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.

An Explosive Day

An important facet of the United States government’s aid to Cambodia is to assist in detecting, extracting, and neutralizing unexploded ordnances (UXO). Although much progress has been made, Cambodia’s countryside is still rife with UXO left over from more than two decades of conflict. These UXO include undetonated bombs from the United States bombing campaign of North Vietnamese camps in Cambodia; further munitions in the initial war to prevent the Khmer Rouge from gaining strength; and extensive mines laid after the Vietnamese forced the Khmer Rouge out of power.

Last week, I went on a site visit to see some of the de-mining activities funded by the U.S. government. I got to see a bunch of cool machines, a huge amount of UXO, and a few explosions.

If an area is thick with vegetation, a machine called the Nemesis can chew through a bush in seconds. This machine can be operated remotely and withstand the blast of an anti-personnel mine.

With the vegetation gone, technicians with metal detectors move in to systematically sweep the area. The metal detectors employ a special radar that can identify possible mines from random scraps of metal.

Or bomb-sniffing dogs are called in …

UXO that are found and can be safely removed are held at a storage site until they can be safely disposed. The storage site we visited had literally piles of UXO.

Some of these UXO are cut in two so that the interior explosive material can be extracted and remanufactured into small charges that are used to explode UXO in the field in a controlled manner. In the photo below, I’m holding a replica of one of the charges.

Finally, to end the day with a boom, we watched the charges blow up some anti-tank mines.

The Restaurant with No Kitchen

Recently we ventured out to sample a new restaurant in Phnom Penh.  It seemed like a cute place at first.  The main feature of the decor was multiple aquariums filled with tiny blue fish.  The menu looked good too - including both Japanese udon noodles as well as Western cuisine such as burgers, sandwiches, and pasta.  

Our first stumbling block was when Jeremy ordered a draught beer.  The server went over to the bar and we heard the telltale dry gurgle of a tapped keg.  He settled for a can.

Then one of our friends used the rest room and walked around the restaurant a bit.  Noticing something strange, she asked the servers, "Where is the kitchen?"  And the servers replied "Oh, we don't have a kitchen.  We ordered your food from a restaurant down the street."  We couldn't believe it!  We were familiar with the restaurant the food was coming from, so if we had known that, we would have just gone there to get our food hot out of the oven.

But at that point, we figured we had already ordered and should try to make the best of it.  However, things just went downhill from there.  The servers got our drink order wrong and never did get it right.  We watched our food come in through the front door in plastic bags and then waited for it to be plated and brought to us.  When we asked for salt and pepper, the servers apologized that the other restaurant didn't provided them with salt and pepper.

Finally the servers brought us the check, and as we expected, it was wrong.  Three of our meals were supposed to come with a free beer.  But we had been charged for all beers.  The servers seemed to say that the other restaurant hadn't provided the beer like they were supposed to, so we couldn't get them free.  But we weren't going to accept a bait and switch from what was clearly stated in the menu.  After having to call over the owner, our bill was finally adjusted and we were able to leave the strangest restaurant we've ever experienced.  

We contemplated telling the owner that he needed to completely revamp his business model, but our brief encounter over the check showed that any advice about our dining experience would not sink in.  I actually felt quite bad for the servers.  They were really trying very hard to please, but were stuck in a situation destined for failure.  My bet is the restaurant without a kitchen will meet that exact fate - complete failure - within six months.

Muddy Shorts and Party Shirts

One of the things Jeremy likes best about being in Cambodia is that he gets to play Australian Rules Football (AKA footy) again.  Most Americans don't know anything about this sport, but there's actually an amateur league that Jeremy played in when we lived in Portland, Oregon.  And there's an amateur team here in Phnom Penh.  Anyone who doesn't know footy always say "oh, that's like rugby, right?" but that would be like comparing baseball to cricket.  Yes they have some similarities, but they are actually completely different sports.  If you're really curious, you can learn more about footy at this link.  But the basics are a big field, a ball, a lot of kicking the ball in the air, and two teams of men in short shorts running around the field after the ball.

Last weekend, the Red Army footy team from China traveled down to Phnom Penh to challenge the Cambodian Eagles in a friendly match.  It started absolutely pouring one hour before the match, turning the field into a soupy mess.  Thankfully for the fans, the organizers had put up a big spectator tent with chairs, plus the rain stopped just before the opening toss up.  But that didn't help the players who slipped and slid through 60 minutes of muddy play.

Luckily, I remembered to bring my camera, and remembered to actually take pictures during the match!  When we went to Singapore for a friendly match against the Singapore Wombats, I was so absorbed in watching the match that I forgot to take any pictures at all.

This time, I was able to get a good picture of Jeremy kicking the ball.  He's number 16 with his back to the camera:

And I got this really great one of him catching the ball:

And another one of him jockeying for position on the field:

Sadly, the Chinese Red Army pulled out a victory.  But we still invited them to the after-match celebration.  The Cambodian Eagles love to wear "party shirts" to any social gathering.  A "party shirt" is a bit difficult to define.  It's kind of "you know it when you see it," with any colorful, loud, or patterned shirt usually fitting the bill.  In this photo, several of the Aussie boys are flaunting their party shirts, while I'm displaying my party skirt:

Not to be outdone, the token American players from the two teams gathered for a photo, with the Cambodian Eagles' members wearing some stunning party shirts as well:

Angkor What?

Five months into our adventure in Cambodia, Jeremy and I finally visited Angkor Wat.  What most everyone outside of Cambodia doesn't realize is that Angkor Wat is just one of over a dozen temples built between AD 800 and 1400 by the kings of Cambodia around the former capital city of Angkor.  Angkor Wat is the biggest and best-preserved, so it gets the most press, but there are many other treasures to see in a visit to the Temples of Angkor and their neighboring city Siem Reap.  But instead of gushing about how awesome and beautiful the temples are and posting photos that you could easily Google, I'll tell you about some of the more interesting and individual experiences of our visit.

While at Angkor Wat, we had the opportunity to have our fortune told.  The first step of the fortune telling was to place a small book on the top of my head and insert a stick between the pages.  Then the fortune teller read the advice written on the page chosen by my stick.  Finally he tied a red Buddhist prayer bracelet on my wrist.

Erica's fortune:  Erica will find success in all endeavors she sets her mind to

Jeremy's fortune:  If Jeremy meditates, he will attain his goals

Tricia's fortune:  Tricia will find a prince and have 1,000 children (!)

Continuing through Angkor Wat, we saw plenty of carvings of apsaras, female heavenly nymphs.  Apsaras are carved everywhere throughout the temples and Angkor Wat is said to have more than 3,000 of them.  Although it's hard to tell in the photo, these apsaras are special because the two on the left are giving big toothy grins, while most apsaras smile beguilingly with their lips closed, like the one on the right.

In addition to Angkor Wat, we went to another of the big-hitter temples called Bayon.  I had a bit of fun pretending to gaze forlornly from a tower window.  Although, based on her fortune, perhaps we should have had Tricia in the photo, pining for her prince!

On our second day of temple-touring, we pressed our luck by heading to one more temple in the late afternoon.  The skies looked very gray, but we all said "no problem, the rain will hold out."  Baphuon temple has three levels, and the drops began to fall just as we finished the climb to the top.  The light shower quickly turned into the downpour the SE Asia monsoon season is known for.  We were soaked to the bone by the time we got back to our tuk-tuk, but luckily all our cameras survived!

Jeremy, Tricia, and I thoroughly enjoyed our temple experience.  But to be perfectly honest, Angkor Wat was not my favorite!  I'll end this post with photos from my three favorite temples:

Banteay Srei:

Preah Khan: 

Bayon: