A Khmer-Style Cooking Class

Our adventures in Battambang continued the next day (after eating bat) with a Khmer-style cooking class at Smokin' Pot restaurant. There were 10 of us taking the course and our morning started with a stroll through the local market - which colorfully displays fresh produce, but also makes you sick from the smells of live fish still flopping around and the large chunks of red meat hanging in the heat with flies swarming near-by. This was all part of the cooking-course adventure, as our chef/instructor chatted with the locals to barter prices and give us an informative run-down of all the ingredients we would be working with.

Back at the kitchen, we made three typical Khmer dishes: Fish Amok, Beef Loc-Lac and Chicken with Banana Flower soup. We each had our own little frying pan and ingredients - and he showed us what to do, and then we all did it. It ended up being way more food than this girl could eat. But I must say, for someone who doesn't cook regularly, I was quite impressed with the end result. And, included in the price of the course, we all got to take home a cookbook! It might collect dust on the shelves when I get back, but it's a fun little souvenir, and when feeling ambitious, I might just whip up a dish back in SF - that is, if I can find all the ingredients the recipes call for (highly unlikely)!

That was our morning/early afternoon in Battambang. The rest of the day we lazily strolled the streets and spent some time catching up on our journals and reading books. We repeated our dinner restaurant - the White Rose. It was so tasty the night before and super cheap - that we thought another night of $0.50 fruit shakes and a noodle dish would hit the spot. We were right! The next day we were heading to Siem Reap - on what is claimed to be the "most scenic boat ride" in Cambodia. It's about 8 hours on a boat and we'll be sitting up top to enjoy the views, so cross your fingers for a good cloud cover so I don't get too sunburned.

Ever eaten bat before...I didn't think so!

In the riverside town of Battambang - the second largest city in Cambodia - Lani and I found ourselves in a small, local restaurant, ingesting bat with our fellow Cambodian moto drivers. They were all smiles, while we, well...we choked it down. In actuality, it tasted a bit like crunchy liver. Not too much taste - just definitely not something I'd choose to eat regularly. It was all about the experience, which consisted of the whole little bat body coming to the table in one piece, and we had to take off it's head and legs. Animal cruelty...possibly. But hey, when in Cambodia, do as the Cambodians do.

A Kampot Wedding and Waterfalls

So it's been a few days since I last wrote, but I guess that's just because I'm too busy having so much fun! Lani and I have been shaking and moving our way through Cambodia, and since leaving our sunny days at the beaches of S-ville, we ventured SE to Kampot. Along the bus ride there, we picked up two blokes from England - Sam and Chris - who we actually ended up spending the next couple days with. It worked out well because we were all going to Kampot to explore Bokor National Park (there is not much else to do in the place), and we ended up booking a day-tour trip together. However, before discussing our national park day, let me just tell you that we hit the jackpot on our first evening in Kampot, by joining the locals at a wedding celebration. Basically, we left our hotel rooms because of the horrendous musical (if that's what you can call it) sounds that were flooding through our windows. We couldn't sleep anyway, so we figured we'd go check out what was making such a ruckus. As we stood staring, a sweet Cambodian girl with a beautiful pink, decorative prom dress strolled out to the 4 foreigners and invited us to join in the festivities. What a treat! We danced typical Cambodian style, which consisted of a 2-step, sometimes 4 if we were changing things up, in a circle around a table, and lots of funky hand movements. We did this for a little over 2 hours. We were sweating bullets underneath this circus-like tent and were totally swarmed by gnats, due to the large light that hung above the table we were prancing around. But it was such a cool experience - totally what you live for when you're traveling and trying to be a part of the culture, in some shape or form. It will be quite a night to remember. Interacting with the locals, laughing and dancing, and the little 4-year olds drinking warm beer from a straw. Quite a memory!

The next day we were off to Bokor National Park by 4-wheel drive vehicle - which really consisted of an old, rickety Nissan truck, where customers actually sat in the back of the truck bed. The truck bed was fixed up with 2 pieces of hardwood for seats and a metal bar/railing in the center of the truck bed for the passengers to hold on to. Well, it would've been fine for maybe an hour - but they forgot to mention that it was a 2.5 hr trip up the mountain. And since it's wet season here, the roads are pretty washed out and made for quite the bumpy ride. This picture only gives you a brief display of the road we traveled.

