Museum, cooking, & a circus

We did wake for the fireworks at midnight last night. They were loud enough for long enough that it would have been difficult not to wake. Majella and Ben braved the insects outside on the balcony but I looked through the glass doors. The building beside the hotel obscured any low action but we could see any that went high.

After that we slept. I woke a little before 6 am but went back to sleep until after 7 am. By then Majella and Ben were both awake but not moving. We relaxed for a bit, then dressed and went down for breakfast sometime after 8 am.

Breakfast in the hotel restaurant offered plenty of variety of both familiar and unfamiliar items. We each managed to find some satisfactory combination of fruit, rice, roti, croissant, brioche, ham, rice, juice, coffee, and more.

After breakfast we went back to our room. We had nothing planned until our cooking lesson just after noon. None of us needed more shopping in the markets but Majella noted that there were no museums on our itinerary so we decided to go to the national museum we had passed yesterday on our way to APOPO.

Since Maps put the museum just 900 metres away and there were no hills we walked. There was busy traffic to contend with but we managed the several street crossings without mishaps and reached the museum. Our walk took us past the area that had caught Majella’s eye yesterday. There were people there cleaning up the large volume of trash left by revellers.

As we entered the museum we encountered the cloakroom where we were required to leave our bags. Just beyond as I saw the ticket desk I realised my US dollars were in my bag. Fortunately I was able to use the two 100000 riel notes in my wallet. They had been too large anywhere else I tried.

We spent about an hour wandering through the museum galleries. Beyond the briefing room that offered a video overview we found the gallery with 1000 statues of Buddha. Other galleries explored the history of the Khmer empire and religious beliefs. One of the last galleries we walked through had an exhibition of contemporary batik paintings with lots of colour and detail.

Rather than walk we rode a tuk tuk back to the hotel. Majella went down to lounge in the shade by the pool but Ben and I stayed in the air conditioned room.

Around 11:30 am Majella returned and we headed out to find lunch at Brother Bong Cafe. It was crowded but they found us room at a table and took our orders. Drinks – smoothie for Ben, iced cappuccino for Majella, and americano for me – arrived quickly but we were still waiting for food at 12:10 pm and our ride from the hotel to cooking class was at 12:15 pm.

Majella went to ask about taking food with us but it was just beginning preparation and I had a WhatsApp message from the hotel. We apologised, I paid for our drinks, and we hurried back to the hotel.

Our driver was waiting out front so we boarded and set off. I messaged the hotel to assure them we were on our way. The tuk tuk collected a couple from another hotel across town and then headed south along the river to our class which was some way out of town in a space under a private home.

We were greeted warmly, asked to remove our shoes, and seated at a table where we were offered bottled water. Menus were presented with four courses each with multiple options and we were asked to nominate which items we would want to cook. I opted for green mango salad with smoked fish, tom yam soup with shrimp, pineapple fried rice, and banana with coconut milk. Majella selected green mango salad with dried prawns, sweet and sour chicken with almonds, pineapple fried rice, and sweet potato with palm sugar. Ben chose beef salad, Khmer bar fish amok, pineapple fried rice, and banana with coconut milk.

The space under the house had room for about 30 people at 5 tables. Four more guests were expected but when they hadn’t arrived after 30 minutes or so we were invited to put our shoes on and were then taken for a tour of the garden where much of the produce used in the classes was grown. Some items were grown in sufficient quantity for excess to be sold in the local market but for others the home grown product was supplemented from the market.

By the time we had walked the garden others of the workers had done some essential preparation for our selected dishes and we were ready to cook. They stepped us through each of our menu items, taking care that we did not make a mess of anything. With basic preparation done we had only to do some slicing of vegetables and adding ingredients to the pot under instruction as our guides managed the small gas stoves.

Soon enough our meals were made and we sat to eat them. It was just as well we had not managed to get lunch earlier. Four courses were delicious and filling.

After we had eaten we sat a while. The couple from San Francisco who had ridden out with us decided they had seen markets before and ordered a tuk tuk to go back to their hotel. At 3 pm we boarded our tuk tuk and rode to the market where our host took us for a tour, explaining some of the foodstuffs and the value for villagers of being able to buy and sell locally. Once our market tour was done we said our farewells and rode back to the hotel.

We all rested until a little after 4 pm when I decided to walk to the nearby temple, Wat Bo, I had noted on a map yesterday but had not managed to see as we walked by. I had caught a glimpse of it today when we went out for cooking class and what little I could see seemed worth a closer look. On the way out I took a moment to enjoy the hotel courtyard with its trees, pool, and statuary before walking on to the temple. There were several ornate buildings in a large compound with a wall and impressive gateways. Other sightseers were walking in the area so I joined them looking at the buildings with their golden trimmings and the orchids that adorned the gardens.

When I got back to the hotel a bit after 4:30 pm Majella and Ben were both ready for swimming. We all went down and cooled off in the pool for 30 minutes or so before coming back up to rest and prepare for our evening at Phare Circus.

After being late for our ride at lunchtime we made sure to be down early this evening. When we arrived at reception 10 minutes early our driver was already waiting. It took about 15 minutes to get across the city to Phare Circus. The driver made sure we picked up our tickets and then left us to wait. We stood in line until people exited after an earlier performance. Once we reached the performance area we were ushered to our seats. While we waited for the 8 pm performance screens above showed video above the circus and the organisation that runs it and associated school and other ventures.

The performance was extraordinary. The storyline followed Sokha, a woman who survived the Khmer Rouge and went on to be a co-founder of the social enterprise that runs the circus. It opened with a young woman convincingly playing Sokha as close to death and then flashed back to portray the history. The terror of the Khmer Rouge period was palpable and the release from that regime was portrayed with real joy. Feats of strength, agility, and coordination abounded throughout the performance.

After the hour of performance the cast were available for photos. Majella could not resist so she and Ben sat with them while I took the photograph. We exited to find our driver waiting and were soon back at the hotel. We have a 5 am start tomorrow for Angkor Wat so we had little time to waste getting to bed.