The Cambodia Chronicles #8: Hopeless


It’s hot in Cambodia. Really hot. …And humid.

The hottest month of the year is April which was, of course, the month we decided to go on our first visit. Being a New Yorker hot and humid weather is nothing new but this was a different level. It was in the high 90s every day and thought it cooled at night, believe me, it wasn’t by much. But some days, especially while in the jungle of Siem Reap, it was easily into 100s. Easily.

My friends kept exclaiming how hot it was as he downed fruit smoothie after fruit smoothie looking for some relief. But I quickly discovered a way to deal with the stifling heat and I now pass it along to you in the hope that it will affect your life as it did mine. It is simply this: Lose all hope.

Forget about ever being cool ever again, because it’s not going to happen. In fact, forget coolness altogether. There is no coolness. It’s a lie. Give up hope. It doesn’t exist.

Know that you will always be hot- always- because hot is all there is. So, you might as well smile, drink hot coffee, and eat hot soup. Go for it. Dive in. Love the sweat. Embrace it.

To my complete surprise, once I “believed” I began to enjoy the heat. My friends still fought it, and as I mocked them openly, I found it actually started to feel good. Kind of tingly.

…And in a weird way, now look forward to really hot days. They remind me of hot coffee, sweaty friends, utter hopelessness and the beauty we discovered on the other side of the world.