5 Things I Learned in 5 Days - Cambodia

1. You're Never Fully Prepared.

I will delve into this deeper later when I publish Doing it Wrong, but being the first leg of my solo trip there was no way I could leave this out. What I learned in my first 48 hours of this trip is even after all of my countless hours of preparation I was not prepared. And what I had to come to terms quickly, after my tuk tuk driver dropped us off in the middle of the city 4/5 km away from our hostel, was that you can’t be completely prepared, because you can’t account for everything. Nor should you. What you can be is willing to learn. There is a distinguished moment between over preparing and anxiety and coming to terms with trusting yourself and utilizing your skills as a traveler. I had to open my self up more than I previously thought to make it though those first 48 and I believe that will set me up for success for the rest of my trip and life.

2. If on the rare occasion there are traffic devices, they don’t mean a thing, literally.

While I was in Siem Reap I never saw a traffic device, not a stop sign, stop light, street sign or even a divider. In Phnom Penh they were everywhere (I guess that is city vs. rural life), however, they didn’t mean a thing. If someone wasn’t getting where they wanted fast enough the motorbikes, tuk tuks, and cars would make their own lanes, on the “sidewalk”, in on coming traffic, weaving between cars and people. **Side Note; I don’t think I would ever buy a car here because you would never be able to navigate all the tuk tuks. But, it was also not uncommon for cars to give you a little nudge if you weren’t moving the way they wanted you to, or if you weren’t fast enough. People here, as my dad would say, drive with purpose, and while it’s a little nerve racking weaving through all that on the back of a motorbike at first, it was so much fun!

3. When you travel with purpose you get a more holist experience.

My dad uses this phrase all the time; “with purpose” and I never understood it until now. When I initially booked this trip, (By initially I mean for the third time) I booked it with almost a vengeance. I had wanted to go so bad for so long there was nothing that would stand in my way this time. But as I started to review my real intentions for this trip I realized I had an actual purpose, and it wasn’t vengeance. I wanted this trip to mean something, and my purpose is ultimately discovery. As simple and complex as I can make it I want to unravel things in my life and myself, and learn to discover the world and myself. That it why I travel with purpose.

4. Street Food is not just for PDX

I know there is street food all over the world, it is one of the oldest traditions in much of it. And while I still believe PDX has some of the best in the West I will never be able to get over how much I adored the food everywhere in Cambodia. Khmer food might be my new favorite. It is everywhere. Fresh fruit, smoothies, coffe, kebab, whatever you want! I loved walking into local street food venues, the ones with no foreigners, that were jammed packed and being invited to join families to eat and share stories, people felt honest and the experience felt unlike anything I’ve experienced before.

5. People are amazing

There is so much more to this country than museums and tourist sites, and while I appreciated every moment at both of these I wish I had more time to just settle with the people. Cambodian people are known for their hospitality and care, it’s a cultural way of being. Like much of SE Asia, residents are known for looking out for one another and maintaining community care. Coming from home there is evidence of this but when you open your heart to it here in Cambodia its like nothing I have ever had the opportunity of witnessing so consistently until now. One of my new friends asked to tour me around Phnom Penh for the day just to practice his English. We talked about friends and family, and the love he had for his city and culture. I appreciate him and the time he gave me. Just as much as I appreciate this city and all it has given to my soul.

If you want to know people, do so by making friends; if you want to know the world, do so by traveling; distinguish the evil and wise through conversation; if you want to awaken your consciousness, pursue education. — Khmer proverb

#Tourism #Cambodia #DoingitWrong #SEAsia #SoloTravel