7 Reasons Why You Should Try A Workaway

“Do I really want to work while traveling?” I wondered while on the way to my first Workaway experience. Workaway is a platform used to search for 50,000+ work holiday opportunities to stay and volunteer in another place. For instance, you can volunteer at an organic tea farm in Nepal, help a family with eco-construction in Brazil, or look after animals in a peaceful rural environment with a small organic garden in Spain. Why might you want to do this? Apart from saving money while traveling, you get to explore a place in a more authentic, intimate way, and learn something new.

There was a time when I loved backpacking to see as many places as quickly as possible. That has changed to now enjoy settling into one place that is very different than home and learning as much as possible about that place. I spent a month in Thailand and that experience included sleeping in the mountains with local people who cooked us food and showed us the nature around them. I loved it and when I came home, I was telling my brother and his girlfriend, Lizz about the experience and how I wanted to do a similar type of travel. I showed them Workaway and we were sitting on their couch looking up all the different possibilities. Lizz found one she thought would be great for me. The title was, “Community-focused, beachfront guesthouse welcomes hospitality help on a Cambodia island.” “Okay, sounds good!” I thought. I didn’t know much about Cambodia, but I was ready to commit to 3 weeks after bouncing around a lot in my travels. I messaged the owner and the next thing I knew I was flying to a tiny island in Cambodia.

Well, technically I flew to a city nearby. I then needed to take a taxi to a port and then a bumpy ferry ride to the island, Koh Rong Sanleom. The island is small, 98% jungle, and only about 300 people. When I arrived, I was greeted by 8 other enthusiastic volunteers from different countries, who invited me to their ‘aperitif’ welcome drink before the usual ‘family dinner’. I soon got the hang of the job, working five-hour shifts serving guests, whether that was preparing drinks and food, checking guests in/out, hanging up laundry, or just helping guests with what to do on the island. The experience turned out to be one of my best travel memories and I would recommend it to anyone ready for a unique travel experience and willing to leave their comfort zone.

Here are seven reasons why I love Workaway and think everyone should try it:

1. Experience a different lifestyle

In this Workaway, I lived an island life, serving guests at a beach house. I walked around barefoot and moved at a slower pace. My daily routine consisted of waking up to the sound of birds and leaves rustling in the wind, putting on a bathing suit and cover-up, and walking to our workstation behind the beach bar. Island life is great because people are never in a rush (which was helpful when I was new to making smoothies and drinks at the bar). If I ever got stressed, another volunteer would remind me, “Don’t worry, we run on island time”. After work, I would immediately jump into the sea for a nice long swim, usually accompanied by another volunteer. We would wade in the water and talk about life. At night, we sometimes went to a special location where we could swim with bioluminescent plankton and see these tiny organisms light up.

Cambodia is a beautiful country. The water is stunning: Clear turquoise, calm, and warm. Right in front of the guest hostel, you could snorkel, kayak, paddleboard, and swim around. Beach House Cambodia had such a relaxed vibe, with people sitting in different spaces, either talking to each other or silently reading a book, with soothing music playing in the background. Visitors here were fine with doing nothing all day apart from laying in a hammock and relaxing.

However, this lifestyle also had its challenges. Compared to my previous lifestyles which were fast-paced and organized, there was not much structure in this one and I did not always know what was expected of me. I had to get used to the flow of chaos on an island that comes with an easy-going environment. When I first showed up, there was confusion about my sleeping arrangements. I had to wait a couple of hours before getting sheets for my bed and then ended up putting them on myself. Of course, as a volunteer, I could not complain about this, but it took an adjustment after traveling as a guest and showing up with everything ready. I also didn’t know I would have to do laundry! Admittedly I had never done laundry for anyone else before, and was nervous I would mess it up somehow… (I did). I was told to never leave the laundry out overnight. One shift, I braved offering to wash another guest’s laundry and hung it up later in the day to dry. I told myself I would take it down before I went to bed. I woke up the next morning to the sound of pouring rain and suddenly remembered I had forgotten to take the laundry down. “Oh NO,” I thought, in distress. I ended up running out and rewashing it, hoping I could still finish it quickly enough. In the end, the guest did not mind the delay in getting back her laundry because… island time!

2. Contribute to something useful

At first, I was nervous to do the work. I thought, what if I’m not capable of this? What if I mess up or the other volunteers judge me for the way I prepare a coffee or do laundry? But I soon got the hang of it and the work of serving guests was fulfilling. I learned how to make cocktails (after messing up the proportions a few times). I got to make sure guests’ rooms were ready for them and that they were happy with their accommodation. Especially once I got used to living on the island myself, I was happy to show other guests the secret spots to snorkel or take them to the glowing plankton at night. It was fun to share these travel experiences with them.

