So today we headed to Siem Reap by bus. The most exciting part of the day came when we pulled in a roadside food selling stop- kind of like a truck stop but way more fun. As soon as we were off the bus we were surrounded by cute little girls trying to sell us pineapple. We couldn't help but notice one little girl had a giant tarantula crawling all over her shirt- we thought it was a pet until she dragged us over to a woman with a giant bucket ful of live tarantulas and a big pan full of deep fried tarantula's for your culinary pleasure. Before we could argue one of the women had thrown a live tarantula in Tim's direction- next he had one on his shirt and another in his beard. The women thought it was truly hilarious! Before I could join in the laughter i had one thrust upon my bosom. It wasn't nearly as horrible as one might imagine. Although I was quietly thankful it wasn't a frog. NExt we bought a couple of deep fried crickets and had a taste. As soon as i had popped it in my mouth the children said "no don't eat that bit!"I hope they were having a lend of me. The Khmer people have a fairly Australian sense of humour and Tim and i are really enjoying meeting these people who (not sure if I should make the call so early) are the best we've met so far. great fun genuine and warm people.
While we chomped on fairly average grasshoppers we were surrounded by the little pineapple sellers who were equally fascinated by both Tim's beard and my fair skin. They kept saying "White skin you very beautiful lady"- wow imagine if they met someone who actually had really beautiful skin. They were fairly deligthed when we said they were all very beautiful and chatted to them about how old they are etc.
When we eventually arrived in Siem Reap we were picked up by Martins cousin and taken to his brothers guest house. WE went to this crazy palce for dinner called the "dead fish Tower". It used to be a crocodile farm and now the crocs swim about beneath the dining areas. Dumb waiters lift food to the many open split level dining areas and Traditional dancers entertain.
next we wandered through the night market- the classiest we've ever seen. The fish massage tanks were hilarious- you stick your feet in and let the fish eat your dead skin. We're yet to try!
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2 comments:
Hi Guys- what an amazing experience!
its really confronting to imagine what you have been going through and what that country has suffered, makes our lives seem so incredibly privaleged. what extremes of experience and intensity of emotion these communities have suffered.
i do feel proud that both of you are making a small contribution to their lives now.what more can one say
Yes this country is incredible. It has withstood a lot and the people still manage to smile and joke! It really does make us appreciate how wonderful our lives have been and make us more determined to continue that run of luck (while maybe spreading a little of it around if we can). There is an orphange on the way to one of the temples that we discovered today - also an art centre- we thought we might take some food and craft supplies out tomorrow.
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