What's For Lunch?

Many people ask me what I eat when I'm out and about. As a poor expat, I don't have money or the time to dine in even local restaurants. 80% of my meals are eaten or bought at the Old Market. When I don't have time, I do take outs. It's really like Panda Express, really. You just choose the dishes that you want and they pack it all up for you. Each dish is 2,000 riel ($0.50), additional 1,000 riel ($0.25) for a box of rice. It's filling, freshly made, quick, and authentic.

親によく「ごはんちゃんと食べてる?」とメールがよく来るけど、はい、３食ちゃんと食べてますとも！
金銭的に余裕がないのでランチはローカルのカンボジア人達と一緒に市場で食事を取ることが多いです♪　時間がない時は市場内のお惣菜屋さんでテイクアウトします。これがまた意外においしい。タイやベトナム料理のようにハーブや香辛料が控えめなので日本人の口にも合うんですよー

左下から反時計回りに：さばの奈良漬（？）っぽい魚料理、豚肉の煮込み、生姜とお魚のスープ、ピーマンの炒め物、ナスの炒め物、カリフラワーと豚肉の炒め物。

他にもスープや魚の塩焼きなど種類は豊富。一品何と約５０円！ご飯はプラス２５円です。ローカルにも大人気で午前中の仕事や学校帰り（カンボジアのランチタイムは２時間なのでみんな一旦家に帰る人が多い）に買っていく人も多いので、売れきれたりするので午前中に買いに行くことが必須！

Giant Puppet Show

Except for the electric light show at Disneyland, I’ve never been at a night parade. At least until I came to Siem Reap, that is. The Giant Puppet Show held annually and for the eighth time this year is a great festival for both expats and locals.

It’s best to get more information about the event from their Facebook page:  
"Giant puppets are created by children and include unique educational, cultural or ecological themes such as road safety, endangered species, hygiene, local cultural appreciation and environmental awareness.
Under the guidance of student artists from Phare Ponleu Seplak in Battambang and the project’s Artistic Director, over 500 children participate in fun and creative workshops, which are designed to charge and encourage the imaginations of the children. During the course of the workshops the children’s enthusiasm grows until it bursts onto the streets of Siem Reap on the evening of the annual parade.
Established in 2007 with just over 200 children participating in the inaugural parade, the project had more than doubled in size. In 2013 nearly 600 children from numerous local schools, orphanages, 'street kid' centers took part alongside children from a nearby shelter for child landmine survivors." 

It’s a grand project. 

They have been assembling it for weeks, mostly at my work so from time to time, I would see their progress. But I didn’t realize how much of a grandiose piece of artwork it was until I saw it complete and out in the streets.

Viewing party at New Leaf Book Cafe

 

Of course, the highlight of the night was the puppets but it was also nice to see the locals come out, especially the children looking at them in complete amazement. There aren’t that many parades or carnivals for children (with the exception of Road 60 night market) so this is a big deal. And it definitely was for the adults too! 

Nothing like a beer with a great view :)

Boy in a Spiderman costume(?) PJs(?). Adorable

Happy adults

Clown on a float entertaining the kids

No carnival can't be complete without popcorn and cotton candy

Expats Unite

One of the things I love about Siem Reap is that we have an extremely tight knit expat community.We have a good Facebook page in which ideas, events, and information are exchanged frequently. We also tend to bond when there's international sporting events (e.g. the recent one being the Olympics) regardless of which side you're on. 

We also befriend each other pretty easily -  the fact we come from all different walks of life, yet we managed to somehow end up here is pretty amazing in itself. I've met and talked with many people and got to know each of their stories on how they ended up here. That story itself will need a few refills of beer! 

Today we were at a farewell party for one of the expats so it was a big celebration at the Yellow Submarine bar, an expat favorite. 

Because I overused my liver too much during my college and Japanese "office lady" years, I rarely go out to drink in Siem Reap (I know, shocking right?)... but who can resist a good ol' Jaeger bomb? The bartenders did a work of art here. We definitely had our fun that night. Don't worry, nothing too much - I was in bed by midnight!

