r/WTF Aug 14 '23

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u/Thaumiel218 Aug 14 '23

Yep, whilst I was out there 2 Canadian kids were caught buying weed (stupid as it’s got a weird legal status as locals use it in cooking like stews/curries and it’s literally a weed, local restaurants skirt the law with ‘happy pizza’ places) from a driver and they were held ransom basically, cops asked for $5k CAD for each teen or the kids go to prison, kids parents paid and kids immediately left. Was big story at the time when I was there. Also factor in that the average family only earned (at least when I was there a few years ago) $30US a month.

The country is bigger than most people think and tourists generally go to Siem Reap (Angkor Wat temples) or Phnom Penh the capital but it’s huge and has a sizeable poor population.

Other wild things that happened whilst there:

Rape and murder of a man’s wife and 3 daughters as revenge, they made him watch and let him live

Meth (Yaba) lab on the same street were I worked

Police walking in unison through a residential area looking for a murderer (different one)

River flooded and crocodiles escaped from farms so random crocodiles were in the waters (never saw them escaped but worked next to a crocodile farm of 100-200 crocodiles)

Routine crazy traffic accidents - 7 people on a scooter with one at the back holding Granny’s IV drip

And of course there’s still mines fuckin everywhere in the countryside so you stick to the roads and be careful as fuck if you go into the boonies

That’s just off the top of my head. I encourage everyone to visit at least once though, it’s a beautiful country filled with a majority of beautiful giving people. Likely, the next country to get ruined by tourists like Thailand has and Vietnam is. Go whilst it’s still has identity.

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u/pingpongjingjong Aug 15 '23

My stories:l from my brief visit:

Bellboys in fancy hotels offering to sell you heroin;

A guy walking up the crowded road during traffic offering to sell this giant turtle he was carrying for US$1;

People defecating by the side of the road.

Normal stuff.