Cambodian Wedding, Part 1

I was very excited to receive my first invitation to a Cambodian wedding!  In Kenya, many of my friends had talked about going to weddings and I was disappointed I was never able to view that rite of passage.  I was worried I might miss out again in Cambodia, until my embassy colleague, Sophal, announced he was getting married, and I received the anticipated invitation in my inbox.

A Cambodian wedding is traditionally a multi-day event, with various rituals and ceremonies conducted before different audiences of the bride and groom's family and friends.  In this case, we were invited only to the wedding reception.  Upon arriving, we were greeted by the bride, Hemroth, and groom, Sophal, who were beautifully dressed in green outfits.

Sophal walked us into the reception hall and showed us to our table.  Looking around, we saw many Embassy friends seated in the surrounding tables, so we exchanged several greetings before finally sitting down.  After getting drinks, we took a look at the menu to see what we were having for dinner:

Ha!  The menu was all in Khmer.  But luckily our table mates helped translate and explain each dish.  All the food was served family style, placed in the middle of the table on a lazy-susan. 

Fried fish - yes it's a whole fish with the head and tail

Seafood platter

Clockwise from bottom - mushroom delight, crab leg soup, rice, fruity desserts

 Once dinner was over, the real party started...stay tuned for Part 2!

Angkor Wat 100K Bike Race

As I previewed in an earlier post, Jeremy and I rode in the Angkor Wat 100-Kilometer Bike Race.  Although I realize that doing physical exercise early in the day makes sense in a tropical climate, the 5:30 a.m. call time seemed a bit extreme.  It was still completely dark out!  It was actually quite amusing when the organizers got on the microphone and asked all the cyclists to "move up here to the start gate."  I couldn't see them or a start gate!

Geared up and ready to ride!

Jeremy and Rich await the start.
You can see the towers of Angkor Wat in the distance behind them.

By the time the race actually started at 6:15, dawn had thankfully broken.  The route was four laps around a 25-kilometer loop passing by two prime Angkor temples: Angkor Wat and Bayon.  On the first lap, we encountered a massive pig trotting straight down the middle of the road through all the cyclists.  Sadly I did not get a photo, but we all had a good laugh about it!

The second lap passed without incident; after the second lap, I was happy to take a half-way pit-stop for bananas and a bathroom.  The break was very welcome, but it was hard (literally) to get back on the bike seat again with another 50K ahead of me!  The third lap was definitely the most difficult, as each pedal stroke aggravated my saddle soreness.  But along the way, I was able to get this perfect picture of an elephant passing in front of Bayon Temple.

I soon got another psychological boost - Jeremy!  He had raced off at the start and I figured I wouldn't see him again until back at the hotel.  But as my friend Lauren and I started our fourth lap, Jeremy suddenly appeared at our side.  He had had a mechanical issue and pulled off to fix it.  Having lost the group he was riding with, he decided to wait for me and Lauren and bike the final lap with us.

This made the final 25K easy-going and we eventually crossed the finish line at 11:30 a.m.  For our effort, we received a finisher's medal and a pretty sweet bike jersey.

Thanksgiving Bounty

Holidays overseas can be hit or miss.  Even if we don't realize it, there's usually some underlying anxiety to recreate our personal family traditions to share with our Foreign Service family.  Sometimes we fail miserably and finish the day feeling a bit empty and homesick.  But other times it all comes together wonderfully.

Arriving at James and Virginia's house, we were greeted by a beautiful table setting and an invitation to "Get Your Fat Pants Ready"!

Once everyone had arrived and all the food was laid out on the table, we started to fill our plates.  The spread included roasted AND smoked turkey, mashed potatoes, yams, stuffing, green bean casserole, broccoli salad, cranberry sauce, fruit, and homemade rolls.  Plus Virginia's awesome sweet iced tea and sparkling lemonade.

Jeremy allowed me a moment to photograph his plate before he dug in.  

As we ate, classic holiday movies - "A Christmas Story" and "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" - were playing in the background and we talked about where we were last Thanksgiving.  

After letting our stomachs settle a bit, we attacked the dessert table, which was laden with pecan tarts, lemon meringue pie, cherry pie, pumpkin pie, and apple crumble.  Sadly, my extra helping of green bean casserole didn't leave me enough room to sample all the desserts.

During dessert, Virginia gave us the answers to the incredible 35 Thanksgiving trivia questions she had prepared.  Sample Question:  Which president was the first to establish Thanksgiving as a national holiday?  Answer:  Abraham Lincoln.  Thanks Abe!

And a huge thanks to our excellent hosts James and Virginia for creating a fabulous Thanksgiving celebration for us in Phnom Penh!

