Reflections on Cambodia

Our initial plan was to come to Cambodia for a few days to see Angkor Wat but since we are travelling without a timeline, those few days turned into 16 - 9 days in Siem Reap and 7 in the capital, Phnom Penh. While talking with my brother Tim on the phone, he asked the question "why do you like it there so much?" and I didn't know how to answer right away but I have given it some thought. 

Food is always a big part of travel. Khmer food is delicious, not as spicy as Thai and lots of coconut, kafir lime, and lemongrass flavours. Fish amok (fish cooked with coconut in banana leaves) is one of my favourites. There are almost no American franchises. 

A delicious Cambodian breakfast:

The ruins of Angkor were breathtakingly beautiful and it was interesting to see the ancient architectural styles repeated throughout the country, but the landscape is dry and dusty at this time of the year and very hot (38C or 100F). 

We took part in many cultural activities, like learning how to cook and eat bugs and desserts, how silk is grown and woven, and a bike ride through the countryside. 

Taking a ferry across the Mekong with our bikes:

However, it was most interesting to observe how people live, especially adapting to the extremes of wet and dry seasons, such as the fishing villages that adapt to 12m water depth changes:

To begin to understand Canbodia's culture, it was important to learn about the history, especially the horrific genocide that occurred during the Pol Pot era of the 70's when millions were killed. We visited a prison and the killing fields to help us understand these horrific events. (We discussed this first with Zac and decided he could handle this emotionally, though I think a lot of 9-year olds could not). We learned even more by talking with Cambodians who had lived through these events. One man told us about losing 6 siblings - 3 from napalm and 3 from touching previously unexploded bombs - both from the US. This also generated a lot of good conversations with Zac: "But Mom, I thought the US were the good guys?"

Bracelets tied to the fences that marked the mass grave sites:

In Phnom Penh we stayed at an AirBNB house and experienced middle-class life in the city, even getting a week-long membership at the local gym where we swam almost every day. 

Our Phnom Penh 3-bedroom home:

Zac's swimming is improving and he's learning a few tricks too:

Modern day Cambodia is a place of rapid change as they are still rebuilding and growing. Phnom Penh felt like a city under construction. There is immense poverty, but also extreme wealth - few cars on the road but numerous Rolls Royce's, and also the excesses of the Royal Palace. We also leaned about the current politics and the hopes of the younger generation for the next election in 2018. 

The Royal Palace with the city's sole sky scraper in the background:

So why did I like Cambodia?  It is a country I knew nothing about before we went but learned a lot about their culture in a short time and will watch with interest the changes to come.  This is a country Zac might return back to in 30 years and he will say, "It was so different back then". 

The Backstreet Academy - cooking tarantulas and more!

The Backstreet Academy is a social enterprise that exists throughout Asia to connect tourists with a local person skilled in cooking, dancing, music, art, fishing etc. We have taken part in 3 of these courses so far and found them a great way to not only get exposed to a new skill but also to meet local people and learn more about their culture. In exchange, we paid a fee with most of the fee (about 70%) going directly to the teacher and translator. 

The first course we did was aptly named "Fear Factor". Danny and I have watched a show before about the future of eating bugs - so we thought it was time to try it out. We cooked (and ate) crickets, silk worms and ... Tarantulas!  

Beyond overcoming our fears and learning that crickets are delicious, one of the things that we liked the best was that the course took place in a local Cambodian's home. His 4-year old son was there too and Zac and him had fun picking flowers and playing with balloons. In fact, I think the reason why Zac was willing to try so many of the insects was because this little boy obviously obtained so much pleasure from eating them. 

Our second course was "Coconut carving". Zac and I spent 2 hours learning how to carve coconuts - and it is difficult!  Zac seemed to excel at this more so than I as two of my carvings broke so I was relegated to simple designs where he was quite successful at designing and cutting his own unique shapes. 

I needed a lot of help:

Our third course was "Dessert Making". Zac and I both having sweet tooths, we jumped at this opportunity, and Danny came along to take photos and chat. Again, one of the best parts was that this course took place in our teacher's house so we talked, cooked, and ate while surrounded by multiple generations of Cambodians. Our translator was a university student who was also very interesting and provided insight into what Cambodia needs to move forward as a country. If this young man is an indicator of the country's youth then Cambodia has a much improved future ahead. 

We made four different desserts and they were delicious - all based on varying forms and combinations of rice, coconut, green bean, tapioca, and sugar.  I took detailed notes so hopefully can replicate them when we are back in Canada, or maybe even here in our AirBNB house. 

Sticky rice with coconut custard: (Mmmmmm - much better than tarantulas!)

Backstreet Academy courses are also offered in Laos and Vietnam so I just might have to compare dessert making in all three countries, and learn some other new skills too. You can find out more about the Backstreet Academy by visiting backstreetacademy.com.