[Beyond Borders]

Hey guys - some of you already noticed I fired up a Youtube channel about my life here in Cambo and my other thoughts on life in general.

I don't plan to box myself in to Cambo. I'll probably keep doing these all over the place and if I pull my blog together and make it more profitable I may even take some side excursions to other countries just for that purpose.

Meanwhile, plenty of great info on Cambodia in a lot of these videos. I've never been much on the data sheet thing, for some reason, which is surprising considering that I'm a writer. But it's fun doing these as I walk around my day.

This isn't data on game - just on living, culture, and travel in general.

Anyhow, if there's anything in particular you'd like to see, or if you have any specific questions, let me know. I'll get out there and catch some nightlife footage and the busier side of town soon.

Here's the first few I did. A bit rough around the edges and wasn't used to being on camera yet, but I think you'll find they get progressively more natural from here, and you can expect my next ones to be a lot better. I'll post more of my published ones later, and I've got a bunch of footage saved but my computer took a dump, so I haven't gotten around to editing it.

Oh, and pay no mind to the tanktop and beanie - was on my way to the gym. haha

Note: there are some other vids on my channel some of you guys might dig, but I'm going to keep this thread to the stuff about Cambodia.

[RougeNoir]

Expected Beyond Borders to be bearded and look a lot older. Where are the Cambo females?

[Beyond Borders]

^ Yeah, everyone expects me to be older. I think because I had a picture of an old guy on my profile for so long.

To answer your question, look at the end of the first video. And some of the others in my channel.

Not my main focus but I'm sure some will make it on there; I've already got one where i talk about the dating scene a bit.

But Cambodia is a place with some real problems, and I'm not really interested in positioning myself as someone advertising the women as a reason to come travel here, especially while putting my face in front of the camera. Even back when I was wasted all the time posting about my own drunken escapades I mentioned that several times. Since the first post I made on this forum, I maintained I was here more for lifestyle and travel than game - that's not going to change now.

That said, if you can't find quality women to date when in the country (at least while living here), something is rotten in the state of Denmark, as they say.

There are some strong conservative tendencies, but there are certainly women interested in meeting foreigners, and Western culture is very glorified here.

Khmer women can be very beautiful and (especially) charming; I'll make sure to get some smiling at the camera.

[TravelerKai]

Awesome thread BB. Watching that first video reminds me so much of my wife's apartment in China. It's amazing how similar even the little things are throughout Asia.

[Beyond Borders]

Yeah, I got the landlord to drag a kitchen table in to so a bit more comfy than it was. Going to see about dragging bed #2 out of here. haha

[pitt]

Do you think you are more fluent in writing than speaking?

[Beyond Borders]

Yes, most definitely - because I have more practice with it, and modesty aside, I'm a pretty good writer.

But I'm a good speaker too once I'm warmed up. When I took speech class in college, people pulled me aside after class and urged me to make it my life's work (motivational speaking). Multiple people did this, which I doubt is a common experience for your average college student.

Talking in front of a camera is something else entirely, however. I'm way out of practice with public speaking of any kind, and it will take time to find my flow.

It's also important to know that I'm speaking completely off the cuff in all these videos. In none of them did I plan what I would say.

[Beyond Borders]

[Beyond Borders]

This video here needs some clarification because I think some comments I made in it gave a few of you guys the wrong idea.

Some of you expressed concern about my financial situation (one of you even offered to lend cash), and then a friend on Skype pointed out something in this video here that I think came across the wrong way.

I mentioned being "broke" and how we skipped dinner. Some of you took that as meaning skipped dinner entirely and thought I was missing meals.

If you listen again, that's not what I said or meant. We went out to a big birthday dinner at a very fancy restaurant with a crowd of people from a local church. It was one of those get-togethers where the host covers the drinks and you can buy dinner if you want, but it's not expected.

Hardly anyone at the party ate - we just skipped dinner as a common sense budget move. And then we raided the rice we had sitting out for the following day when we got back and cooked ourselves a late dinner. That's what I meant.

I really appreciate the guys on this forum and how everyone looks out for each other. That's right on. Times have been tight but only because I'm burnt out on freelancing and rarely bother looking for more clients anymore - not to mention lost both my debit cards and was still waiting on a replacement.

If I wanted more work I could roust it up.

I was just having a laugh in the video but I guess I better mind the things I say lest I give someone the wrong idea.

