Walking in Phnom Penh, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

It was 11am and I was absolutely overwhelmed. I had arrived in Phnom Penh just the night before, and checked in a pretty poor hotel. My room was located just next to the reception, on the ground floor, it definitely hadn’t been properly cleaned, and there was music blasting from their bar/restaurant literally for the entire day and most of the night. The staff was incredibly unwelcoming and dismissive. I dropped my backpack on the floor feeling disheartened. How did this hotel have so many good reviews, high scores? It also did not feel safe. Looking back I should have just picked up my bags and leave, to find another place, but I only had two nights scheduled in Phnom Penh, had arrived late at night…was tired, and sometimes that feeling wins.

I had been travelling for about ten days then, and I was about to have my first serious anxiety attack, questioning my whole decision to embark on this trip, and for the very first time considering cutting the trip short. Perhaps I had overestimated myself. Maybe I couldn’t handle the cultural shock. Maybe I couldn’t handle the discomfort. And being alone, by myself, I started to spiral, falling knee-deep into muddy sands, looking up to see murky skies. This is something I tend to do. I get obsessive over specific things, can’t stop thinking about it, trying to find answers and feeling a growing sense of intense despair. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).