Yesterday was a deep culture day, today was not. We got moving late and took a tuk-tuk to the big Aeon Mall. I needed to get some pants (failed) and wanted to do some last minute Christmas shopping for Millie. Every year of her life so far I have had a December 23rd panic that we haven’t gotten her enough gifts, and this year was no different.

Nick sat with her in the mall play area while I ran around the entire mall looking for things on her elaborate wishlist. I got her a new drawing pad to replace the one she has that is on death’s door. I also got her a tiny little Belle doll, some frozen hair accessories, and some glitter pens. If you had told me 10 years ago that I would one day be in Cambodia purchasing Elsa hair accessories I would have thought you were crazy.

The main thing she has been asking for is a pair of glittery princess shoes. I found the motherlode in a store here and texted shoe photos back and forth with Nick on what we should get. Millie is very opinionated and decisive when it comes to clothing, and I didn’t know what size she would be in foreign sizing. Ultimately we decided to just tell her: we want to give you fancy shoes for Christmas, but we want to make sure they are the exact ones you want and in the right size. You can choose whatever you want.

She was very, very excited. We brought her to the giant shoe area and she honed in on a specific pair of Elsa shoes. Unfortunately they didn’t have them in her size. She was disappointed but chose a second pair. Same thing. She chose a third pair, same thing. She was disappointed. We were disappointed.

We distracted her away from the shoes and a full mental breakdown by allowing her to play an arcade game.

On our way out, she spotted another pair of shoes in a different store. She immediately said “those. are. the. ones” They had her size. She wore them out of the store. And I think they are way cuter and more practical than glittery Elsa shoes. A happy ending all around!

We took another tuk tuk to FACTORY, which is an old Levi’s factory that has been converted into a mixed use art space. As we were on our way, I was thinking about safety and if we should really be riding these. I looked up and noticed the driver was scrolling TikTok while driving us through busy streets. We made it, but what if we hadn’t? Cause of death: TikTok in a tuk-tuk.

Factory had all the makings of something cool, but was a bit of a bust. Most of the art studios were vacant, the few galleries were closed, half the shops were closed. We walked around a bit and got sweaty. Millie was in a complain-y mood and we were in low-patience moods.

I loved the murals, which all had a clear Cambodian bent to them.

As we were walking to the taxi pickup area, we stumbled upon a small playground. Millie played for an hour or so and embedded herself into a group of other kids.

Nick and I spent the whole time talking about the common couple of old white man / young Asian girlfriend we see everywhere here. Why do we have a reaction to it? Is it problematic? Is there an inappropriate power dynamic? Is any relationship truly equal? Are all relationships ultimately transactional? We started the conversation with “this is gross” and ended it with “you know, good for them.”

After some intense play, Millie came over complaining of a stomach ache. We called a taxi to take us back to the hotel. We got a real car this time for the AC. We got yet another electric car driven by an old man who tap tap taps the accelerator. It made her queasiness worse. I have learned not to leave the house without an air sickness bag, so we were prepared. She puked in it a block away from the hotel. I’m not sure if it was the playing, eating something bad, or car sickness. But she was fine once it was out.

We dropped our things and walked to the nearby night market for dinner. We set a new record for cheap dinner: two big bowls of stir fried noodles, veggies, and chicken, a grilled sausage, dumplings, and a side of cucumber. Two beers and a water. Total price, $10.