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Soo-sa-day! Sok-sop-bai jee-a dtay?
(Hello, how are you?)
Well it's now Sunday - a day of rest. Time to work on the tan ;0)
I headed out to the Angkor Wat area this morning where I boarded a large yellow balloon, which takes you up 200m, on a static wire, for the most amazing views of the Angkor complex. Sadly due to the heat, it was a bit hazy, but it was a fabulous experience. It cost $15 and lasted 10 minutes (a bit steep out here), but the best bit was that I was one of only 3 people on board (a large bus full of Koreans arrived just as we were boarding, but thankfully the pilot closed the door and we went up without them!)
I then moved on - poor bicycle - to the Angkor Silk Farm, about 10km from Siem Reap. It's a good job Cambodia is as flat as a pancake, but my bum aches from that saddle! You'd think I'd be ok with all the 'padding' I've got! Anyway, the Angkor Silk Farm is exactly as it suggests. They do the whole process here, from breeding the silk worms, growing the food to feed them, processing the worms (which when cooked look quite appetizing actually, a bit like gnocchi - actually I do know a lady who used to eat them to survive during the Khmer Rouge regime). They then extract the silk, weave it, and produce the end result - some of the most beautiful silk I have ever seen.
Going back to the subject of things they eat here, there's a great Cambodian saying: "Cambodian's eat anything that flies, except a plane, and anything with four legs, except a table!" Of course they eat things with many more legs, including the infamous deep-fried spiders from a village called Skoun, and the bags of salted crickets, which are the Khmer equivalent of Walkers Crisps!
Tried a new place for dinner this evening - The Soup Dragon - where I had beef lok-lak, a Khmer dish of stir fried beef in a type of BBQ style sauce with steamed rice. A lady came and sat at the next table to me, said hello, we got talking. I asked if her accent was from Yorkshire and it turns out she's from Leeds and, like myself, studied in Bradford! She's here until the 2nd, so we're going to meet up again on the 1st for a New Year drink.
Early to bed tonight as I have to be up at 5am. Leaving for the school at 6am.
PS. I've been uploading some photos to the Photo Album - please have a look. I love the one above with the little girl, puppy, and the man in a wheelchair - he lost both his legs in a landmine accident.
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