5 Little Things to Love in Thailand and Cambodia

Well, normal life in Korea is back in full swing, but I can't complain too badly! My new schools are wonderful so far, and I feel like I'm surrounded in a community now because there's at least someone I know, or someone who is friends with someone I'm friends with at all four of my schools. That's small city life for you. I did start to miss Korea towards the tail end of my trip, and I even missed the crispness of the winter air. There's only so much humidity my body can take before it's pretty much done. However, as I'm editing pictures and putting together my memories of places I've been and seen, I've realized there are five little things I love and miss about my little vacation in Thailand and Cambodia. These are small things. This post isn't meant to be a serious post about the culture, people, etc. That'll come later, or you can probably find it more eloquently studied in travel blogs. Nope, these are small things that aren't so easy to get in Korea (or the US, for that matter), but they somehow made their way into my routine while in South East Asia.

1. The Smoothies. Did you know I'm a smoothie fiend? Well, I am. It's why Herbalife and I are getting along just fine. I was so excited to land in Thailand and pretty much gorge myself on delicious smoothies made with fresh fruit (like peeled right in front of me fresh). They were always less than a $1, a $1. I can't even buy a mango in PA for a $1. My last day on vacation, I may or may have bought three mango smoothies throughout the day... #noregrets.

2. The Cheap Food. Eat like a king for the price of a pauper. Thailand and Cambodia are both developing countries, and even in tourist hot spots, you'll be hard pressed to spend more than maybe $5-6 on a meal. And it's a satisfying meal. Green curry, all day, erry day. Also the above is from a street food vendor. I ate it three days straight... I'm a creature of habit, what can I say?

3. The Colors. Korea, I love you will all my heart, but bright colors is not your forte. Thailand and Cambodia, however, were all about it. And it was glorious. I loved seeing brightly painted buildings, cheerful over hangings, and much more.

4. The Nature. Again, Korea is densely populated. While it's not all bare grounds and cemented paradise, it's not exactly known for its nature scenes. Plus, it's winter right now, which means the natural world is dead, cold, and dreary (but at least it's not frozen over). You know what seeing bright, green trees does to a person?

5. The Massages. I got one almost every day. At the very least I got a glorious foot massage. In Cambodia, you could pay $5 and have the masseuse come straight to your room. Nothing beats a long day of traveling within a city or to a city than an hour of someone working magic and make all the sore spots feel like new. I've always been slightly addicted to massages, but I could never quite pay the prices in the US or Europe, so it was like my personal luxury to get one almost every day. My last day I went to a fancier spa in Krabi and got a full body aloe wrap, an aloe massage, a manicure, and a pedicure for around $60. Bliss, friends, bliss.

Have you been to either of these countries? What little things did you love about them?