3. Participate in a cultural exchange

Since the guest house is community-based, the children of the local guesthouse staff would come to work with their families and spend a lot of time there, so the volunteers (and guests) got to play with them. At first, they were shy around us. But the more we saw them and offered friendly exchanges, the more they opened up to us. The children taught me a few Kmer words, the local language, and I taught them English words. One time, I was walking by the kitchen on my shift, and one of the boys saw me and started pointing to different parts of the kitchen and saying the Kmer word for it. I started to repeat the words he was saying, and he would give me a nod and thumbs up when I said it correctly. The longer I was there, the more I played with them. My favorite memory was teaching them how to play rock paper scissors, an experiment to see how to teach a game without using much language. 

Growing up on an island, the kids are raised differently than I was, and it was an experience just observing it. I would watch as the young kids would come home from school drop everything, (including their clothes), and run straight into the water. I observed in awe as they found simple ways to play, swinging from a tree, playing soccer on the sand, or searching for sea creatures. One day I was sitting on a deck looking out at the sea, and one of the local boys ran up to me to show me a snail he found in the water. I then pretended to eat it and he was like “No no no!” and we laughed. They taught me the importance of play.

4. Save money

Okay, I had to add this one, but it is probably a minor perk. In return for volunteering, accommodation and breakfast and dinner were included. I got to stay in a comfortable and breezy bungalow, and I was lucky enough to get a room to myself. The food was amazing, every morning I would wake up looking forward to the breakfast, which had some of the best egg baguette sandwiches and pancakes I ever had. Then for dinner, we ate all together every night, a delicious Cambodian dish shared at a long table. It was a great opportunity to catch up with the other volunteers and guests. We would share what we did that day talk about our plans for upcoming days, or just share more about ourselves and our home cultures. It was nice not to worry about money and think about my budget all the time. The work was enjoyable, and after working a few hours, I found that I enjoyed the hours and days off even more.

5. Meet open-minded people from all over the world

The other volunteers at the guest house were from various countries including Italy, France, and Turkey, amongst others. I enjoyed hearing their different perspectives and backgrounds – most of them had been working before and decided to take this time off. In the beginning, we were just strangers to each other. But after spending many days waking up and seeing the same people, working with these people, and exchanging stories, they started to become good friends. It was fun to know we’re all contributing to the same thing and enjoying the same experiences. The people were so helpful to each other and shared this beautiful trait in common of making each other’s lives easier by jumping in to help when needed. One day I was on a shift by myself and was so nervous I'd be in over my head. People stayed ‘on’ shift to help, constantly asking, “What can I do!?” I did not expect to have so much support because I wasn’t sure I’d do the same in that situation. But then after, I felt more willing to pitch in and help others and it felt good.

Apart from volunteers, even the guests became good friends. At this guest house, there was a range of types of guests including single travelers, families with kids, both young and old, and groups of friends. We had one family that extended their stay another 2 weeks because they wanted to spend more time at the beach (and I believed, with us). Once they left, they continued to reach out and send us pictures and videos from the trip together. I even got to help one of the guests create a murder mystery party after she set up all the characters and clues to present to all the guests. 

6. Learn more about yourself

After working in my teaching job from 8-3 every day with many hours outside of work, I started to get discouraged and dislike the work. I tried to pinpoint the main reasons why, but felt like maybe I was just an incompetent person. However, in this job, I got to serve people in a way I enjoy, helping to make sure they enjoy their travels and the beach paradise and serving them food and drinks while interacting with them. I enjoyed the companionship of the other volunteers and valued the ability to contribute. Apart from enjoying the work, I became known as the ‘games person’ and remembered how much I enjoy creating games on the spot to bring people together. It was fun to bring up different games I have played throughout my life and remember my playful sides. I felt good about the job, and helping people enjoy a unique cultural exchange in a homey environment. This helped me understand myself better when looking for work and hobbies back in the U.S.

7. Join a beautiful community

Workaway has a whole subculture to it. It takes a special person to commit to not just living but also working at a new destination with strangers. But it is so worth it. Especially when spent with other volunteers. After a few days together, working and exploring, we had inside jokes and understood each other. We came from many different countries and our home languages vary, but together, we shared the same identity there, at least for some time. We were proud to tell people we were volunteering and felt united in our efforts. If something happened to one of us, we looked to each other for support and either laughed it off or backed each other up. Unfortunately, I had a night where I got sick. The next morning, a volunteer showed up at my door with medicine and bananas. The whole next day, volunteers were asking how I was doing and offering to help. When a volunteer (or special guest) was leaving the guest house, we would come together to throw them a party the night before and all be there to say goodbye.

Memories with volunteers and guests

The hardest part about this whole experience was having to leave. I remember talking to my friend Nancy about the experience on the phone and she said, “Omg Edie are you going to cry when you leave!?” And I did… I remember running to catch the ferry boat that approached as I was quickly hugging the other volunteers goodbye and trying to hold back tears.

I am already planning my next work away. But in the meantime, I decided to reconnect with the amazing volunteers I met there and interview them about their favorite experiences from it and how it changed them. Stay tuned for part two of my interviews with these people!