I had my third flat tire today. A parking lot attendant pointed it out to me and pointed me in the direction of a guy who could fix it.  There are guys all over the place that will set up shop on the side of the road to do minor moto repairs.  Same for most anything else as well – hair cuts, every type of food you could ask for, drinks, fruit stands, snacks, shoes, hats, toys.

He spent 20+ minutes taking the inner tube off, checking it for leaks, patching the hole with a hot press where he used fire for heat, and then checking it again.  When he was done, he said $1.  I paid him significantly more than that, but that’s what he was going to charge me.

I’ve been in Cambodia for almost 1 year – 350+ days.  I have been to these side of the road shops hundreds of times, flats fixed, motos fixed, washer fixed, bought food, snacks, lots of fruit, everything.  We have been to restaurants almost every day.  Not a single time has anyone taking advantage of me because I am a foreigner.  I read a lot online about people coming to Cambodia and getting scammed, and then they refer to it as Scambodia.  A huge number of these “scams” are when people are getting “massages” or out at 3:00 AM “just giving a someone a ride” and get their money stolen. I’m sure there are real scams that happens to some, but the overwhelming majority of Cambodians and the most kind and fair people I have ever met.

Sealing a patch with fire.