Siem Reap, Cambodia over Lunar New Year - Part Three

On our last full day in Siem Reap, we switched gears and got a little more physically active!  We joined Grasshopper Adventures for a 4-hour bicycle ride around the Siem Reap countryside.  At the last minute, Charlie decided he was not comfortable actually riding on his own, so I asked the tour folks to attach him to the back of mine.  He got an amazing cushy seat, complete with a cupholder for his water bottle. 
Since it was the dry season, the path we rode on was sometimes sandy, sometimes very compacted dirt, but either way a lot of dust got kicked up, caking our sweaty shins and the lens of the GoPro I had mounted on the handlebars.  The sound quality is not great on the video, but you can get an idea of what it was like.

Our first stop was at some agricultural fields.  We met a 60-year old woman planting in her field.  She had lemon grass, holy basil, baby eggplant, aloe, and a local vegetable similar to spinach. 

Next, we rode to a local market.  We walked through it and the kids got to see a butchered pig's head hanging by a hook, red ants used for seasoning beef, and the locally caught fish waiting to get their heads chopped for a fresh-kill buy.  Our guides bought us some fresh fruit and little doughnuts to snack on later.

Next, we stopped at a little stand that had a bathroom for us to use.  There was a puppy that the kids fell in love with. 

Charlie's posh seat is the little red chair attached to the back of the bike in the center.

The bike ride through the countryside very much reminded me of my time living in Malawi.  The dust on the path from having no rain for months, the little kids waving hello and shouting "Goodbye" as we rode past, the leaves along the sides of the paths turned reddish brown with the layer of dirt/dust coating them, and the cows just walking around with no fences keeping them penned in.  I was really glad overall that the kids got to experience this perspective of Siem Reap. 

Our next stop was a mushroom farm.  I had never been to a mushroom farm before, so it was definitely a new experience for me.  They stuff small bags with sawdust and spores and really tightly pack them before tying them off.  There were hundreds, if not thousands, of them all over the place.  After a month, they stack them sideways in tall walls under a tarp roof where the mushrooms grow right out of the neck of the bags. 

Then we rode to a very large Buddhist pagoda.  It had beautiful statues, educational buildings, ornate murals and many stupa.

Our last stop was at a lotus farm.  We had a long rest there, eating some delicious mango, dragonfruit, watermelon, coconut waffles, coconut donuts, and coconut cake balls.  Eric tried some kind of sticky rice wrapped in a banana leaf.  The kids had time to relax in the hammocks and Eric enjoyed a cold beer.

Then we had one final ride of about 25 minutes to get back to our starting point.  In total we rode about 10.5 miles (17km).  That last ride really pushed my endurance.  It was getting really hot and humid out.  I think the high was around 85-90 degrees Fahrenheit and we were so close to the equator that the sun was really beating down on us.  I was so impressed with the girls, who kept at the front of the pack the whole time.  They were such troopers!  Eric, thankfully, stayed behind me and shouted words of encouragement during the last haul.  I really should have let him take a turn at pulling Charlie, but I was too stubborn.
We returned to the Grasshopper cafe, where we were treated with freshly cut coconuts with straws.  I think that the coconut water is supposed to have a lot of electrolytes or something, like natural Gatorade.  After wiping off the layers of dust that coated our faces and shins, we caught a TukTuk to an artisan workshop.
The first room we walked through was the woodcarver room.

 Then we walked through the sandstone carver room.

Willow and Charlie helped by sanding down the rough parts.

In the next room we visited, the ladies were mostly on break, but we did see one woman working on the copper leaf, pounding it with stamps to make imprints for later silver plating. 

Then we walked through the rooms where they do silk painting and ceramic tile painting.

We got some ice cream at a cafe called Blue Pumpkin and then caught a shuttle out to the Silk Farm.  We were led on a guided tour of the farm, beginning with the mulberry tree plantation where they harvest the leaves to feed the silk worms.  They have to bring the leaves inside to feed the worms because if they let the worms go outside they would be eaten by birds.

 When the worms turn yellow, they are transferred to this circular basket weave to spin their cocoons.

 The cocoons are collected and put outside in the sun to kill the worms while they are still inside. 

