The Cambodian People

Some of my very favorite parts about Cambodia were the people there. Not just the people that I met, but also the people that I saw. I love people watching, and I especially love people watching in places where the people do interesting things. Cambodia was certainly one of those places.

One of the most interesting things about people watching in Cambodia, is the number of people that are selling things everywhere you go. There are street vendors on every street, selling almost anything you can imagine. There are, of course, food vendors, but there are also people selling brooms, plastic balls, badminton sets, stepping stools, and all sorts of random stuff that didn't make much sense. Some of the food from the street vendors ended up being my favorite treats (Milo... fruit shakes... fried bananas...). Some of the food from the street vendors did not end up being my favorite (grasshoppers... millipedes... tarantulas...).
Along with all of the people that I just watched and interacted with briefly, I met some of the most fantastic people I've ever met. Most of them didn't speak any English, but as it turns out, language isn't all that important.

Pretty much every night was spent hanging out in the hair salon next door, playing in the street with the kids, or visiting the night market. The kids were fantastic. So funny, so weird, so crazy, and so happy. The family that owns the hair salon ended up being some of our very best friends there. It started when I got addicted to getting my hair washed, and eventually we spent almost every night hanging out there. We also got invited to a family picnic/birthday party. The cake was ok... the pig intestines and frogs were not my favorite.

The hairdressing family (and yes... that is what we called them since we had no idea how to ask their last name) was one of my very favorite memories from Cambodia. They were always fun (often drunk), always kind, always funny, and they absolutely made us feel like we were part of the family. Not only was I lucky enough to have the greatest host family in the world, I kind of had two host families... and that was pretty great.