Old Market and Tonle Sap Lake

We were all showered and ready to go, but had to wait until 6am when the hotel restaurant opened, to get breakfast. They had the normal Southeast Asia breakfast, fried rice, eggs, sausage (which are really mini hot dogs), bacon (which is really Canadian bacon), and orange juice (which means it is juice that is colored orange and not necessarily juice squeezed from the orange fruit). Riley quickly discovered the orange juice discrepancy and promptly returned it I guess you could say. After breakfast I suggested we head to the old market downtown and walk around a little after all that flying. I love markets, the smells, the sounds, and that fresh, sometimes still alive, food. Most hotels in Southeast Asia provide business cards with the hotel name and a map, both in English and the native language. We each took one just in case we got separated, that way everyone could get back to the hotel with a simple tuk tuk ride.

We found a tuk tuk and asked how much to go to the old market, it would only be $2 USD. It’s always important to negotiate a price up front, a lesson I learned on the streets of Hanoi, Vietnam. We found the US dollar was every bit as accepted as the Cambodian Riel, so we did not need to exchange any money here, although change was always given in the Cambodia Riel. We literally got the Rolls Royce of tuk tuk(s). There are few rules here and Riley could have driven us downtown, however he would not be leaving the hotel parking lot with Kim and I in back.


We got to the market and it did not disappoint.


Riley started finding new items he had not seen before and it caused some confusion. Boy if they did not cover this in 6th grade health class he is in for a big surprise to see what else Southeast Asia has to offer.


He then got in to a staring contest with a pig, the pig won.


One of many merchants selling her freshly slaughtered meat. A lot of people do not have refrigeration so it’s not uncommon for them to make two trips to the market each day. It’s organic and very fresh.




Cured meat that can go the distance.


Fruits and vegetables, much like at home, I quickly passed this section.


The food court, no corporate chains here.


The seafood department.




The poultry department.


More merchants, who stay until they sell their inventory.


And there was no shortage of footwear.


Riley then found the deal of a life time, spotting Beats by Dre, which retail in the U.S. for $299. He was able to negotiate these down to $15 USD, however before the transaction took place I had him plug them in to make sure they worked. They did, and even more surprising, they still do. Now there is a chance these could be counterfeit, but maybe not, it was a classy place, they even gave him a Louis Luitton shopping bag to take them home in.


The electrical infrastructure in Cambodia was pretty much up to code with every other country in Southeast Asia.


We walked over to the infamous Pub Street, an alley with numerous restaurants and bars.


On Pub Street many places had these fish tanks where you can have fish eat the dead skin off your feet, no thanks. But then I was told it included a beer, so I quickly removed my sandals and hopped in. It was around 9am, but I was pretty sure it was after 5pm back home, plus I’m on vacation, and I had my fist Cambodian beer, Angkor Beer. I was allowed to leave my feet in for up to 30 minutes for my $3 USD, but I only lasted around 3 minutes, mostly because you only got one beer and mine was now empty.


It was already hot, most westerners may have issues with the water, although I’ve found in limited amounts I’m ok, but rather than take a chance I opted for a much safer second Angkor Beer. Kim and Riley got bottled water, so I guess that would have been an option as well.


We then caught a tuk tuk back to the hotel as our guide would be picking us up this afternoon to go to the Mechrey Floating Village on Tonle Sap Lake. I was worried this would be a bit touristy, however we were here during the off season due to Riley’s summer vacation, and it worked out great. We were the only outsiders visiting the village that day, which gave us a more realistic look in to their daily lives. During the rainy season you get out here and travel the rest of the way by boat.






The local barber shop.


Beautiful country.


It was the end of the dry season and the wet season was just starting, so boats could not reach us. This means we would be traveling by Ox cart. We checked out the village while we waited for our ride.






Finally, our transportation arrived.


This was bumpy and slow, but awesome. Just us, the locals, and amazing views.




This kid ran up and hitched a ride until our cabbie notice and motioned for him to get off. Too bad, I thought it was cool and would have let him ride the entire way.


We stopped at another village on the way to the lake.




Rather than paying a tax or entry fee, you have to help a local family harvest rice before proceeding.




The soaked ground was soft and felt good on your feet, however you have to bend over and it’s incredibly hard on your lower back. Luckily for us the property owner was disgusted with our job and quickly waved us through to save as much of her crop as possible.


We finally arrived at Tonle Sap Lake and the locals put on their best outfits to welcome us.


Tonle Sap is the largest fresh water lake in Southeast Asia during the wet season, around 16,000 sq km. The lake actually changes flow twice a year and during the dry season shrinks to only 3,000 sq km. It is home to over 150 different species of fish so the local people have a very large rotating menu. We boarded our boat and met our captain, who could not have been more than 12 years old, but I’m sure there was a some kind of training program and vigorous testing, rather then just picking someone with a boat. I wonder if I can get another Angkor beer before we leave.


We were soon off, passing the motorbike ferry.


We passed a few of the local’s homes.




Here is the school, no walking, it’s a simple boat ride for the kids to get to and from school.




I love visiting local villages and peeking in to their daily lives.










Over the years I’ve become accustomed to walking around and snapping photo after photo. I asked Kim what she thought and she said she felt weird walking through their homes, looking in on them, and I remembered feeling the same way years ago. However, normally I experience a lot more interaction with the people and taking pictures is often a shared experience with them. This was proving to be a more observational visit, so maybe I should have eased up on the camera, but as long as I already took the pictures I might as well share them.












The local convenience store.


We then headed back.
















We stopped at the local alligator farm. I had no idea there were gators in this water, but then my body would not have been able to handle this water anyway so there was no danger of me entering it.


Riley was traveling like a champ.


You might think these are watered down Gatorades or something, but this is the classic Southeast Asia gas station, those bottles are filled with petro, just enough to fill up the average motorbike tank.


That night we headed back to Pub Street for diner and found a traditional Cambodian BBQ. The fire is in the hole in the table and you cook the food yourself. We ordered the 13 meat sampler.




Even Riley stepped it up, eating, and more importantly enjoying, crocodile, ostrich, swordfish, and chicken. Kim and I enjoyed everything else except for the frog, frog is definitely not a friend of my palette.


The thing on the top is used to clean the grill before adding new meat, there was some discussion whether it was some kind of fish or some kind of animal fat. After consulting Google it turns out it was pork fat.


We demolished that.




I don’t think we could have asked for a better opening day. We walked around Pub Street a little before finding a tuk tuk home, which is not hard as it seems every five steps another tuk tuk driver comes up asking if you need a ride.






VIDEO: Cambodia Day 1