Less adventure, more relaxing

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So today was a little less adventure, and a lot more relaxing. I got breakfast at the market - a chicken leg in amazing spices accompanied with rice. Then, at 9:30 I was at the 'Smokin' Pot' restaurant to learn to cook Khmer food. A british couple and a woman afrom Paris were the other people there for the cooking class. We accompanied the chef/restaurant owner to the market to buy the ingredients. It's one thing to look at the food sold in the market as a tourist, and completely different when you know you'll be eating it! There were flies EVERYWHERE. We we to a butcher and bought some beef, covered in flies of course. We passed big bowls filled with congealed pig's blood, chicken blood, bowls of salted eggs, bowls of fish guts. Every part of the animal imaginable was in this market, and everything covered in flies. They even had a bol of ants and ant larvae! (I thought about giving it a try....but decided against it, I've eaten my share of insects lately). We bought lots of fresh spices - lemongrass, keffir lime leaves, chili peppers, garlic, and ginseng to name a few. We also bought some fly covered chicken, and a piece of fish. The fish was live when we first picked it out. They then bopped it over the head with a mallet, de-scaled it, and chopped it into the size of your liking. This was 'snake catfish''- presumably from the Mekong river. They didn't bother to gut the fish before chopping it into a preferred length.

We then went back to the restaurant and learned to prepare fish amok, beef lok lak, and Khmer spicy sour soup with chicken. All of the food was wonderful - especially the amok. We cooked and ate for about 4 hours, and bottled water was provided as well. All of this was $8, and we also got a complimentary cookbook. Whattt? The food alone was $3 or $4 of food. Incredible deal.

After lunch I walked back to the market and bought rambutan and mangosteen. The rambutan was good, but the mangosteen was DELICIOUS. Supposedly Queen Elizabeth offered a prize to anyone who could bring back a fresh mangosteen to England - but it doesn't ship well, so It's only available in Asia. The fruit looks like a pomegranate on the outside, but has little white balls of gooey deliciousness on the inside. It tastes almost like a kiwi, but without the sour part.

I then set up a boat ride to Siem Reap for the next day. It was $15 for a 7-8 hour boat ride down to lake Tonle Sap - supposedly a very scenic ride.

I then went back to the guesthouse'and met an American (Eric) from New Mexico who was thinking of going on a tour. I told him that I would join him, and we decided to go do the 'bamboo train' (written up as one of the top 10 adventures in Cambodia, and also see a cave where the Khmer Rouge threw people down a sinkhole as a form of execution.

In Cambodia and Thailand, mo-peds are EVERYWHERE. There are a lot more mo-peds than there are cars, adn they seem to have absolute disregard for road lines or road sides. They often drive on the sidewalk. This makes it difficult to both walk on the sidewalk and cross the street. Anyways, I had decided to not take a mo-ped anywhere because they are really, really fucking dangerous. Cars zip within inches of the mo-peds, and the potholed roads are not kind to the driver or passenger. Well, it appeared I had no choice but to take a mo-ped. I thought the bamboo train was nearby anyways, so I figured it wasn't a huge risk. Well, it turned out that we were taken to the cave first, and that was a half hour mo-ped drive away. The road we took was not paved, and there was a fair bit of traffic. Soooo much dust, oh my god. I couldn't breathe through my mouth because my throat filled with grit, so I would try to hold my breath as the big trucks went by. Most mo-ped drivers wear face masks to keep out the dust, but I wasn't afforded such a luxury. The road was so potholed that the driver couldn't stick to his side of the road, and instead zig-zagged the whole way there.

When we got to the village with the cave, Eric and I walked up a steep road along a mountainside up to a Wat (small temple). I learned that Eric dropped out of college, has had a few jobs over the past few years, and has been traveling around Asia for the last 8 months. He is going home this week. He mentioned that he went to Kashmir, and I inquired as to whether or not that was very dangerous. His response: "No, not really. I mean, bombs would go off every once in a while, but the Pakistanis weren't really aiming at anything in particular. Besides, there were guards everywhere." He didn't seem to get the point that it's a lot more dangerous to be in an area where the bombs have no target. He also mentioned that he crashed a mo-ped in Laos (chipping his tooth, and gashing open his chin - placing him in the hospital), and also hit a kid in Kashmir - putting both himself and this kid in the hospital. Shit, that makes me feel really safe....

