I’ve haven’t done a blog like this since Nicaragua, so I thought I’d give you 10 things I’ve learned about Cambodia. 1. Going to the market to get your food is an adventurous one indeed. First off, if your taller than 5 foot 6, you will have to duck your head the entire time you’re walking around buying your groceries. You also need to watch your head for metal hooks which may or may not be hanging from the ceiling…you wouldn’t want to catch your head on one of those bad boys. Also, the smell of the market smells like rotting food, which does not make you want to buy the food your looking at, but you gotta do what you gotta do on the World Race. Your meat is always extremely questionable, but just buy it anyway…even if you buy meat that’s next to a pig’s head or foot. Someone might offer you a live chicken to buy, in their mind assuming that you know how to decapitate, pluck and boil a chicken. Obviously, all of us do…not. Finally, as Haile Hendricks says, “The flies are free.” There will be flies on everything and as I realized, the flies that are on the meat hanging from the meat hooks will move to the animal feces on the ground, and then finally move to the fruit you’re buying to eat. Disgusting in my eyes, but Jesus take the wheel on that one. 2. When it rains in Cambodia, it rains HARD. One of the reasons Cambodian houses are built on stilts is due to the fact that during the rainy season, it floods a lot. Frogs come out a lot more after it rains and all the Khmer like to go “frog hunting” when this happens. What do they do with the frogs, you ask? They throw them in a boiling pot of water, and then fry them. When you are offered fried frogs during a house visit, don’t worry…they taste like chicken. One of my team mates, however, was allergic to fried frogs and her skin itched horribly so watch out and bring Benedryl when you eat fried frogs. 3. “Royal D” is a delicious and nutritious powder that you need to buy and put in your water during the day. It gets so hot in Cambodia so you will be sweating a lot and “Royal D” is filled with vitamins and electrolytes to replenish your body. It takes like “Tang” and let’s face it…everybody loves “Tang”!! This powder is found at the pharmacy and the pharmacist will have absolutely no idea that they even carry the powder so you will have to go behind the counter and find it yourself. Typical procedure. 4. Just because you’re sleeping under a giant mosquito net does not, I repeat DOES NOT mean that bugs are not going to get in anyway. Just about every night you will have tiny little bugs that will fall through the mosquito netting and onto your face and body. We found that when you try and squish these said bugs, there is a particularly awful smell that is emitted into the air. It’s either killing the bugs and smelling gross or having them crawl all over you when you’re trying to read before bed. Your choice. Another note on the bugs…there are huge beatles that will sit on top of your mosquito net just waiting for you to give them an “in” to come inside your bed. They will pinch you and it hurts very bad. Trust me, I have a bunch of marks on my leg due to those little suckers. Do not give these giant insects an “in”…make sure you’re tucked in tight before you to go sleepy time. 5. Riding a bike is a fun way to transport yourself around Cambodia, but just make sure that your tires aren’t flat before beginning a journey to a remote village outside of town. By having just one flat tire on the pot-hole filled dirt road, it will make it almost impossible to get to the village or back to your house. It’s like that dream everyone has where you’re running and running and not getting anywhere. Only instead of running, you’re peddling and instead of a monster or something chasing you, there’s a bunch of Khmer people making fun of you for not making any progress. It’s fun. 6. The health care system is extremely questionable in Cambodia. A guide book said that if you get sick in Cambodia, make your way to Thailand or Singapore. We had the opportunity to visit a hospital and it looked like something out of a scary movie. Also, if you go to the doctor in Cambodia and tell them you think you’re coming down with the flu, they will give you an IV and have you lie on a stretcher. If you go into the doctor and say you’re sneezing from allergies, they will give you and IV and have you lie on a stretcher. That’s their cure for everything. I’m not sure how clean the needles from the IV are though, so enter the doctor’s office at your own risk. However, it’s ridiculously cheap to go to the hospital. For 7.50 USD, you can stay at the hospital overnight with a bed and lots of medical attention. 7. People don’t really care about being modest here. I have seen multiple women falling asleep from breastfeeding with their shirts up and their breasts out, in a hammack, on the side of the road. I’ve also seen my fair share of men taking a leak, ANYWHERE. If you are easily embarassed by nudity, you just need to get over it because the Khmer couldn’t care less if you see their “Holy of Holies” as I like to call it. 8. When you’re on a long bus ride from Phnom Penh back to Preah Vihear and you have to go to the bathroom, the bus driver will pull to the side of the road and you will be asked to stay right next to the bus and the dirt road to “relieve yourself” in front of God and everyone. You can’t journey into the forest or into the fields nearby, because there are still plenty of land mines and you will risk the chance of getting blown up. 9. It gets up to 100 degrees during the middle of the day in the hot season (which we are in) and you will not want to do anything productive from noon to three because of this reason. Fortunately, no one else wants to do anything at this time, so this is the official Khmer “nap time” throughout Cambodia and you can just relax. Taking a bucket shower before laying down in front of a fan helps a lot simply because if you lay down dry, the fan will blow hot air at you similar to the feeling you get standing behind a Greyhound bus with the exhaust fumes blowing on you. It’s not refreshing. 10. Pajama sets are a fashionable thing here in Cambodia. It is extremely common for women (and sometimes men) to wear cotton pants with a matching cotton botton-up shirt. The most popular designs are clouds with bears, kitties, bright colors and flowers. If you’re not wearing a pajama set atleast once a week in Cambodia, you will officially be commiting a crime against fashion and if Cambodia had a “People” magazine, you would be in the section of “Worst Dressed Ever”.
Bonus #11: You are not allowed to touch a Buddhist monk if you’re a woman…even if they do ask to take their picture with you. You may stand kind of close to them, but NEVER TOUCH THEM, or they will freak out. Just trust me on this one.
Bonus #12: If you’re in Cambodia, you have to visit Angkor Wat. It’s one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World and it’s incredible. Go and thank me later. 🙂
