busy busy day

wow, what a day. We started the morning at 7 with breakfast. The usual, noodles and porridge.

Afterwards we went to check out a old temple ruin called Wat Ek Phnom. It was cool, but the temple is in quite disarray since it's probably at least 1000 years old. It was neat to climb up the temple.

There's a giantic buddha statue that's in the middle of a (now dry) pond.

On the way to the temple we saw hand made rice paper that was laid out to dry. Rice paper is used in spring rolls and such. Not sure I want it all dusty though...

 

Afterwards, we went to a sort of lake area. You can hang out there, there are hammocks and you can order food. It was totally sketchy. Some of the cabanas were made with bamboo and I was seriously worried that it wouldn't support our (my) weight. I made sure to step only on the areas that had a beam underneath.

 

The biggest rooster I have ever seen. Probably the size of a beagle.

Lunch time!

Yeah, bamboo slates.

some weird chicken soup. I didn't try it.

This is a frog dish. It was tasty actually. Not sure if it tasted like chicken.

And now onto the ceremony stuff. We picked up the monks and drove to the relative's house (in the sticks). We had rented some party supplies: tents, tables, dishes, etc. To make room for the tents, the relatives had to chop down two banana plants = (

So they set up some platform for the 10 monks, but the regular people sat on the ground. OMG, it was awful. The ground was NOT smooth at all. It was lumpy from all the broken pieces of cement.Think of golf ball to tennis ball size rocks underneath you. It's bad enough the way you HAVE to sit, with your legs tucked under. Sitting indian style is not allowed. But you have to constantly shift around to find a comfortable spot and not have a rock dig into your butt.

So the ceremony thing went on for about 4 hours. Tomorrow we go back for more. We have to leave here around 6 am and I think it should be over around 1 pm. I hope...

The biggest pot I have ever seen. I think they made porridge in it. I think it's larger than a wheelchair.

One of the altars.

 

Night Market

photos from Psar Reathrey

eating area

pressing sugar cane. They sell the juice over ice.

I've heard that they recycle the sugar cane fiber into paper.

Angry Bird fish cake

pick whatever you want and they will fry, grill, or boil it

 

marketplace

photos of the market place. I didn't take any photos of the seafood or any other meats. The fleas were a turn off.

 

Food

here are some food photos

the fuzzy one is rambutan, the other one is mangosteen

bao filled with meat and egg

cambodian pho

seafood pho. I took this photo for Jean - look at all that lettuce!

curry with noodles

knock-off pringles

 

Bugs

The bugs are eating me alive. I have probably 10 bites on my left leg alone. I think most of bites came when we were visiting the relatives and we have to go back there in a few day. I brought a hydrocortisone liquid which helps the itchiness a little bit.

Phnom Banan

Today we are back in Battambang. We got in yesterday afternoon. Yesterday around 4 pm we went to check out Phnom Banan. Phnom means mountain. Phnom Banan is a temple that's on top of a mountain. You have to climb up 358 steps to get to the temples on top. It's a neat area. The temples are in ok shape considering it all. The climb was intense. The stone steps were pretty steep and boy am I out of shape!

half way to the top

opening of the temple area.

half way to the top

Going up took a lot of energy, but going down wasn't much easier since the steps were so steep.

When we got up the top, there was an old man and woman tending the temple. So Linda and I did the traditional thing. We made cash offering, lit some incense and repeated after the old man some chant asking for good fortune and such. Afterwards, he sort of gave us our fortune, but I didn't really understood he said. I kind of wish I did...

 

Sunset Cruise

When we were in Phnom Penh, Linda and I went on a sunset cruise. In Phnom Penh, the river converges into the Mekong. The cruise was neat. You could drink beer and wine on it. The cruise cost $10 per person. The guide pointed out some sights, but with her thick accent and rapid speech it was really hard to understand her English. I understood her Cambodian better.

Along the river area there were people living in these tiny little boats. I found it hard to belive that a whole family could live on it. These boats made the smallest SF apartment look grand. There were also people living on floating homes on the river.

We saw these two floating homes that were way grander than anything else on the river. One of the house had a boat and two jet skis. Apparently, it was a garage for the house next door. The guide said that it was called a bungalow and it was available for renting. Sometimes, people would rent it just for parties.

It's a weird way of life on the river.



aren't we cute?

these are the boats that people live on

this is the nice bungalow for rentals

floating houses

sun setting behind the silver palace

 

Squat Toilets

I have definitely learned to master my bladder. I can now go for almost a whole day without going to the bathroom. Of course, I only drink a minimum amount of water. The issue is I won't use a non flushing toilet. I can't use the squat toilets. These things are basically holes in floor and you flush it by scoop some water from the nearby bucket and pouring it over it. Eww.

However, Linda has had no problems with using the squat toilets. She'll get mad at me for putting this in the blog but oh well...

Linda said that squatting and peeing is not a problem for her because she's had experience with peeing near cars when she's out with friends and I guess they're too drunk to find a restroom or care.

 

Day in Phnom Penh

We spent one full day in Phnom Penh.

We left Battambang on the 24th and drove to the Phnom Penh Airport because one of our boxes had been "mistakenly" picked up at the airport on our arrival so we had to go back to get it. Of course there were items missing from the box. Oh well, it's not worth it to file a report when it was most likely the airport people who steal the stuff. Word of advice - try to only bring enough stuff for carry-on luggage.

After picking up our box, Linda and I took a break to get some Dairy Queen chocolate dip ice cream cones. There are two DQs at the airport, one at arrival and one at departure. Actually, there are DQs and Swensons all over the town.

DQ at the airport. Linda in genie pants.

mmm, ice cream

Afterwards, we drove around trying to find a decent hotel. I'll spare  you the long story...

In the evening, we (Dad, Linda and I) too a tuk-tuk ride to the riverfront and then we walked to the Psar Reathrey or night market. It was neat to walk along the riverfront and check out people. There's one section of the riverfront that's a workout area. The area reminded me of the Marina Green.

riverfront

The next day, Linda and I did some touristy stuff.

We started the day at the Central Market, in Cambodian it's called Psar Thmey, which means new market but it's actually the old market. It's a neat building. There's a central dome and under it are jewelry sellers. And from the dome, there are several "arms" in different directions. You can buy anything here, clothes, groceries, etc.

dad and I looking at some shirts

bling, bling

Dome of Central Market

Linda bought a couple of brooches as gifts for her friend and a tshirt that says: I survived Cambodia.

After the market, Linda and I went to the National Museum. It costs $5 for tourists and $500 riel for Cambodian people. $500 riel equates to 1/2 of a quarter.

the garden of the national museum

We also went to Wat Phnom which as the myth goes is the founding spot of Cambodia.

 

 

 

We needed a new place to stay because the one we stayed at the night before was not worth the $45 we paid. Totally overpriced and the room was crappy.

The driver recommended a place in the neighboring town. It was a long drive and I didn't like that, but I wanted to give the place a chance since it was being recommended. When we got there, I checked out the room and it smelled of bug spray and there were some dead bugs on the floor. No F'ing way will I stay here.

So back to Phnom Penh we drove and found a decent place called the Salita. The place I really wanted to stay at we couldn't find. I only have internet access in the hotels or when we stop to eat so I couldn't look up the phone number for the Frangipani hotel and spa. The Salita was fine. The room was nice and it was close to eateries and such.

The next morning we got back on the road to drive back to Battambang.