Roller skating

Walking, running and swimming can’t compare to roller skating, which is by far the coolest way for a young person to burn off some calories. You will hardly notice that you are exercising as you cruise around one of Cambodia’s many roller-skating rinks, talking with friends and dazzling onlookers with your sweet moves. Unlike other activities that one might classify as exercise, roller skating is as much a social event as it is working out. Between spins you can stand on the sidelines chatting with your friends or meet new people with a similar affinity for rolling around on eight wheels. Don’t waste your time on treadmills anymore; head to the nearest rink and start developing your own skating style.

Q-ray bracelets

Do you suffer from headaches or body pains that you can’t seem to cure? From a scientific perspective, they could be the result of too little oxygen flowing in your blood. But forget about the cause and go straight to the cure. Q-ray bracelets have been met with widespread scepticism in the medical field, but many people swear that the magnetic bracelets help them fight off aches and pains of all kinds. Whether or not the bracelets, which supposedly balance your positive and negative ions, actually do what they claim to, you will at least improve your peace of mind with the new accessory, and the worst-case scenario is that you get to wear a new bracelet.

Colour-changing mug

Imagine how awesome your friends will think you are when you fill your mug with hot water, it changes colour and a picture begins to emerge on its once blank surface. It’s not a fantasy; it can happen if you get yourself a colour-changing mug. It can do everything that a normal mug can do, namely hold fluids, but it also has the sweet ability to change its look depending on the temperature of the aforementioned liquid contents. The way it works is that the outside coating becomes transparent, exposing whatever is underneath, but that will hardly matter as you are being showered with compliments from your adoring friends.

Bamboo paper

If you want to be a dolt, you can buy one of many products made of bamboo paper, such as lanterns, fans and umbrellas. Or you can be interesting and create something yourself. Buy a blank sheet of bamboo paper and some paint or pens, a few sticks or pieces of wire, and begin to create a masterpiece that has an authentic Cambodian aesthetic. Once you finish you can wrap it around a lantern to make it glow or hang it on your wall for a one-of-a-kind decoration. Draw a self-portrait or a portrait of someone you love and you will fill your room with positive energy through the time-honoured tradition of branding bamboo.

Kirirom National Park

Stop sucking in the smoke and smog from the vehicles and factories that fill the city and head out to Kirirom national park, where the air is breathable and the scenery is breathtaking. Let the songs of the cicadas serenade you as you sit down with your sweetheart for a picnic or set out with your friends on an adventure through the thick pine forest. Don’t miss the chance to admire the park’s gorgeous waterfalls and let the cool air blow across your face and body. By the end of the day you will completely forget about the exhaustion you felt in Phnom Penh, and you will be crushed when you realise it is getting dark and you have to head back to the big bad city.