 

PHARE Circus

The PHARE circus has a sublime reputation so there I'm sure you can find more better articles on Google search. But just to add my quick comments, it's a must see. I know $15 is a little bit expensive (at least for local expats like me) but it's a deal considering that circus show tickets have become so extortionate the past few years (or it may be that the last time I watched a circus was on a school discounted ticket in the third grade in which kids prices were cheaper to begin with). Moreover, you're contributing a big part of the fee to the PHARE arts school and also to the performers who work hard to support themselves and their families.

I wanted to take pictures of their performances but frankly I was so mesmerized throughout the performance that I only snapped before and after the show.

Post -show with performers mingling with the audience

There are different troops within the circus and they perform completely different acts and themes which contributes to one of the successes of the organization. Many come back to see it twice or thrice as the performances rotate every few weeks.

The one particular one that we went to see a few weeks ago was about ghosts. The show had an amalgam of performances including a complete storyline, live band, acrobats, and dance involved. It was breathtaking and funny at the same time which was a great mix. Moreover, the actors seemed so exuberant and involved the whole time whether when they were acting, doing highly complicated acrobatic bravuras, or even when they were resting in between acts. I've never seen such a bunch of professional yet enthusiastic group of performers.

Rewind: Banteah Chhmar (Nov 2013)

Literally, Banteay Chhmar is a hidden gem.

It’s one of those places where it’s barely covered on Lonely Planet or any guidebook at all.  

It’s about 3 hours away from Siem Reap and about 20km from the Thai border. It’s a small cluster of quaint villages with barely any tourists and happy locals. What make this place so special is that there is an old temple that was built by Jayavarman VII about 2,000 years ago.  Like the Angkor Wat, it was once a flourishing walled city with a temple operating as a political and religious core of the civilization. 

The site had been abandoned for centuries and over the years there have been looting and destruction from bandits and thefts. Only recently had it been “re-discovered” and restorations are taking place. 

As the area was not declared mine-free until 2008, tourism only opened up recently. Only under 1,000 tourists visited the site last year, a startling comparison to the Angkor Wat which hosts over 2 million tourists each year. If you want to avoid screaming and pushy tourists and enjoy the local bucolic lifestyle, this is the place to be.

The tourism office provides a variety of activities to do besides visiting the temple which includes a tractor tour in the area, bicycle rentals, and a live music/dinner banquet at the temple.

Live traditional music

Candle lit Khmer food dinner

Bicycle rental available for a nice stroll along the bucolic landscape

The roads are so bad here that cars are an inconvenience. Hence this machine. I call it the monster tractor.

Hold on tight!

Beautiful sky and bumpy road ahead

My Khmer teacher was kind enough to invite me on the trip with her friends and her other students and we all had a wonderful time. I highly recommend this place if you are tired of tuktuk drivers calling out to you and tourists screaming at each other. Plus, the tourism here is sustainable and will benefit the local communities. There are no buses that go here so it's best to arrange a private car. There are some travel agencies that arrange a tour or get information directly from the local tourism office link.

Caveat: the road is VERY BUMPY. If you get car sick easily, bring medication.

Cheerful locals on their way to work

Since there are no hotels around here, you can "home stay" with local families or unoccupied traditional Khmer houses

The room is basic but it has a bed and a mosquito net, even a fan (beware, the electricity runs out at 9pm)

Drinking game time under the mosquito net!

Entry fee into the temple is $5. Compare this with $20 to the Angkor Wat. Although the scale is much smaller than AW, this place is so quaint and peaceful, it is totally worth more than it's price!

Oh you know... just hanging around chilling on a 2,000 yr old complex :)

Careful!

Cow just giving birth to a calf a few hours ago. My uncle was a cattleman for 50 years, I KNOW what I'm talking about!

Care for some fruits? Apples, bananas, mangos...or some fried crickets??? Didn't see that coming at a fruit stand huh? ;)

Picnic lunch before heading home!