By skyforbes So I was in Phnom Penh last year, minding my own business and trying to get to a bus station before noon. I grabbed what I thought was a regular ride.. this tuk tuk motorcycle that looked like it had seen several lifetimes and possibly a small war. Five minutes in, I realize something’s off. We’re not heading toward the bus terminal. We’re in the middle of this traffic jam, but everyone’s dancing. There’s music, flowers.. and people waving from cars dressed like they’re going to the Met Gala 👀 I’m sitting there holding my Alibaba backpack and a half-eaten mango, wondering if I’m in someone’s TikTok lol. Turns out the driver had mistaken me for part of a wedding procession! No joke. He’s laughing, people are cheering and suddenly someone hands me a small bouquet and says, “Welcome!” So I did what any confused foreigner would do, I smiled, waved, and committed fully to the bit 😅
We ended up parading through half the city like that. Strangers took selfies with me. Someone shoved a tiny cup of rice wine in my hand. When we finally stopped, the groom’s uncle thanked me for coming all the way for the ceremony and I just nodded and said, “Of course, wouldn’t miss it.” Eventually my actual driver found me (after I texted him a photo of my new family) and we both couldn’t stop laughing the whole way to the station. I never made it to that bus but I did get a free lunch, a blurry group photo and a story that still sounds fake every time I tell it 😂