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Published: February 11th 2009
Bike ride to West Baraay
We stopped so some people could get their bikes fixed!On Saturday we cycled to West Baraay; it's a man-made lake that's a few km long, and was made around 800 years ago I think, and there's a Temple in the middle of the lake on an island. The bike ride getting there was long and bumpy, and I was almost getting cranky (kept getting stuck in sand!) when we arrived. There's a small strip of beach, with some stalls and hammocks that you can rent. It's not a tourist place, it's where locals go to swim. We rented some hammocks and rubber rings for the water, and had snacks, some cold drinks and a picnic - all in all it was a really fun day, and well worth the bike ride!
So I tried four new foods on Saturday (some in pictures); Jack fruit, milk fruit, squid and fried beetles!!!! Not so keen on the squid, and the beetles just tasted a bit greasy, but glad I tried them both. Annemaries boyfriend Jake was with us, so they ordered the picnic food and got us a good deal on the prices (he's Cambodian).
The bike ride back was really funny, with around ten of us cycling along the
Sugar cane juice
We also stopped on the way for sugar cane juice, this is the lady making it at the side of the road main road, route 6 (I think it's the biggest road in Cambodia, but only really has about one and a half lanes in each direction) because we didn't want to go back the long bumpy way. Well if one white person makes people stare, a long line of us on bikes on the main road really made people look twice! So many people were staring and smiling and laughing, and shouting "hello" from bikes and the side of the road. It was actually a little worrying, because they were driving forwards but looking at us sideways on!!!!
Monday was a public holiday so I went to play with the kids instead of teaching them. In the morning a few of the other volunteers came with me to play with the kids, it was so fun. It's just incredible how they can entertain themselves with so few toys; some of them were playing a game on the ground, only using chalk and bits of stick. It was nice to see them in a different light, and I felt very privileged to be able to be there with them and witness them just hanging out together.
Finally, it was Erins
birthday yesterday so we had a party in the evening at the house, it was really fun.
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sue wilkinson
non-member comment
beetles!!
Hi Clairey,can't believe you've eaten beetles.Were they crunchy?How lovely to play games with the children.Enjoy the rest of the week. Love mummyxxx