Now that I'm unemployed and in Cambodia, my daily budget is $25 per day (big difference from my $130+ daily expenses in Tokyo!). This includes all my expenses minus my plane tickets: lodging, transportation, food, cell phone, utilities, language classes, laundry, outings, health insurance, and visa fees. Hence my daily food budget needs to equate to under $5.
But is it possible to survive with such a budget in Cambodia?
Let's lay out the basics here:
Be forewarned that if you have food restrictions, eat in "American" portions (I got used to eating Japanese portions so quite small) or prefer eating Western food, your food bill will be slightly higher than mine. Also of course, eating at restaurants will bring up the budget as well. As for me I prefer to eat mostly at local food stands or cook in my room.
And fortunately I am not picky about food. The only thing I cannot live without is rice but luckily it so happens to be Cambodia's staple meal (whew!). As with all mothers, my mom was very worried about me adjusting to local food here but I actually love it. Frankly I think Cambodian food has been under appreciated, hidden in the shadows of neighboring Thai and Vietnamese food. While I adore both cuisines, I find Thai food too spicy and Vietnamese food too herb-y to eat daily. Cambodian food is a moderate version of the two so I don't mind eating it everyday at all. In fact, I've never really had food cravings for Western or Japanese food yet so it's been keeipng me happy.
Breakfast
Since I stated running regularly in the mornings, I eat mostly eat in my room for a healthy carb rich breakfast.
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30g of muesli $0.40 2 small bananas $0.15 milk $0.27 1/2 dragonfruit $0.20 coffee $0.02 = $1.04
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Btw, I bought ground local Cambodian coffee at the Old market and I filter it every morning with an Asian style coffee filter. There's a slightly nutty chocolate aroma to it and I absolutely love it. Many people perfer Vietnamese style coffee but it's a bit over roasted and the bitterness is too strong for me. I strongly recommend it if you like mild yet strongly caffeinated coffee.
Sometimes eat out at the stands sitting on the side of the streets. Cambodians start their days early to avoid the scorching heat. By 6 am, the streets are bustling for rush hour. I love watching kids bike to school in their crisp white and navy uniforms and office ladies riding off in their scooters with their tin lunch boxes tucked to their side.
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| Cambodian style jok with fried donut $1.25 (5,000 riel) |
Lunch time
Since I'm always running around doing errands, I usually grab noodles or Cambodian sandwich (nohmpang pate) ($0.5)
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| Cambodian style baguette with marinated vegetables, hot sauce, fish sauce, sliced pork, and ham 2,000 riel ($0.50) |
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| Short rice noodles fried with egg on top 4,000 riel ($1) |
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| Cold rice noodles with sliced boiled pork and fried spring rolls & fresh spring rolls 6,000 riel ($1.50) |
Snack
It's so hot during the day, I usually crave for something cold and sweet. The ice coffees here are great because it has strong Cambodian concentrate coffee with condensed milk and ice. It instantly wakes you up and the taste is absolutely addictive ($0.50). Or if I feel I can stuff a little bit more after my meal, I'll have one of the coconut milk desserts ($0.16~0.25/plastic pouch or bowl). My favorite so far is the one with banana and taro. I'll put up a post solely on desserts in a future post!
Dinner
I grew up in a lower working immigrant class family in the US so my family seldomly dined out. Plus we always perferred mom's homemade Japanese dishes over heavily greased steaks and oil drenched french fries. I still never really go out to eat, even in Tokyo when I worked 12 hours and came home around 8 every night. Cooking is my way of relaxing after a long day of work. Here, I usually do my groceries few times a week at the Old Market.
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| The ladies at the market know me and they always manage to snuggle a few extra pieces of chili or green onions for me! A kilo of assorted vegetables is about $1. |
I usually end up making pickles with them - kindly be reminded my ancestors are from Tohoku part of Japan who are great pickle lovers. Needless to say, I always need to have my share of pickles no matter where I am in the world.
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| Pickled cucumbers and baby carrots |
I don't have a kitchen but I do have a mini fridge and an electric kettle. I also brought a dinner knife, a plastic plate, tupperware, and utensils from the States, plus I bought a few other kitchenware at the Old Market. This turns my desk area into a makeshift kitchen. Along with my vegetables, I also buy rice and dried fish on the street and it's amazing what you can whip up.
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| Green beans $0.1, Cambodian Chinese sausage $0.25, rice $0.25, homemade pickles $0.2, mango $0.40 = $1.20 |
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| Rice $0.25, green bean salad $0.25, dried fish $0.5, baby carrots $0.15, fruits $0.20 = $1.35 |
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| Rice $0.25, vegetables $0.30, kidney beans $0.6, tapioca dessert $0.16 = $1.31 |
You'll notice that some of the foods that I make don't entirely come from the market. I buy my "Western" food products at supermarkets which are largely for the expats. There are two big ones in Siem Reap: Lucky Mart and Angkor Market.
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| Lucky Mart |
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| Angkor Market |
They have quite a selection, everything from wine, cheese, oreos, to Japanese condiments.
All in all, my daily food cost is about $3-4. Throw in an extra dollar for those occasional splurges (a few of those nice cold draft Angkor beers each for $0.50 for happy hour? I'm in!) and I'm right under budget.
The other day, a monk I were chatting about food in Cambodia. He asked me if the food was good here and apologized that it was not to the quality of developed nations. I told him it was the total opposite. I'm eating cheaply and healthy unlike the terrible eating habits in US with ample fast-food and junk food ubiquitously available. Those simply do not exist here and even for the few that are, it's a luxury. And that's good. The Cambodian version of fast food here is a lady carrying and selling baskets of freshly cut pineapples and mangoes or a $0.50 Cambodian sandwich sold on a roadside food stand. And I love it. Nothing can beat cheap good healthy food.
I went astray a bit but in conclusion, yes I can survive on $5/day with no problem. But do put in mind that I am dining like a king in local standards. An average Cambodian worker in Siem Reap makes about $5,000 annually at best. Compare this with where I came from. I had to pay $28 for a cheap decent size watermelon. Eating out for lunch in posh Roppongi area cost me $17 on average. And get this: a fake chipotle's burrito for $11.50. That's Tokyo for you. While the prices were worth what I paid for the amazing food quality in Tokyo, I'm glad I'm out of that world!
