2008-09-14 - Lunch on the River

Started the day with another walk to Lucky Supermarket to get some domestic bits and pieces, but it turns out they aren’t open at 7am on Sunday morning after all. However, the European Asian Bakery across the road from it is. Usually the road – Sihanouk Blvd – is packed with 4 lanes of traffic going each way, and impossible to get across, but Sundays are quiet and my prize was in sight. I will have to bring the camera next time I go there – they have an amazing assortment of cakes that look like animals, cars, etc. They also have the thing where you grab your tray and tongs and help yourself to the individual pastries in the plastic cases. Long story short – US$2 + 2,200 riel gets you 5 things, including an apricot Danish and a choc donut (jam donut but with chocolate – inside and on top). Breakfast of champions.

Anyway, Pheap from CARE picked us up to go to a rural region close to the city for lunch – this was in an area where there are numerous fruit orchards, and a weekend market selling fruit, grilled animals and the likes.

The traditional foods market stall - from left: silkworms (metal platter), ground spiders (yellow), 2 kinds of big bugs (front), sparrows(red)

Looking out from the river bank, huts both in the near and far view

The thing to do then is to take your pick from the stilt houses out on the water, sit down and eat way too much. The stilt houses (no walls, only thin bamboo floor and thatch roof) are built by people, who charge you to use them and pay a lease on the land back to the community council.

On the menu were things like traditional rice pancakes, with beef and pork and eaten with a variety of leafy greens; grilled chicken splayed between 2 bamboo skewers, steamed or grilled rice with sugar and jackfruit, regular jackfruit and lychees. After a few hours lazing around and a quick drive-by of the Angkor brewery, it was back to town, to lie on the floor for a while.

In the hut, looking back towards the shore

Other side of the river

Just as we got back, it started pouring down, which cools things off nicely. Looking out over my little balcony, there was a cat stuck on the roof next door, trying to squish itself into a corner and stay dry.

I think the same cat had a 1/2 hour long domestic with another cat at 4am the next morning, so am not too sympathetic.