What's the weirdest thing you've eaten?

That's a classic question that floats around between travellers!
Imagine yourself strolling aimlessly along a busy road where there just doesn’t seem to be any Highway Code. Then, suddenly, something catches your eye on the other side. By now we have learned that the easiest and safest way to cross the road is to disobey everything that you were ever taught as a child and just walk out into the path of vehicles (when they aren’t going too fast nor when they are too close of course!). But unlike on our trip in India, these people will generally slow down to let us live another day anyway. So to continue, imagine that you have crossed the loud and congested street and are now standing at a peculiar looking food cart. The food cart is small, white, it moves around on two wheels and it even has a hob on the top for cooking. What delicious delicacies can you see? Have you feasted your eyes on some western style hotdogs with the finishing touches of ketchup and mustard? Or have you spotted more of our favourite Asian noodles being tossed several metres into the air? Maybe you have seen colourful fruits that you’ve never even dreamt of? If you are thinking along these lines, then you’d normally be correct. But not in this case!
Our curiosity indeed got the better of us as we were gazing into baskets of maggots, crickets, cockroaches, quails, duck embryos, snakes, beetles and tarantulas. Simon was a little stuffed after the small banquet we had at the night market, but Jon figured that he’d be able to stretch out an extra pocket of gastrointestinal space. And that he did! Only enough to enjoy a tarantula and a snake though. The tarantula was ever so slightly crispy and it had been slightly flavoured to taste like BBQ ribs. Jon started by shoving the front four legs into his mouth and reported back that they were similar to crispy chilli beef that us westerners have in our Chinese takeaways. As for the body, it was very much like the legs only it was much more succulent! Jon also exclaimed that it was like he had reached another galaxy!


The snake on the other hand can be described as having a texture of roast chicken (apart from in the beginning when Jon thought that the vertebrae were also edible! Duh!).

In terms of wishful thinking, the same stall should be there tomorrow!

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The Phnom-enal Penh night market of Psar Chaa.

What better introduction to Phnom penh than strolling alongside the Tonle Sap? Observing the nifty motorbikes interweaving between the tuk tuks, buses and cars was slightly hair raising, but we think that they know what they're doing. We felt well received as we saw the Union Jack waving in amongst several other flags that spanned the length of the riverside paving.
As we reached the end of the boulevard with its more uptown restaurants, we turned the final corner and found ourselves immersed in real Cambodian life.


In about another half an hour, we noticed the welcoming night markets opening up and they were already teeming with people wanting to browse for gifts or eat something in the pleasant ambience of the cosy food market square! This was new to us! Having decided what may take our fancy, we were given a small plastic tray to put in all of our chosen raw consumables. We eagerly handed the jam-packed tray back to the market wallah and watched as he emptied the contents into a wok ready for shallow frying. Whilst waiting for our pick and mix meal, Simon went to grab a sugar cane juice drink, which was sweet, delicious and quite moreish. Back at the wok, things had come along and in a matter of seconds we were carrying our plate of chicken feet, quail, tofu, breaded prawns, crabs and dim sum like goodies to the communal eating area that covered a large square in the centre of all the surrounding food stalls.

The ground was covered with large mats that were made from palm leaves and we relaxed and enjoyed the pungent aromas wafting from the stalls as we ate. We will definitely consider returning tomorrow!

The Road to Phnom Penh

The vernacular architecture of rural Cambodia is possibly the most amazing scene in any country we’ve ever visited! The ribbon developments along the roads are not so much villages as one long stretch of settlement, with each homestead possessing its own livestock, cooking fires and unique house on stilts. Whilst the flatness and lush greenery of the countryside reminds us very much of Bangladesh and that journey we took last year in Bengal from Kolkata to Dhaka, the pride taken in the presentation of each home and small-holding, together with the cleanliness and orderliness of the rural idyll contrasts this part of Indochina starkly and strongly with the squalor of parts of India. But why are the houses on stilts? Is it to protect the home from flooding, for the Tonle Sap backs-up in the wet season covering much of the flat plains with water. Or is it to protect the family from vermin which is unable to scramble up the wooden legs of the house? Or is it to provide garage or storage space: somewhere for the cattle to shelter?

