Happy pizza in Cambodia left me insane in the membrane: a high time in Siem Reap
First night inย Siem Reap: I met up with some crazy friends which is the fruit of Tinder and Couchsurfing contacts. Most of us just arrived that same night so I felt the urge to gather everyone for dinner as I can transform into a real monster when I am hungry.
We couldnโt decide where to eat but I took the lead โย there was something goofy, classic and touristy thingย I needed to do.
We hailed aย tuktukย from our hostel and simply said the magic word to the driver:ย happy pizza.
He then took us to a row of restaurants serving the famous happy pizza in Cambodia. It wasnโt sketchy. It just looked like a village of happiness.
When I thought it was all about happiness, aย young woman who appears to be โfanningโ the menu welcomed us with a not so big smile. Sheโs grumpy and wonโt definitely pass as a happy pizza endorser.
What makes this pizza so happy?
None of us knew how to order the happy pizza because it wasnโt on the menu. Neither of us wanted to ask. In the brief time that I was in Siem Reap, I had noticed that it wasnโt like Morocco that you can see everyone smokingย hashishย in the streets.
Meaning, we didnโt think happy pizza was legal in Cambodia. I was thinking the way to order was under the table or a soft whisper to the server. Yes, happy pizza is a marijuana infused pizza.
I took the lead again and finally had the courage to say โhappy pizzaโ in broken English. You might wonder how I pulled off the โbrokenโ English with this short of wordsย but I emphasised the word โHAPPYโ with my order as you will not see anything like it on the menu.
Imagine me looking like an idiot while sayingย haaappeeeee peeeeettttssssaaaa.
โIs this your first time?โย the server asked. I didnโt understand what her question was all about. First time with what?
Eating marijuana infused food or eating happy pizza?ย โWeโve had it before, but not in pizza form,โย I said.
My friend followed up: โme, itโs my first time.โ The waitress then explained that if itโs your first time, you have to order the weakest of them all aka not so happy pizza. Just a kick. Nothing serious.
Great! They have these levels of highness in their pizzas too. You know, how Thailandโs levels of spiciness are.ย โWe want to be happy so weโll take the strongest one,โย my friend, who happened to be celebrating her birthday that day ordered.ย
โMake it extra happy,โย I said. We then chose our toppings and off she went.
Alright, if itโs your first time, you have to order the flavour first (Margherita, pepperoni, whatever you please) and say the magic word.
Apparently, they serve normal pizzas too (for those who are not adventurous enough and want to pass on the happiness).
And then we waitโฆ and waitโฆ and wait.
Happy or not, pizzas are always good with beers so while waiting, we ordered some Angkor beer to clench our thirst (and hunger).
My favourite part of my travels is being able to taste beers from all over the world but I am still looking forward to the indigenous pizza topped with oregano/basil like particles that is known to be weed.
Donโt get me wrong: I am a responsible citizen of the world that knows her limits and in no way engage with excessive use of marijuana.
However, I am supporting medical marijuana as it has proven to cure illnesses all over the world. I was also inspired to travel and taste marijuana infused food through the Viceโs famous Youtube show who visits restaurants that put marijuana in their food.
The pizza came and we were happy because we were really hungry. I was expecting the kick from eating my first piece and it came quickly.
As I ate more, I have observed that the level goes higher and higher but I would like to point that (1) I just came from a long flight: Manila-Kuala Lumpur-Siem Reap and was really tired; (2) I was already anticipating that I will get high.
This really changes your game. The more you expect it will get you high, it will really hit you. I said this because I realised I was the only one feeling it. The rest of the group werenโt.
For $5.50 USD, I finished a small box of happy pizza, $6.00 USD for 4 bottles of beer and a company of good friends whom you donโt know if they were high or not. 3 boys who are obviously tourists entered the restaurant and seemed to be lost.
They went toย the counter and like everyone else, they didnโt know how to order. They approached our table and asked,ย โis that what I think it is?โย
My friend still had her last 2 pieces that she couldnโt finish. I said yes.ย โDo you guys speak Spanish?โย one of the Mexican looking dudes asked.
I said,ย โsiโย in response. They cheered and just started chanting in Spanish. One of them is Peruvian, the other is Swedish and the last one is a Mexican, just as I predicted.
They were all surprised that we can speak fluent Spanish and thought we were from somewhere in their region. To shock them more, I said โwe are from the Philippines.โ
The hoorah started again. Because I was high, I spoke perfect Spanish than I ever spoken in the months that I am here in Asia and itโs good that I am still able to practice.
They ordered their happy pizza, finished them in a heartbeat and all of us decided to be friends and went to the famous Pub Street. High like never before, we continued to drink more Angkor beers while dancing to the 90โs hip hop beat at the Temple and Angkor Whatttt???? โ 2 popular bars in Pub Street.
I enjoyed the music so much but I am confused if itโs because I am a girl who is still stuck in the 90โs or because of the happy pizza.
We danced the night and before feeling the hunger strike, we decided to call it a night and head to our hotel. I definitely donโt like eating so late at night and seeing happy shakes parade the streets of Siem Reap made me sick.
I didnโt try the shake but I slept like a baby in a 5-star hotel.ย Win-win.ย If you are following me on Snapchat (psimonmyway), I am sure you know how this night ended.
To put this all together, I was really high and happy. The following day, one of our friends who havenโt tried happy pizza asked us to go to another restaurant that was different from the previous night.
It was called Happy Herb Pizza and man, I didnโt feel a thing. It was just like any ordinary pizza. My reaction from last night were probably stronger because of the long flight (or that I donโt smoke pot regularly) but I donโt know the effects of this pizza to every individual.