Gecko poo

After two months, I have a small flock of 5-6 geckos. They scurry up and down the walls, snatching insects in their chosen territory. The large ones are about four inches long, and there's a tiny baby, a little over an inch and a half long. Being a climber, I really admire they way they can scurry up vertical walls and stick to the ceiling, something that I have never been able to do.

Eating insects is a great service, but my geckos do leave little black droplets all over the white floor.

I was working away on my laptop and looked down at the keyboard. There was a small TURD on the touch-pad. Where the hell did that come from? I looked up and directly above me on the ceiling was one of my Geckos. Her aim was unbelievable: right on the touch pad.

I couldn't believe that with all the room in this house, she had to go on my computer. I am sure she was just teasing me.

What is that tent for?

As I rode the bus from Phnom Penh to Kampong Cham, I saw funny plastic tent like arrangements. But they weren't really tents. The wide part was at the top and the plastic was turned up looking like it was to catch something, possibly water. When it rains water would collect in them.



The other night returning from a wedding after dark, I saw that these tents had a light on the top and realized that they were for catching crickets.



Crickets? Yes, Cambodians in the Kampong Cham province catch crickets and eat them.



They pull the wings off of the bugs and then fry them. This is a delicacy that I have not tried and do not plan to.

The humble potato: my new hero

You may live in a country where your menu varies from day to day. In Cambodia there is a daily variance too: rice or noodles.

Last evening I had neither. Instead my dinner was a real treat at the Mekong Crossing restaurant, pan-fried fish, lightly steamed vegetables and mashed potatoes.

I never knew how wonderful potatoes could be. I'd always thought of them as bland, simple with not much flavor. I remember my mother saying "potatoes are there just to hold the gravy." When comparing potatoes with a well-seasoned chicken or beef gravy she was right. I now have a very different view.

The first bite of last night's mashed potatoes was heavenly: soft, smooth, a familiar flavor mashed potato flavor with a hint of salt and pepper. They were divine.

The vegetables were fresh from the market green peppers, carrots, onions and cauliflower. I have looked for cauliflower in the market but not found any. I asked the restaurant's cook and she said that there are only two to five kilos available in the market each day. That means that I will have to look hard—and perhaps earlier--to find some to cook at home.

The fish was flaky Mekong river fish that was swimming that morning, and glazed with a slightly sweet fish sauce, thickened as the fish cooked.

All-in-all it was a great meal.

There’s a storm blowing in

I needed to get out of the house so I took my moto and camera out. I went west even though there were very black clouds that way. I made it to the twin hills about five kilometers west of town. I took a few photos of the spires of the pagoda and decided it was time to head home if I was to beat the storm to Kampong Cham. On the way back, people were taking down umbrellas and moving their signs inside. I was flying on the way back, there was a bit of a tail wind.

When I reached Kampong Cham, I saw that the other side of the Mekong was in sun. I drove over the bridge to see what things were like on the other side. What I found was that from the top of the bridge I had a good view back of Kampong Cham and the approaching storm.

As I came back across the bridge I had the throttle fully open and was only doing 40 km per hour into the wind. The moto will to over 90. That was one of the strongest headwinds I have experienced in a long time.

When I got to the top of the bridge, I stopped and took this shot.

Computer problems

Yes, I am a computer nerd, but that did not help me much this week. My Vaio, an old friend who had accompanied me to Morocco many times, decided it needed attention and crashed hard. I have several recovery CDs with me here in Cambodia, but the CD drive in the Vaio is not working. I think that is from inhaling so much dust in Morocco. Yes the Computer did inhale.

I logged onto the Sony Vaio support site with my second, still-working, computer and asked two questions. The technical support was GREAT. I had an answer within two hours and the best part, the answer solved the problem. Even with the answer from Sony, it took two days to have most things back up and running on the computer. There are two or three applications that I did not bring the CDs for, or that I do not have the registration numbers, but I think I can get by for now.

One of my next steps is to create a good backup of the disk so I can recover more easily if this happens again.

