Kim asked us if we wanted to have lunch. It was a pretty stupid question if you ask me. But at that point of time, of course we said we did, duh. However, after saying "Yes", we realised we might have made a mistake. We would have been better off having lunch by ourselves. Cos from the experience of the first day where he brought us to this local buffet place with the Aspara dance (totally touristy place), we knew that day was no different. It's quite the dilemmic answer though. We had to eat somewhere afterall, but if we said we didn't want to eat, he would have proceeded straight to Tonle Sap which I don't think there's any foods there. Either that, or they would have jacked up the price (same as those temple regions).
Saying Yes spells 2 disasters. We might have to "forcefully" treat Kim again, and we're ultimately going to have to pay more. Luckily, it only resulted in the latter because if I'm not mistaken, Kim could lunch for free at the place he brought us to. That cockanaggens. (Pardon my language)
I didn't really know what to expect. According to what my dear researched before we actually got there, she said the river was so vast you can't even see the land on the other side. Also, whenever I hear about floating villages, an image which I saw on Lonely Planet would always flash through my mind - us being rowed in Sampans through the many silted wooden houses, lined and hounded with passing sampans with loads of items on their boat. Vibrant colors of all sorts would spring out from those sampans and reached out hands would be trying hard to grab you. It's probably not so horrifying as I make them to be, but at least that's the image I remembered seeing on Lonely Planet. However, that's in Thailand I think. Not Cambodia.
Before I get too carried away again, let's start when we first alighted our Tuk Tuk. Then again, let's start even before! Because the road we took to Tonle Sap made it into my Travel History Book. Last I remembered I ever had to note down (mentally) such an experience was when I was in Yandooya in Australia, a small rural town near to Brisbane. We took a Landrover up some slope in Yandooya (name of countryside) and it was like a roller coaster ride, with the bumps.
When we finally bobble our way to Tonle Sap, a pair of Australian ladies came up to us and asked if we wanted to share a private boat with them. It was so chaotic when we alighted, cos we were also hounded by the locals, that we didn't quite catch what the Australian girls were asking. We later realised that one of the girls had been there the year before (2010), and the cost of getting a boat was USD $5. However, when we were there, it was 20 freaking dollars!! EACH!!! (ok, actually Kim did tell us on our first day when we asked him his rates in our room but if you were to compare this ridiculous amount with 2010's rates, it was daylight robbery!!)
A 400% inflation in a year? And if you've read until thus far of my blog, think I'm being prejudiced and unreasonable thrashing the people of Cambodia without any grounds, here's one of the biggest proof of how corrupted its people are. The events which followed after is sure to open your eyes.
The "leader" of the gang, yes gang, syndicate, whatever sh** you wanna call them came over, said that we cannot share a boat with them. When we pay $20, we get a private boat already. If we share with the girls, we still pay $20. But we cannot share a boat with them. Yup, sounds weird when I mention it but that were the "rules" over there.
At that point in time, there were 2-3 bas***** crowding around us and trying to "convince" (coerce) us to just pay $20 and giving us the get-the-hell-out-of-there-if not-things-will-get-ugly kinda looks. Once again, mind my language. Even though I may have censored most of my vulgarities out, you can imagine how pissed off I still am now. One of the things that really gets to me is people trying to cheat us, and them trying to use emotional blackmail to do so.
Even though I was totally aware of the situation, when I looked over at Kim, standing alongside the "leader", who kept telling us to just pay $20 as well, I was so enraged and disappointed internally. I kept my cool and not knowing what they would do to us if we insisted on going with the Australian girls, we simply complied. I was so worried for the girls but felt so helpless. My dear was worried as well, but was even more worried about what they would do to us if we followed the girls. I wished someone would come to save us that very moment, but noooooo, the world is a harsh harsh place.
Even the wedding ceremony we saw on our way there didn't "brighten" up the "dark" place. I felt bullied, helpless, vulnerable, and unprotected, more so than ever in Tonle Sap. Those cheats work on our psyche, after a long ride over there, they can jack up the prices but who's to stop them? A normal tourist mentally would be, since we've traveled so far, might as well just go for it. The government don't give a sh**, and even if the locals were to murder us along the way, throw our bodies into the river, I think no one really gives a sh**. Morbid thought, but I believe is true to every extend.
Therefore, I would highly not recommend Tonle Sap for any tourist because it was just not worth it. Calculated risk is way off the charts compared to the pros of going there.
Well, enough of my honest opinion of its people, let's get back to our boat ride. *takes a breather to dissipate all the anger....* There's many floating villages in Tonle Sap, the nearest being dependent on which side you come from because there's many ports around it.