Anyway, other than the bumpy ride and sore butt for days following, it was a good day. We even did a short hike to some waterfalls - but since it's wet season, the water was flowing too quickly for us to jump in and swim.

The day's tour ended with a sunset cruise along the river. I wouldn't call this so much a cruise, as it was a crowded riverboat making it's way down the river. But it was beautiful - and it's really neat to see the Cambodian people's grass huts/homes built along the water and the children laughing and playing in the water. And it ended up being a pretty nice sunset as well, with a cloudy sky, palm trees and a winding river to take us back into Kampot.

Since our previous evenings adventure couldn't really be topped, and since we'd spent all day in the sun exploring the park and bumping our way down the road less travelled, we called it an early night. Plus, we had a 7:30 a.m. departure by bus the next morning to Phnom Penh (PP). It's funny, although neither Lani or I are big fans of PP, it seems to be our home base and central launching pad for our other Cambodian travels.

Beach time, anyone?

Well the last 4 days of our lives have been spent in Sihanoukville (we call it S-ville because we can't begin to pronounce it correctly). The town is in SW Cambodia along the Gulf of Thailand. And we have been total beach bums!! It's been fabulous just chilling on the lounge beds, playing on the white sands beach, and swimming in bath tub temperature waters. The only downside, Cambodia is very poor, and you cannot escape the beggers and children who want to sell you things. They stroll the beach all day and make you pinky promise that "if you buy later, you buy from me, ya?" And apparently, I have this sign that says I want to be touched, because they all leave Lani alone, while I get my arms caressed or my feet touched in passing. Weird! So although it's beautiful here and we've really enjoyed our time, it's not your typical relaxing day at the beach. We're on guard, as only one of us can go into the water at a time, while the other keeps an eye on the bags.

In fact, just last night, we made a few Cambodian friends at our restaurant. One of which just "stumbled" upon a Vietnam Lonely Planet book. He tried to sell it to us - we didn't need it. But there was a postcard inside, and he gave it to us as a "gift." Turns out, about 20 minutes later, a customer in the restaurant was looking for his Vietnam LP book that he'd just set at the bar. We were in shock! And felt slightly sheepish as we handed him over the postcard that he was looking for as well. How were we to know that the postcard was stolen...and from someone who was currently dining in the restaurant. And I don't think its done out of maliciousness, but their actions just define the current state of their situations here. They need to eat, they need to live, and this is how they've learned best to do it. This country is definitely the most poverty-stricken place I've been to so far in my life, and it's a lot to take in and try to understand.

On a different note, we really did have a wonderful evening last night. We had fresh grilled Baracuda and Chicken Akon (a typical Khmer dish) and sat right on the beach for our dinner. There were light thunder storms and lightning over the water, which lit up the sky. Food service is quite slow here, so we took some cards to play while we waited for our food. This was such a great idea because it ended up attracting about 4-5 Cambodian boys to our table who wanted to learn how to play, or to teach us how to play their games. Besides some game playing, we were both told our fortunes with the cards (there is someone here who loves me and I am very happy in Cambodia), and we were also taught how to count to 10 in Cambodian - which Lani and I have now successfully mastered! We played cards with them until around 11:00, when the rain began to fall and push us off the beach into the bamboo hut/bar. We met a little guy (he was actually 19 - but looked about 12 - and was just a nitnoi breakable thing) who wanted to show us some dance moves, so we hit the dance floor with him. It was a fun time! And of course, even with the rain outside, we were still sweating like crazy. Anyway, come to find out, he lives here and works at that restaurant and just sleeps upstairs above it, with all the other staff. I don't know when anyone who works at the beach shacks in S-ville sleep because the bar was busy and is open late, and then by 7 a.m., they are out on the beach setting up lounge beds and recruiting people to their place. It's such a totally different lifestyle - and this is the off-season for this beach town.

Anyway, we're off to Kampot - which is a 2 hour bus ride East from here and the road is not paved - so it's sure to be a delightful trip. We will be venturing to Bokor National Park, which is supposed to have some pretty beautiful waterfalls. We hear technology ain't great down there, so it may be a few days before I'm back in touch. So until then, know that all is well, Lani and I are having a great time, and the adventure continues...

