listen, they build relationships.

[00:08:01]I always thought that was a bit of a cliche. It's not what you know, it's who you know.

[00:08:08]But I think that definitely applies here in Asia.

[00:08:13]It's about connections.

[00:08:16]Opportunities are here, but I think you need to spend some time uh on the ground, if you like, before deciding to open a business, say.

[00:08:29]Khmer logic is very different from >> [music] >> Western logic.

[00:08:34]Opportunities exist.

[00:08:36]People get them too confused.

[00:08:39]Building a business isn't easy.

[00:08:43]Raising a family isn't easy.

[00:08:46]Cambodia is no exception to that rule.

[00:08:50]And just like everywhere else, you need to show commitment and resilience in order to be successful.

[00:08:58]Life is more relaxed here than in the West.

[00:09:04]The people are friendly, but living somewhere and building a life somewhere are two completely different things.

[00:09:14]For many people, this is still the land of opportunity, but you're no longer early.

[00:09:21]If you want to come here and open a business, you need to think outside of the box.

[00:09:27]If you want to retire here, Siem Reap is a great destination.

[00:09:34]I think one of the exciting things about living here is just when you think you've got everything figured out, the country shows another side of itself.

[00:09:46]If you have spent time in Cambodia, I would love to hear your thoughts.

[00:09:52]What do you think people get wrong about this country?

[00:09:57]Let me know in the comments.

[00:10:00]Thank you to everybody that subscribed after my last video and all the comments that I got.

[00:10:08]I'm just doing this for a bit of fun.

[00:10:12]Actually, I don't really know what I'm doing. I'm not a vlogger.

[00:10:17]But if you do enjoy these videos about living in Cambodia, then please consider subscribing to the channel.

[00:10:28]I would love to see this number of viewers and subscribers go to 50/50.

[00:10:37]Thank you for watching.