It's the last day of 2022 and our first day in a new country. That's right, we've made it to Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, the third and final Southeast Asian country we're visiting on this trip. Ushering in a new year in a new place is pretty awesome.

This morning, we both woke up a bit tired after a rough night's sleep. It was Ryan's turn to have a visit from the travel stomach bug; in hindsight, those octopus balls he had at the street food market last night may have been a bad idea. Whatever it was got out of his system quickly and he was feeling much better by this morning, other than a little tired perhaps.

After breakfast at our hotel, we checked out and got a taxi to the airport. Wattay International Airport is actually much closer to downtown Vientiane than the train station is. It's a small airport, with only a handful of flights per day, a few shops, and hardly any people. We'd gotten to the airport absurdly early in case of long waits or issues with exit formalities and such, but it was completely unnecessary. We ended up just hanging out for a couple of hours, killing time at the gate.

Our flight to Phnom Penh on Vietnam Airlines was only half full, on time, and quite efficient. The flight actually continued onto Saigon from there, and many of the people on the plane appeared to be heading there. So we were some of the few who disembarked in Phnom Penh. I keep hearing stories about what's been going on back home with all the travel nightmares on Sunwing and other airlines in Canada, and so I'm extra grateful at how efficiently things seem to run here in terms of air travel.

Exiting the plane into Phnom Penh's arrival terminal, we took care of the new country formalities of getting our visas on arrival and our local SIM cards with remarkable efficiency. We ignored the taxi and tuk-tuk touts and used Grab to get a rideshare to our hotel. I couldn't help but notice that you can use Grab to hail a tuk-tuk here, which is kinda fun.

Phnom Penh is a much larger city than Vientiane, and much more alive with people and traffic. After a week in Laos, it felt a bit jarring to return to the hustle and bustle. Phnom Penh ain't Bangkok or anything, but with 2.2 million people, it's a sizeable city and, at first glance, very modern and happening.

We checked into our quite upscale hotel, which has a rooftop bar and swimming pool where a big New Year's Eve party is taking place later tonight. Most of the big hotels are hosting similarly lavish parties. We opted out of the pricey shindig and decided to do our own thing instead.

After getting a few things organized, we set out to find an ATM and a supermarket. Cambodia is on a dual currency system, with the Cambodian Riel pegged to the US dollar. Most purchases worth more than a few dollars are typically paid in USD, and most prices are quoted in either US or both. ATMs here will dispense either currency. We had some US dollars on us (mostly those deemed too imperfect to be accepted in Laos; they seem far less fussy here), but no Cambodian Riel, so we swung by the ATM to get some. The ATMs here in Cambodia all charge high fees of about $5 USD per transaction, by the way, so it's probably best to withdraw larger amounts less often if you can. Oh, and many shops here once again seem to accept credit cards, unlike in Laos or northern Thailand where things were pretty much cash-only.

Next, we stopped off at the Lucky Supermarket to buy water and a few snacks for a late lunch. The big displays of Angkor Beer confirmed it: Yes, we're definitely in Cambodia.

After a detour back to the hotel to shower and change, we set out to celebrate New Year's Eve, Cambodian style. Actually, Khmer New Year is in April; the NYE parties celebrating western New Year's are kinda like the Christmas trees around here: Retail holidays and excuses for a party. They do love their parties around here.

At around 4:30, we were picked up for our pre-booked sunset boat cruise on the river. Yeah, it's a made-for-tourist experience. And it's not like we haven't been on riverboats yet this trip; after all, we spent two days on one last week. But this seemed like a nice way to get some views of Phnom Penh from the water.

After a slow start while we sat at the dock for 20 minutes waiting for some latecomers, the boat cruise actually ended up being quite lovely. We spent about an hour and a half cruising around the river area where the Tonle Sap meets the Mekong, watching the sun disappear over the horizon and the sky turn shades of orange, red, and pink.

