Can you spot the Irrawaddy Dolphin in the photo?

Photo of the Independence Monument in Phnom Penh.

Picture’s blurry. Sorry if the color is horrible. It looked alright on our laptop. On the computer I’m using at the internet cafe, it’s quite terrible. But I have no way of editing the photo.

We spent Christmas in Phnom Penh. Surprisingly, we heard Christmas music in various stores and saw some decorated storefronts and restaurants. It was pleasant seeing lights, Christmas trees, and cute kids wearing Santa hats. It wasn’t so pleasant seeing tacky blow-up Santas.

The photo above was taken in Naga World, a casino in Phnom Penh. I heard they were going to have caroling and decorations, so I wanted to check it out. The decorations were impressive. The caroling didn’t happen. And we didn’t gamble either.

Read here for more about our Christmas in Cambodia.

Another photo of the rice grains that we had gathered. Read here for more details.

Rice!

Last Sunday, we visited my friend Keo’s homeland, which is about an hour taxi’s ride away. We met her family, hung out, ate a delicious lunch, visited her family’s rice fields, relaxed, and ate some more.

The rice planting and harvesting process seems quite involved. It’s a big part of the Cambodian culture and lifestyle. We helped out a little with the gathering part. The rice stalks had already been cut and bundled together. They were just sitting in the fields waiting to be gathered. So Keo, her sisters, her husband, Dave, even the taxi driver, and I went out under the blazing hot sun (the sun is still hot even in the “cold” season) to gather the bundles.

After the bundles were all piled up on the side of the road, they were loaded onto a cart and then taken to Keo’s parents’ house. (We did not help with this part.) The rice grains are then separated from the stalks. The stalks are used as cow feed. And the rice grains are later on husked to store and eat.

Cambodians are a very generous people. We left their home with two pillows (made by hand by Keo’s sister), a hat (which they insisted I take even though it was a gift from someone else to Keo’s sister), and rice (mm). I hope, by the end of our service here, that generous part of the Cambodian culture will rub off on me.

All desserts in Cambodia are called “bong ah-im”. One time I tried to find out a more specific name of the above dish. The seller was confused, perhaps by my inarticulate Khmer. Another customer turned to me and said “bong ah-im”. Maybe when my language skills get better, I can ask more clearly.

There are four or five different kinds of “nom” (which is what all bread desserts, cookies, rice cakes, etc are called) in this dessert. The “nom” is made in larger than lasagna-pan-sized pans. One of the noms is made of rice and is very similar to Korean dduhk. I think another one of the noms is made from some type of bean.

The different kinds of noms are cut up and put in the bowl. Add a ladle of coconut milk. Then the ice is shaved and placed on top. Finally, top off with sweetened condensed milk, the food of the gods.

It’s quite delicious and not overly sweet (for my taste buds), and it makes me miss paht bing soo.

Dave and I met up with several other Peace Corps volunteers over the Thanksgiving holiday. We had an amazing dinner at a friend’s house and ate all the normal Thanksgiving foods. We even had canned cranberries (the thick jello kind that retains the shape of the can) that some visitors brought from America.

The next day, we headed to Kampot Town in southwest Cambodia for a language conference. It ended up being very little language studying and a lot of Western food eating.

There’s a sweet river that flows through Kampot. I was amazed how clean it looked compared to the temporary lake we have in our town. We ate delicious ribs and had some gin and tonics at a restaurant in front of the above river view.

This lake fills up in the rainy season and empties out during the dry season. There is a pagoda on the other side of the lake.

Dteuk am bpoh (literally sugar cane water) stands are pretty much everywhere.

Select a nice looking stalk of sugar cane, and cut off a one and half foot section.
Peel the outside of the stalk.
Then press the pale yellow reed through the above contraption which squeezes out the sweet deliciousness. (It’s amazing how much water the canes have!)
Add some freshly squeezed lime juice into the mix for some tartness.
Serve with a straw and over ice in a glass or to-go cup*.

This refreshing Cambodian drink is only 12.5 cents! For reference, a soft drink like Coke, Fanta, or Lychee juice is about 50 cents.

*The to-go “cup” is actually a small, plastic bag. Economical for the sellers because they’re cheap and easily storable. Bad for the whole trash being everywhere situation.

I’ve met more New Zealanders in my life here in Cambodia. One older couple and one middle-aged gentleman are volunteers with the VSA (Volunteer Services Abroad) in the same town we’re in. Another older lady served with the VSA several years ago and decided to continue living here. Through conversation with them, I’ve learned…

1) New Zealanders despise being called Australian.

because…

2) New Zealand is not part of Australia.

For some reason I thought that Australia and NZ were connected territorially or governmentally or something.

3) It is a three-hour plan ride from NZ to Australia.

It looks much closer on the distorted maps we use.

4) It snows in New Zealand!

NZ’s southern tip is quite far south so it gets very cold on the southern island. Again, my mental connection of hot, outback Australia with NZ (which I know is very lush because of Xena: The Warrior Princess which was filmed there) never made me think it could snow in NZ.

5) New Zealanders eat a lot of lamb.