🏍️ Only In Cambodia Photos 😕 Part 1

justinparke (67)in GEMS • 4 years ago

The whole family has been missing Cambodia for far too long, so this morning I decided to look at some old photos from Cambodia to create some smiles.

I was immediately distracted by many scenes that would likely be very uncommon to see in many parts of the world.

Only In Cambodia

Cambodia is not the wild-west like it was from 2000 to 2010, but the Cambodian spirit is a very independent one full of humor. If you venture off the well-beaten path, you are likely to find truly some funny, incredible and memorable experiences. These are some photos I've taken through the years that exemplify some of the uber-Cambodian things you might see.
Want Some Tetanus With Your Safe-Sex? This is an old sign from Kampot, Cambodia, near a motorcycle bridge. Handpainted signs are a dying art in Cambodia, and no longer maintained. Many are still standing, especially this public safe sex display. The sign reads "In order for safety your prevent AIDS and STDs." "You are welcome to use condoms," but no mention of the dangers of tetanus.
Creative Business Names There a lot of businesses that like to play with English words a bit. Smokin' Pot is a well-known cooking school in Battambang City. There are many more creative business names to find in Cambodia. It's an open secret that any pizza shop with a business name containing "Emotion Word + Pizza" sells marijuana, and can also put ground weed in your pizza or shake too. "Happy Special Pizza," "Ecstatic Pizza," and "Happy Dreamily Pizza" are just a few.
Comically Small Chairs & Pajamas The full-sized red plastic chair is synonymous with Southeast Asia, but the mini-chairs are slightly less used. It is always a treat to visit a friend's house or sidewalk cafe that have exclusively mini chairs. It is really hard to take someone serious when they are yelling at you from a comically-sized mini chair. The family in this photo is super-friendly and has never yelled at me if you're wondering. Did I mention you can wear pajamas anywhere, anytime?
Questionable Tourist Sites Shuttle bus to the "Killing Fields" after breakfast anyone? If you can't make it by 8:30am, don't worry, you can still catch the 2:00pm afternoon departure. I lived in Cambodia for 10 years and never went to any of these Khmer Rouge genocide tourist sites, but have lived in many locations that were the site of terrible tragedies.
Adjective After The Noun As a teacher, I was always given full-freedom at private schools to create my own curriculum and classroom rules. I had this 3rd grader orally correct the grammar on his shirt from "Nation Hashish" to "Hashish Nation." Khmers like to say the adjective after the noun when speaking English. It's a common mistake, because in Khmer it typically goes noun + adjective. I never let students smoke hashish in my class.
Highway Dirt Sandwiches My completely unscientific estimate is that 50% of working-class Cambodians eat mouthfuls of road dust for at least 2 hours each day. This picture is from a 1½ hour round-trip commute I made 6 days a week for around 8 months. Mad-Max ain't got nothing on ordinary Cambodian commutes.
Most Creative Homework Answers I had been teaching my students how to execute internet searches via google for over two weeks. I thought they were ready for a test, so I created this worksheet. I asked the student about "Korean skin," but never received a plausible answer. I still don't know what cannibalism enthusiast website made my student think this was an appropriate answer.
Bad LSD Orgy Trips I didn't actually take this picture, but it was sent to me by an English student who saw this shirt for sale on the streets of Phnom Penh. She wanted to buy it but wasn't sure of the English text, and asked for my professional translation. I simply explained it was bad grammar because someone was just copying and pasting English text from the internet.
Illegal Street Boat Taxis Every few years there is an extreme flood season where the water is waist deep across many parts of the country. Often an enterprising local with a boat will create an impromptu unlicensed water taxi service. Most of the time it's not necessary, but when you have several heavy bags, a water taxi is a must.
Economic Breastfeeding Advice From Your Phone Company If you want to know what "Breastfeeding is the best answer for...," you'll just have to go to Cambodian and ask Metfone yourself. I honestly don't remember because Metfone always sends bizarre text messages. I think it's the best investment for Wall Street, but I'm no financial expert.