Some Awkward Moments You May Experience in Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh- Visiting Phnom Penh sometimes can be full of strange and awkward moments, especially when you are at public places, supermarkets, coffee shops, or restaurants.

Whether you are a foreigner or local resident, sometimes it’s hard to accept those moments. These little actions can irritate us so much that can change our mood immediately.

Here are some awkward moments that we usually see in daily activities:

1. Not Queuing

It happens most of the time, especially at restaurants, supermarkets, marts, etc. For example, when there is a line of customers, and obviously they are waiting patiently to be served, but suddenly there are some guys just pop up and proceed to walk up to the counter and place their order without any hesitation or respect.

This kind of behavior is supposed to be the most happening acts not only in Phnom Penh but many places around the world.

2. Every place is the children’s playground

When you are in restaurants or coffee shops, most of the time you may see children are running or chasing each other without any notice from their parents.

Actually parents can’t leave their children in restaurants or somewhere else, because it causes some dangers for them. Moreover, this kind of behavior also triggers disturbance to other people, while they need time for talking the business, or relaxing.

In conclusion, not every place is the playground for your children.

3. Don’t follow rules and policies of the shops or restaurants

This is just for a small amount of people only. Some people don’t care about the differences of rules and policies in each shops or restaurants, they just follow their own common senses and act clumsily as if they knew better.

Actually not every shop or restaurant has the same rules or policies, so you as a customer need to pay attention to this kind of things. If you can’t follow their rules, you only slow everything down. Just don’t infuriate other people with your clumsily acts.

4. Asking instead of reading

Actually many shops or restaurants always put their information signs or boards at somewhere that customers can easily see and read. But why still some people need to ask the information that is already exposed?

Well, even staff need to answer the questions from customers no matter what, still this kind of behavior is an awkward moment. When people do this thing, it’s really annoying. And it’s more annoying, when we are staying behind and waiting to be served after them.

5. Spitting up in public

This is supposed to be the most disgusting and disrespectful act. Sometimes, you can easily see this kind of behavior in publics in Phnom Penh, especially when you travel along the roads.

Only a small amount of people can spit up everywhere, even they are riding or driving. They don’t care about the consequences of their saliva or phlegm left on the roads or sidewalks.

What is worse is that sometimes those people intentionally spit on you, while you are travelling without any cautions.

So, are there any awkward moments that you encounter besides what we describe above?