Siem Reap's dirty secret...

...it's nothing other than its dirty air.

It's that kind of thing I would appreciate someone to tell you BEFORE I've moved in: "Hey! Siem Reap is an amazing place to live in. Just one caveat - if you don't want to get sick, you better move out each year in January and February. Because it's that beautiful time of the year, when the farmers burn their rice fields, plastics, tires and anything else they can find."

I didn't get the memo. I wasn't in the office. I had to figure out things the hard way after coughing and feeling down for one month straight.

The weird symptoms didn't end there. I developed a whole set I'd never experienced in my life:

• Coughing every day.
• Snot and mucus as if I'd been smoking 2 packs a day for 20 years straight.
• Feeling hot or cold at random times during the day.
• A sore and itchy throat.
• Chest pain that felt like broken ribs.
• Libido gone with the wind for over a month.
• Totally lost my sense of smell.
• Energy dips out of nowhere that made me feel like an 80-year old who'd partied all night.
• My energy level was down by more than 50%.

All that with my body temperature remaining normal. Figure that one out.

The major clue came in when our friend complained to my wife about air pollution. The lights went on: "Aha! I'm breathing plastic fumes and all that nonsense for over a month. This turns my hormones into a complete mess. Hence my symptoms."

I've started researching the air pollution topic as if my ass was on fire.

Here's what I found out, so you can save yourself A LOT of hassle if you're in Siem Reap in January and February. This, by the way, also applies to most places in Southeast Asia since they love to burn rice fields here.

I've recorded around 10-15 days with AQI above 150 in Siem Reap within a 45-day period around January 2025. This brings it to the Top 15 most polluted cities in the world.

Your enemy is PM2.5. These are particles smaller than 2.5 microns or 30 times smaller than your hair. Unless your eyes have built-in microscopes, you can't see these fuckers in the air. You might be like: "Oh honey, today's such a beautiful day. It makes me wonder why I'm coughing like a tuberculosis patient on their deathbed."

Their ridiculously small size allows them to fly long distances. That's why you can't see them. Because the fire responsible can be happening hundreds of kilometers away.

What happens is that you're happily breathing them in for days and weeks with the basic math that goes like this: the worse the PM2.5 pollution and the longer your exposure, the more symptoms you might develop.

Now that you know who the enemy is, what can you do about it?

Don't breathe in polluted air. Surprise, surprise, right?

Here's your jab, jab, right hook attack.

Jab 1 - Download AirVisual app

• Here's Android and here's iPhone version.
• This app will tell you exactly how much PM2.5 is outside, so you can play accordingly.
• At low levels you can open your windows and enjoy your life as normal.
• At high levels you just hunker down at your home or office next to an air purifier.
• Personally I don't like stay outside for long, if the pollution is above 130 AQI.

Jab 2 - Buy an air purifier

• This is your hero in fighting the PM2.5.
• Unfortunately, aircon doesn't help. Because the filter is too coarse to remove these small invaders from the air.
• You need a HEPA filter to remove PM2.5. Most of the air purifiries have this by default.
• Get one that also has an activated carbon filter. That will help you to remove gases, odours and volatile organic compouds from the air as well. Think cooking smells, molds, bacteria and so on.
• I've settled for this medium quality air purifier from Xiaomi. It does everything you need and it has a very affordable $160 price tag.
• If you want the best of the best, then go for AirDoctor. It constantly leads the ranking in independent air purifiers tests.
• Buy at least one air purifier for starters. The way you can play it is to have it in your bedroom when you sleep. Then move it to your living room or home office during the day.

Surprising right hook - move out of Siem Reap in January and February :-D

Now let me share two tips with you that I've used to clean up my lungs.

1. Herbal steam therapy

I've used this traditional Cambodian remedy from my friend. It's a mixture of lemon grass, turmeric root, galanga root, plai root, kefir lime leaves and kefir lime bark. Here's what you have to do:

• Put these dried herbs into a pot.
• Slowly bring it to boil and then let it simmer for 10 minutes.
• Put the pot on a hot plate mat on your table.
• Throw a towel over your head and inhale deeply for 5-10 minutes.

If you don't have all these herbs available, then just go with the ones you have. If you don't live in Cambodia or Southeast Asia, find out what other herbs are good for cleaning lungs and follow the same process.

2. Essential oils therapy

Buy the highest quality peppermint and eucalyptus essential oils that you can get your hands on. Personally I really like doTerra. Then do this:

• Put 1-2 drops of each into the palm of your left hand.
• Rub it in with the fingers of your right hand.
• Put your right right hand as a loosely held fist on the palm of your left hand. This will create an inhaler of sorts.
• Deeply inhale for 5-10 minutes.

Now you not only know what to do when air pollution comes knocking on your door, but also how to minimize its impact on your body and how can you heal yourself faster.

To your health!

P.S. A lot of people living in Siem Reap claim that Phnom Penh is more polluted. I thought the same before moving here. But truth to be told I've lived in Phnom Penh for 5 years and never got sick from air pollution. Also the data from AirVisual app confirms that Siem Reap pollution is much higher in January and February.