Easy Riders

"Easy Riders" is a group of expats that takes weekend bicycle rides in and around Phnom Penh.  I often think of joining them, but the 7am start time is highly unappealing on a weekend.  However, at the end of the month, Jeremy and I are participating in the Angkor Wat 100 kilometer bike ride.  So we decided we better get in a practice ride.

The day began with a ferry ride to the neighboring island where we would start biking.  The ferry is always a bit chaotic with passengers, motos, and cars all boarding together.  As we were disembarking, a car got stuck trying to make it up the steep, muddy off-ramp, and everyone else had to wait until it finally made it off on the third try. 

Once off the ferry, we hopped on our bikes.  Phnom Penh has been soaked by the remnants of Typhoon Haiyan with big thunderstorms the last few days.  This turned several of our paths into slippery, muddy messes.  As we came around one bend, we saw that our path was completed covered with several feet of water.  Some of the villagers offered us a boat ride across and were ecstatic by the $2 we gave them in return.

Despite the multiple boat rides, we logged 55 kilometers on our bikes.  We also splashed a good amount of rural Cambodian mud on ourselves and our bikes - as shown by my dirty legs in the photo below.  But this ride gave me confidence that we'll actually make it to the finish line of the upcoming 100 km ride...stayed tuned for a blog post about that!

Ice Skating in Cambodia?

The newest family attraction in Phnom Penh is Kid City.  For Halloween, they offered a special "No Kids" night, so we headed over for some adult fun.  Our first stop was the ice skating rink.  I cannot remember the last time I went ice skating, plus they rent out ice hockey skates rather than figure skating ones, so I was not very steady on my feet.  But I managed to stay upright the whole time, so I was proud of myself!

Next stop was the science gallery.  Our friend Kristin couldn't wait to try the human gyroscope, which turns you upside down and all around.  

Meanwhile, our friend Stacy showed no fear of heights by riding the high wire bicycle.  Overall, the science gallery was very well done and also has a impressive, high-tech exhibit on the solar system.  I hope that Cambodian children have the opportunity to go to experience the fun side of science.

Finally, we harnessed up for the climbing gym.  The gym has about a dozen climbing walls, all with different hand holds.  They also have a few special features including a Leap of Faith and a 9-meter free fall.

Unfortunately, we ran out of time to play laser tag.  So we hope that Kid City has another "No Kids" night soon!

Happy in Ho Chi Minh City

With a long weekend available to us, Jeremy and I took the opportunity to hop next door to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam.  On our first day, we prepped for a day of checking out the city, got down to the lobby...and looked out into torrential rain.  We waited around in the lobby for a bit, hoping the rain would let up.  Eventually, we decided we couldn't let a little rain coop us up in the hotel all morning.  So, we donned our rain coats, headed out, and promptly got soaking wet.  We persevered, ducking under awnings to sneak a peak at a map in our quest for the Pham Ngu Lao District.  After several wrong turns, we finally found it, just as the rain let up.

The next day was thankfully dry, since we had booked a 6-hour moto tour of the city with Tiger Tours.  The tour was an excellent way to see parts of the city off the well-worn tourist track.  It was also a delicious way to sample authentic Vietnamese cuisine.  We stopped at three different restaurants and sampled a range of dishes.  We even tried pig ear...I would not recommend it!

The most unique part of the tour was a stop at a local beauty salon, where we were treated to a relaxing hair wash and face massage.  I've never had that combination of beauty treatments, but we learned it's common in Ho Chi Minh City.  I also snapped this blackmail photo of Jeremy with cucumber slices on his face!

Next day, we boarded a bus for Cu Chi Tunnels.  This network of tunnels, stretching from Saigon to the Cambodian border, allowed Viet Cong fighters to move about undetected.  After watching a patriotic propaganda "documentary" filmed in the 1960s, we viewed various hidden tunnel entrances and deadly booby traps used to avoid detection.  Finally we descended into the tunnels and crawled a hot, dark 80 meters.  And to think fighters spent weeks down there!

 

Overall, we had an excellent visit to Ho Chi Minh City.  I think what we liked best was that it's a nice city to walk around in.  Each turn down an unfamiliar street offered an opportunity - a cute shop to explore, a restaurant to discover, beautiful architecture to admire, or a park in which to stroll.  Jeremy even got to try being a coconut juice street vendor!

Circus and Trains in Battambang

A few weeks ago, Jeremy and I traveled to Battambang.  Battambang is in the northwestern corner of Cambodia, not too far from Thailand.  In fact, Battambang has actually been part of Thailand a few times in the past, as recently as during World War II.

