Where, during a 20 year period of lost production, and therefore lost knowledge of how it was produced. My remembrance of riding motorbikes or scooters has also been lost.
Until November 2019 when after much thinking and debating about it, I finally went and hired one for a weekend.
thus experiencing the freedom of riding on Cambodian roads.
Nothing can prepare you for the dust, chaos, and potholes as you try very hard to remember your first encounter on a motorbike.
However, I must say it is long overdue, the freedom of going out from the farm was great and with my fellow volunteers.
We took to the road and travelled to Kep to celebrate Bon Om Touk commonly known as the water festival here in Cambodia.
Beers and great local food. Not to mention great company and conversation provided a great night’s entertainment and an excuse to get over my slight fear of travelling by bike here in Cambodia.
Good news I survived my encounter with large lorries, crazy bus drivers and moto drivers coming towards you on the opposite side of the road.
All in all, a good experience and one I will not forget in a hurry.
The bad news is now I have the bug and therefore need to look at getting a bike to continue my journey around South East Asia.
So one of the benefits of living in a country for a long time is that you immerse yourself in their culture. But it also makes you want to understand their country more.
Well, for me it does.
It is all well and good visiting a temple here and there, but I want to know why the temple is there. What made it special and why did people put such a big emphasis on this temple.
Cambodia has a long and interesting past. So I set about learning as much as I could about the country whilst I was living there.
Below is, in my opinion, some worthwhile books, movies, documentaries. Also some music you might want to check out if you are interested in the beautiful country of Cambodia.
Books
Currently reading the book that led to a movie by Angelina Jolie “First they killed my Father”.
Which is about a young girl of 5 experiencing the dramatic revolt that happened in Cambodia in 1975.
When the Khmer Rouge took the country back into the dark ages with their brand of Communism, killing 1/4 of the population.
Told from the point of you of a young girl living in a middle-class family in the capital Phnom Penh.
It is a very harrowing version of events but I think a must for people to understand what happened here.
Another book that charts the course of this time but does expand more on the aftermath and the rebuilding is called “A Cambodian’s Survivor’s Odyssey”.
I was lucky enough to meet the women who wrote this book Vannath Chea, whilst on the Pepper Farm in Kampot.
When she visited she gave me a copy of the book to read. Highly recommended as a good insight into both the time before and after the genocide.
To understand more about the genocide and the history of Cambodia, see my other post here
Another one that was hard to find was the first actual account of Cambodian life as far back as the 13th Century.
Written by a Chinese explorer/diplomat who at the behest of the then ruler of China was requested to visit Cambodia and record his findings.
He spent 11 months in total documenting his time here and although not of all of his writings have been preserved the book has enough to give you an insight into the life here.
A Record of Cambodia- the land and its people written by Zhou Daguan and translated by Peter Harris is well worth reading.
Movies
First They Killed My Father
She has made herself synonymous with Cambodia through Tomb Raider and adopting children whilst married to Brad Pitt. Yet I have a newfound admiration for Angelina Jolie for directing First They Killed my Father.
A very emotional movie and although it is a sensitive subject I feel she directs it beautifully. She shows enough to leave you under no illusion of what happens without going into anything graphical to disturb you too much.
The Gate
Told before the Khmer Rouge came to power and based upon a True Story. It is about a French ethnologist who whilst working on the ruins in Angkor Wat is abducted by the Khmer Rouge in 1971 and held captive.
The Killing Fields
Whilst it was made in 1984 (not long after the horrors in Cambodia). It still has the power to invoke strong feelings when you watch this movie.
Documentaries
Angkor Awakens
This is a surprisingly honest and simply explained documentary about the Khmer Rouge regime between 1975 and 1979. Nearly 1/4 of the population were systematically exterminated due to their knowledge or perceived intellect.
