Where this was said
Missing the Flight and Exploring Phnom Penh
At 4:31 · chapter starts 2:50
In a cruel stroke of bad luck, Shoaib booked his flight so quickly that he misread the departure time and missed it entirely. Back at the airport, he booked a second ticket and texted his boss to confirm the visa situation — but received no reply. With time to kill and a city he'd never properly seen, Shoaib allowed himself to explore. He visited the Royal Palace, built for the king of Cambodia in 1867, marvelled at the Night Market along the river, and shared guesthouse rooms with other freed Ugandans. It was a strange interlude: a taste of normal life in the very city that had kept him imprisoned for a year. But the clock was ticking on his limited savings.
Cambodian immigration flagged Shoaib's passport for an 11-month overstay and demanded $3,500 on the spot. His boss had promised to handle it — then blocked his number. Shoaib, a trafficking victim, was told to pay or go back with nowhere to go.
