Last night I had an interesting dining experience. I went and tried a Khmer BBQ. Whether this was a concoction for tourists or a real Khmer dining experience, I’m not too sure. Basically, they put a gas burner on your table and then a pan on top which has a raised dome like middle. Around the outside they pour some stock and add vegetables and noodles to the broth, then on the domed bit your meat cooks.
It probably would have been great, except for the guy sitting next to me with his “local” wife. The conversation was all one way, I don’t think she said a thing the whole night.
Another thing I noticed last night were the amount of offers I got from Tuk-tuk drivers. The first thing they offered was a tuk-tuk ride to wherever I was going. When I said no to that I was then offered ladies, because surely any man who turns down a tuk-tuk ride must be looking for ladies. Finally the third option seemed to be live octopus. Exactly what one needed a live octopus for I’m not sure!
Today I headed back out to the temples again. I went back to my favourite Ta Prohm first. Then completed what is known as the grand tour, those temples a bit further away from the others. There are also many temples a fair bit further which I didn’t visit but I had a look at photos on the internet and decided I had seen the best. Its a tiring 2 days to see all that I’ve seen, particularly if you are not fond of crowds like myself.
Ta Prohm
I should also point out just how annoying some of the people selling stuff here can be. The problem I had was the price would drop from $5 each to 5 for $1 pretty easily and at that point, you just give them a dollar and move on. Although it also means I now own a little metal tiger standing on what looks like a penis (it very well could be a penis too).
Pre Rup
I have another day here in Siem Reap, but I’m done for temples. By Cambodian pricing standards visiting Angkor is a rort, but so worth the visit.