Kampong Cham, bit of a disappointment!

---

We are now on our way to Kampong Cham, a 5 hour journey, which has given me a great chance to catch up on blogging!



The journey also gave me the opportunity to reflect on why I love travelling so much. Some people say that you 'find yourself', I am not that twee! I think it gives you a complete change, an opportunity to have different experiences and see the different ways that people around the world live. A person who can travel is very privileged indeed, the majority of the world cannot afford it. It makes me humble about what I have. It puts things into perspective and makes you appreciate the simple things in life. Don't get me wrong, it's not all rosy and fabulous. I woke up a few mornings ago filled with negativity and self doubt, asking myself if I was too old to be doing this and whether it was all worth it. Getting up early and spending hours on buses... My ankles have disappeared with the heat and constant movement, but the positive experiences far out weight this slight discomfort... I am sure I'll see my ankles again soon! ?



Once we got to Kampong Cham we had a lovely lunch at another trainee restaurant called: Smile. We then decided to have a chilled afternoon and not go on the bicycle tour. We were hoping to have a massage and wander around the market, but it didn't quite go according to plan as we couldn't find anywhere to have a massage and the market was definitely a local market, it was a real change after the tourism of Siem Reap and it certainly didn't feel as welcoming! We had an ice cream and watched the Mekong river instead. It is so high at the moment, even Harry was shocked at how high it is.



Even though I didn't have a Cambodian massage I was lucky as I had my own personal masseuse and Gill gave me a very light massage and some reiki to try and relieve my legs... Bliss.



We spent the evening in a local home, where they had prepared delicious food for us. The house was a typical Cambodian structure on stilts, so there was water below us as the area is flooded during the rainy season. We all sat on bamboo mats, like the locals would and shared some tempura mushrooms, aubergine and courgette, some chicken curry, vegetable stir fry and beans with beef followed by fresh pineapple. The home meals are definitely some of the best that we have had. After the meal our host bought out the rice wine with tarantulas in, which is a local delicacy. Last time it came out I didn't have any, but this time I did... It was really nice as they add honey. The little boy took one of the tarantulas out of the jar and put it whole into his mouth! It was almost like a play thing for him.



Tomorrow we head to Kratie to look for river Dolphins.

---