~manila, you're not that ugly

10. Random acts of kindness from strangers.

When you’re in a strange new place, it really warms your heart to be welcomed by a local, and we felt this in every leg of our trip, from meeting Mandy, an English-speaking tourguide, on the bus from the airport in Saigon, to sharing fish amok and beers with couchsurfer Ate Elma in Phnom Penh, and of course to the friendly local staff in our hotels in Siem Reap and Saigon.  Tourists are also given to smiling and greeting each other on the road, and being such a tourist destination, smiling was abundant in Cambodia–which I found reassuring and, in a way, a sincere pleasantry.

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