Cambodian Royalty

A..pane...I love to watch you standing on the ground and not so much travelling by you. Finally landed! phew! I have never seen my parents so eager, excited and relieved to see a complete stranger holding their name card at the airport. It was hot, humid and dusty. But wait a minute there was something better in store....

"Your baby has curly hair. She belongs to Cambodia! The natives have curly hair" exclaimed our guide's brother :) (The people of Laos, Vietnam and Thailand supposedly have straight hair according to our guide) This is the beginning of my royal treatment in an unknown country.

Scene on the road

I was sleeping in my stroller and my parents were offloading me from a tuk-tuk (rickshaw but the name is very kid friendly:) My head dropped awkwardly and 3 random people walking on the road came running to ensure my safety :)

Scene at the Cambodian palace

I was mobbed by 30-35 Cambodian girls who were admiring me and clicking pictures galore. Well, what can I say, "sorry your Cambodian Highness... I rule ;)"

On the way to a tourist spot

"Baby... very nice.. I give this bangle.." said a small boy selling bangles and bracelets. My ammA refused. "I give this bangle to baby.. no money... baby play" I gracefully accepted the gift. Later another small girl selling bangles thought that I had a big bangle and what I needed was a small one and gifted my a couple of small bangles!

In the parked car

I stayed back with ammA in the car while appA had gone to click a few snaps. I could not resist my excitement on seeing a small baby and before I knew, there were lots of kids around me who entertained me till appA was back. One kid introduced himself as my boyfriend!

At the airport

I was allowed to stand and jump on the luggage weighing area. The security sang "ABCD..." and "twinkle twinkle..." when she checked me at the airport. I was allowed to pass through the metal detector on the stroller (usually my stroller is scanned along with the hand luggage)

And how can I forget uncle Khom (our guide)? He lifted me, pushed my stroller and constantly called my name :) He is the one who translated people's comments about me from Khmer to English.

The warm and friendly people everywhere made my 4-day trip to the hot Kingdom of Cambodia very memorable!