Apsara Christmas @ Au Cabaret Vert

Battambang province, Cambodia - December 24, 2013 - Celebrating Christmas Eve traditionally with apsara dancing and a candlelit dinner of French cuisine, at the lovely eco-resort, Au Cabaret Vert. It is a great place to stay, eat, or drink whenever in Battambang.

The children are not professionally trained, but study part-time with an NGO.

Dinner included fish steak with spinach and mash...

...duck breast in Kampot pepper...

...and triple round dessert with vanilla, coconut, and chocolate.

A Far Too Short Trip to the Big Mango

Bangkok city, Thailand - November 2-5, 2013 - Exams in Bangkok, one of my favourite cities, also means a holiday, and here is the slice of frenetics I managed to photograph.

The first thing any person in their right mind does upon arrival in Bangkok is eat street food.

This is the sourest fruit I've ever eaten, and thus one of my favourites. It's called madan in Thai.

Goong dten. These living shrimps are served in a salad and eaten still jumping around.

Goong dten on the right, and noodle soup on the left. The extreme chili had already killed the shrimps off by now.

At the Rod Fai market, many things are for sale, such as this drugged kitten that couldn't open its eyes.

But it is otherwise an absolute treasure trove.

Old torture devices?

Old Thai school notebook purchased at Rod Fai.

It is a popular place for Thai people to go and is set in an old train station.

Out.

Political rally I encountered in Silom on the Wednesday. These are yellow shirt supporters protesting against the amnesty bill proposed by Yingluck Shinawatra's current government. The bill will allow Thaksin to return to Thailand, as well as exonerate all those guilty of political crimes between 2004 and 2010. http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/378452/protesters-warn-fight-against-blanket-amnesty-not-yet-over

If you want to get an idea of the politics happening in Thailand right now, this is a great article: http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21589436-governments-latest-attempt-get-thaksin-shinawatra-back-has-united-almost-everyone-against

Notice how the date on this receipt is 6/1/56. That's because in Thailand's Buddhist calendar the year is actually 2556.

The infamous Soi Cowboy in the rain.

Bakkard, the border town with Cambodia on the way back.

The trip ended disturbingly with a conversation in Khmer with a small beggar girl on the street. I tried speaking the language to her and she responded that she was Cambodian. It was then that I realised this girl used to beg regularly in one of the open street bars in Phnom Penh about a year ago. She had somehow been trafficked into Bangkok, aged not more than five years. Quizzing her yielded no information about how exactly she had got there, or who her bosses were.

Making Dteuk Dtray Bpa-aim with Neng

Battambang province, Cambodia - October 18, 2013 - Another fantastic Cambodian condiment recipe, dteuk dtray bpa-aim (sweet fish sauce).

Starting with ingredients. a) dteuk dtray (fish sauce), b) son daik dai (peanuts)

c) ombul dtoom (ripe tamarind)

c) k'dteum baran (onion - just a little bit), d) k'dteum sor (garlic - not this much)

e) s'leuk k'dteum (spring onions), f) madte (chili)

Now the recipe. 1) Crush the peanuts.

2) Add the tamarind and 3 or 4 spoonfuls of sugar, depending how sweet you want it.

3) Mix that up a little.

4) Cut up the chili, garlic, and onion.

5) Mash.

6) Add to the fish sauce.

7) Stir.

8) Garnish with chopped spring onion, and that's it.

It is eaten with fresh greens...

... and grilled fish.

We also ate it with some quails and sour morning glory soup.