Giant, fluffy haystacks line the road at the entrance to many small-holdings, whilst water buffalo wallow in the adits at the side of the road leading down to the rice paddies, just to gain a little respite from the searing heat of the midday sun. A large family of ducks waddle from a small pond to bask in the sunlight on a small grassy bank. Cooking fires stoked by lengthy logs waft their fragrant smoke over the road, whilst above them, their cauldrons emit the steam of a spicy brew. Can this scene really be genuine? It’s so magical and yet unlike anything we’ve seen before in Asia. Can it be true that just thirty years ago this landscape was the living hell for the millions of starving victims of the Khmer Rouge?

Feasting: the Khmer way!

Q: What's a Cornish Pasty doing on a market stall in Cambodia?
A: Being used as an incense holder, that's what! ... Still, a home away from home!
Meet Cambodia's Delia Smith! She cooked for us three nights running. She was always smiling and pleased to see us!
OK! I am especially happy now that I'm full!
This is her signature dish: Fried rice with vegetables, Khmer style, all wokked-up in a matter of seconds, and devoured in.......a matter of seconds!
They ran out of coconut shakes, so we settled for mango and pineapple. It's a hard life, isn't it?

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Siem Reap

Very impressive! A very skilled acrobat will do anything for a bit of cash as he risks his life, minute by minute, by jumping through a ferocious hoop of sharp knives and a flame of fire! It was in this street that we also met Douk, a victim of a land mine. Here there is a massive problem from unexploded mines, and this man had lost both his forearms. As he approached us, he put out his right arm to shake hands, which we did. We chatted for a short while about his horrific injuries, and of course it made us realise that there is far more to Cambodian history than the ancient Khmer Kingdom. Next week we will be witnessing first-hand just exactly what this means.

Having been lost in the rabbit warrens of the night markets here, we appreciate very much that the Cambodians are very skilled in what they do, and are also very practical! Last night, Simon bought two 'kramas', which are essentially large patterned cloths that slightly resemble tea towels with their checkered colours. Cambodians are very proud of these and some may even say that it marks their national identity. They can be used in a variety of ways such as scarves, headscarves and a type of visor that may shield against the dust of a busy city. In more specific terms of being skilled, it may be easier not to tell you what we mean but to show you in the fantastic picture above.

It was absolutely necessary to taste the unusual fruits of Cambodia. We stumbled across a quiet market stall where we saw some unusual fruits that included the mangosteens (above) and the Rambutans (below). The flesh of the mangosteens, once peeled, was jelly-like and resembled garlic cloves with its whiteness and shape. The taste, however, was very different and could be described as a complex vanilla flavour! The Rambutan also contained a flesh of similar texture, but was much sweeter and succulent.

The day started off with a stunning, spicy noodle-soup and a baguette. Don't forget that the French influence still lingers on in some quarters! The coffee here is frankly fantastic. Remember the coffee roasting ceremony in the streets of Sihanoukville last week? Well today it was time to try the real thing. Angkor coffee is rich, intense and very, very smokey. Great!
Cambodia is also famed for producing the best peppercorns in the world, from Kampot. Rick Stein thinks so anyway, and based on the stir-fried chicken with onions and black pepper we had at our favourite haunt last night, he's bang-on right.
During the afternoon we sampled Khmer spring rolls and a revelation of a soup made from pumpkin and coconut. the background taste was of Amok, a typically Khmer flavouring. Last year we raved about the lassis in India; this year the big taste sensation on the drinks front is coconut shakes. The recipe will follow, but basically, think slush-puppy with a deep, rich and intense coconut flavour!

Angkor Wat (Part 2)

Angkor Thom… Bayon
This temple was very mysterious and made the day! We curiously tunnelled through archways and trekked up steep steps, though a maze of boulders that had united to form one of the most complex temples we’ve seen. As well as delicate carved patterns, there were other aspects of detail in the lifelike heads in some of the boulders. We couldn’t leave this place without a good pose in front of one!

And then, finally:
we made it to Angkor Wat itself!