Somlor Jaray-ung K'nao

Battambang province, Cambodia - July 5, 2015 - There are many foods and ingredients never used in Western societies in this part of the world that are... for want of a less cliched term... nutritious and delicious. I'll just pretend I never said that. But the facts are that stuff you might think is gross, or discard in the bin as "inedible" is in fact - THE BOMB. This is a less common, homemade Cambodian dish called somlor jaray-ung k'nao, translating to jackfruit rag soup. Bittergourd, morning glory, fresh chili, garlic, and dried fish is simmered with the "rag" of the jackfruit - the part that surrounds the fleshy, readily edible pods within the jackfruit's rugged shell. The two main bowls are same soup, and you can see on the right-hand side that it is served with the incredible ombul bok (see my post on what ombul bok is and how to make it here).

The Prasats of Battambang, Part II - Snung

Cambodia, Battambang province - January 30, 2014 - Prasat Snung is a small 12th century ruin, making it just post-Angkorian. It lies about forty-five minutes Southwest of Battambang.

Me...

Three stupas behind the pagoda are made of red brick.

My gorgeous sister and some obligatory temple kids.

The ruin at the front of the temple sits directly on the street. It's made out of larger red bricks.

The Prasats of Battambang, Part I - Phnom Banon

Battambang province, Cambodia - February 14, 2014 - This little series is not really to document the prasats, but rather just my trips to them. They can be seen in their full splendour in Cambodia.

Neng.

Small children follow people around with fans for 500 - 1000 riel.

What many people don't know about Phnom Banon is how dangerous it is.

A boy's reaction to my mum doing a drawing up there.

My mother's drawing.

It is on this tree, that by Cambodian legend, you shall ever climb naked if you commit adultery.

Phnom Sampov Revisited

Battambang province, Cambodia - January 30, 2014 - Phnom Sampov is well known as Battambang's most spectacular tourism site, what with the literally millions of bats that pour out of a cave near a giant Buddha's head carving, but also because of the historical massacre site at in the caves on top of the mountain. The bats have featured on my blog before, so for the sake of this article I only want to show some visions of the top of the mountain, and also three of the lesser-known Khmer Rouge sites up there as well.

A prison where 200 people were kept with snakes and scorpions, according to a boy who once guided me through this place.

This inside of the prison looks miserable.

But the water, however is very fresh, so us and other tourists and tuk tuk drivers wash our faces in it.

This cave, to the left of the main cave, is where the corpses of 2000 infants were found thrown, with their skulls ruthlessly smashed on the rock at the top of it.

Tragically, in this cave to the right of the main cave was found the corpses of 800 pregnant women, all with the fetuses cannibalised.

Monkeys

Battambang province, Cambodia - January 30, 2014 - Monkeys.

The Problems of Mr. Heng and Mr. Hong

Battambang province, Cambodia - January 7-8, 2014 - My fiancee came home from the market with, of all things, two living Mekong snail-eating turtles, which she'd purchased for a dollar each out of pity. These animals are a protected species, illegal to eat in and export from Cambodia, but are none the less a delicacy in Battambang. They are quite rife in Thailand, but populations are decreasing in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. I investigated the animals being sold at the market, which included snakes, and then, after much deliberation and freaking out, decided to release them into a pond at the local wat, seeing it as the best option for the animals' survival (although still not great) and our consciences. Depositing the animals in a pagoda is a common form of merit-making all over the region. Animals rights organisations warn against this practice, as they believe that the animals die from overcompetition and starvation (see here). Suffice to say, Cambodian people don't believe this, except for maybe the monks who clean their corpses out of the ponds.

We despaired for time and choice. All the food we attempted to feed the turtles was in vein, and Neng (being unaware of the dangers) had already purchased them. Looking after them was not an option - there are not facilities for advanced pet-keeping in the Cambodian countryside, the turtles didn't have the time and we didn't have the money to order them from Phnom Penh. Researching their habitat, we could find no place where we knew they would be safe before they starved (the turtles had not eaten already in about 36 hours or more, we could see their shells starting to hollow from starvation). All suitable habitats we could find were filled with people, who would be able to see us and probably just catch the turtles again. So we decided to examine the local culture a little, found a pagoda that had some larger, relatively healthy-looking turtles, and gave them to the wat. They will surely face inadequate conditions, but at least they won't be hunted or traded. Oh, what a terrible moral dilemma these two glorious creatures put me in!

They are almost identical to the Malayan snail-eating turtles, and you can read interesting information about them here.

Mr Heng on the left, and Mr. Hong on the right. They both had distinct personalities. The stripes on their faces made it look like they were constantly furrowing their brows. Or maybe they were just actually pissed off because people had been passing them around and driving them on motor vehicles and displaying them in markets and what not.

At first, Mr. Heng the younger would not come out of his shell. Then he became very hyperactive, always moving, running and burrowing. Mr. Hong the elder was more resigned and placid. He liked to stay hidden/

Phsar Boeung Chouk (Boeung Chouk market).

There were two vendors selling turtles. This one also sold snakes.

Massive pile of snake offal.

The other vendor stocking snail-eating turtles.

Here you can see the way that snakes are usually prepared and sold pre-cooked (black coils in the middle of all the dried fish).

A stupa at Wat Au Sraom Bot Savong.

A slightly larger turtle we saw already in the pond.