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Be My Travel Muse

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15 Quirky Things to Love About Cambodia

11/05/2012 by Kristin 16 Comments

1) “Hello!”

I felt like Miss America riding around the smaller provinces in Cambodia, waving and singing hellos to hundreds of adorable children who ran out of their little shacks, happy as clams, at the first sight of me.

I’m not sure why they wanted to say hello so badly, but they totally made my day with their excitement and beautiful smiles.

2) $10 glasses, in 15 minutes!

They may have googly eyes on the side, and they may break easily, turning into one-armed glasses, but who doesn’t love that kind of timeliness on the cheap!?

glasses from phnom Penh, cambodia
Rocking the $10 glasses so hard. Who here believes these are real Ray-Bans? Show of hands, please

Want some of your own? Take a look around Phnom Penh.

3) Blingin’ teeth

Many dental offices in the bigger cities offer teeny, tiny little gems that women of means can implant in their teeth.  Imagine that!

4) Khmer BBQ

One of my favorite memories from Otres Beach is the night my entire guest house got together, dug a pit in the sand, laid a grill on top, and BBQ’d fresh pork, red snapper, chicken, and shrimp.  We didn’t have plates, or utensils.  We balled up the rice and ate everything with our hands, Khmer style.

I had never tasted pork that soft before.  I looked around at the beautiful surroundings and felt so happy, even without tables, plates, and forks.  Who needs those, anyways?

5) Houses on stilts

dive shop koh rong
This is the life

I used to think that shacks on stilts were a pretty awful sight.  After spending many nights in similar shanties, I have to say, all you really need is some shelter, and a mosquito net, and life in Cambodia is all good.

6) A for honesty

overcharging tourists in Cambodia
So I guess I fit the foreigner description? Lucky me

I guess if you’re going to blatantly overcharge me, I appreciate you doing it honestly.

7) “Same same, but different”

The term used to sell you something that is in no way the same as what you’re actually looking for.

8) Deep fried tarantulas

deep fried cocroaches in cambodia
YUM! Am I right or am I right?

What’s not to love about deep fried goodness, I ask you?

9) Pedicures and threading on the beach

It was after getting a full pedicure for $2, and leg threading for $4 that I realized my favorite spa in the world would have to be on the white sand beaches of Cambodia.  I ask you, where else can you get this done on the sand for that cheap?

10) Petrol out of Bacardi bottles

At first, I didn’t realize what it was.  Then, I saw people pouring yellow Bacardi and Pepsi into their motorbikes, and the lightbulb went off in my head – it’s fuel!

Recycling at its best.

11) Luc Lac

luc lac in cambodia
Okay so this one doesn’t have egg, but you get the idea

Fried beef strips with Kampot pepper sauce, tomatoes, rice, onion, AND egg? Sold.

12) Untamed islands and barefoot trekking

I headed out to the islands that border Cambodia for a few days during my time on the coast.  It was easier to trek around in bare feet than with flip flops on, given the often deep and thick mud.

I thought to myself on several occasions, “I’m seriously walking through a jungle barefoot right now.”

Mother would be so proud of the little heathen she raised.

13) Bus issues

They are plentiful on the God-awful roads in Cambodia, but what can you do other than laugh?

bus trouble in Cambodia
Just another day in paradise

14) Over packed minibusses

In the smaller provinces, one really can’t avoid ending up in a mini bus stuffed with 25+ people, their produce, rice, and purses, in a van that was meant to hold about half that amount of people.

People will fall asleep on your shoulder, and you’ll feel a little bad that their heads keep rising and slamming down on your bony shoulder as you go over the potholes in the road (or is it just me who has the boniest shoulders ever?)

15) Angkor Wat at Sunset

Angkor Thom at sunset
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful

Only one country in the world offers this amazing wonder.  The crowds may overtake the temples at sunrise, but sunset is a truly magical experience.

Have you been to Cambodia? What did you love about it? What did I miss?

Here are the 15 quirky things to love about Cambodia, a country that has gotten me completely smitten | Be My Travel Muse | Cambodia backpacking | Cambodia travel guide | Southeast Asia backpacking
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Addendum: I completely forgot Angry Birds mania! It’s on the shirts, hats, underoos, absolutely everywhere! I guess that means this is now a list of 16 things. Deal with it. 

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I'm Kristin, and my vision of a better world is one where more women are empowered and living out their dreams. Solo traveling is the best method I've found to become the best, bravest version of me. This site is all about how YOU can have the adventure of a lifetime in an easy, fun, approachable way, so that you can feel empowered, too. Want to learn more about me?

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Comments

  1. Rob says

    11/05/2012 at 6:56 am

    I miss that food.

    Reply
    • Ava Apollo says

      11/05/2012 at 7:53 am

      You should probably just come to SE Asia and hang out 🙂

      Reply
  2. Ashley of Ashley Abroad says

    11/06/2012 at 12:25 am

    Leg threading? OUCH. You’re brave!!

    Reply
    • Ava Apollo says

      11/06/2012 at 1:15 am

      Yeahhh I had never done threading before so I agreed before I knew how it felt. Never again!

      Reply
  3. Julia Hudson says

    11/06/2012 at 6:26 am

    Fingers crossed I get to Cambodia soon… this post just made me want to go EVEN more, if that’s possible!

    Reply
    • Ava Apollo says

      11/18/2012 at 2:26 am

      Oh good! You’ll have a blast!

      Reply
  4. Waegook Tom says

    11/16/2012 at 6:43 am

    Deep fried tarantulas?!?! Can anybody say TERRIFYING. I was thinking to myself…would I eat that…then NO BECAUSE IT WILL COME ALIVE AGAIN IN MY STOMACH AND DEVOUR ME FROM THE INSIDE.

    I can only fixate on that horrible thought. And also the awesome glasses with the googly eyes.

    Reply
    • Ava Apollo says

      11/18/2012 at 2:25 am

      Oh man, your comment made me literally LOL. Awesome

      Reply
  5. Victor Tribunsky says

    11/19/2012 at 7:51 am

    The Khmer BBQ is super! I can confirm.

    Reply
  6. Wanda Croatia says

    11/27/2012 at 2:13 pm

    Cambodia is my favorite country – so pleasant people, cheap food – beer at Pub street -Siem Reap and stunning Angkor Wat, I would like to back again !

    http://www.villa-sunrise.com/

    Reply
  7. The World of Deej says

    11/28/2012 at 5:36 am

    The Ray Bans made me laugh. You should definitely sell those babies on eBay!

    Reply
  8. Ehzz says

    05/15/2014 at 7:17 am

    I am heading to Cambodia in just over a month. I will be working for a month in Battambang. Really enjoying your blog. Can you really Get prescription glasses in 15 minutes?

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      05/16/2014 at 8:54 pm

      You really can.

      Reply
  9. Jorge Bastos says

    05/27/2017 at 4:42 pm

    My thing with Cambodia is that I either found it fascinating or really disliked the experience… And that sometimes within the same day 🙂

    Reply
  10. Kelly says

    07/31/2017 at 9:51 am

    Do you have to know your prescription for them to make them? Or do they test you somehow? Thank you.

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      07/31/2017 at 11:35 am

      You could probably get tested for your eyes at the same shop.

      Reply

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