Cambodian Leg
Where to begin! We are already into the fifth day of our trip and have seen, eaten, and experienced so many new things. The trip itself took up the first two days (elapsed time of over 25 hours) to arrive at our hotel in Bangkok. A brief sleep of 3 hours then led us back to the airport to travel onto Siem Reap, Cambodia. One could question what would make such horrendous travel worth the effort but the past two days provide more than enough justification.
The primary purpose of the visit to Cambodia was to see Angkor Wat, one of the UNESCO World Heritage sites. For us, the cultural adventure was the real drawing card. Angkor Wat is a temple/monastery that encompasses 10 square kilometers. Originally built in the 12th century as a Hindu temple, it was later converted to a Buddhist temple in the 17th century. The sandstone wall carvings along with the sheer scale of the temple that took 37 years, 10,000 people (2 5000-person shifts a day), and 4000 elephants to build truly amazes.
But now onto experiencing life of the Cambodian people. We have visited small neighborhood markets, village homes, town homes and a Buddhist monastery; traveled by tuk-tuk, oxen cart, and boat; attended an Apsara dancing performance and a shadow puppet show. And we have eaten.
It never ceases to amaze us that regardless of the wealth of people (Cambodia is on the very poor end of the scale) sharing food is essential to any culture. The food here is a combination of Chinese, Thai and Khmer flavors. Some of the ingredients may be shared by all three but since some of them are new to us, we are yet to be sure about that!
We have eaten (and enjoyed) at local markets: bananas wrapped in sticky rice and banana leaf, then grilled over charcoal; thin crispy fired fishcakes (made from the snakehead fish common to the area); and boiled duck eggs with a whole (small) duck inside.
We have eaten snacks of roasted crickets and water beetles (the latter a bit TOO fishy for us); sticky rice and black beans grilled inside bamboo; fortified wine made with local herbs;
grilled dried snake – local red water snakes from the dubious river in Siem Reap.
The restaurant dining too has been excellent including curries, fragrant soups heavy with basil, coconut, cilantro, lime and kale, fried rice flour and kale patties, vegetables perfectly cooked, scrumptious fruits including a dragon fruit that is red on the outside and black-specked white on the inside... and many dishes left unanalyzed!
Tomorrow we will report on how our dinner tonight goes. The chef at the local Hotel de la Paix has undertaken to resurrect Kymer cooking. We are going to have his Kymer tasting menu...after our massage.
The primary purpose of the visit to Cambodia was to see Angkor Wat, one of the UNESCO World Heritage sites. For us, the cultural adventure was the real drawing card. Angkor Wat is a temple/monastery that encompasses 10 square kilometers. Originally built in the 12th century as a Hindu temple, it was later converted to a Buddhist temple in the 17th century. The sandstone wall carvings along with the sheer scale of the temple that took 37 years, 10,000 people (2 5000-person shifts a day), and 4000 elephants to build truly amazes.
But now onto experiencing life of the Cambodian people. We have visited small neighborhood markets, village homes, town homes and a Buddhist monastery; traveled by tuk-tuk, oxen cart, and boat; attended an Apsara dancing performance and a shadow puppet show. And we have eaten.
It never ceases to amaze us that regardless of the wealth of people (Cambodia is on the very poor end of the scale) sharing food is essential to any culture. The food here is a combination of Chinese, Thai and Khmer flavors. Some of the ingredients may be shared by all three but since some of them are new to us, we are yet to be sure about that!
We have eaten (and enjoyed) at local markets: bananas wrapped in sticky rice and banana leaf, then grilled over charcoal; thin crispy fired fishcakes (made from the snakehead fish common to the area); and boiled duck eggs with a whole (small) duck inside.
We have eaten snacks of roasted crickets and water beetles (the latter a bit TOO fishy for us); sticky rice and black beans grilled inside bamboo; fortified wine made with local herbs;
grilled dried snake – local red water snakes from the dubious river in Siem Reap.
Siem Reap River Snakes Drying
Our meal with a Cambodian family introduced us to eating red ants. They are stored in vinegar and used to season dishes. We ate them mixed with fermented fish, ginger, and garlic as a dip for raw banana slices. At that same meal, our hostess taught us how to make dessert cups out of banana leaves and fill them with sticky rice balls ( the texture of silk) stuffed with palm sugar and topped with fresh grated coconut. As they say any job looks easy with the right tools. The delicious meal we were served was no easy feat. Cooking here is still done over wood and charcoal fires for most of the population. It was humbling.The restaurant dining too has been excellent including curries, fragrant soups heavy with basil, coconut, cilantro, lime and kale, fried rice flour and kale patties, vegetables perfectly cooked, scrumptious fruits including a dragon fruit that is red on the outside and black-specked white on the inside... and many dishes left unanalyzed!
Tomorrow we will report on how our dinner tonight goes. The chef at the local Hotel de la Paix has undertaken to resurrect Kymer cooking. We are going to have his Kymer tasting menu...after our massage.
Comments
XO
Liss
Steve (and Carol)