A Good Attitude Can Get You Anywhere

Our trip to Siem Riep was a long one, but when we finally arrived, we had three tuk-tuk drivers who were willing to drive us around the temples (Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, and Ta Prohm) the next day. My friend, Mary, a Peace Corps Volunteer who speaks Khmer, talked to the three of them and determined that we should hire Narong.

We made plans for him to meet us in front of our guest house at an absurdly early hour the next morning, and went to bed, ready for the exciting day ahead of us.

As we sleepily made our way to the temples the morning after St. Patrick's Day (a good time to visit—everyone else is too hungover to join you!), we had no clue how lucky we were that Narong was our companion on the trip. Though he doesn't speak much English, Narong is, without a doubt, the best tuk-tuk driver in all of Siem Riep, if not all of Cambodia.

I can't imagine a better way to see the temples than with Narong as our guide. The three of us got along famously, joking around through the balmy southeast Asian morning. Mary and I are great travel partners, stopping to appreciate the same things, and walking quickly through the hordes of tourists when necessary. After we made our way through Angkor Thom's Bayon temple, we thought we were nearly done—we'd hit Ta Prohm and call it a day.

Luckily, we were quite wrong about that.

Our friendship with Narong led to an unexpected and delightful outcome. As we were leaving Angkor Thom, Narong pulled over, and insisted we get out. Confused but trusting, we did. We quickly found out that he wanted to do a photoshoot with us! I taught him how to use my SLR camera, and he set to work, directing us to pose in certain places, or with certain expressions. I'll never forget the sight of him contorted almost into a pretzel, crouching on the ground to get the perfect angle of Mary and me, as we're both rather tall.

As he guided us around some of the more off-the-beaten path parts of the temples, it felt like a goofy photo shoot with good friends. Our smiles and laughter were contagious, and we could tell that the tourists in the tuk-tuks going by were confused by what was going on. And to be honest, we were confused at first, too. But by approaching the experience with a good attitude and a friendly disposition, we got a unique and delightful experience that made my visit to the temples truly unforgettable.