The Street

Where, What, How.

When you are on a free and easy tour you need to think for yourself; where to go, what to eat and who to lead you. The 2 older girls each decided on a stipulated trip they want to be on. Grace planned for the first evening while Esther took the second day. Of course, number 3 is always the free rider pretending to be the pathetic youngest. But otherwise, she decides.

The first evening saw us with a graduate in law as a tour guide. Ah Hai said we must stroll the eating streets of Siem Reap and see what the locals indulge in. Everyone agreed that we must be kind to our tummies and not cause unnecessary turmoil to the organ.The doctor of the house stocked herself with sufficient medication for all kinds of breakdowns and breakups.

At the local wet market, money changers are hard to come by but one did come by. We got excited when we saw the Malaysian Ringgit on display. Don't you have that sense of ownership and affiliation to your motherland when you travel? Some are not so proud. Talking about currency. The Riel is the official tender but most trade in the US dollar. Even when I tried changing to the Riel in Malaysia, the money changer advised against it as local traders will prefer the US notes. In fact trade in all forms are conveniently charged to the exact dollar in US currency. No smaller denomination that the one dollar. No coins.From this trip it is true that it is most convenient to transact in the US dollar except when you have to tip...

Similar to most Asean countries are wet markets that sell almost all kinds of cooked and uncooked food ranging from vegetables, poultry, fish and meats. As we are neighboring lands, the foods are quite familiar

Bananas, lychees, limes, dragon fruits, pomeloes and the like.

Free range chicken and eggs are abundantly available, Cambodia being an agricultural land. The vendors look tough and able to withstand rough situations. They are as strong as free range chicken with little fats and a lot of muscles unlike city folks who are akin to town bred chicken; full of fat and weak muscles.

You belong to which group?

Talking about eggs.

We discovered prepare their eggs in some ways we have not seen before.

This is one of them. The eggs are baked over a charcoal fire. As shared before, the charcoal fire has a strange effect on foods cooked over it. The egg has its yolk 'fused' into the white and the result is an egg that has a 'rubbery' consistency. I did not taste it. Grace did and she liked it.

The Toman fish is reared. So the locals seem to feed freely on them.They split them and sell them in great style.Fresh water fish somehow is never the same as those bred in the deep seas. My teochew mother only believes and consumes fishes from the sea; nothing else works for her.

The rice is one product that the locals are proud of. Planted as a polished species; you will crave for more as you eat. Polished rice is very tasteful and you never seem to want to stop but they can be a health hazard when consumed over a long period because of the high glucose content. I consume controlled amount of rice but when I tasted rice here I found myself eating an amount that is unusual for me. So, I guiltily consumed a bowl of rice and stopped with that amount left on the plate. The Khmer farmers produce the best species in the region. So all along the market we found polished, white rice sold abundantly.

Next, we were brought to this part of the town, commonly known as the Sixty Market.The tarred roads brought me to ask Hai about it. Who built it? Why? Ah Hai gave a surprising answer. The Korean multinational companies. The stretch was constructed to cater to exhibitions and trade and even gatherings. So when they left, the locals took the opportunity to set up business. Nice of the Koreans to leave behind the road that gives a source of livelihood to the locals. I hope I have interpreted correctly.

The locals once again sell all types of cuisines and outstandingly sold are also second -hand products. 

I wondered .why.

This is in fact an extremely familiar sight to us. 

You either fry chicken, fish slices, keropok or vegetable roots but never these seen below...

Insects.

Crickets, cockroaches, silk worms...what else?

The first impression was grotesque.

We get rid of them back home with insecticides but here the locals consume them without qualms.

Sara came out with a theory. She said the locals must have been so food deprived during bad and war times that they resorted to eating insects as a source of proteins. Is the theory palatable?May be so.

One thing is true though; the locals have strong stomachs.

Esther trying out a worm. The silk worms looked better; less frightening.

Ah Hai picked a cockroach and demonstrated on how to dissect it into parts to be consumed.

It's ok. I will stay hungry.

