When the Plan Falls Apart: Taking Photos for a Friend's New Salon in Siem Reap

One of the things I've learned about travel and living abroad is that the best experiences rarely go according to plan. Case in point: last week I found myself standing in a brand new hair salon in Siem Reap, camera phone in hand, trying to direct a photoshoot with two staff members who spoke zero English while I speak roughly the same amount of Khmer.

Welcome to my life in Cambodia.

Meeting Mina and Finding Community

I've only been in Siem Reap for about a month now, but I've made it a point to push myself to meet new people and take on experiences that might be outside my comfort zone. That's how I met Mina. We connected and ended up meeting for coffee, which turned into several coffee meetings, which turned into those rambling conversations where you learn someone's whole life story across multiple cups of iced Americanos.

Mina has one of those backstories with more twists and turns than a mountain road. Over the past few weeks, we've talked about everything from business ideas to the challenges of building something from scratch in a place that isn't your home country. She's got that entrepreneurial energy that I recognize and respect.

Then last week, she took the leap. Mina opened Snow White Beauty and Bliss, a hair salon and massage spot here in Siem Reap. It's primarily focused on hair services, and like any new business, it's a work in progress. The bones are there. The vision is clear. Now it just needs time to grow into itself.

Jumping In to Help

When you're building something new, especially in a foreign country, you take help where you can get it. I've got some design background, so I helped Mina put together a logo and work through her pricing structure. Nothing fancy, just the kind of practical support that gets a business off the ground.

The next step was getting some photos for her Facebook page. Social media presence is everything for small businesses here, and she needed images to show off the space and the services. Simple enough, right?

The plan was straightforward. I'd come by with my phone, Mina would be there to direct her staff and translate, we'd knock out some quick shots, and she'd have content to launch her page. Plans like that always sound good on paper.

When Plans Go Sideways

I showed up ready to shoot, and within minutes got the news that Mina had been called away on another important task. She couldn't be there.

So there I was. Me, my Samsung Galaxy, and two staff members who were lovely, professional, and spoke exactly no English. My Khmer vocabulary consists of "hello," "thank you," and pointing at things while making hopeful faces.

We made it work.

For about an hour, I tried to communicate through a combination of hand gestures, facial expressions, and the occasional Google Translate assist. I'd position myself, mime what I wanted them to do, they'd attempt it, we'd all laugh at how ridiculous the whole situation was, and then I'd snap some pictures.

It was messy. It was chaotic. The staff giggled through most of it, which honestly made the whole thing more fun than frustrating. There's something about shared laughter across a language barrier that just works.

The Results

Did the photos come out as polished as they would have with proper direction and maybe some actual photography equipment? No. Not even close.

But here's the thing: they came out decent. Good enough for what they needed to be. Mina was happy with them, the staff had fun during the process, and Snow White Beauty and Bliss now has content for its Facebook page. Mission accomplished.

Sometimes good enough is exactly right.

The Bigger Picture

This is the stuff I came here for. Not the perfect, Instagram-ready moments, but the real ones. The ones where you're standing in a salon trying to explain "turn slightly to the left" using only your elbows and a confused smile.

Travel, especially long-term travel, isn't about everything going smoothly. It's about what happens when it doesn't. It's about finding yourself in situations you couldn't have planned for and figuring it out anyway.

I could have bailed when Mina couldn't make it. Could have said we'd reschedule for a time when she could translate. Instead, I stayed, we improvised, and we got it done. That's the kind of small victory that makes settling into a new place feel real.

Snow White Beauty and Bliss

If you find yourself in Siem Reap and need a haircut or some pampering, check out Snow White Beauty and Bliss. It's still early days for the business, and Mina is building it piece by piece. Over the next few months, I expect it'll develop into a solid mid to high-end salon option in the city.

But you have to start somewhere, right? Every business begins with someone taking a chance and opening the doors. The rest comes with time, effort, and maybe a few chaotic photoshoots along the way.

What's a time when your plans completely fell apart but you made it work anyway? Drop a comment below.