The boat guide pointed out a few landmarks, including the Royal Palace, the Night Market, the Convention Centre, a few Friendship bridges (Japanese, Chinese, Korean, basically for whoever funded the project) and such. But mostly, we just chugged along in the water and had a chance to sip some beer and take in the views.

Gradually, darkness set in, and the riverfront lit up in enough neon to blind someone in sunglasses. They love their bright lights here in Phnom Penh. I'm not sure whether it's just because it's New Year's Eve, or if it's always like this, but I suspect the latter: This is a city with a lot more glitz and glitter than I'd anticipated. It feels very trendy, and there's clearly a lot more money here than I'd realized, and everywhere you look there are rooftop bars blasting music, bright lights, and young well-dressed people out and about. (Though the disparity between rich and poor is very apparent; from Lamborghini dealerships on one side of the river, to metal shacks and slum neighbourhoods on the other, there's obviously a huge wealth gap here. But I digress.) The skyline was very pretty all lit up, and so were the other boats on the water.

We pulled back into the harbour at a quarter to seven, and our tuk-tuk driver took us back to the hotel (and tried to ask for more money, even though we'd pre-paid for the transfer... but anyway.) By the return trip, the downtown and riverfront areas of the city were getting far more crowded with people and, of course, motorbikes. Everyone heading out for New Year's Eve.

Our last New Year's Eve pre-pandemic, Ryan and I went to San Diego and visited Stone Brewing. So it seemed fitting that our first post-lockdown New Year's Eve was also spent at a brewery restaurant: Botanico Beer Garden, associated with Cerevisia Brewery here in Phnom Penh.

Cambodia promises to be the best craft beer country of our trip. In Thailand, it's technically illegal, and in Laos it's legal but extremely rare. Cambodia, however, has a pretty big and happening craft beer scene, much of it based here in Phnom Penh. Cerevisia is one of a few well known craft breweries here making some seriously decent beers.

The small beer garden, set back from the street, was just lovely, with large tables surrounded by water and trees. There was a folk musician playing guitar and singing when we got there; he was later joined by a fiddle player and a bassist. They had a pretty decent pub grub food menu, about ten different beers on tap with flights offered, and a lovely atmosphere.

What they didn't have were other guests. We'd even gone so far as to make a reservation, figuring a place like that would be packed on New Year's Eve. But for most of the evening, Ryan and I were nearly the only people there. There were a couple of other couples, and a family with kids for a bit, but that was it. We enjoyed the atmosphere and chatting with the staff, but almost felt bad for the musicians playing to an empty house like that. Where was everyone?

After about two and a half hours, it was nearing 10pm and Ryan and I conceded that we weren't going to make it to midnight. The lack of sleep, the long day, the flight, all took their toll. We took our leave, wishing everyone a happy new year, and carefully made our way on foot back to our hotel, dodging the packed street traffic and the motorbikes driving on the narrow sidewalks as we went. The rest of the city was packed with people, clearly all celebrating in places with a far different vibe from where we'd been. But that's okay; they can do their thing, we can do ours.

Back at the hotel, we quite nearly fell asleep right away, though we were still awake at midnight when the city exploded into noise and light. From our third floor hotel balcony, we just barely had a view of the fireworks going off over the river and on rooftop balconies everywhere. It sounded briefly like a war zone, though. Kinda hard to sleep through. So we went outside and just watched the show. Bye 2022, hi 2023.

Hard to believe that last year this time, we were in lockdown, with an enforced curfew, celebrating a second straight New Year's in isolation in our pyjamas. This year, we're in Phnom Penh watching the fireworks display over the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers.

2022 has been quite a year for me personally: One wedding, two big trips, six new countries. While COVID is still very much a thing, and in many ways looks like it's getting worse, I personally feel very lucky. Ryan and I are together, healthy, and exploring the world. It's all I could possibly ask for.

Wishing all of you reading this a happy, safe, and, most of all, healthy New Year and start to 2023. I don't know what the year ahead will bring, but it's getting off to a good start.