At the top of the mountain we were greeted by two 8 year old kids who wanted to be our guides. We accepted, and they took us into the 'cave'. There was a real cave, but neither of us had a light, and the kids didn't speak english, so we decided not to venture too far in. There was a small temple filled with the skulls of those killed by the Khmer Rouge. So sick.

We tipped the kids, and walked back to our mo-peds and drivers. On the way back, I was painfully stung by some sort of insect, and then we got a flat tire! I don't seem to be having too much luck wtih transportation! However, I was lucky in that there was a tire repair shop (hut) 100 feet down the street. We replaced the inner tube, and headed off to the bamboo train.

I didn't really know what to expect when I heard about a 'bamboo train'. Lonely Planet makes it out to be this 'must-see' attraction, so I was picturing a full-sized train built completely out of wood. Not the case. It was 2 axels, with a platform out of bamboo on top, and a small gas engine powering it. Supposedly you can take one on a 4-hour ride to other towns, but we didn't have 4 hours to go there, and 4 hours to come back. Instead, our two bamboo train drivers took us up the railway a few miles, and then back. Haha. Hardly a 'must-see'attraction! When a bamboo train comes in the opposite direction, you simply lift the fram off of the axles, take the two axles off of the track, let the other bamboo train by, and replace the axles and frame. I originally thought that the train was on a public railway, but it soon became apparent that these train tracks were quite old, as they were hardly straight or parallel. As I enjoyed the scenery, I also thought about the prospects of this 'bamboo train' flipping, or one of the axles popping off. Quite possible, considering the condition of the tracks. When I post a photo you'll understand. Again, just about the safest thing I've ever done. What made the train, though, was our train assistant. I never got his name, but he had about 3 teeth, and was a lively fellow who spoke absolutely no english, and LOVED my camera. I showed him how to work it, and he took photos of me, of his buddy, and of himself. Such fun. On the way back he started pointing to the tattoos on the other man working the 'train' (he was COVERED in tattoos), and starting making bomb noises and hand motions, and shooting an air machine gun. I couldn't figure out whether this guy got shrapnel in his arm, or was shot, and I believe he then shot 5 men, because I kept on being shown five fingers. Who knows. Either way, both guys thought we were hilarious, and we enjoyed their entertainment, so I tipped them well.

When Eric and I got back to our guesthouse, we both went immediately to take showers. I was caked in dirt, and my eyes hurt a lot from the dust. Oh, I don't think I mentioned that there is no toilet paper in this guest house - no amanities at all, and the shower is a part of the bathroom, with a drain beneath the bathroom sink. So interesting. What can you expect for $6?

Eric and I then went and got dinner - I had another type of Khmer curry. By the end of the meal, neither of us could see - everything was too blurry. The dust in our eyes had really messed up my vision, and when I took out my contacts my eyes burned quite badly! I guess I need goggles next time I take a mo-ped on the dirt roads.

Well, it's off to sleep. Tomorrow I get up at 5:30 am to take the 7 am 'fast boat' to Siem Reap. Should be interesting!

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Comments

[patty]

WOW!!!!!
Hey, Merritt! Just spoke with Mom today, and she told us of your adventure. AWESOME!!!! Does she know you say "fuck"? Haha! Mark hasn't read any of your blog yet, but will soon. I think it's fascinating! I WOULD NOT DARE take a trip like that, I'm too afraid of the unknown, espicially the horrible food! STAY AWAY from those "massage parlors"! Keep safe, and healthy, most of all, Have Fun!!! Can't wait till tomorrow to read more, and can't wait for pics! Luv, Patty