Then the cocoons are boiled and the workers pull the softened cocoons gently apart to spin the silk thread on a spindle.  Willow even saw one of the workers eat the worm she pulled out of the middle of the cocoon!

We learned that 'raw silk' comes from the outside of the cocoon and 'fine silk' comes from the inside.  Material woven with 'raw silk' is generally less expensive than its counterpart.  They bleach the naturally yellow silk to make it ready to take any dye they treat it with.  They showed us how they use natural dyes like leaves, bark, coconut shells and seeds. 

In another room we saw all the weavers making intricate patterns for scarves, tablecloths, and tapestries.

They also had a technique I hadn't seen before called Ikat, where the weaver ties sections off in knots. in a pattern.  After completing the knots, the fabric is dyed.  The dye doesn't reach where the knots are.

At the end of the tour we walked thru the gift shop.  We could now really appreciate the amount of work that went into all the carvings, hand-woven fabrics, and hand-made jewelry.  And could understand the reason behind the high price tags. 
We took the shuttle back into town and then caught a TukTuk back to the hotel.  After all of the day's activities, I needed a shower and a nap before dinner!  The kids went with Eric to the pool.  Where do they get all that energy?
We went to a restaurant called SPOONS for dinner.  SPOONS is run by a non-profit called EGBOK (Everything's Gonna Be OK).  Eric and Maya ordered forest sausage seasoned with tree ants!  Maya was convinced she could somehow wipe the tree ants off.  But they were in a sauce that just wouldn't wipe away.  The sausage was quite spicy and very tasty.  All the food was delicious. 

From dinner we did a little souvenir shopping in the Night Market and then went to the Phare Cambodian Circus!  I have no pictures or video, because I was too busy watching the show! The show was called "Same Same, but Different".   It was funny, intelligent and jaw dropping.  I saw it as a commentary on how tourists have influenced their society and culture.  The performers who were dressed like tourists had white masks covering the top half of their faces.  We could still see their mouths and hear if they spoke.  They showed tourists walking around, taking pictures of everything, running from the rain, pushing their way to the front of all the lines, drinking hard alcohol and saying "Blah Blah Blah".  Towards the end, they showed two Cambodian girl friends but one of them started dressing more like a tourist.  Her outfit changed slowly, first with sneakers, then with a crop top, then jean shorts.  The friend who had not changed started getting upset and acted like she didn't know her best friend anymore, now that she dressed that way.  In the end they made up, but the message spoke volumes to me in the audience.  Throughout the performance, the circus stunts were incredible.  They did acrobatics, juggling, balancing, climbing, swinging, hanging by their wrists spinning around, and enormous feats of strength.  It was very powerful.
Back to the hotel and straight to bed. 

The next morning we woke up all relaxed and lazy.  I thought our flight didn't leave until 1:10, so I arranged for a Tuk Tuk to pick us up at 10:30.  We ate breakfast and then lounged around the hotel, packing up slowly.  At 10:15 we went downstairs and the Tuk Tuk was already there.  So, we left and went to the airport, arriving at 10:45.  We slowly meandered into the airport, thinking we still had hours, when I noticed that the departures board said the only flight to Guangzhou was at 11:10am, not 1:10pm.  I started to panic.  I pulled out my paper itinerary and only then did I realize that the 2-hour time difference had not been reflected in my phone calendar.  I apologized sincerely to the airline clerk who made it very clear that we were very late.  She called out to the gate and had an airline person come and guide us all the way through.  We agreed that it was not possible to check our bags, and thank goodness we had packed small enough ones to carry on board.  We tried to stay calm as we told the kids to not screw around, stay as close to our sides as possible and keep their mouths shut until we were seated on the plane.  The airline person came and walked us through getting our boarding passes, going through passport control, filling out our departure forms, passing through immigration, then security (where they confiscated Charlie's souvenir of a dead scorpion and python in a glass bottle of alcohol), then the gate, and finally the long walk out onto the tarmac and up the stairs.  They definitely had held the plane for us.  I had heard the final boarding call way back when were still at the immigration desk.  Everyone was waiting for whoever it was who had held them up.  We were so relieved and grateful that they stopped everything to get us on board.  It did shorten our connecting time in Guangzhou, but thankfully we made that flight as well.  We did it!  We made it home safely!  A huge shout out to China Southern Airlines and their amazing customer service.