Sometimes you're in Cambodia and you're walking around the streets of Phnom Penh, wondering why nobody has ever said anything like "It's a PHNOM-ena!" like, phenomena, except...you know, Phnom, anyway, so you're doing that and suddenly you kind of stop, except you don't actually stop walking because why would you do that, but you stop mentally and figuratively and you think to yourself "In my entire life, did I ever think that I would ever find myself in Cambodia?" and the answer is obviously no, you didn't ever think that you would find yourself in Cambodia, and even if you did you could have never imagined what it would be like, anyway.
The point is, is that even though I had always kind of known that I would manage to make my way over to Asia at some point in my life, and even to Southeast Asia, I never ever ever thought of Cambodia as a place to go. I don't know why this seems important to me. I'll also be going to Malaysia soon and eventually Laos and some other countries, and the same goes for all of them. I couldn't even pick these places out on a map when I first arrived in Vietnam, and I certainly never thought I'd visit them. Of course I knew I'd visit Thailand and some point, and maybe a few other places, but Cambodia! Who knew?
It's very strange, because they actually use US currency here. They have their own currency, but mostly only use it as if it were change, basically. Like if something costs $1.75 and you give the people $2, you will get Cambodia riel back as change. But even outside of tourist places, many prices are in USD. Very strange. Good thing I randomly had some?
The biggest problem I've had so far is not being able to use Vietnamese. This isn't really a huge problem, as even if people don't speak English, I'm quite used to getting by on hand gestures, as I did when I first got to Vietnam. But it is so nice to be able to even use a few words of Vietnamese, even if it's only "thank you" or to get a waiter's attention. Not being able to do that is a little frustrating, and sometimes my friends find themselves accidentally using Vietnamese words, even though nobody would be able to understand.
In a few hours I will be heading out to Siem Reap, which is near Angkor Wat. I am so excited to see it!!! Also, some of the people I am traveling with are running a half marathon through Angkor Wat this weekend, which should be pretty cool. Running a marathon through one of the wonders of the world? Yes please!