Angkor Rediscovered
Go back in time to discover what it was like during the Khmer Empire in the 13th Century. Based on Hindu/Buddhist culture that spread across much of Southeast Asia. See how people lived and how Angkor Wat became the largest city in the world at the time.
Music
In the 1950s and ’60s, Cambodia’s music scene was a mixture of traditional and psychedelic rock from the west.
Dengue Fever stands out as being at the forefront of this era. But there are many more to hear from and the music is pretty good.
Another is the Cambodian Space Project who inspired by the 60s and 70s music produce some great music. Check them out below
Yes, that’s right I am now in Vietnam ( 9 months later than planned😂) but as British Rail used to say better late than never.
Okay, I am only staying for a few weeks but this is a reconnaissance mission for next year when I will travel for 3 months from south to north.
So a few days in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi. Go to Sapa and to climb a mountain called Fansipan the highest point in Indochina which at 3.143m is called “the Roof of Indochina”
Also, I paid my first visit to Myanmar and visited a beautiful city called Yangon. Which has some of the nicest people I have met and the best food in terms of taste in South East Asia so far.
A beautiful and unique city where love is really strong, well for me at least.
The streets are crazy and chaotic but have a charm about them. I can sit and watch the world go by for a long time here. It gives me a peace I cannot explain because it is a place that is unlikely to look anything but peaceful.
Sit on the side of the road and try local cuisine. Whilst others dodge the moto’s and scooters as they walk around you on the little side roads. Traffic here has a way of just avoiding everything.
The lake in the centre of the old quarter has a charm that is again unique. I am told it comes to life at the weekends when all the locals visit and picnic around here making it a special place.
Street Muriels are a big thing in many large cities, Hanoi is no exception
I have loved cooking since as far back as I can remember. It all started from the time I was about 11 I think and after months of hoping and asking my best friend at the time to let me come to his house.
Finally, it happened Gulvinder Singh was allowed to bring his best friend home from school for dinner.
This was a long time ago and in those days cultures were so different and mixing was hard. In fact, I believe I was the only one who was allowed to go to his house and then only on certain occasions.
The thing that stood out for me in those days, was the fact that dad was in the kitchen cooking. Always under the impression that the mother cooked, and this was a new thing to witness.
Watching in awe, as he went about making the most amazing Indian curry I have ever tasted. Mesmerised as he not only did everything but also explained things to me as well. He told me it was important for a man to know how to cook.
I think it was at that point I fell in love with Indian food.
Kampot Pepper
Fast forward 30 odd years and I am now working on a Pepper farm in Kampot, Cambodia. My feet firmly planted in the ground just like the pepper.
Origins of the Pepper here, Oh, life is so good sometimes. Piper Nigrum is … you guessed it from India.
We all forget that before Chillies came across from America’s everyone was using Pepper as their spice. If you wanted a hot spicy curry, ( and why wouldn’t you) you used Pepper.
Note: Mr Singh used pepper not chillies in his curry, in fact during the 1980s I don’t recall seeing chillies that readily available, but then I didn’t do the food shopping🤣
Harvesting (or Récolte if you are French) 😉 the Pepper
So in Cambodia, there is a special place that produces the best pepper in the world. The French discovered how good this was and exported it all back from here to Paris to use in their cooking.
No wonder they have the best cuisine in the world.😃
Anyway, check out my post on working on the Pepper farm and the one about Kampot Pepper to learn more.
We start our harvest around late Jan, early Feb and continue until around May collecting pepper as it becomes mature from the plants. If you leave it as long as you can, it gives you an even stronger taste when washed and dried.
4 Colours from one Plant
The plant itself produces 2 colours Green, and Red, just like Tomatoes they start green and become mature and turn red making the berries sweet because of the skin.
Green
Fresh green is used in locally in the Seafood here in Kampot and the Famous Crab in Kep.
Black
Wash and dry this green pepper and it becomes black which is used in your peppercorn sauces and with strong meats and vegetables.
