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| Tarantula anyone? |
Today was a travel day from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. Yet, traveling doesn't have to be all bad. Along the way, we stopped at a food market famous for its' insects:
Skuon. As soon as we disembarked the bus, there were kids surrounding us trying to sell us pineapple and other fruit. There was also a girl wearing a tarantula on her t-shirt. After our tour guide assured us that Cambodian tarantulas aren't poisonous, some in our group took turns hold the tarantula and posing for photos.
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| So many fried insect options! |
There were so many insects to try: tarantulas, scorpions, crickets, grasshoppers, worms and water beetles (known in Texas as cockroaches). I tried everything except the cockroaches. Even I have my limits. Everything was delicious since all were deep fried in vegetable oil. Like popcorn with a little extra crunch.
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| One of the restaurant's cabanas |
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| Fish amok |
Our next stop was for lunch. Our restaurant,
Prey Pros Rest Area, stretched out over the river on stilts. There were several thatched cabanas that were accessed by wooden panel walkways. We were lucky enough to sit on one of these and have our own private cabana. This was my first chance to try the Cambodian traditional dish of
amok, a curry cooked in a banana leaf. It was delicious!
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| Floating village |
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| Dragon boat racers in front of the main square of Khampong Khleang |
Our group unanimously decided to follow our guide's recommendation and stop at a floating village before we arrived at Siem Reap. This was the village of
Kampong Khleang. Here, floating village meant that people generally have to get around by boat. Some people do live on houseboats. However, the majority live on houses on stilts in the river. During dry season, the water recedes enough to have dry ground between homes. However now, just after monsoon season, the water is still high; and, boats are needed to get around. While we were there, we saw some teams practicing in their dragon boats for the upcoming water festival. Our boat took us all the way out to Cambodia's largest lake,
Tonle Sap.
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| Houseboat |
On the last leg of our journey to Siem Reap, suddenly our bus pulled off on the side of the highway; and, our guide jumped out talking about stuffed frogs, Curious, I and a couple others followed him outside to a roadside stand selling grilled frogs and stuffed frogs. I tried them both; but, the stuffed ones were the best. Definitely a great food day!
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