Cambodia,  SE Asia

Finding Fun in Phnom Penh

December 10, 2018 / 3,206 Comments

“When you travel, remember that a foreign country is not designed to make you comfortable. It is designed to make its own people comfortable.” 

– Clifton Fadiman

 Staying Awhile

Cambodia holds a soft spot in my heart.  Like meeting a new friend, there is so much more to the country than what meets the eye.  It’s only after staying for awhile that I got a real appreciation for the qualities below the surface.  The truth of its sad and often violent history, its resilient but reserved people, and constant, almost forceful push forward to catch up with it’s more economically advanced neighbors.   

When I arrived here I had been traveling non-stop for eight months at a thrilling but often dizzying pace.  I was frequenting a new city and sometimes a new country every few weeks.  I loved it, but it was wearing me out.  Volunteering in Phnom Penh for seven weeks gave me the chance to slow down and really get to know a place.  Take the time to stop and smell the local roses. 

However. 

Seven weeks is also a very long time to spend in a city like Phnom Penh.  It’s one thing if you live and work here, but as a visitor, volunteer, and part time tourist, there is simply not a whole lot going on.   

My first few weekends in Phnom Penh, I purposefully stayed in town so I could get to know the city.  This was a mistake.  By the third weekend I’d been to every museum, walked every riverfront, and shopped at what feels like every market and shopping mall in town. 

  • Here a Wat
  • There a Wat
  • Boats and more Boats

It didn’t help that my volunteer assignment at a local microfinance involved a few days a week of me working alone, at the coffee shop of my choosing.  On the positive side, I can tell you Cambodia has a surprising variety of high quality cafes.  But I only know this because I SPENT HOURS WORKING IN ALL OF THEM.  

  • Coffee Shops of Cambodia

It’s also hot in Cambodia.  And god, so humid.  The weather in Phnom Penh is the same every week.  High of 90 degrees Fahrenheit, 90% humidity, torrential downpour every 2-3 days.   I never stopped sweating since walking off the jet bridge on arrival.  

I was going sweaty stir crazy.  Neither one of these two states of being is something I handle very well.  Combined it’s a damn disaster.  It sent me into regular panics about what I’m doing with my life, what’s left of my career when I get home, and why my sweat glands think I’m an obese Siberian man wearing a sweater in a sauna. 

Finding Things to Do

While frustrating at times, staying in a slower paced city like Phnom Penh has its positives.  It’s given me the chance to get to know my fellow travelers better than I normally would.  My roommate Donna and I have shared many evening conversations in our room about life, culture, family, and relationships.  Not to mention I was present for her very first tattoo.  If we lived in the same city back home, I would gladly give her a call to meet up for dinner or a happy hour. 

  • She’s always picking up animals

During my seven week stint, my fellow volunteers and I spent many a relaxing weekend afternoon or Cambodian holiday sitting at one of Phnom Penh’s many rooftop apartment pools.  Just buy a $2 drink, and they’ll let you hang out all day. 

I explores some interesting street art in Phnom Penh.  This is always an interesting way to experience a city. 

I learned that the Hard Rock hotel in Cambodia has a pretty killer house band.  If you ever find yourself in this city, I would recommend making a stop here.   For those that like live music, you won’t be disappointed. 

One weekend, several other volunteers and I took a day trip out to Kirirom National Park.  This excursion gave me a much needed infusion of nature filled activity, and a lovely surprise in the form of a massive temple yet to be overrun by tourists.  

  • Volunteers in their unnatural habitat

 Cambodian Highlights

The one thing I did not expect to do while spending seven weeks in Cambodia is to go to a pop concert.  I certainly didn’t expect that this concert would be the largest in Cambodian’s history.  Or that it would be put on by the soothing voice and white man baby face of Charlie Puth.  

As it turns out, Charlie was touring Asia during my stint in Cambodia.  In contrast to his concerts in more prosperous countries like Bangkok or Seoul where tickets are over $50 a pop, the concert in Phnom Penh was being sponsored by the mobile carrier Smart phone.  As a result, all Smart phone customers got a free ticket.   For the bargain price of $9, I got a VIP ticket, T-shirt, key chain, tote bag, free beer, and a Smart SIM card I didn’t even need.  

Not bad at all. 

Being the event of the century for an impoverished country like Cambodia, it seems the entire city, as well as my entire volunteer house went to this concert.  Posters of young Charlie lined the city streets for weeks.  If you were any where near the city that weekend it was just assumed you were attending. 

Smart held the concert at a large outdoor venue next to a glaringly bright amusement park in town.  You can probably see it from space.   

  • I need sunglasses to look at this

Smart phone spared no expense in hosting the historic concert.  The stage had several screens taller than most buildings in the city to broadcast every last note.  Strobe lights took turns illuminating the stage, and covering the crowd in neon lines of green, making you wonder if you accidentally wandered in some trendy club in NYC.   Smart handed every concert goer a light up a green inflatable stick just to make sure CP knew for sure how many people came to hear him sing.  It was actually pretty f’ing great. 

I had an unexpectedly great time hanging out with the other volunteers at this unexpected concert event. 

After the concert, all of Cambodia and every last visiting foreigner in the country flooded the streets looking for a bar to end the night.  Donna and I drank a beer in a shipping container turned bar, my friend Claudia and I played foosball with strangers at Monkey hostel, and we made friends with a random young woman from Thailand while playing beer pong.  At the end of the night we wound up where every expat in Phnom Penh ends on a night out in the city – Club Love.   Loud music.  Overpriced watered down drinks.  Standing shoulder to shoulder with hundreds of other sweaty strangers.  It was like I was in college all over again.  

These kinds of nights are not ones that I care to repeat too often.  Every time I stay out past 2am, I’m reminded that this is not a thing I enjoy as much as being asleep by 11 and waking up clear headed with the sun.  But it’s fun once in awhile for a special event.   

Cambodia can still put on a good time. 

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