Cambodia (Part 1): Let's Go!

The phone rang.

Of course it did - I had literally just gotten home from work, and decided to take a nap. I had been exploring Saigon until 2AM the night before and I was exhausted.  I considered not answering the phone, and just sleeping.  I checked the caller ID and it was my boss, Mark.

I picked up the phone.

"Erik! What are you up to tonight? Wes and I want to know if you want to come out to dinner."

Wes is one of our firm's partners, and he was in town during the week, to review some investments.  His easy-going and disarming demeanor instantly put you at ease as he would probably rather talk to you about a good movie or a good band than a good investment.  Though he may be a partner of the firm, he listened and cared about my opinions (an intern's opinions!) on the Vietnamese and Cambodian economies.  And Mark, of course, is the type of boss that can inspire you to stay late at work just for him.  He also happens to be the only foreigner to win the Vietnamese Medal of Honor for saving scores of lives in a brutal fire in Hanoi, about 12 years ago... and these two guys wanted me to come out to dinner?

As tired as I was, I almost cried tears of joy.  I met up with both of them at a restaurant in the Dong Khoi area - a swank ex-pat section of the city, known for its good food.

We instantly hit it off.  Mark regaled us with stories about Vietnam from the 1990's, while Wes and I discussed everything from sports to my weekend plans.  I told them both I was planning on traveling to Mui Ne for the weekend, to catch some sun and see a part of Vietnam that I hadn't seen before.

They looked at each other, and turned back to me.

"Why don't you come to Cambodia with us?"

At first, I thought it was a joke.  I knew that both of them were heading to Cambodia to check out some investments in Phnom Penh (the capital of Cambodia), but why would they want an intern to come along?

"If you can have your bags packed and ready to go to the airport by 11:00am tomorrow, we'll have the plane ticket for you."

I don't remember much of the rest of the night, really.  I was on cloud nine and grateful for everything: for having the best bosses you can imagine, for my wonderful company... and perhaps more importantly, for having picked up my phone.

(This dinner occurred Thursday, July 10th.  Over the next few days, I will post an update each day, with stories from my weekend in Cambodia.)