KINGDOM OF CAMBODIA! We landed safely in Phnom Penh. The flight from Bangkok was very short, only 1:10. When we arrived I had to get a visa (Magrete didnt have to because Malaysian citizens dont need visas to enter the Kingdom of Cambodia). While waiting in line for my visa, I overheard an English girl and an Australian girl who were not aloud to enter because they didnt have US dollars or Cambodian Riel to pay for their visas. I was behind them in line and saw the look of terror on their faces because they literally werent going to be granted entry without paying for visas, and had no way to trade in their money for American or Cambodian!! So, I leaned in, smiled told them that I had American money and would be happy to pay for their visas ($30 USD each). They were so grateful and very cool people as we chatted. They offered to pay me back after passing through immigration (where the money changers are stationed), but I told them not to. I just wanted to help them because I could and helping people is awesome! They really appreciated it and thats plenty of payment for me:) It turns out theyre diving instructors, so I got their info and hopefully well dive with them some time in the future. Cambodia is AWESOME and it feels amazing to be here! The people are very warm, gentle and kind, as tends to be the case in Buddhist countries (I really love being immersed in Buddhist cultures). Two things I didnt expect: (1) In Cambodia they drive on the same side of the car and the same side of the street and in the USA. Every other country Ive been to in South East Asia does the oppostite, as in England, so I didnt expect that. (2) $1 American money (USD) is approximately 4,075 Cambodian Riel (KHR). How crazy is that? I changed in a couple hundred American dollars at the airport when we arrived and got an absurdly huge wad of 20,000, 10,000 and 5,000 (KHR) bills. We couldnt possibly fit them into my wallet and Magretes wallet combined. After getting this absurd amount of (KHR), we found out that everywhere in Cambodia, they take American money, so there was no need to exchange our cash. Too funny! So, with steering wheels and cars the same as in the USA and American money being used everywhere, Cambodia feels like a tropical and spicy version of America (minus the English). Our hotel is awesome too. It has a view of the city, big rooms, a big bathtub and a king sized bed all for $30 per night! I had been sleeping on a matt on Phoenyxs floor in Bangkok for the past couple days, so Im really excited to have an actual bed awaiting, but now its time to explore with my baby!! Hitting the streets in search of spicy, local foods:)
Posted on: Thu, 09 Oct 2014 13:11:53 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015