Waffles, pineapple and bananas

Markets in Kampong Cham open early, about 05:30 AM, and close at 11:00 AM. It's best to get there early before things are picked over. That works for me, because I go to work at 08:00, I can get to the market before work.

Today I needed bananas, pineapple and waffles so I went to the end of the market street where the waffle lady sits. All three of my needs were within 20 meters. I parked my moto and ordered three waffles. I would shop a bit and be right back.

I looked at the variety of vegetables, and had no idea what they were, although I did recognize eggplant. I looked at a box of rusted spray cans, and wondered what they were for. Then I went to the platform in front of a wood shack where a young woman sells pineapples ready-to-eat. She removes the outside, holds the pineapple in a thin plastic bag in her left hand and carefully cuts the eyes out with a sharp knife. You can see from the photograph the screw like pattern that she carves into the pineapple watching her; I could tell she has done this before.

I purchased three small pineapples, thinking one and a half for today and the rest for tomorrow. Three little pineapples were expensive, $1.00. Without being ready-to-eat they would be $0.75.

One down, two to go. At the stand next to the pineapples there was a bunch of bananas. I asked around, but no one was selling them. Across from the waffle vendor, there was another banana stand, and I asked the price for a bunch. 1,500 real, that's a high price (Barang, foreigner price) but I don't want to walk a long way into the market for just one bunch of bananas. I gave in and bought them.

I turned around and my waffles were ready.

Quick, easy and tasty, not to mention fresh.

String Beans

I was at the Mekong Crossing restaurant the other day and had a very good curry with string beans in it. I asked the proprietor, Joe from Pennsylvania, where he got the string beans. He answered "in the market". I asked "are these the LONG ones". He said "Yes".

Can you grow string beans like these?

Beer over ice

After living in Belgium for five years I am spoiled for good beer. I have never liked pilsner, but that is what is readily available here in Cambodia. The main beer brands are Angkor, Mekong, and Tiger.

Also, remember it's a little warm here. Within a few minutes a cold can of beer is at room temperature, HOT by my beer standards. The locals here enjoy their beer over ice. It sounds funny but it works. First, the beer stays cold; second, as the ice melts it gives you water with your beer, so you should not be as dehydrated afterward; and lastly it reduces the beer flavor, which in my view is a plus. All in all, this is not a bad way to drink beer.

I learned from Igor, a Russian friend in Belgium, that in Russia before you drink you must make a toast. Only an alcoholic would drink without making a toast. Here, before anyone has a drink of beer, they clink glasses with EVERYONE around the table. At a social event, it sometimes seems that you spend all evening clicking glasses.

Pancakes 2

When I put away my pancake mix last week, I sealed it up tight in a new Zip Lock bag, and then put the zipped bag into the box. The real thing, with two zips. That will keep the bugs out.

Yesterday I purchased a small jar of honey and a yellow container of what I hoped was margarine (I had no idea, really, because the writing on the container was in Khmer). I looked for syrup but couldn't find any.

This morning after running I was eager to make pancakes and top them with butter (margarine) and honey. I was really looking forward to this breakfast.

I got everything out and opened the box of pancake mix. OH NO! Ants! I was so sure the zip lock bag would keep them out. Here in Cambodia, people eat crickets and other bugs, so I suppose I shouldn't worry too much. The ants are very small.

I mixed up the batter, and couldn't see any ants in it. They had disappeared.

I got out a metal frying pan, this time a new one without a non-stick surface. I put in a little more oil than I needed for the first pancake but the pancake bubbled and it flipped easily, no sticking. A great start! In fact, all three turned out perfectly, golden brown, light and fluffy. One was a tiny bit crisped around the edges.

I opened the yellow container, and put some (yes, it's margarine) on each pancake, then spooned on the honey.

It was a good morning.

Rules of the road

Someone told me that introducing traffic lights, stop signs and helmets in Cambodia has really messed up driving here. Before, drivers would look around and follow Cambodian laws of etiquette, giving right of way to older drivers. Nowadays, it is not that simple.

Intersections

From what I have seen, stop lights will stop traffic but stop signs appear to have no effect. So what do you do at an intersection?

First, do NOT slow or stop to give someone the right of way, they will become totally confused. It is just not done.