Red
Take the red berries and again, wash and dry and they become your red pepper, so versatile and is used in everything from Lamb to salads and all kinds of pasta to Ice Cream, Chocolate, Fruit and Gin.
White
Soften the red berries in water for a long time and peel the skin, washing again before drying and you have in my opinion the best, the white. Fish, Chicken, Pork, white sauces, soups and excellent with Cheese.
Being in Cambodia for over 6 months has meant I have gotten to know many people well. Everyone I meet here is very friendly, helpful and always willing to go out of their way to show you places. They happily explain things in their country and also about their culture.
Special friendships
When you stay in a place for a while you form good friendships, some even special ones. One, in particular, stands out in that she is a friend of the owners of the farm where I am working and lives in Phnom Penh the capital. She offered to take me out and visit places that I guess normal tourists would not see.
I have to be honest, I have a strange feeling about the Capital here in Cambodia. It seems slightly different from any other in South East Asia. Read my post on the killing fields and you will get a feeling as to why, although I suspect that is not the sole reason.
Anyway, I spend a large amount of my time on the farm and whilst Kampot is nice and quaint for a day to rest it doesn’t have the appeal of a big city. Not that I miss that, but sometimes it is nice to go to places that are completely different from where you spend most of your time.
A different side to Phnom Penh
So visiting a city with a local guide who is offering to take me around is something you shouldn’t pass up.
We had some fun times, she introduced me to where the locals eat, cheap but amazing Khmer food full of flavour.
My first breakfast noodles in the local market full of pretty much everything you could think of. All for a couple of $s and whilst I confess to being the only non-Khmer in the whole market. She put me at ease by explaining everything and when people saw we were just friends they relaxed.
Here although not spoken about, it is very common for white guys to come and take Cambodian women as partners. Normally those of a younger age to themselves, so it does cause some interest when they see you together.
Shows of affection in public are frowned upon in most of Asia. So if you are lucky enough to meet a beautiful partner in Asia, be aware of their customs and show respect not only for the person you are with but also those around you.
Very rarely they will say anything but you should understand their feelings towards this.
Island Life
She also took me to one of the local islands here in Kampot where I found a local place to relax and unwind. We had a fun few days, swimming, eating and drinking lots, looking out on to sea as the sunset on the horizon. It made you feel pretty special and when you see how limited life is here. How, happy people, are you can totally get why some people think of South East Asia as paradise.
I learned that if you act like a local, things seem to be easier, cheaper. They relax more around you as they suddenly don’t see you as a tourist.
I have learned to like the local way, if I go to a city and I hire a tuk-tuk for the day then I ask him to take me to where he would eat.
The food is great, cheap and yes people at first look at you and wonder why you don’t want to eat in an air-conditioned restaurant. But I feel they appreciate you more for being with them
Dark days
I tried much more food than I had in Kampot on these trips to the city and enjoyed the company. Learning more about Cambodian culture and listening to accounts of their dark history.
She told me about her family and how her parents lost siblings during those horrible days.
A family member who I was lucky enough to meet gave me a book of her account of the Khmer Rouge years. Which I must say is very honest and explains things in a way that seems deeper than the usual stories. I guess actually meeting the author and seeing the real person gives you a different feeling when reading her story.
Birthday treat
Probably the only time I dressed up since being in Asia. So as it was her birthday I wanted to thank her for all the time she had spent taking me around and introducing me to the other side of her city. So I took her to her favourite restaurant and we had the most amazing meal I have had in Cambodia.
I am now comfortable to visit Phnom Penh and wander around and say hello to the many friends she has introduced me to.
Even the waiter wanted his photo taken
May 1st Happy Birthday Vina
I don’t see much of her these days, as she seems to have found a guy who is making her happy and obviously it is not appropriate to still go out on your own with other guys who are single. But I will treasure the time we spent together and appreciate everything she did for me and wish her luck for the future.
And who knows maybe there will be an invite to another wedding🤣
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