I
love the intricate details in their roofs' designs. It has an Indian and Thai
flavour and at the same time Buddhist.
Lunch at
Romdeng - The best meal we had in Cambodia
As it was going to pour, we
quickly headed for lunch. This place
smells of lemongrass. One of its speciality is the exotic tarantula (giant
spiders). Nope I didn't order it. Yes I am not adventurous.
Romdeng is actually part of a
network which helps Cambodian youths and street children by giving them a place
to train and become part of hospitality industry. Part of the money you spend on
the food or their souvenirs will be catered for that. It certainly beats giving
street children money as you can give a man a fish, and he eats for a day.. But
teach him how to fish, and he can eat for a lifetime.
Duck spring rolls which were
very nice, served piping hot and the fillings were fresh and the duck meat was
tender.
Red tea- it's
quite lemon-heavy and sour sweet.
Coffee
- Hmmm it tasted quite strong.
And presenting to
you, the best dish I ate this whole trip- Romdeng's Amok! It's heavenly nice.
Amok is
a Cambodian specialty and made by steaming curry coconut milk, lemongrass, and
fish ( tender soft mud fish). It is like otah.
I
love everything about this dish- it's mild spiciness, the coconut cream paste,
the soft fish meat, and it's cute elegant presentation in the folded banana leaf
boat. Lovely Asian dish.
Romdeng's
Amok set the bar high for future Amok dishes that we would
eat.
We
also had a pomelo and prawn salad which the flavours and the cold prawns did not
come together for me. The salad dressing tasted a bit weird which was like
peanut taste.
Total bill was only $19 for 2
persons... So cheap given that this is a nice restaurant
setting.
Central market - get your
overpriced souvenirs here
Central market is where the
Cambodians do their grocery cum accessories cum electronics cum fashion cum
everything shopping. We bought a magnet at $1. There wasn't much to shop about
so we decided to head to the bus terminal for our bus to Siem Reap- home of
Angkor Wat.
6 hour bus ride to Siem
Reap - Encountering the real Cambodia
The road itself and the
countryside scenery
When friends heard that we
were going to take the bus from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, they were like, "huh
you serious?", "please don't go", "bring a mask".
When you get reactions like
this, you should be wondering why.
After extending
our research, we found out from google that the
road is bumpy, full of potholes, very dusty. And the driver drives very
fast.
Nevertheless,
we did lived to tell the tale. And it was one of the most memorable parts of the
trip for me.
So we took this
mini van bus called Golden Bayon. Not the best based on online reviews. But
because we were heading in on a major holiday in Cambodia, the Phchum
Ben festival which is a three day holiday to honour ancestors and pray to the
dead, all the buses with better reviews were fully booked because the Cambodians
were going back to their villages.
 |
|
The
highway |
 |
|
Transport
efficiency level: 1000 |
The bus brought us
through real Cambodia countryside. Attap Houses built
on stilts. Padi fields.. Roaming goats.. I saw possibly the most number of goats
on this trip than all my trips to the Singapore zoo combined. Hammock stations
where people can sleep in the open lined occasionally along the dusty bumpy, and
unmarked two way expressway. And there were no street lights at all... Zero. But
because of that, I was able to admire the most beautiful starry sky I've ever
seen.
Meeting friendly
and trusting Cambodians
And during this trip, I find
Cambodians to be really friendly people. We were waiting for bus at the bus
station and two Cambodians actually helped to ensure we board the right bus. One
Cambodian whose bus was also delayed like us helped us to search for other bus
companies. And I was not sure if Cambodians were overly trusting or simple
minded. Another Cambodian just left his bag on the seats while he went to the
toilet. I'm like aren't you afraid people will take it? And our tuk tuk driver
was also very trusting. We agreed with him upfront that he will take us to 3
places for a fee. When we reached the first place and left him to wait for us
while we tour the royal palace ourselves, he didn't ask for a partial payment. I
mean we could have left the royal palace without looking for him and pay him for
bringing us to royal palace. I think if he had met other less nice people like
us, he would be on the losing end.
Dinner - I am falling in
love with Cambodian cooking
We stopped over for dinner.
Our $4.50 dinner shared between me and my friend. The lemongrass chicken was
awesome, except chicken was a bit hard.
Home is where
the heart is
Out of the bus of
14 passengers, 11 are local Khmers returning home to celebrate Phchum Ben
festival. My friend, I and another Caucasian are the only
foreigners. The road was still unlit. But some of the passengers requested
driver to drop them off along the highway. One mother was waiting for her
daughter along the highway. So sweet. We were wondering how the passengers could
make out that they have reached home as it was really dark.
What can I say? Home is where
the heart is.. As long as the heart is with the home, one will be able to find
his way home.
After 6 hours of bus ride, we
finally reached Siem Reap, home to Angkor Wat.
To be
continued...