I took comfort in this. The sweet potatoes. It's so very right to eat them. I ate them.

This tough lady sat by the whole evening and cooked rice flour batter over a direct fire.

She was not bothered about our inquisitive gestures and went on doing her chores without a glance at us.

The girls loved the batter. 

They ate happily and Ah Hai bought a packet for us to consume later in the evening.

Dried squids to be baked over a fire too. It reminded me of my childhood days when I used to scout for the plump lady vendor who pushed around her store to sell them.

Of all the cuisines, this one beats them all. Duck eggs with embryos still intact for consumption.

Yaks.

But the locals did not hesitate.

It's a common affair.

Oh no...

Grace deciphered the parts of the embryo as it is taken out of its shell; the heart, lungs, hair...named them one by one.

 

She is very brave. She ate them. The sounds that oozed out of us finally told her that she may be doing the wrong thing. She stopped and passed it to Ah Hai who laughingly continued the eating with glee.

Would you have the guts to eat it?

I declare defeat.

So, the street food for your eyes.

Hope you have enjoyed it.

The Break

 It takes a break to have us all together again.

Now that all are working adults, it's difficult to plan for almost anything.

Esther, the adventurous one is always full of tricks up her sleeves and insisted that the family go visit the ancient relics; the seventh wonder of the world.

Yes, it's Siem Reap.

Though not exactly keen as I have been there before, I thought that it is one rare occasion for us to take leave and be together.

So, the stories begin.

By now you know I like to tell stories my way, through my eyes and how they relate to me.

 It is fun that we can get together and take leave at the same time.

We made ourselves available for one another.

All are hard-headed and highly opinionated; so we had to consciously stay humble and try not to fight.

 Siem Reap is hot; as hot as Bangkok for both are on the same latitude and dusty too. With or without a hat, it is still blazing hot. But the tourists had to trudge under the heat for you don't go to  your tour spot to sleep. Fancy getting dad to walk on a hot afternoon in Kuala Lumpur ; never. No one can get him to do it except when his old English friends pay him a visit. So, I could not function without an umbrella and bought one gaudy, red brolly for US$5.

 We walked along the shaded park of the town. Full of lush tress and vegetation.

It is idyllic and would have been a better experience if it is in the evening.

 I believe many come here for wedding photos. There were at least 4 wedding photography at one time.

I noticed that Cambodian grooms love to wear white; like the brides. 

We hardly find grooms in white back home.

 The canal running across the town provided a scenic view and concrete images of the deer, boar and crocodile depicted country sights which the people still want to be associated with. Notice the boat.

What do you think they the boat people were up to? They were performing a duty; clearing and removing garbage in the water. This is how the locals maintain the cleanliness.

When the local tuk tuk driver is tired, he puts up a temporary bed and sleep. How convenient.

The laid-back style I am sure is loved by many foreigners who are tired of the mad rush in life.

At a corner of the town stands some French-influenced buildings. I also noticed that there were many hospitals in Siem Reap; from children to women's. There is a dengue-hemorrhagic hospital too. The Aedes mosquito is endemic here.

Dad was especially attracted to the wooden feature attached to buildings. The strips of wood provided protection and shade to the glass panels. Dad has long loved it and someday I will show where he has fixed them. To be fair to him, he did not copy after the visit; rather he has already installed the feature in a new building.

On a very hot afternoon such as this, the alley nevertheless still look quaint and peaceful.

 Having a cup of coffee with a book will complete the picture.

For rent; the locals will do anything to complement tourism which is needless to mention, the mainstay of the town. Rugged old bicycles.

The girls were attracted to this vendor who is a victim of land mines. He lost both legs and peddles the vehicle with his hands. Sara bought a couple of books knowing full well that they may not be original. Under such circumstances, compassion is reason to help. He asked for support so that he need not beg for the family. The girls helped.

We had a simple lunch and decided to go back for a short rest before a guide came to lead us in the evening.

A very hot afternoon; an introduction to the streets of Siem Reap.
To be continued.