Anyhow, here's the vid. Tasty Khmer home-vittles. Speaking of broke, I think this is more of a "delicacy" among the lower classes, by the way. lol

[El Chinito loco]

(02-24-2015 02:46 AM)Beyond Borders Wrote:  

Some of you expressed concern about my financial situation (one of you even offered to lend cash), and then a friend on Skype pointed out something in this video here that I think came across the wrong way.

I mentioned being "broke" and how we skipped dinner. Some of you took that as meaning skipped dinner entirely and thought I was missing meals.

If you listen again, that's not what I said or meant. We went out to a big birthday dinner at a very fancy restaurant with a crowd of people from a local church. It was one of those get-togethers where the host covers the drinks and you can buy dinner if you want, but it's not expected.

That's how you know you are loved though. People come running even when your situation is misunderstood.

Even if you're penniless it's not hard to hustle up a meal in SEA though so people don't need to worry too much. The insect eating, land crabs, and pond frog culinary tradition didn't just come out of nowhere.

Anyways, worst case scenario you could always fight over chicken stall scraps and rice out of the soi dog bowls at the railway stations. They have some pretty good eats.

edit: Frying day or two day old rice is a common thing in the countryside. Every SEA country thinks they invented this. It's not the fried rice with egg (a luxury) we are used to having. It's humid so they need to fry it fairly soon to prevent it from becoming sour or even worse moldy.

[VincentVinturi]

A) For some reason I thought you were British, but you aren't.

B) Props for showing your face.

C) Great data. Makes me want to visit PP again.

[albusan]

I watched some of your videos on your channel.
I've just had this urge to take a long trip out there or other parts of SEA.
The information you're giving is honest, I appreciate how real you are with your situation.
I just wanted to say thanks and I might ask you some questions later to help me out.

[Beyond Borders]

(02-24-2015 03:20 AM)El Chinito loco Wrote:  

edit: Frying day or two day old rice is a common thing in the countryside. Every SEA country thinks they invented this. It's not the fried rice with egg (a luxury) we are used to having. It's humid so they need to fry it fairly soon to prevent it from becoming sour or even worse moldy.

Yeah, the different countries in SEA like to claim a lot of cultural tics as their own.

I love the stuff. Frying it up with some heavy garlic and chili is key, and since we're not in the countryside fighting for chicken scraps I usually throw some beef or thick bacon there and some fried eggs, sunny-side up. Drown it in chili sauce and good to go!

Good just plain with your fingers like in the vid though too.

[pitt]

Hey man, I am not trying to make this a personal interview but do you think you could be more successful (in financial terms) than you are right now? Is there a quality/characteristic that you are lacking that is hindering your financial progress?

[T and A Man]

Cheers man, this is one of those things that adds immense value.

A resource here that very little othe places offer.

Add all the rarities here, it's priceless.

Once again, thanks.

[berserk]

The hat is just showing off though.

[Beyond Borders]

(02-24-2015 05:49 AM)pitt Wrote:  

Hey man, I am not trying to make this a personal interview but do you think you could be more successful (in financial terms) than you are right now? Is there a quality/characteristic that you are lacking that is hindering your financial progress?

Way more. And honestly, it would not take much to get there.

Regarding the missing quality, my first response was going to be focus or time. There are two members on this forum who shared a habit tracking spreadsheet with me for about a year, and I think either would attest that it's laughable how few actual work hours I put in on a weekly basis.

But digging a little deeper, that's not it.

Because when I think about it, I'm a very focused person about things I care about. Days fly by and I don't even realize I'm working - so long as I care about what I'm doing.

As an example, when I sat down in Thailand to write the second half of my novel, I barely left the room for two or three weeks. I'd write from the moment I woke up until the wee hours of the morning, sometimes going a day or two without sleep. Only leaving the room to eat, grab a beer, or swoop a girl.

When I finished writing it, I dove back in to redraft. And then redrafted again.

It was unhealthy but one of the happiest moments of my life, and I've followed a similar pattern on business projects in the past that brought me success. In those cases this intensely focused period stretched on for a lot longer.

Taking that into account, the real problem for me is lack of purpose, a common issue with freelancers who work on other people's "babies" for a living. I'm trying to correct that at the moment.

The thing is that I'm meant to be a creator, not a service provider - it's not in my DNA to be happy over long periods of time doing something I don't care deeply about or am not excited about just to clock a paycheck.

So my disposition is far more suited to creating books and products or blogs than it is to offering services.

To those of you walking the freelance path that share a similar disposition, it's critical to work on your own stuff on the side. Most of you have read that advice and know it already, but it's one thing to know something and another entirely to actually do it.

