My eyes have been witness to so many amazing sights in the last few days, as I begin to start my new life in a new country. I could already fill an entire book with amazing stories from things i have seen by people just going about their normal lives in this crazy country. I'm gunna try and condense my last few days into a few small experiences now, it could be long again like the last post, but we'll see....
The Epicurean Delights of the Far East....
When leaving for Cambodia, i had heard stories of fried spiders, cockroaches, bats blood soup and boiled chicken feotus. It was fair to say i wasnt looking forward to what the menus here had to offer.
When i heard that no one really cooks for themself here because eating out is so cheap, and that many Khmer houses dont have a traditional western style kitchen i began to worry a little more.
How wrong i was!!!! The variety and quality of food here in Phnom Penh is outstanding. Thai, Indian, Korean, Italian, French, Spanish, Tex-Mex, Vegan , Vegetarian, whatever you want and never more than US$4-5 for a main meal.
Better than this the local Khmer food is AMAZING! With Cambodia's locailty being wedged between Thailand and Vietnam, the dishes on offer here have the best of both countries fine culinary traditions, topped with the pazzaz and infused with the love that the Khmer people are renowned.
Highlights so far include:
- Green Khmer Chicken Curry
- Chicken Pad Thai
- Korean Sweet and Sour Pork
- Fish Amok
- A whole pineapple cored out and filled with fried rice and vegetables
- A variety of stir fried dishes, always with the freshest of vegetables
- Shrimp Wontons with Sweet Chilli Sauce
- BBQ Pork Skewers with Pineapple Salsa
All of these for no more than US$5, and huge portions. Most of which i struggle to finish due to the sheer amount of fresh, incredible food put before you. I will find it hard to leave this country purely based on the incredible food.
P.S. Dont worry mum when you come to visit theres plenty of Western food for you to have. They even have a KFC for your twister on a friday night ;)
Le Tour de Koh Doch and how i nearly owned a child.....
Our first official activity as an iCan staff was a cycling tour of Koh Doch (silk island) about a 10 minute ferry ride from Phnom Penh across the convergence of the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers. Having met the rest of the new staff we set off on our bikes around the island making our first stop at a Buddhist pagodas which was one of the very few surviving pagodas after the Pol Pot years.
Everyone was so excited about meeting each other, that on the initial ride to the temple I hardly saw any of the scenery as i was too busy talking to my new friends and collegues. This chatter was instantly replaced with awe and wonder at the serenity of the the pagoda complex which we entered. The ambience and peacefulness of the place was unbelieveable. Everyone was suddenly quiet and all you could hear were the quiet murmurs of contentness at being in such an amazing place.
After giving an offering to the resident monks we were on our way again down dirt roads, with it hard to believe that there was a city of 2 million only 10mins across the river. The rural environment which we had be transported to made it feel like we were hours away from any recognizable civilization.
It is at this point in feel like i should mention the HEAT!!!!! it was unbearable. Around 34 degrees with 90% humidity and no escape from the vicious sun beating down. All this while pedalling rusty old bikes along pothill filled roads. We rode for around an hour or so before lunch under the shade of a tree and in the company of a colony of pesky red ants.
After lunch we rode again through small villages on the island, all the while getting curious looks and shouts of hello from the children who lived on the island.
I can see why Brangelina adopted kids from here, because they are the cutest, happiest kids i have ever seen anywhere in the world, their eyes filled with such innocence and joy, oblivious to what their parents would have experienced in the Pol Pot years.
It was in one of these villages that i was offered a child by an old lady who lived in a lean to squat with her daughter and 6 grandchildren and 4 dogs. I was the first male to enter after a couple of the girls and she immediately pointed at me, looked through me with eyes which had obviously seen more than more care to think about, and started ranting in Khmer and pointing to the smallest child. He had only a t shirt on, no trousers and pants and was carrying a few week old puppy.
I asked the local guide what she had said, and she told me that she told me that the child was now mine and i had to take him with me.
The shock on my face must have been evident, and she started ranting again, pointing to the child and calling him to come over to me. It was it this point i remember the few Khmer words i had learnt from refusing the advances of tuk tuk drivers and replied with "Suom Tos, ot te or kun huy," Sorry, no thank you!
She shook her head an kept insisting and i kept repeating the words and smiling politely, hands together bowing to show respect.
It was a terribly disheartening moment and a desperate act of a desperate woman, wanting nothing more than the best for a child who may not live to see the age of 18......
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