Phnom Penh and the Killing Fields

Well, so now we are in Cambodia. And it is a totally different scene than Thailand. It is a very, very poor country and there is a lack of jobs and the majority of people just stand/sit idle in the streets - or sleep in the streets, just waiting for another day to pass. The children are taught to beg - in English - and it totally breaks your heart. However, we have been instructed not to purchase things from them or give them money, as it just perpetuates the problem and keeps the children from school. So needless to say, our arrival into the Phnom Penh airport was greeted with taxis, tuktuk drivers and motos, all up in our faces to take us into the city for the "cheapest" price. The constant begging and poverty of Cambodia is overwhelming and begins to wear on you eventually - and I have only been in this country for 5 days thus far.

So, we could only take one day in Phnom Penh at this time. We went to the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda...which is yet, another Buddha for our enjoyment. :) We also went out to the Killing Fields - which upon entrance you see a large white structure with over 8000 skulls, serving as a memorial to the approximately 17,000 men, women and children who were executed in PP by the Khmer Rouge just 30ish years ago. It's quite disturbing to me that just 30 years ago something like this happened here. There is a museum in PP that will educate us about it, and Lani and I plan to go back there, as it will likely help us understand Cambodia's past and present.

We did have a drink at the FCC (per Veronica and Liz's recommendations - nice tip!). I drank coconut milk out of a coconut shell - my first time - and watched a sunset over the river and the impressive flow of traffic below. I don't know how they do it, but between cars, motos and tuktuks, they seem to make it work - going opposite directions on the same side of the road and people just take a stroll out on the street and the vehicles will go around you. It's quite a scene that I can't really describe.

The next day we were off to Sihanoukville - which is a small beach town on the SW coast of Cambodia. It was only a 4 hr bus ride and there's no real adventurous stories to tell about that yet - though I'm sure our bus travels will bring something to write home about soon. We're still here in S-ville and plan to enjoy our 3rd day on the beach. I'll let you know how the suntan is coming along...

Bangkok in a week

We made it! Lani and I successfully reunited in Bangkok and we haven't stopped sweating since our arrival. I know that I am slow to post, so I will make this short and sweet and try to encapsulate the major points. We spent a couple days in Bangkok - lots of traffic, horn honking and cement buildings to give it a real BIG city feel. We played tourists one day with a boat trip on the Chao Praya river (which is on the western side of Bangkok) and saw Wat Pho - the largest reclining Buddha in Thailand and visited the Grand Palace/Emerald Buddha. There's a lot of Buddha going on in the lives of Lani and I these days.

We did a quick weekend trip up to Kanchanaburi which is famous for the Bridge over the River Kwai. It was a nice town - an escape from the city and madness. Not to mention, you can't really complain about a $5/hour foot massage now, can you? Also in this cute little town we dined out on the floating restaurants, which was quite an experience. We ordered "chicken" coconut soup. Turns out chicken translates into squid, scallops, shrimp, and several other sea creatures. Oh well, the food is all a part of the experience.

As most of you know, Lani and I aren't too keen on planning. We are not really planning this trip, just letting it take us where the wind blows. Well because of that, we couldn't get a flight out of Bangkok to Phnom Penh, Cambodia until Wed. Therefore, we had a full day left in Bangkok and we decided to go to Ayutaya - which is the old capital of Thailand and pretty much just has a lot of ruins - as the temples/structures were destroyed during a Burmese invasion. It's in the "1000 Places to see before you die" book, so we just had to go. When we got back, we realized that it really made no sense to even go to sleep that night, since we had to catch a bus to the airport at 4 a.m. So, it was our first night of going big, and let me tell you, we weren't so impressed. Here, on the main backpacker/tourist street called Khoa San Rd, the bars/dance clubs closed at 1:30. What?! We were utterly disappointed with the night scene here, but since we'd run into a few Irish fellows, they took us down the street for some drinks and pool - which did end up successfully biding our time until 3 a.m.

And that pretty much captures our first week of travel...and did I mention, we're still sweating?!