“A ship is always safe at the shore…

– but that is not what it is built for.” – Albert Einstein

Amen to that, Albert. Today I did something that frightened me a bit, I left my shore. I accepted an invitation to go to the home of a local Khmer (Cambodian) man. It was outside of my comfort zone to go with a ‘stranger’ to his home in a far away village but, as I expected it would, it turned out to be the best experience I have had thus far in Cambodia. He wanted to take me and give me a traditional cooking experience with his wife and his son, on his only day off! Or did he want to kidnap me and…. The places my mind went thanks to fears that are indoctrinated into our brains. The possibility of something going wrong is definitely there, obviously, but I decided to trust my gut and go with it.

A few precautions I took that I thought were…maybe half-way decent: I brought my friend to the restaurant to meet him, see his place of work, and feel out the situation to make sure I wasn’t crazy and to check that her gut said this was a wonderful, kind gentleman as mine had. I also asked her to text me once or twice and if I didn’t respond fairly quickly to…take action? I also planned a time that I could be expected back.

I met with Theangse (Mister Se, for short) at 8am at a nearby pagoda (for those of you like me who do not know, this is a place of worship). From here we drove on his motorbike out of the city and through many villages on small dirt roads to get to his village. The road nearest his village is accessible by bike only, because the road is literally about 6-8 inches across, room for the bikes tires and no room for error. Mister Se has done this with many other people who he meets at the restaurant he manages, typically people who are staying for longer periods of time, and those that he “knows are good”. I guess he and I both got positive vibes from each other. He says he wants to turn these visits/ cultural experiences into a small business. They have similar things already in Siem Reap but none (that I know of) as authentic as this.

Knowing that I am new to the country, he drove slow so that he could point things out and tell me things along the drive, so what would normally be about a 20-30 minute drive was about an hour. I think he also thought I was nervous on the bike so he wanted to drive slow, but actually I think driving the speed of the road is much safer! But we stuck to the edge of the road where the slow pokes keep and were just fine. On the way out we saw checkpoints; policemen on the road ticketing people who are not following laws: riding without a helmet, bikes without mirrors, etc. These traffic violations cost about 4,500 riel, or about $1.11 USD. I think Cambodia might have more thorough vehicle inspections than Alabama! Probably not, but they are strict about what vehicles are on the road. They are not strict however on what you put on that vehicle. You see motorbikes with mother, father, small child, and baby all piled onto one. People hauling ladders and bed frames, you name it, it can fit on the back of a motorbike. And they ride so gracefully even with these awkward loads. Maybe one day I’ll be as comfortable on a bike as them! For now I’ll stick to my bicycle.

Anyway, we went to his home and walked straight away across a rice paddy to the neighbors. The neighbor works with a company that give tourists the opportunity to help make roof panels by weaving Palm Leaves together. They kindly invited me to join them and I made a few panels. So neat!

After this I met Mister Se’s wife, Rai Saly and 3-year-old son, Eang Thaisam. We checked with Rai Saly to see what else we needed from the market before we hoped back on his bike and rode a short distance out to a market in his village. Here we bought a carrot, some garlic, a bit of chicken, and some bottled water for me. I think the water cost more than everything else. The chicken was not being kept cold. When I asked about this Mister Se assured me that this is why he picked me up so early, so we could get the chicken when it is fresh. He said that because of this we are cooking it immediately and I should not worry that I would not get sick. So far so good.

Rai Saly and Mister Se showed me how to cut everything they way they do, and then let me prepare the meal alone. I prepared about 30 leaves from a Noni tree, cutting away the midrib, rolling them together, and cutting them into small pieces that we would later boil as one might spinach. I cut onions, carrots, finger root, and was taught how to shave the inside of a coconut and make coconut milk…so on and so forth. The end result was a lovely dish of Chicken Amok, a traditional Cambodian dish.

It was noon after we ate and Mister Se insisted I go rest. He said I could go up stairs to lay (on mats on the floor where they sleep) or I could lay in a hammock. I spent the next two hours in and out of sleep nestled tightly in a small green hammock. The hammock was hung between two bamboo trees. While laying there I saw: moths, butterflies, snakes, many kinds of ants, frogs, lizards, oxen, chicken, ducks, and dogs. I head the wind in the trees and the sounds of the bamboo branches rubbing against each other, animals being vocal, animals crushing dried leaves with each step, children laughing, Rai Saly washing Eang Thaisam, and my mind thinking “this is where I want to live”. Live while I am here- not forever!

I got up when I decided I had rested enough and found Mister Se also sleeping in a hammock. The hammock he laid in was the one I was going to when he guided me to the one in the trees. He insisted I not lay in the first one because it was near where they kept the “ox poo”. Very kind of him. Right at 2pm we were back on his motorbike headed to the city, to get me home when I was expected: 3pm. On the way, Mister Se drove slow again, this time so we could talk about my building a guesthouse on their land and living there. It was quite serendipitous how we both hopped on the bike and were thinking the same thing. I am seriously considering moving out to the villages and living on their land. I want to for many so reasons: the experience of learning how to live off the land, living immersed in the culture, learning about the locals, learning their language, living with nature… It also happens to be the nearest village to my school, so I would lose a 30 minute morning and afternoon commute and save heaps on rent each month. I’ve told Poppy (my cat, for those of you who haven’t been graced with her presence or stories) about my ideas of staying in the city through our 6 month lease, starting to build with Mister Se over Christmas, and moving to the village in January. If I decide this is what I want to do I will spend several weekends with them before making the move, I suppose I could bring Poppy and see how she fares in the wild too She is becoming one cultured cat.