As you approach an intersection, be sure to honk your horn. No one really pays attention, but everyone does it.

Plunge in and cross by weaving through traffic going every direction. People will miss you and you will miss them, thanks to divine intervention.

Left turns

Cambodia has right-lane driving. In the US and Europe, as a driver, you stay in the right hand lane, continue to the middle of the intersection and wait for a break in traffic and turn left into the right hand lane. Simple, yes?

That is not the way it is done in Cambodia. Think of all driving here as riding a bicycle, no matter the size of the vehicle, from moto to dump truck.

To make a left hand turn, move into the oncoming lane on the far side. Yes, that is right; you are now going against traffic and have traffic coming at you. Don't worry; everyone here is used to that.

As you approach the turn, stay as close to the left hand curb as you can. Look to the left, down the street you are turning onto, for people who may be coming up the street and want to turn right. If there are vehicles headed your way, honk your horn and get closer to the curb.

When the coast is clear, make your turn, keeping close to the curb. You have half of the battle won. Now you must cross over to the right hand lane. Look over your right shoulder to see if there is anyone in the lane you want to go to. Look ahead to see if there is anyone coming at you. There will most likely be vehicles in both lanes. So just go. Don't worry, people will miss you, they don't want an accident any more than you.

The only thing you have to pray about is those drivers who are making cell phone calls while riding their motos, the three motos driving side by side while they talk, and the young girl who is waving to friends and not looking where she's going.

Whew, you made it!

Sometimes it bugs me

Just looked down at my wine glass, there was something that looked like a tiny bit of foam in the glass. On inspection, it was a bug swimming in the wine. When the movement stopped for a moment, I thought she was done for. No, she kept swimming. I picked her out and flipped her outside. I could not see her fly away but I am sure she was wobbling a little. I hope that my geckos did not eat her. They would have been staggering up the walls.

A few days back, as I was pouring rice into my industrial strength rice cooker, I spotted some little black bugs in the rice. On closer inspection there were larvae in there as well. I know they do not eat much. I sure hope cooking the rice kills all of the bugs. Yes, I ate the rice.

About a month ago, something with either six or eight legs bit me on a toe during the night, an event more painful than any insect bite I have had. When living in Texas, I thought that fire ants were the worst, but fire ants are piker's compared to what bit me here. My toe swelled half way up my foot to the ankle. I was so sore; I had to lay off running for two weeks. In Phnom Penh, I visited a doctor, who prescribed various medications for a home medical kit.

Bring on the bugs.

Four on a bicycle

I was riding along the Mekong on my moto. I stopped to take a photo and a child on a small bicycle came by with three others on the bicycle. They stopped and said hello. Every child knows how to say hello and says it every time he/she sees a Barang (non Cambodian). They cycled off. I wanted a photo of them. The boy in front, who looked to be about three years old, was buck naked. He was standing on the down tube of the bicycle frame. The driver and one of the girls was on the seat and the second girl was seated on the carrier rack over the rear wheel.

I started my moto and followed them down a rough dirt road. They went around a corner and then the road headed slightly down hill. I passed them on the downhill. They were screaming with joy. I was waiting for them to hit a bump and all go flying. The driver did a great job of navigating the ruts and bumps on the road. They were going 20 km/hour when I passed them. I got ahead of them, jumped off my moto, took out my camera and tried to get a shot.

There are five kids in the photos. The boy behind the bicycle just happened to be walking along when the group passed him.

Shrine Maintenance

Part of a fully furnished house in Cambodia is a Buddhist shrine. My house also has a calendar from my bank (in Khmer and English) that gives holidays and the days that you should make an offering.



My shrine has an addition that is not common in Cambodia, a Swiss bear. Mine is a Basel Fasnacht bear.



On days that an offering should be made my landlord comes over, cleans out the little cups, fills them with water, puts the food offering in front of the shrine and lights the incense. The offerings in this photo were pineapple and dragon fruit.

I felt energetic on Wednesday, so I went out and purchased an offering, placed it in front of the shrine and lit the incense. The next day my landlord brought me bananas for the shrine. I had made my offering on the wrong day. Oh well, an extra one can't hurt.

