Cooking class - Khmer style

The food in Cambodia is pretty different from the food we cook back in the UK, or the food I was used to from Namibia. There are a lot of different ingredients that we are not so familiar with - especially spices and fruits. And often ingredients are used in ways that I have not seen before - sweet potato or beans in desert, or cucumber heated up in things like sweet and sour are good examples.

"Food is our common ground, a universal experience." - James Beard

We arrived at The River Garden early and set off for Psar Leu market - the biggest most local market here. So easy to get lost in the hustle and bustle. 

Our guides showed us round and shared information about loads of ingredients from palm sugar, to new fruits and very Cambodian delicacies -like prahok (fermented fish paste).

We bought some ingredients for the day and set off back....

Our menu to book for the day was:

Banana Leaf Salad

Fish Amok

Coconut Sago and sweet potato pudding

Here are our ingredients:

Banana Leaf Salad: banana flower, corriander, garlic, onion, beansprouts, peanuts, lime, other herbs, pepper, carrot, chicken, dried shrimp, fish sauce.

[beware veggie friends, often menu choices like green mango salad, banana leaf salad and pomelo salad have dried shrimp and chicken in]

Amok: Chili, stock cubes, onion, water, sugar syrup, spinach, lemongrass, garlic, tumeric, ginger, galangal, fish, coconut milk.

"It's okay to eat fish because they don't have any feelings." - Kurt Cobain

Coconut sago and sweet potato pudding: coconut milk, sago, sugar syrup, sweet potato, water.

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We began with peeling the banana flower and removing all the baby bananas, the leaves are then used as a salad green.

Inside the banana flower.

"Never interrupt me when I'm eating a banana." - Ryan Stiles

More ingredients for the salad.

The method is basically chop, dress, mix, and serve.

Our next dish was the amok, we all got involved in chopping and pounding spices...

Once all the ingredients were ready and the spices had been pounded to a paste these were fried off, combined with coconut milk and the fish and spinach were added.

Amok has great delicate flavours with all those spices mildly blended - yum!

Our final dish, was the coconut sago and sweet potato - very easy to make, personally I would leave out the sweet potato though! Combining sago, sweet potato and coconut milk, sugar and water over a low heat until the sago and sweet potato are cooked through, chill, sprinkle with dried coconut and serve...

Our final meal was enjoyed with the couple who had been cooking with us also - and for amateurs, was pretty delicious or 'chhnganh' as they say in Khmer. 

With thanks to our patient chefs!

"What I've enjoyed most, though, is meeting people who have a real interest in food and sharing ideas with them. Good food is a global thing and I find that there is always something new and amazing to learn - I love it!" - Jamie Oliver

Last day in Laos

On our final day we headed into the centre of town and checked out he Royal Palace museum. Built in 1904 and mixing French /Laos architecture this is the former Royal Palace.

"No single treasure in Laos is more historically resonant than the Pha Bang , an 83cm-tall gold-alloy Buddha for which the whole city is named. Its arrival here in 1512 spiritually legitimised the Lan Xang royal dynasty as Buddhist rulers. Legend has it that the image was cast around the 1st century AD in Sri Lanka, though it is stylistically Khmer and more likely dates from the 14th century. The Siamese twice carried the Pha Bang off to Thailand (in 1779 and 1827) but it was finally restored to Laos by King Mongkut (Rama IV) in 1867." - Lonely Planet 

[There is also nothing more difficult to photograph in the entire grounds!]

The buildings in the grounds were really ornate, lots of them adorned with dragons...

"Happiness is like those palaces in fairy tales whose gates are guarded by dragons: we must fight in order to conquer it." - Alexandre Dumas

And at the back a massive round pond, full of expensive Koi Carp.

"Koi is a symbol of the strength, courage and patience. According to Chinese legend, a carp which courageously climbed up waterfalls was turned into a dragon." - Anon

There was also a theatre in this Royal Palace complex, where (if I remember right) they were planning to host a ballet.

The roofs of these temples are amazing - I love all the layers!

Towering over Luang Prabang is Mount Phousi, a mountain/ hill with a panoramic view and a golden stupa at the top. You climb up 355 steps to get to the top, but with a sore back it wasn't possible for me to go - here is a zoomed in image of the stupa! Hoping to go back one day and see it for real!

"Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation." - Brian Tracy

All around there were lovely views of mountains - so different from Siem Reap - largely built up and pretty flat.

We also found star fruit growing- I remember mum buying this in the market and it being really sour instead of sweet, I waited for dad to come home and made him try it telling him it was delicious and sweet and waiting for his face to crumple into a sour lemon grimace, I was about six and suddenly my parents realised I was growing up!

"Actors are con men and con men are actors." - Edward Burns

As the evening wore on we checked out many of them temples and saw many of the monks praying.

The monks also have a slightly different style to those in Siem Reap and there seems so many more of them, the temples are also right on the road side quite often.

We took a few final photos of the boats on the river and the mountains before our last dinner and heading back to Siem Reap.

