I would say, it was this very small fraction of my time in Cambodia. To be honest I do not know where to start, my memory is all over the place.
It was a couple of weeks before Ray's birthday and it all started from me randomly looking at flights one night and the question 'Hey, wanna go Cambodia?', 'Yeah why not?' and it was that simple to put ourselves on a 10 hours flight to Asia. I was ecstatic, could not wait to get away from the cold in Melbourne that time and was pretty excited to help him have a wonderful birthday celebration.
Fast forward the next thing I knew we were getting picked up from our hotel one morning and was dropped off at a quad biking company. We each got ourselves a bike and I remember Ray being absolutely terrified on me ended up killing myself.
The weather was gloomy and there was not a single ray of sunshine. You can tell a storm was brewing but that obviously did not stop us. Our guide was a local Cambodian guy, who is about our age. I could not exactly recall his name so lets call him Min. Min works for an Italian middle aged man who runs the place. He was spoken to rudely and I could tell that the boss definitely do not fit the criteria of a good employer.
Min was a little unnatural at the start. He conversed with us in his limited English and seemed to me was just repeating the exact same things he usually does to any other customers. He explained the rules, how the bike work, some safety precautions and etc. Even so he remained polite, soft spoken and calm the whole time. Not to forget he always have a smile on his face.
We rode off to the main road together after a mini test drive in the neighbourhood. Min has his own motorcycle and leaded the way. After 30 minutes, the bustling Siem Reap disappeared in sight. No longer you will see tourists in their elephant pants with a cup of fresh juice in their hand, or repetitive shops that targets tourist only. The roads turned rocky and we were being surrounded by paddy fields that are so wide, you could never see the end of it. Water buffaloes, wooden houses where the locals reside, kids chasing after you waving and laughing like it is supposed to be a game. It is very weird to think 30 minutes from where we were, things could be this different.
We made a short stop for drinks in one of the local stalls. The owner and his friends spoke to Min and they looked at me and Ray in awe. Min turned around and said 'They ask where are you guys from?'. I just smiled and said Malaysia. We offered Min some cigarettes, he took one and thank us. He also noted that during our whole journey if we do need breaks, just wave and let him know. We nodded and pointed at him 'You too!', which made him laugh. He said no one has ever told him that before. I was not surprised to be honest.
After that short break Min let his guards down, I could see himself relaxed a little more around us. At one point he drove us down some random paddy field, and went 'drive anywhere'. Me and Ray looked at each other surprised. Is this man for real? Min said he was not supposed to bring us here and should have just stayed on the road, but this has always been his secret place. He stated that he only brings customers that he likes here and assure us that it is safe as he grew up in this area and knows the place like the back of his hands.
We ended up going crazy on the field. Going up and down the bumps and riding straight into poodle of water just to soak each other with mud. At one point it started pouring heavily but we did not even care. Once a while we will see lightning strikes and writing this now, I realize we could have got hit and be dead HAHAHA.
Anyway.
I genuinely thought we were going to wreck the bike because we went full savage mode on it. Ray blurted out halfway that it is the best birthday he ever had. It went on for about 2 hours, I stopped and looked at Min, signalling him that we should probably head back as our promised time was only 3-4 hours. The distance itself would take us about an hour so we should all probably get going.
Min looked at his watch and said 'Don't care! Today rain! No business anyway!' Which made us laughed so hard. Even so the rain got too heavy and I was starting to shiver really badly. We ended up leaving the fields and took another break in some random stall. There we had a very long conversation with each other. We told Min where we are both from, how we ended up meeting in Australia, and being here. He was so amazed by our story and gave the two of us a thumbs up. He also said 'Good couple!', that there bit made me chuckled.
After all the shameless talk about ourselves, Ray asked about his story. Turned out that he just entered this company. Only gets paid $150 a month and regarding that day, due to the rain, all the older employees refused to bring us out on a tour and instead, pushed Min into doing the job as he was the youngest. Min said his family does farming, and literally self thought himself English by being in the city and forcing himself to converse with tourists. If you do not speak basic English, the only job you can have without an education, is literally to farm.
I ask Min how is he surviving with $150 a month. He said sometimes he gets a little more from tipping, but these days lots of tourist do not really give tips anymore. Trust me I was sceptical too at the start. Is this man telling me his sappy life story so that we would tip him in the end of the day, but I can tell when someone is being genuine or fake, Min is definitely a respectable hardworking young man. The way he told his story was not like he was trying to fish for sympathy. He was telling it for the way it is and in the end, he let us know that he does not feel sorry for himself as his situation is a lot better than a lot of Cambodians.
Min asked us where are we going after Cambodia. We said we are returning to Australia. What he said next hit really close to my heart. He looked up to the ceiling and with a very fainted smile, said:
'You guys have to know how lucky you are, some people like me, can only dream about going to Australia.'
We returned to Melbourne shortly after, tanned, happy and fruitful in the heart. Walked into my fancy apartment room with a spectacular view. I dropped my backpack on the floor, sat down and just had to take a moment to feel thankful for everything that I was given in this life. I always preach about being thankful but to really remember it is hard innit? We are all so spoiled rotten that we constantly complain about the slightest petty things. My room is too warm, I have got not enough money, why is my job so tough, why can I not travel more, balancing uni and work is hard, why is my laptop so shitty, etc. When out there, someone is surviving with $150 a month for him and his family.
You see, the trip was memorable partially because quad bikes are awesome and I would definitely do it again; but also because Min has been a great guide, a great person, and a great friend. I felt like at that point of my life, I was taking lots of things in my life for granted and the universe arranged me and Min to meet because it wanted my ass to sit the fuck down and be grounded. I know it sounds trippy, but I do believe you meet people in life for a reason. Some you would never ever meet again, like Min. All I have of Min now, is a picture of his old motorcycle, not even his real name.
Thank you Min, sending lots of love your way, hope all is well with you.
I am also sorry for being the crazy couple that placed your life in danger under a thunderstorm.
x
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