Cambodia: 10 Ways It’s Different

We absolutely loved our time in Cambodia. The people and the culture grabbed our hearts, and we were very sad to leave. It felt like a home to us. As we reminisce on our time in Siem Reap, here are 10 fun ways we noticed Cambodia is different than anywhere we have been:

1. People from Cambodia are called Khmer (Ka-my) people, and they speak the Khmer language.
2. EVERYONE rides on “motos”, which are scooters or motorcycles. They almost never wear helmets, and they will fit 3-4 people on one moto, including very small children. We even saw a man riding on a moto with two full grown pigs on the way to the market to sell them! 
3. There are almost no traffic laws. Cars and motos drive wherever they want to on the road. There are no lanes, and people are constantly weaving in and out. Intersections are free-for-alls, and it is basically chaos. Driving in Cambodia is practically a sport.
4. At least 80% of the time we were in Siem Reap, you could hear very loud music playing. This could be for a funeral, a wedding, or just a party. They play music over loudspeakers from dawn to dusk, and it can be heard for miles.
5. The children only go to school for ½ day, so either in the morning or in the afternoon.
6. Many people who live in rural villages have never left their village. They have never even ventured out even to Siem Reap, which is only about 45 minutes away. They love to have visitors and to learn about you.
7. Public transportation is in the form of a tuk-tuk, which is a carriage-type thing attached to a moto. It costs $4-5 roundtrip to get anywhere in the city.
8. Women wear socks with their flip-flops. They are like toe socks, but just the big toe is separated.
9. People take their shoes off to enter buildings, including church and hospitals.
10. When Khmer people potty-train their babies, they just take their diapers and pants off until they learn. There are naked toddlers everywhere. The concept is the the child will learn to hold it until the can find a bathroom because they don’t want to go on themselves.

We are now in the beautiful city of Chiang Mai, Thailand. We have some exciting news about big changes that happened within our squad over the past week that we will be sharing soon!