Eye Care Framed in Storefronts

Eye care and corrective lenses are available at a number of locations in Phnom Penh. 

Optical outlets services can run the gamut from a pair of new lenses for existing frames at less than $10 to several hundred dollars for a state-of-the-art pair of lenses of progressive powers—bifocals or trifocals without lines between the segments would be another way of describing them—in name-brand frames. All but the cheapest lenses carry UV protection coating.

Free eye examinations by optometrists trained in Cambodia and/or Singapore are the rule at many stores. 
There is a cluster of eye care stores near the junction of Sihanouk Boulevard and Street 63. I Care Optical Center on Sihanouk is one of five stores—others in the chain are at Parkway mall, on Norodom Boulevard, Mao Tse Tung near the Hotel InterContinental, and on Kampuchea Krom. The group director, Mrs Lork Kheng, said her centers also feature eye doctors who perform surgery and glaucoma tests.

Eye tests are performed by optometrists who qualified in Singapore and are given free of charge to people who are shopping for glasses, which range in cost up from $15, depending on power and type of prescription.
Across the road, Sou Chan Rith of Grand Optics at 146 Sihanouk Boulevard also received his optometric training in Singapore. He says he tries to be flexible in his fees so people who have financial limitations can still receive treatment and lenses. He is able to offer frames and lenses for $10 to customers who want basic eyeglasses but of course also carries high-fashion lenses and can make progressive lenses of costly sophistication.

Sou Chan Rith says he imports frames from Singapore but offers sun protection tints on site because he found sending the lenses to Singapore was not always giving the results the customer expected. A Cambodian trained eye doctor is available for surgical procedures.

Modern Optical Center’s Sok Vannara trained in Cambodia and Singapore and he, too, offers free eye examinations. Modern Optical refers people needing surgical care to an Australian-trained eye doctor. 
Modern Optical has been at the intersection of Sihanouk Boulevard and Street 63rd for four years now. Sok Vannara will furnish a set of new lenses for existing frames for just $8, although a top-of-the-line frame with bells-and-whistles specialty lenses can range as high as $300. 

—Elizabeth Wright