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Tuesday, November 12
We departed Sambor Lodge in Kompong Thom after a short, but interesting, night punctuated by the "song" of the lone cricket in the rafters of our room and the morning greeting in our bathroom of a very large black spider. We set off to Siem Reap making a couple of stops along the way. First we came upon an area along the road where stone masons displayed nicely carved sandstone sculptures mostly of Buddhas. Stan left happy with a purchase of a a small statue. Later we stopped for a sampling of sweet sticky rice cooked in bamboo with coconut and sugar added.
We arrived in Siem Reap hungry and ready for a Cambodian lunch. At Champey, a downtown restaurant in an alley off of Pub Street, we dove in dining on green mango salad, fish amok (the classic dish of Cambodia), and various forms of Khmer noodles and rice dishes.
After lunch we strolled down the main streets discovering unusual sites prominent among them the variety of massage parlors available from Seeing Hands Massage down a side alley by blind people to the numerous fish tanks where you step in and get those callouses nibbled off. Then we roamed the alleys of the Old Market examining wares and bargaining (though not very hard as the prices were already ridiculously low). Parts of the market had various culinary delights such as dried fish, spices, coffees, and fruits--pineapple, mangoes, bananas, and, new one to me, dorian. We bought a kilo of Kampot pepper, repudiated to be the best in the world, for $10. Our helpful guide, Sareth, sampled them to confirm the product. Other stalls included a colorful array of silk scarves, bedspreads, table clothes, and Ali Baba pants; wooden chopsticks, boxes, and figurines; and even Rolex watches! Sareth bought one for $14!
Then on to visit the Artisans of Angkor where we saw the step by step process of creating beautiful silk products from the worm to the finished scarf all done by hand. At one point I was heading for a prime spot from which to take a photo and ran right through at least 100 threads spinning from one machine to another, truly a mortifiying moment. Some claimed I "stopped silk production in Cambodia." Poor Sareth did not know that our group felt compelled to help the local economy and thus let us loose inside the store which found us to be very happy shoppers.
Another great day on our tour.
Helen
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