In Battambang, we were able to experience two of the things on my "must-see" list.  The first was the circus.  Battambang hosts the training school for Cambodian Circus students.  The circus is in the vein of Cirque du Soleil, but on a much smaller scale and with fewer bells and whistles and less makeup and razzle dazzle.  I kept my expectations very low going in, but was pleasantly surprised by the athleticism, enthusiasm, passion, and talent of the young performers.  Below is a picture of three young girls in one of those "how are they twisting their bodies like that" positions.

The second "must-see" was the bamboo train.  The bamboo train was developed in Cambodia a few decades ago as an easy way to transport goods and people on the rail lines.  "Train" is actually a strong word because it's more of a platform set onto two train axles with rolling stock wheels.  The rail lines are all single track, but one train can easily be disassembled and removed in minutes to allow the other train to pass.  Despite the noise of the rails, it was actually a peaceful way to enjoy a bit the countryside of Battambang.

Life's a Beach

Over Labor Day weekend, Jeremy and I took our first trip to the Cambodian beach.  We chose a quiet little beach hideaway outside the city of Sihanoukville.  Although I guess it wasn't much of a hideaway since five other embassy families were also staying there!

The highlight of the weekend was a private boat tour to nearby islands.  Our voyage began with the boat pulling right up to the beach at our resort.  Talk about door to door service!

We headed out to sea towards the closest island.  The boat crew cracked up when I took this photo of the captain's backside as we approached land!

Instead of going onto the island, we anchored slightly offshore and snorkeled around.  I didn't see much and struggled with a leaky face mask before quickly calling it quits.  Jeremy and our friend Rich had better luck venturing to a nearby reef.

Then we were back in the boat to hit the next island.  This time we went ashore and tossed a frisbee in the shallow, calm water.

Having had our fill of sun, and realizing it was time for lunch, we boarded our boat and returned to the resort, where we enjoyed some refreshing cocktails with our meal.

Worst Things About Phnom Penh

My last blog post focused on the best things about Phnom Penh.  Now it's time for the worst...

The worst thing about Phnom Penh is the prevalence of bag snatching.  I've been here just over 7 months and I already know 7 people who have been victims of attempted or successful bag snatchings. The most common snatching scenario is you'll be riding in a tuk tuk or walking down the street, and someone on a moto will drive up close, grab your bag, and speed off.  Whenever I'm out and about with a bag, I'm on high alert.

So, if I'm worried about bag snatching, why don't I just drive more?  The next worst thing about Phnom Penh is driving.  I've already talked a bit about the driving in a previous post.  In addition to the fabulous habits of turning into oncoming traffic and only looking forward (never to the side or heaven forbid in the rearview mirror), Cambodian drivers are compelled to keep moving forward into all available space, even if it is completely unsafe, inconveniences others, or snarls everyone into a traffic jam.  The other night, I was in the far left lane with my left turn signal on, waiting for an opening in oncoming traffic to make my left turn.  However, motos kept coming up from behind and passing me on the left.  You seriously need to have nerves of steel and eyes on the back of your head to drive safely around here!

Back out of the car, I find myself on foot.  Sadly, walking is only slightly less worse than driving.  First, there is the aforementioned bag snatching concern.  Second, it's rare to be able to walk a full block on the sidewalk, due to drivers parking on the sidewalk:

or creative gardeners planting vegetation smack in the middle of the sidewalk: 

These obstacles mean I'm constantly having to weave back and forth from sidewalk to road.  Added to this, it's nearly impossible to enjoy a quiet walk without being hailed by eager businessmen:  "Hello! Tuk Tuk?" or "Moto Madame?"

All of these factors play into what could be the worst situation.  It's very easy for me to ride my tuk tuk into work, stay in the Embassy building all day, carpool home with a colleague, and then spend the entire evening in my 8th floor apartment, avoiding all bag snatching, driving, and walking, but also not interacting with the city around me.  So, that will be my challenge:  to rise above these annoyances - possibly even embrace them - to enjoy the many good things Phnom Penh has to offer.

Best Things About Phnom Penh

The best thing about Phnom Penh is the number of different restaurants to choose from.  That may sound trivial, but in much of the developing world, restaurant options can be pretty slim.  We can never even hope to sample all of the restaurants in Phnom Penh in our remaining 18 months here.  Just in walking distance from our house we can eat Peruvian, Indian, Italian, Burmese, French, Australian, American, Lebanese, Sushi, and Cambodian.