The landlord usually provides fairly green bananas, which are just right for eating the next day.

Lotus flower seed pods

On my way to Wat Han Chey I stopped to photograph a bowl of lotus flower seed pods beside the road.



Of course the lady of the house came out. She offered me one of the green seeds.



I popped it in my mouth. She went crazy. No, you do not eat the whole thing! You peel the green outside off to get down to the white seed.



She said one seed pod was 100 real. Ok, I decided to purchase one. Well she gave me a sack with 10 pods in it 1,000 real ($0.25). They are ok but nothing special to write home about.

A little further along the road, I made another photo stop. Three young men were fishing. I watched them for a bit, and gave them four of the pods. They smiled their thanks. When I arrived back home, I photographed the rest of the pods, and then gave them to my landlord.

Geckos and highway robbery

I lived dangerously last night, slept with the door to the bedroom open. With the door open, it was cooler in the bedroom. I was up at 05:40, and I did not get eaten up by bugs.

As I was opening the curtains to take the moto out to get something for breakfast, the smallest gecko I have ever seen fell out of the curtains. This little guy was about one inch long. He scurried under the moto, I waited for a bit until he was on the far side of the moto before moving it. 

In addition to breakfast, I was looking for bananas, an offering for my shrine.

At 06:00 there are relatively few people in the street, and I rode through the market with relative ease. My customary banana stand was not open yet. The first bananas I found were at the far end of the market. I stopped to ask the price. They were 1,500 Real ($0.38). That's highway robbery my preferred stand only charges 1,000 ($0.25).

Ok, I will pay it; I did not see any other bananas in the market at this hour. The vendor tied a string, a strip of some plant. I looped the string around the holder on the moto and drove off to get waffles.



The waffle vendor was squatting in her usual place. There was a family squatting with her, enjoying breakfast. She had all three waffle irons going. She carefully managed the heat under the wood burners by pulling one burning stick out from beneath the griddle and putting it on the ground. When two waffles were done, she placed them in a small plastic sack. She refilled the griddles and I waited for my third waffle. When it was done, she popped it into the sack with the others and handed it to me. I handed her 1,000 real ($0.25) she gave me 100 real back--Waffles are 300 real ($0.08) each. I hung the small sack on the handlebar of the moto with the bananas and drove home.

I was going to have a real breakfast, waffles with coconut and fried eggs. I got the sack of eggs out of the refrigerator and pulled the hay out of the bag. It is just like an egg carton in the USA, protection for the eggs. These were the smallest eggs yet. Remember, Tom, don't go back to that egg seller.

There are only two things wrong with my apartment 1) the freezer is too small and 2) the frying pan is an old Teflon pan with most of the Teflon worn off. The eggs stuck.




 
Still, it was a delicious breakfast

Multi-use

When I moved into my apartment it was furnished, it even had spices in the cupboard. There was a bottle of Cambodian ketchup. I call it that because it is red and you will find it on the table of all restaurants here.

When I investigated the cupboard, I found another bottle next to the ketchup. There is a photo of the label below. I could not read the Cambodian writing but the text to the right of the car said "Golden Car magic".

What is this stuff?

Is it motor oil, it does look like that or is it a sauce? On further inspection of the label, I saw photos of fish and meat. Ok, it must be a sauce of some type. It turns out to be a very good soy sauce.

I wonder if I could use it in my moto if it ran out of oil.

Transportation in Cambodia

Cambodians make the best of whatever means of transpiration they have. Take a look at my Flickr photo stream and see how they do it.



Let me know what you think of the other photos.

Breakfast

The alarm went off at 05:45, I decided not to get up right then. I didn't sleep well, it was hot. I was being eaten alive by bugs so I put on a t-shirt, which made me even hotter. I didn't have the luxury of lying in bed for long, my landlord knocked on the window. He made a motion toward the front of the house and was saying something that I did not understand. Ok, he wants me to open the front door and let him in. No that was not it.