I've been pretty financially successful in the past and I will be again. I can say with a completely straight face that it's a simple matter of me choosing what I want it to do because there are few things I cannot become good at.

On another note, I had two major failures back home that really knocked me on my ass. These had nothing to do with a missing quality but were a simple case of bad luck and the fact that I was in a high-risk industry where these things happen sometimes.

But I'm an entrepreneur - have been since I was a little kid - and sometimes entrepreneurs have to roll the dice on a high-risk situation because the upside is so appealing and the chance of making it so worth it.

A crucial quality for an entrepreneur is the ability to get back up when you lose it all. In my case, the second defeat not only led me to losing everything I owned again but it led to my life being put in danger, me fleeing the country and wondering if I'd ever be able to go back to my childhood home and see my family again.

In my 20s I was an extremely ambitious guy who climbed the ladder of success fast, but after that happened, a lot of the wind was knocked out of me and it has been hard to get that back.

I will though.

(02-24-2015 04:08 PM)berserk Wrote:  

The hat is just showing off though.

lol

That hat is my local girlfriend doing my shopping. She's brought about 6 of them home for the market now, though there are only 2 that I bother wearing.

The heat doesn't bother me, so I wear them; I don't wear them to show the heat doesn't bother me.

[Nemausus]

BB, +1 from me for showing your face, starting video-based thread and your continuing contributions here. I just subscribed to your YouTube channel.

The $180 room video resonates with me. After watching it, I felt a mix of relief and an increased sense of personal freedom. I do freelance marketing like you. Eastern Europe is my homebase for now. It's great to know that if all of the sudden the shit hits the fan and all of my clients disappear, there's a cheap place in SEA I can take my "fuck you fund," to set up shop and figure out my next venture. Sure beats going back to North America and applying for 9-5 jobs.

I will be visiting your website regularly.

Cheers.

[Nemausus]

(02-24-2015 06:03 PM)Beyond Borders Wrote:  

Taking that into account, the real problem for me is lack of purpose, a common issue with freelancers who work on other people's "babies" for a living. I'm trying to correct that at the moment.

The thing is that I'm meant to be a creator, not a service provider - it's not in my DNA to be happy over long periods of time doing something I don't care deeply about or am not excited about just to clock a paycheck.

So my disposition is far more suited to creating books and products or blogs than it is to offering services.

To those of you walking the freelance path that share a similar disposition, it's critical to work on your own stuff on the side. Most of you have read that advice and know it already, but it's one thing to know something and another entirely to actually do it.

This is something I've been wrestling with as well.

For now I try to focus on my hobbies (photography), make sure I get to the gym on a regular basis, read regularly and try to do some light blogging/writing here and there.

I have an itch to create something, I need to figure out exactly what it is. I'm still not certain yet.

Working on other people's "babies" for a living is exactly what I do. While it pays the bills, fills my stomach and allows me to live abroad, marketing other people's stuff isn't what gets me fired up.

I'm hoping that by traveling, doing something different and enjoying a "well-lived life," some answers will eventually present themselves to me.

[Esus]

Cool videos I watched them all and I will keep doing so.

What made you choose to live in Cambodia instead of any other SEA countries ?

[Beyond Borders]

(02-24-2015 06:40 PM)Esus Wrote:  

Cool videos I watched them all and I will keep doing so.

What made you choose to live in Cambodia instead of any other SEA countries ?

I lived in Thailand for about 5 years. And I've spent a lot of time in Laos and Vietnam.

I came to Cambodia to see Angkor Wat, as it seemed a bit ridiculous to live next door for so long and never see it.

As I tend to do, I got sucked in and never left. Been here more than a year and a half, I think (I tend to really lose track of the time).

Mostly because of the ease of the visa situation, but the people are also far warmer than the Thais. I got along with the Thais and had a lot of local pals, but the Khmers have far less of the insular, nationalistic attitude and fiery temper.

[Beyond Borders]

[WestIndianArchie]

Epic post BB.

What are your thoughts on 3-6 months in Vietnam?

WIA

[Beyond Borders]

3 - 6 months in Vietnam is a good run, Man. I'd get an apartment in Ho Chi Minh, DaNang, Nha Trang, or some other random city and do side excursions if I were you. Anything in particular you want to know? I've only done two month-long trips to Nam, so not exactly the expert in that department, but I'll do my best to offer what advice I can.

[albusan]

Is Cambodia good for new travelers or should only seasoned SEA travelers go there?