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)
He brought us to this who-knows-where (supposedly on the way, quoted from him) Garden and bar restaurant. It was built over a river bank and the flooring was lined with rattan. We could see through little slits right to the bottom and the filmsy feel of the rattan (though we know are very strong) added some extra adrenaline to our meal. The setting was nice, view was good, cleanliness was there but in terms of price over quality, not quite there. Can't remember how much we paid exactly but the fried rice with chicken we had over there was definitely higher end than whatever we ate so far. 
Ambience was romantic at the start, but after a whole bus load of tourists came, the place became evolved into a local coffee shop. We took our time to relax over there, enjoy the scenery, checked out the garangness of the waiters having to walk from their kitchen 50 metres away to the lunching area for every dish they served, before heading off to yet another Cambodian tourist hotspot, Tonle Sap River. 
Tonle Sap River has gained much popularity over the years because it's the biggest freshwater lake in South East Asia and it's importance to its locals. The river brings them food (fishes) and water to drink and wash their clothes with. Tonle Sap is famous for its floating villages. That was what I gathered from the guidebooks and online sources (wikitravel) and there were lots of warnings about cons over there. The locals would convince you to buy textbooks and you'll end up buying more and more and finally donated all of them back, and the vicious cycle continues.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.
However, the dirt road, pavement, barren holey ground or whatever you call it which we took to Tonle Sap weren't gradient routes, but was the rockiest, bumpiest, most uneven, most "unhealthy" and unfit roads for vehicles to travel on. There were dipping holes in almost every millimetre along the way, and the unevenness of the dirt roads with little humps everywhere made travelling bobbly (that's too cute a word to describe our head-nodding/swinging experience). And the bad thing about it, is that it's the only way in from one side of Tonle Sap, was a good 5-10km and we had to go back the same route we came from. Truly, Gihi's (derived from my cyber name, gihijia) Book of Records. 
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.
Our boatman for that day was, Man. If only his surname was Ip. He looked like a decent chap, soft spoken, couldn't really speak English and was a father of 3 staying in/on the nearby floating village, Kampong Phluk. All these information we got from the many devoted efforts of us trying to communicate with him with our hands and we actually managed to do a quick "house visit" (will elaborate later). He was also highly enthusiastic in helping us take photos along the way (could be for the tips but his efforts felt sincere).
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.
In less than 5 minutes, Man managed to catch 3 shrimps which he showed us. Didn't know it was that easy to fish, er.. prawn over there in Tonle Sap. There were even "mussels?/clams?" stuck to the edge of the boat which was edible as well, but Man said he didn't like them and threw them back into the lake. Once again, there was a bit of an emotional stress because of the baking catfishes so we decided to head back (I think we could have spent an hour without any complains cos we were probably going to be his only customer that day) after about 30 minutes or so. 
On the way back, Man was kind enough to let us try our hands on the wheel because it was pretty open and it was then that my camera (my dear's camera's battery went dead halfway) acted cranky. I was taking out some cash to give him as tips, was choosing my notes when I suddenly caught a glimpse of him peeping through his little mirror he hung on the top of where he was sitting. Diabolical (And I thought we finally met a decent local). I didn't pay much notice to the mirror until I discovered what it was being used for. Anyways, as an afterthought to buy more time to prolong the experience, I asked Man if we could check out his house. I wanted to feel how it felt living on a floating house. He was a little reluctant initially (he didn't say but I could tell from his looks) but eventually allowed us to visit his house. 
My camera still acted cranky when we finally reached his floating house. "Darn it!!" I thought. We were greeted by his father's friend (I think) and went into his approx 5 by 2.5 m wide home. We were greeted by his 3 adorable daughters and as an afterthought, thought of giving them our bread. All that time, I was trying frantically to "revive" my cam so that I could immortalise that scene for life. When I did finally get it to work, everything moved super fast. Suddenly Man asked me to give money to his Mother, I took out I think $3 (based on muscle memory) and after handing the bread and money over, we were "escorted" and led out back to his boat. The experience didn't quite sink in, and before I knew it, I was back on his boat en route to our ending point. Tsk. 
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.
When we finally reached the port again, it was still fairly early so we requested for Kim to drop us off at Old Market. We wanted to try out Aha Restaurant which supposedly sells very nice chicken dishes as recommended by Yulai on the plane. 
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.
We didn't regret our decision because we chanced upon a nearby eatery by the name of Nai Khmer Restaurant and Bar which had one of the most impressive menus I've seen. It's like an encyclopedia of dishes. It's no exaggeration at all! Thickest menu I've ever seen. It was not only comprehensive, but the photos of their huge variety of dishes made them look temptingly appetizing. We ordered yet another feast of green pepper chicken, my favourite Loc Lac, potato salad and 2 smoothies. It was delicious and exceptionally satisfying. And as usual (roadside stalls context), we spent less than $15 in total (I think). 
We wanted to pamper ourselves yet again and decided to try out the message place we saw at Angkor Night Market. We passed by it the first day but comparing it to the messages at Noon Night Market, was a little more ex (only a dollar more). But they did look more tempting with the "tools" they used. They used this wooden stick, with a bigger rounder end on one side and a tinnier one on the other to press on our acupuncture points. The female boss chatted us up and we got to know that her husband was the founder of a local school. She even asked us if we would like to teach English at his school, to help the children. A percentage of the money she gets from the messages will go to the school as charity. 
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.
One of our final food stops that night was... make a guess... BBBBBBaaaaaaalllllllllllluuuuuuuuutttttttttttt!!!!! This time, I took no hesitation in asking if there were Baluts left and boy was I in luck! I finally got to get my hands on a Balut, many Baluts actually since they served stacked up like a pyramid of 4-6 eggs at one go. Tried to imitate a local there by sitting the Balut on an egg cup and using a teaspoon to crack the top shell of the egg. I knocked a couple of times before the lady boss came over and turned the egg the other way. She told me it was the wrong way to knock the shell. 
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.
We ended the night chilling out one of the bars (of 2) at Angkor Night Market. The name of the bar was Brick House, and it's fairly inside of the night market. We were still in time for the happy hour (half price) and we ordered a beer for me and a cocktail for my dear. Think the beer was 75 cents and the cocktail was not more than $2. 
The setting and seats of the bar was very conducive for chilling out because of its wide and comfortable seats which allowed us to "tiao ka" (shake/rest leg). There was upbeat, trendy music and even a free pool table for its patrons. However no one was interested in playing free pool so we occupied the table for the entire night. Though the space was slightly cramped, it was still fun to be shooting balls in Cambodia at such an hour without a worry about getting back (very near to our Villa). I ordered another glass of beer before the alcohol kicked in and sapped the energy out of me. After which, we reluctantly returned to our room (cos we wanted to enjoy the moment as much as we could) to packed our stuff, ready for our next destination, Phnom Penh.
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.
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