On one of the evenings we went out to dinner I went to the toilet. As I walked in I couldn't work out if it were a bathroom with cubicles or if this was it as the initial part of the room was very long. As I got to the end it became apparent this was the cubicle and as I turned around I saw a 6 foot 7" 60 year old man mountain in the doorway. I smiled and said 'oh sorry there is only one', he said 'thats ok, I'll wait' and leaned up against the wall'. Hmmmm, what to do now? I thought. 'No, there is only one, and this is it' I said. Well, I have never seen such a bit guy looks so embarrassed, he apologised profusely and backed out quickly. When I came out his glasses had steamed up and he was still mortified and apologising. After he left the toilet I saw him telling the story to his wife, and typically, they were on our bus home and in the hotel! We had a great chat and a week later had dinner with them and a night at the annual 1920's Heritage Suites party in Siem Reap!

We got to the airport and were checking out the very limited shops airside. One of them had some beautiful unpriced coasters and whilst the assistant was searching for a price on the computer system we found a small distressed bird flying at the window trying to get out. We opened the window and after a small carry on movie managed to capture him and release him to the outside world. The assistant eventually  looked up, totally oblivious and stated the coasters were an extortionate $60, we thanked him and left. Can you imagine such a scene at Heathrow? Caught on camera in a throwing a bird out of a window security alert!

All too soon we were back in Siem Reap .....

The waterfalls and the bears - Laos

On the second day we explored the idea of several trips - up the river to see a cave with lots of Buddhas in it, to elephant sanctuaries and 'ethical' elephant riding. I love elephants and have a really strong desire to spend time with them as they fascinate me, this is one of the only opportunities I have ever had, and ele riding, bathing and walking was on the menu everywhere. Despite really wanting to spend time with the elephants there was no real way to see who was ethical and who was not. I am vehemently opposed to elephant riding due to the way they are trained with bull hooks and tied to trees. 

"Nature's great masterpiece, an elephant; the only harmless great thing." - John Donne

[Unless there is a drought and you have a swimming pool. or are driving through a reserve with a car full of ranges]

There are two ways to work with animals - love and fear, breaking them and using fear may get results, but nothing is worth crushing an animals soul for. 

"Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference. They bless the one who receives them, and they bless you, the giver." - Barbara de Angelis

"When you encourage others, you in the process are encouraged because you're making a commitment and difference in that person's life. Encouragement really does make a difference." - Zig Ziglar

Some sanctuaries had rescued eles who could be ridden - again how were they trained in the first place - this leads back to in some way contributing to this practice. There were also some sanctuaries where you could go bathe rescued eles, which seemed more appealing, but in the end we couldn't be sure who was who and what was ethical, so gave it a skip. On a side note, its really hard when you want to support a local economy and good initiatives but don't know who is good and who is conning you from the info received at a tour agents.

We wanted to see the waterfalls and this trip had a bear sanctuary to walk through first. We asked a lot of questions and got a good explanation of the bear sanctuary and felt comfortable to go, so we headed to town early to the travel agency where we had booked the one day trip through the bear sanctuary to the waterfalls at Kuang Xi

We waited a while and one of the foreign tourists we were also with was expecting the bus to go bang on time, eventually he started to get pretty irrate with the tour company who were only saying 'you wait', rather than explaining why the trip was late and we would get longer at the waterfall. We managed to calm it all down and get some info and eventually the bus arrived. 

The bus ride took around an hour and was pretty windy and twisty, so we arrived feeling pretty sickly, but the falls were stunning. First we walked through the bear sanctuary though...

Animal enrichment - as the bear search and 'forage' for their foods.

The bears largely looked well and in a reasonable space. Only one seemed to be suffering from stress and pacing, but it was unclear if that was from its current or previous circumstances.

Next we hit the waterfalls and pools which had milky blue water and were very beautiful...

"The point is that when I see a sunset or a waterfall or something, for a split second it's so great, because for a little bit I'm out of my brain, and it's got nothing to do with me. I'm not trying to figure it out, you know what I mean? And I wonder if I can somehow find a way to maintain that mind stillness." - Chris Evans

Loads of people were taking a dip too!

"Only when the tide goes out do you discover who's been swimming naked." - Warren Buffett

There were lots of big and mini falls and sections to swim or paddle in. 

Mum decided not to swim and I wasn't feeling too well so also missed out, which was a shame as I love swimming in falls, the sea or any open water.

"Swimming is normal for me. I'm relaxed. I'm comfortable, and I know my surroundings. It's my home." - Michael Phelps

“There is a waterfall in every dream. Cool and crystal clear, it falls gently on the sleeper, cleansing the mind and soothing the soul.” ― Virginia Alison

This section here was right at the very top and you could walk all the way to the base of the falls. Stunning.

"I love the sounds and the power of pounding water, whether it is the waves or a waterfall." - Mike May

All too soon we headed back through the bears and onto the mini bus back to the center of Luang Prabang.

"I'm a bear of very little brain and long words bother me" -  AA Milne.

We had a morning in Luang Prabang left before heading back to Siem Reap and spent this relaxing and seeing some final sights...

"People travel to wonder at the height of the mountains, at the huge waves of the seas, at the long course of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars, and yet they pass by themselves without wondering."  – Saint Augustine