Going for a run on an evening in December brings to mind jogs through Rock Creek Park and a distinct evening chill as I try to get in a few miles before it gets dark. In SE Asia I feel as though I wandered outside and set off on my run and then remembered that I am on shrooms, causing my entire run to be one long overstimulated mess. Funky dried squids that are flattened and hanging from a rack wave their tentacles as me as I dodge around a woman grilling strange little cubes in banana leaves over a pile of hot embers by my feet. When I step off into a street an army of motorbikes bears down on me in both directions and crossing is a matter of trusting that people are paying attention enough, and not distracted by the nine family members or herd of geese propped on the moto with them, so they can steer around you. This trippy experience has become quite normal and enjoyable for me as these four months near their end and I find myself in Can Tho, the largest city in the Mekong Delta. I usually experience at a slower pace, but occasionally when I am in a slighlty calmer location like Can Tho I have attempted a short run.
Kara and I have journeyed from Battambong in Cambodia since I last wrote a blog post. We did a homestay with Sambath, a motorcycle guide who offers his Aunt and Uncles rural home for two nights. This included a motorbike tour around the village and surrounding areas to sample sticky rice smoked in bamboo, watch rice noodles being made, see the rice paper village, journey through amazing fields of rice that stretched for miles, and eat delicious food prepared by his wife with a side of... RICE. We also got to talk to Sambath about his experiences growing up in Cambodia, and hear his account of Cambodian history which was really insightful. Talking to Cambodians while at our two homestays has been an intense experience that usually leaves me feeling depressed and embarassed at how lucky my cushy middle class suburban childhood was in comparisson. It is no wonder Cambodia is flooded with foreign NGO workers desperately groping for some answer to how a country that is still psychologically recovering from horrible wartime attrocities can recover. Talking to Sambath gives a picture of just how far the country has to go since they have yet to be able to vote a leader into power who doesn't pocket as much aid money as he can and spend his time arranging sinecures for all his friends.
Feeling a little disillusioned I returned to Phnom Penh for Thanksgiving... which lacked both tofurkey and pumpkin pie so it wasn't quite the same. However, its hard to feel homesick when your surroundings remind you so little of what you are missing back home (this doesn't mean I wouldn't have killed to enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, but it just didn't work out). We spent a few more days in Phnom Penh getting in some amazing Cambodian meals to make up for the absense of all the eating we should have been doing on turkey day. We went to the Friends Restaraunt, which is a program for street kids that is doing an amazing job providing lodging, education, and training for kids with no other place to go. If they can successfully stick with Friends they leave with training to work in restauraunts as cooks, waiters, artists, and producing handicrafts. On top of that the food at the two restauraunts they run around town are delicious. I really loved Cambodian food. The only challenge was finding vegetarian since fish paste (nicknamed Cambodian cheese by Sambath) sneaks into just about every dish. I have just lowered my standards and try to at least ensure there are not chunks of dog meat in whatever I eat.
Five days in Vietnam have led me to draw a very similar conclusion about the food, although I am not as big a fan of it as I was with Kmer cuisine. Vietnamese seem to love fish past and fish sauce even more than Cambodians. The smell of fermented fish accosts my nostrils everywhere I go. Traditional Vietnames cuisine doesn't seem to lend itself that well to vegetarian dishes, but I can still find some street food favorites to fall back on if I get tired of spring rolls or vegetables and tofu with garlic. One of my favorite things to do is sample street food (although this ended horribly for Kara in Bangkok so she usually won't accompany me). My latest favorite is rice cakes that are bigger than your face and cooked with sesame, sprig onions, and garlice. MMMmm. Here I have been sampling the unbelievable amount of unusual fruit in season. I still can't bring myself to sample Durian, the famous fruit that is banned from the Bangkok subway system it smells so bad. I can usually spot it because it smells like fermented garbage, but some people love it. Ah well, to each his own.
We have a few homestays lined up in Vietnam which should offer more food commentary soon.
Kara and I have journeyed from Battambong in Cambodia since I last wrote a blog post. We did a homestay with Sambath, a motorcycle guide who offers his Aunt and Uncles rural home for two nights. This included a motorbike tour around the village and surrounding areas to sample sticky rice smoked in bamboo, watch rice noodles being made, see the rice paper village, journey through amazing fields of rice that stretched for miles, and eat delicious food prepared by his wife with a side of... RICE. We also got to talk to Sambath about his experiences growing up in Cambodia, and hear his account of Cambodian history which was really insightful. Talking to Cambodians while at our two homestays has been an intense experience that usually leaves me feeling depressed and embarassed at how lucky my cushy middle class suburban childhood was in comparisson. It is no wonder Cambodia is flooded with foreign NGO workers desperately groping for some answer to how a country that is still psychologically recovering from horrible wartime attrocities can recover. Talking to Sambath gives a picture of just how far the country has to go since they have yet to be able to vote a leader into power who doesn't pocket as much aid money as he can and spend his time arranging sinecures for all his friends.
Feeling a little disillusioned I returned to Phnom Penh for Thanksgiving... which lacked both tofurkey and pumpkin pie so it wasn't quite the same. However, its hard to feel homesick when your surroundings remind you so little of what you are missing back home (this doesn't mean I wouldn't have killed to enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, but it just didn't work out). We spent a few more days in Phnom Penh getting in some amazing Cambodian meals to make up for the absense of all the eating we should have been doing on turkey day. We went to the Friends Restaraunt, which is a program for street kids that is doing an amazing job providing lodging, education, and training for kids with no other place to go. If they can successfully stick with Friends they leave with training to work in restauraunts as cooks, waiters, artists, and producing handicrafts. On top of that the food at the two restauraunts they run around town are delicious. I really loved Cambodian food. The only challenge was finding vegetarian since fish paste (nicknamed Cambodian cheese by Sambath) sneaks into just about every dish. I have just lowered my standards and try to at least ensure there are not chunks of dog meat in whatever I eat.
Five days in Vietnam have led me to draw a very similar conclusion about the food, although I am not as big a fan of it as I was with Kmer cuisine. Vietnamese seem to love fish past and fish sauce even more than Cambodians. The smell of fermented fish accosts my nostrils everywhere I go. Traditional Vietnames cuisine doesn't seem to lend itself that well to vegetarian dishes, but I can still find some street food favorites to fall back on if I get tired of spring rolls or vegetables and tofu with garlic. One of my favorite things to do is sample street food (although this ended horribly for Kara in Bangkok so she usually won't accompany me). My latest favorite is rice cakes that are bigger than your face and cooked with sesame, sprig onions, and garlice. MMMmm. Here I have been sampling the unbelievable amount of unusual fruit in season. I still can't bring myself to sample Durian, the famous fruit that is banned from the Bangkok subway system it smells so bad. I can usually spot it because it smells like fermented garbage, but some people love it. Ah well, to each his own.
We have a few homestays lined up in Vietnam which should offer more food commentary soon.
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