Today’s post is from Alissa, who really needs no introduction on this site. She has just moved to London at the heartbreak of Phnom Penh, but made sure to do it justice before she left. 

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Last week, after four incredible years in Cambodia, I packed up my life into a few suitcases and moved to London. Living in places that are not your home, you come to build a home in the people around you. True to this quote, in the time leading up to my departure, I began to reflect a lot on how lucky I was to have had this period of time, in this place, and with these people. In order to celebrate all of these things (and to distract myself from The Feels), I created a bucket list of things to do in Phnom Penh, and asked my friends to share these experiences with me as a final goodbye. The result was beyond what I could have ever hoped for: I got to spend my final weeks enjoying the city to its fullest with my favorite people.

While some items on the list were particularly memorable (ECCC trial, Killing Fields), restorative (meditation at Wat Langka), riotous (laser tag and ping-pong), or delicious (can anyone courier that Korean fried chicken to London?), I think my favorite part was how enthusiastically devoted to the cause friends became. A tremendous thanks to you all for making a goodbye as fun as possible!

For anyone who is leaving a place, I recommend the Bucket List Method as a way to process the move. I also highly recommend all of the items below for those living in or traveling through the charming city of Phnom Penh (with the exception of watching a movie in 4D, which was like getting a massage from a robot).