Amoking About in Cambodia

Mangostin Fruit, you eat the white in the middle!

After an intense day in Pehnom Penh and success with our Vietnamese visa's we met up to find a recommended restaurant to try Cambodia's national dish of Amok.  I had heard of amok many times but every opportunity I had to order it I always found something I was craving more.  With a name like fish amok it never sounded very appetizing.

Amok is a dish with different vegetables like green beans, carrots, pumpkin some sort of green leaf and usually fish or chicken in a yellow curry sauce.  Usually the dish is served over rice and it soupy. Berg and I found the restaurant we were looking for and ordered some amok and some mango spicy salad.

The chicken amok we received was different than I had imagined.  It was not soupy there was no rice and it was more like a pastry.  Apparently they make it two ways.  This one was a bit similar to a quiche with the crust and in the middle was the curry and chicken and vegetables.  To my surprise the dish was very tasty and I enjoyed it so much so that for the next two nights I ordered amok at 2 other restaurants in to other towns to compare.

First I headed back for Battambang where I was going to catch the river boat to Siem Reap.  I went out to a local restaurant and ordered the amok here.  This one was more traditional and soupy and delicious.  The next night in Siem Reap I ordered the same again at another local restaurant.  This time I ordered the fish amok.  I assumed it would be shredded or very small pieces of fish and possibly too fishy for my taste but the amok came out with nice chunky pieces of fillet filled with loads of vegetables including pumpkin.  This third time was by far my favorite of the three and it tasted incredible.

The food of Cambodia appears very similar to me to those found in Thailand.  Thai food is very fragrant with many different flavors of lemongrass, Thai basil and curry.  So far all the food I have had everywhere has been delicious like pad Thais, green curry, yellow curry, red curry, cashew chicken, basil chicken, pork, mango salad, tom yum soup etc etc.  I am loving the food but often find that it's always a stir fry with rice or noodles or a soup or curry.  I have also been disappointed in the spice of the Thais.  Everyone claims Thai food is spicy but even when you ask them to make is Thai spicy it usually falls short of my expectations and without fail I always add more chili. 

I have also fallen in love with the fruits here.  Every morning I have fresh fruit with muesli and usually a homemade yogurt.  I have tried many new fruits and am always amazed by the variety and flavors.  Everywhere here you can get giant fresh fruit smoothies with the freshest most delicious fruits.  The mango, watermelon and bananas here are so much more flavorful than back home and it is something I will miss a lot once I leave.  Next cuisine to try is the north Thai noodles and then the food in Laos!

Ton Sai Climbing Heaven

With a 15 kilogram bag I left for the far side of the resort beach and found the connecting path to the alternate world of the backpackers and climbers.  It was a bit of a strenuous climb up and over to the other side but I needed the conditioning having not climbed in over a year.  As I entered the new world I spotted a dive instructor from the place I received my open water certification.  He immediately showed me where he was staying for super cheap.  I got my own bungalow with a double bed, so so sheets and a working toilet and shower, though, not what you would call luxury, actually boarding on very poor but it works.

Railay, Thailand

The first night we grabbed some food at a little hut which was delicious and decided to meet up in the morning to find some climbers with ropes to adopt us.  We met at the food hut in the early morning I ordered the best fruit yogurt and muesli and coffee and we waited, and waited, and slowly gave up on hope of finding climbers, after all it is the low season and not many people are floating around.  Just when almost all hope was lost our angel Martin from France appeared and invited us to climb with them.  I rented a harness and off we went to find a wall to climb.

After not climbing for nearly a year my start was slowing. not finishing the first route which was graded a French 6b+, so 5.10b/c for the Americans.  Low on confidence and feeling week I was not sure I would be able to climb anything here until things changed for the better....which only took another 20 minutes.  I made another go at a 6a route and not only completed it but felt confident, next step, leading, maybe not this time around. 