We had to travel a good (boat ride was supposed to be 2hr long) 1-2 klicks on a "narrow" river route to Kampong Phluk. On our way there, we saw a land sprouting in the middle of nowhere with cows on top of it, the inspiration of our very own Raintree Pictures (the iconic tree) and 3 cafes close to one another, one of which we stopped by where there's yet another con laying in wait. It's another "private boat ride" into the swamps/marshes but we had to pay an additional US$10-15. What the fish (f***)? What the boat (bulls)? What the crab (crap)? This time, I didn't hold back in rejecting the "offer" and they didn't seem too pleased with it, they being another "leader" mending the counter.
I was on high alert and was ready to head dunk each and every single one of them despite the odds. Luckily, after we rejected, we were quickly "excavated, not evacuated" from the site. Man went to another cafe, we thought "Oh sh**, not again, thought we already told him to carry on?", and bought a packet of cigarettes before carrying on *phew*. I guess all the excuses from smokers about how stressed they are are a load of bull. Whether in a stressed environment or not, people just smoke anyways. Stress, smoke. No stress, also smoke. Cold, smoke. Warm, also smoke. Got money, smoke. No money, also smoke. (It's that obvious that I dislike smokers huh?)
We also saw green structures (schools), experienced the splashing Tonle Sap freshwater in our boat because of inconsiderate boatmen passing by, a police station, water veggies (water plants which are edible) and the highly talked about "vastness" (midpoint of tour). The view at the open area was exceptional scenic. Though there was literally "nothing much to see", the greenish waters glittering like emeralds in the river under the afternoon sun was the saving grace of the boat tour. We spent a good 20-30 minutes relaxing on the open front deck of the boat and Man wasted no time in catching some extra dishes for his dinner with his family. He even bought 4 catfishes from one of the passing boats and left it to sunbath on the open deck as well. The boat was relatively small, could sit to around 6 people and very low in the waters.
My brother had warned me about taking "additional" offers from them bringing us out even more/to a more peaceful (secluded) place at an extra cost because my brother and sister-in-law recently (2010) felt that it was a life threatening experience. I suggest you heed the advice too. Can never trust the locals over there. True story. Period.
I felt bad that I gave all his tips to his mother, so decided to tip him again separately. Shucks. All in all, we spent close to $45 for that experience on the lake. Totally not worth it. It was an interesting experience, sure, but not one that's worth $45 for.
Ironically, when we did find the restaurant, we gave it a miss because of it's price. It was "ex" at the point which we browsed through the menu, but thinking back, it's still considerably cheaper in Singapore's standards. Was about $7-$12 per main course.
Speaking about entrepreneurialism and altruism! Being the skeptical me, I was only partially bought in by her story on doing good for the children. And even though I was tempted to do something good for the kids, I held back because of what I was feeling back then and right now - my theory about how teaching the children English will bring more harm than good.
Kept my cool (from the embarrassment), thanked her and started deshelling the top half of the egg. All this time my dear was freaking out and taking photos of my "dessert". Here's a little crash course on how to eat and expect from a Balut.
Even though the egg might seem there's no "right side up", there actually is. The egg with the thinner end should be facing upwards. This is important because on the other side of it, the broader base, is a hard, what seemed like the cerebellum or skull of the duck (could simply be a protective layer). So I believe the duck is formed "opposite way" from "the right side up". It looks blackish inside, not because it's dirty or rotten but I believe is because of the color of the duck. No feathers, but no pre-feather-like-furs, just several soft bones, mainly the feet.
The feet is the most distinguishable part of the Balut, and though the overall shape of the duckling can be made out, it's more or less very deformed (or un-formed). The head and body were just black egg white (egg black) and tasted the same. The Balut tasted eggier than an egg. Most have said that this description wasn't informative enough but trust me, it's the best description out there. When you try your mouth at it, that's the only description that will flash through your mind.
No heart, no internal organs, no eyes, no beak were seen visibly and no hard part of the Balut which will cause you to choke or grit your teeth over. It's like eating a normal egg, which tastes eggier, looks black, has some soft bones in it and there's this very hard white stuff stuck to one side of the shell. The hard white stuff tasted like those ligaments of a chicken bone, dryer and tougher version.
It came with their famous pepper and salt condiment, which enhanced the taste of the eggier egg. There's also one important part which I left out, the "zhup" left at the base of the egg. It's like a black pool of salty tasting essence of duck (not much, about 3-5ml). Worth the try? Definitely. It's not as disgusting as it looks, but because my dear said my breath smelt very eggy (I ate 2 eggs), I was very conscious of it the whole night. The eggier taste lingered on in my mouth the whole night but I couldn't really smell it myself.
Even though the majority of my post contains many negative comments, it was still a memorable day and I thought we spent one of the most fun nights over in Cambodia.