In Cambodia, we reached the halfway point of our World Race married experience. This month there were some new experiences and challenges, and there were some of the old challenges we had faced before in other countries. We finally felt like we were experienced World Racers, but we were still mastering this marriage thing.
What We Did:
Our host blessed us with a room for ourselves, with A/C. We stayed at a small place that was like a shared office building for a couple different businesses and non-profits. There was a small cabin outside that the rest of the team stayed in. Dara, our host, pulled his computer out of his office and told Kristin and I we could set up in there. It was wonderful. We still had to sleep on our sleeping pads, which don’t buddy up next to each other very well, and the walls were paper thing so we could hear everything and everyone outside.
What We Learned:
If you are married and planning on doing the race, Kris and I both agree now that you should by sleeping bags that zip together and sleeping pads of similar shape/size. Mine is twice as thick and much longer than hers. Also, privacy does not actually always mean privacy. We had our own space finally but still had to feel out how separated we really were from the rest of the people who work there and the rest of our team.
What We Did:
Our team was stationed in a smaller town in Cambodia. It wasn’t a village, but there still wasn’t much to do outside of ministry. There was a nice park and a cheap donut shop. A little market was nearby with some clothes, accessories, and a half dozen salons. After once or twice through there though, there isn’t much else to see. Date days became harder to plan. We had to get flexible and creative, and even then sometimes it was a bust. My favorite date day we had together was really just grabbing some fried chicken from the street vendor, a cold coke from the shop across the street, and hanging in our A/C room watching movies all afternoon. Simple, affordable, and good for quality time with each other.
What We Learned:
Sometimes on the race you’re in a huge city with tons to do, sometimes you’ll be in a village with nothing to do but beautiful scenery all around you, and sometimes you’re in a small town with neither of those things. I, myself, needed to be more deliberate about planning some dates a head of time and not getting torn up about needing something “awesome” to do or see. Sometimes you just need quiet time together.
What We Did:
On the weekend of Valentines, we got to visit Siem Reap, the home of Angkor Wat. It was awesome. It meant that Kristin and I got our own room at a cheap little hostel/guest house. On Saturday we visited Angkor Wat and a few of the other temples with our team. That night we explored and had dinner with the team. It was fun and relaxing weekend, even though it was 100 degrees. I was able to find Kristin a Valentines gift both from the market in our small town and at the night market in Siem Reap. Valentines was on Sunday. It was the end of our weekend and I was overstuffed from the food the night before and wasn’t feeling the greatest. Kristin enjoys planning Valentines dates and usually cooks something amazing for me. That’s not a possibility on the race, so she decided she would find the greatest burger in all of Siem Reap for me. And she did. And I kind of ruined it. It was one of the greatest burgers I’ve had all year, the place served A&W root beer, and all I could think about was how hot it was and how uncomfortable I was. I missed out on a wonderful moment.
What We Learned:
You can stay comfortable, with even some luxuries, without having to stay at the fanciest hotel. We loved our place and paid less than $30 a night for a huge room with its own bathtub, something almost non-existent at the places we usually stay. The staff was amazing and friendly and the pool was great, we didn’t need to blow the budget to have a great place to stay. We also learned (and already kind of knew from previous months) that holidays and special occasions have to look differently than they did when we were living in the U.S. But you can still put thought and effort into it to make it something great. Kristin knew she couldn’t make Valentine’s Day exactly the same, but she knew what she could do to still make it special. I didn’t realize at the time how special it was and how much I truly appreciated it. Even though it was just a burger place, she found a great meal that she really wanted to share with me and that was worth the heat and upset stomach.