Climbing Ton Sai

I spent the next couple days either climbing or recovering from climbing.  I met loads of others who were also their for the amazing limestone walls and quickly made friends and climbing partners.  Ton Sai was so beautiful and laid back.  The low season also was refreshing as there were fewer people and places open so it made life simplistic and relaxing.  After 5 nights on Ton Sai I decided I was ready for a change of pace away from the sun and the sand and heading to something more cultural. 

My original plan was to head into Northern Thailand but after much debating and problems trying to figure out timing with Georges arrival and my visa expiring I decided it was best to waist some time in Cambodia.  I took a boat to Ao Nang, then a van to Surat Thani then an overnight bus back to Bangkok.  I arrived at 5:30 in the morning to Bangkok full of exhaustion and ready to collapse.  I was unable to process anything in my brain and decided it was best to get a room and stay another night in Bangkok until I could sort out my next move.....somewhere in Cambodia.  Today I have roved around Bangkok with a fellow backpacker from Colombia.  I have practiced my Spanish and am ready to head to the boarder at 7am on to Ankor Wat.

Railay pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/linseypaddock/Railay?authkey=Gv1sRgCKj2uaSh_ajs2gE&feat=directlink

Ko Tao Open Water Dive

Upon arrival this small island reminds me of the beaches in Mexico or Colombia.  All the long boats are anchored along the shore with palm trees everywhere and the small village atmosphere.  I already knew it was going to be a nice relaxing environment and the perfect place to get dive certified......

Sunset on Ko Tao

I am now a certified open water diver.  The course was three and a half days of movies, basic theory and practical diving.  The course was both fun and interesting.  I shacked up at the dive school Big Blue and was put in a class of four with an English guy, Ian (also my dive partner) and a couple living in Dublin from Poland and France.  Our instructor Nick was patient and friendly.  At the hostel they have an outdoor bar and restaurant right on the beach with a beautiful view. 

The first time in the water was good fun and we learned all of our skills on a sandy island beach off the coast.  Here we learned to empty our masks, what to do if you run out of air and how to control our buoyancy.  Most of this I found simple and basic and found myself growing impatient with the other partner group.  Things took a long time in the water and by the end I had blue lips and was freezing.  The cold made the end not enjoyable and all I could think about was getting out.

The next day we had basic theory in the morning and our first two proper dives.  Again I found that some of the other students struggled at times which could have been very funny if I was not freezing again.  As I complained to my boyfriend he quoted it perfectly, "idiots are annoying, but at least they remind you that life is tough, but it's a whole lot tougher if you're stupid."  Although I am sure they are not completely daft it took them a bit longer to catch on, and I am not sure they mastered any of it.  On this dive we swam in close to shore and did a gradual swim deeper and deeper.  I found it pretty basic and we didn't see a whole lot. 

By the second dive of the afternoon I was given two wetsuits and a pep talk to get me back in the water...I really was cold!  The two suits helped and the second dive was really enjoyable. We started at the surface and lowed ourselves along the anchor line.  This was a far more interesting decent and the overall dive went much smoother.  My partner and I were the first group (right behind the instructor) and the other two became the second group, behind us!  YES!  Following them was like following a 6 year old trying to drive a car, fast, stall, stop, go, up, down, stop, slow, foot in face, kick Sucks!!  Now we had a much smoother swim with a steady pace which allowed us to play with our buoyancy more.

Today was our final day and we had our final two dives.  We woke up and left before 7am and were the first boat on the water.  It was, by far, the best day diving as every ones skills slowly improved, though some faster than others.  For both dives I had on two wetsuits and we descended down the anchor line.  The first dive was at an underwater pinnacle and the second was on a coral reef.  Both were great fun and relaxing when I wasn't cold.  I found the buoyancy and breathing techniques fun to play with and relaxing.  Overall I am really excited to do some more diving and am ready to get my advance. 

With open water you can only dive down to 18 meters with the advanced course it allows you to go down to 30 meters.  Not this trip but next time I will move on to get my advanced certification.  What next????  We get to watch a film of our final dive day tonight, have some drinks to celebrate, a couple more days here then headed south.

Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/linseypaddock/KoTao?authkey=Gv1sRgCN6Z_JSq-cnCgAE&feat=directlink