But if we're too lazy to walk outside, we can take advantage of the next best thing in Phnom Penh.  Door 2 Door is a pocket booklet with menus of more than 50 restaurants that deliver right to our home or office.  All of the cuisines I mentioned above, and more, are no more than a phone call away.  And if all we're craving is a latte...no problem.  The local coffee shops will deliver as small an order as a single beverage.

After all this eating, sometimes we just need to sit in a comfy chair with our feet up, which brings us to the final great thing about Phnom Penh.  Just half a block from our house, we can get a one-hour foot massage for only $10.  Our favorite spa charges a mere $8, but it's a whole 6 blocks away.  I usually let the weather decide for me...if the sky is clear, I walk the six blocks; if it looks like rain, I stay close by.  Here I am looking relaxed and refreshed outside the spa after a recent massage.  Three cheers to Phnom Penh!

Krolan and Dolphins in Kratie

My trip to Kratie to observe the elections was my first overnight trip to "the provinces" - which is what Cambodians call everywhere in the country except Phnom Penh, Angkor Wat, and the southern beach towns.  It was a bumpy five-hour drive with multiple Mekong river crossings along the way.

One of the culinary specialities of Kratie is called krolan.  Krolan is a concoction of sticky rice, coconut milk, and a few black-eyed peas steamed inside a bamboo tube.  Vendors sold it by the kilo all along the road.

To get to the sweet insides, you peel the bamboo down like a banana and break off a chunk with your fingers.  Eating a whole tube felt like a full meal!

When our election observing duties were finished, we had time for the principal tourist activity in Kratie: seeing the rare freshwater Irrawaddy dolphin.  The dolphin boat dock was marked by this Leaning Statue of Dolphin.

The dolphins were actually incredibly hard to see!  They slid in and out of the water without a sound, so if I wasn't already looking in the right direction, I totally missed them.  I tried and tried and the best photo I could get was this dorsal fin before the dolphin disappeared under the water again.

I Voted

Last weekend, I traveled to Kratie Province as part of a team of diplomatic site visitors observing the Cambodian National Elections.  As observers, our role was simply to watch and report on what we saw happening on election day.  We could ask questions, but we were not there to act as enforcers of proper polling practices...although we would closely watch the polling officials and note if they failed to follow correct procedures.

On election day, we were on the road at 6:30 am to arrive at our first polling station before voting officially opened at 7:00 am.  We watched as polling officials prepared the polling station and then opened the doors to the first voters.  Even this early in the morning, many Cambodians had already arrived to vote. 

The first step of the voting process was to review the posted list outside the polling station to ensure you had come to the polling station where you were registered.  Then staff reviewed your photo ID and gave you a paper ballot.  You took the paper ballot behind a small screen to mark your vote, and then dropped it into the ballot box.  The final step was to dip your finger into a jar of ink.

Watching this whole process made me realize that the last time I physically went to the polls was almost 10 years ago.  In my state of Oregon, we have voting by mail.  About 6 weeks before election day, my ballot would arrive in the mail.  I usually filled out my ballot in front of my computer, pulling up candidate web pages and reading the pros and cons of ballot initiatives as I marked down my choices.  Then I could either mail my ballot back to the voting division, or drop it in one of numerous drop boxes around the city.

This process led to more informed voting, because I could research my options as I voted.  

But by filling my ballot out in solitude, I missed out on the active sense of carrying out my civic duty in community with my neighbors.  The voters I witnessed in Kratie were clearly happy and proud to perform this duty.  As the polls closed, I couldn't resist joining in.  I dipped my finger into the ink jar, pulling out a purple finger as a statement of fellowship with the voters of Cambodia.

Living High On The Duck

Last night Jeremy and I dined at The Duck Restaurant.  We had heard of the restaurant before but had never been.  Despite the name, The Duck does not usually have duck on the menu.  But last night, they put together a special duck extravaganza.  Since Jeremy and I are both duck lovers, we had to check it out.

And we were not disappointed.  Every dish prominently featured duck.  To start with, we had two of Jeremy's favorites: pate and fois gras.  They were accompanied by a cool watermelon shooter.

My favorite was the duck leg confit salad.  There's really not anything else to say about it except YUM!

One of the more amusing aspects of the dinner was that two of the diners at our table are actually duck-haters and didn't realize the meal was going to be all about duck.  Here's our friend Ashok dubiously inspecting his meal in a vain attempt to find something other than duck!

The duck fest included a special wine pairing with each course.  The meal was five courses, plus we were welcomed at the door with a glass of sparkling wine.  So we were just feeling better and better as the night went on! 

Even the dessert featured duck...although thankfully it was in the form of an artistic cocoa drawing next to our chocolate Bavarian cream.