When I came home last night after dinner I had forgotten to close and lock the front gate. I know what happened; I pushed the moto up to the front door, unlocked the door and pushed the moto in. Then went inside and forgot to close and lock the gate. The reason it was a big thing, the gate was left wide open, almost inviting people in.

My landlord cleaned the little cups in the shrine and put in fresh water and lights incense. I did not have an offering. I told him that I could go out and get one after breakfast.

For breakfast I decided to have something different and a bit decadent: "pancakes". I purchased a box of pancake mix and a very small jar of strawberry jam in Phnom Penh. They cost about $8.00. I did not purchase syrup and I don't have butter.

The first pancake stuck a bit because the pan was too hot. As I was pouring the second one into the pan, there was a knock on the kitchen door. What did my landlord want? He had brought an offering for my shrine. OK.

He was intrigued by my pancakes. The second pancake was ok. The third one was about half the size of the first two. When I tried get it out of the pan, I chased it with the wooden flipper and could not get it on the flipper. My landlord got a good laugh.

The pancakes were ok but not great. I really miss butter and syrup.

Working at the Moto Wash

Splashing along wet dirt roads through mud puddles left my new motor scooter quite dirty. Cambodians keep their bikes clean. When we got into Kampong Cham, I asked Gideon what it would cost to have my moto washed. He said 2,500 real, that's $0.63. We went to the Moto Wash. It is very much like a car wash anywhere. There is a production line of sorts. They clean them to look like new.

Take a look. Does this remind you of the song "Working at the car wash?"

Moto ride in the country side

06:00 I am up, I planned to go with Gideon into the countryside on my motor scooter. It rained last night and looked like it might rain today, so I took a raincoat along. I was ready when Gideon arrived at 08:35.

Gideon is a Cambodian tuktuk driver who operates a Cambodian taxi, by pulling a cart behind his scooter. Today I rode my scooter; Gideon took the cart off and rode his scooter.

Our goal for the day was to visit the Wooden Wat which is about 20 km down river. We crossed the river over the Mekong and took the better roads. There is a dirt road along the Mekong, I have bicycled it much of the way, it was rough when it was dry it would be very bad after a rain.

The good road didn't last very long. On the red dirt roads, there were large bright orange puddles from the rain last night.

We stopped to speak with people collecting rubber from rubber trees. The man told us that he and his whole family together earn $80 a month.



Figure 1 Rubber tree dripping latex

In the new stands of rubber trees, they have planted sesame and banana trees. I assume when the rubber trees get about six years old, the age they start tapping them, there is too much shade generated by the tree to have anything grow under them.



It took some time but we finally made it to the Wooden Wat. Gideon was my tour guide today and he told me some of the stories about the Wat.



Figure 2 Wooden Wat (temple)

The building was closed when we arrived. I took off my shoes to go in. I am not sure how long it had been closed but there was a huge amount of bird droppings on the floor. It looked like more than just one night's worth to me. Gideon said that the monks would come and pray there at 17:00 I don't know if that is every night or not.




 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Figure 3 Pillars in the Wat


On the way back we took a ferry to an island in the Mekong.



Figure 4 We took the one on the left

This island is connected to the mainland by a bamboo bridge.




 


Figure 5 The road bed

The bridge is made completely out of bamboo.

 
It is quite sturdy, that is a Ford Explorer driving across it.





Back in town with a very dirty motor scooter.

Plastic sacks

In Belgium within the past two years grocery stores have begun charging for plastic sacks, so I take my own.

In Switzerland and Germany, it's expected that you bring your own sacks to the grocery store. You can purchase a paper sack at the checkout counter.

In Morocco, when you purchase something, you are given a black plastic sack. This is partly to carry whatever it is home but more importantly so the evil eye cannot see what you are carrying. When they give you the sack, they tie it up TIGHT. In fact it is tied so tight that most of the time I have had to rip the bag to get whatever I purchased out. I used the plastic bags for trash sacks, I have fought with a bag trying to untie for five minutes before giving up and ripping it.

In Cambodia they give you a plastic sack as well. Most here are clear or light blue. 

They also tie the sack. But here they tie the bag neatly so there is one loop for a handle and a smaller loop that you can pull and violà the bag comes open without having to rip it.