BootsnAll Travel Network



Countdown to Cambodia

B&B Flyer With Las Brisas B&B basically set up, only a few odds & ends to look after. A bit more English training for my manager, some local advertising, then it’s wait & see what happens at Easter, one of the 3 major holidays of the year, in El Salvador.

As I need to work a bit until social security kicks in, TEFL in CA doesn’t pay enough to bother with + had planned more time in SE Asia, shall give Cambodia a try. From my research, with my being no spring chicken, with no ESL experience, teaching in Khumer land seems to be the most viable option. www.khmer440.com/chat_forum

Present plan is, sometime during the first week of May to catch the Tica bus in San Salvador (leaves at 06:00 so cab it to SS), ADO from the Guatemala/Mexico frontier to Mexico Norte, splurge on ETN to Monterey, NL Omnibus to Laredo followed by the Hound to Peterborough ON.

Shall break the trip up so it takes about 7 days so it will cost about the same as flying with AA which requires a plane change in Miami, a no no as I am boycotting US airports due to TSA’s Pervert searches. TACA, El Salvador’s airline has a weekly nonstop flight SAL-YYZ but is insanely expensive.

That leaves busman with the only logical option, living up to his name & bussing it!!

Likely spend a week or so in ON & QC tying up loose ends before catching an Aero Svit flight YYZ-KBP-BKK, cheapest flight going, except for one involving Air Crappy that would only save $30, rather give my money to the Ukraine, thank you very much.

A few days in Bangkok, then off to Phnom Penh for a job search.

That’s the plan. At this point in time. As always, subject to change!



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4 responses to “Countdown to Cambodia”

  1. djmc says:

    That’s an awesome plan! Taking the bus is a longer and more memorable route compared to getting groped up by the TSA (which is memorable in a completely different way). Totally worth it if the price is about the same.

    Is cambodia a bit more relaxed on the teaching jobs? Any difference workin there vs thailand?

  2. Dave says:

    I have used buses in many countries of the world, the CA & Mexican systems rank right up there with the best. Have only used Canadian/US buses on a very limited basis so want to experience an extended trip to see what they are really like.

    The main reason for choosing Cambodia is my age (64), from what I was told at the school,in Bangkok, where I took my TEFL a year ago, was that if I had searched for a job last Nov in a remote area it probably would have been successful, then when I turned 65 I likely would have been kept on.

    This was confirmed on the Ajarn forum where I was directed to the Khumer forum where it appears that Cambodia not being high on the list will overlook many things to fill their positions. Then after a year’s experience it’s possible to move on to countries like Korea where age doesn’t matter.

    I shall keep everyone informed on this blog what happens. Would like to spend 6 months here in El Salvador & 6 months teaching somewhere in the world.

  3. djmc says:

    cool, I like the idea of building experience in cambodia and then using it to launch you into other countries.

  4. Dave says:

    I just got some first hand conformation on Cambodia being a good country to gain experience in English teaching.

    Another Canadian expat here in Playa San Diego runs a guest house & had an inquiry to rent a room for 2-3 months, however the person needed a quiet pace where she could work undisturbed so she referred the contact to me. As I am just starting in the business + going traveling a relatively long term rental suited the situation to a T.

    In talking with the lady, who is completing a project for the Salvadorian government & was looking for a quiet place to write her report, it came out that I was going to Cambodia to teach. Turns out that she, a native Spaniard from Barcelona had taught English in Cambodia, she also said they were great kids to teach.

    For a non native English speaker to easily land a job as an English teacher it must be true that there is a large demand in Cambodia.

    It also confirms the value of networking + the fact that the world is a small place & once the travel bug bites you, you never know where you will be or what you will be doing next!