Monday March 14th ~ Kampot, Cambodia
Wat Kampong Thom ~ Stairway up to monks living quarters with robes drying in the sunshine
Most of our day (8-9 hours anyway) was spent riding on a private bus from our home stay in Sambor Prei Kuk to Kampot, passing back through Phnom Penh on the way. With only 14 in our group, the larger bus allowed plenty of room to once again spread out and be comfortable. Some read, or slept, or watched the ever-changing scenery pass by.
I’m starting to get accustomed to seeing Brahma cows wander freely on or crossing the road, multitudes of plastic litter, empty harvested rice field after rice field, houses on stilts, oncoming traffic in our lane, and multiple roadside stands selling bamboo sticky rice and/or fresh fruits and vegetable.
We had a couple of stops for the “happy room”, but otherwise only two photo ops. The first one was at another monastery temple Wat Kampong Thom, also known as Wat Indrisamavora, located in Kdei village in the Stung Sen district.
I could find very little information on the Internet regarding this complex, but I will share a few of my snapshots.
Wat Kampong Thom ~ New temple
Elephant and rider
Wat Kompong Thom ~ Older temple
But the real talking point of the day was our stop at a roadside market place that specializes in a wild variety of insects to eat. Having never tried tarantula before, that was on my (I know, very strange) wish list.
We got to first handle a LIVE tarantula! The fangs had been removed – at least that is what we had been told!
Eating fried tarantula for the first time
I just ate one leg as it was seasoned with a very spicy chili pepper sauce. It tasted fine, just too hot for me so I shared the rest of my spider with another member of our tour group.
Large platter heaped full of fried tarantulas
But spiders were not the only delicacy to choose from. We could also munch on a wide variety of bugs including silk worms. crickets or water bugs.
Choose your own favorite creepy crawly…
The water bugs were just too big and reminded me of cockroaches so I passed on trying them.
Water bugs
Tim passed on all the insects, but did devour a tasty boiled quail egg.
Finally arriving at Natural Bungalows, our hotel for two nights. Our room was cheerful, had a lot of natural light and was painted boldly.
Our room at the Natural Bungalows
Porch sitting area right outside our door
The property is situated right on the edge of the river. The hotel served us dinner that evening. I believe that they are trying to learn the hospitality and restaurant business, but they have a way to go. We were quite disappointed in the quality of the food, but liked the setting.
Setting for our dinner.
The best part of the meal was the refreshing watermelon drink.
Watermelon juice
GRATITUDE MOMENT: Today I am grateful that I got to try tarantula. I can now cross that off the list and NEVER have to try it again. 🙂
How about you ~ would you have tried the tarantula? Or if you already have, did you like it?
A Note From Abroad 
NO WAY in **** would I ever try eating bugs. You are adventurous Joanne?
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Barbara, I really don’t see myself as an adventurous person, not in the extreme sense anyway. I do however like to try something new and not pass up an opportunity to experience something unique to an area. I try to never do something where I might put my personal safety at risk though.
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Ahhhh that’s so insane!! Your hotel looks beautiful.
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Callie, it was bright, colorful and in a good location.
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You are so brave to try that!
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More curious than brave…
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We’d like to think that we’d give it a try, but who knows, maybe one day we’ll have the chance to find out. 🙂
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I hope you do have the chance to find out!
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When I saw the picture with the bowl full of spiders I thought “huh, that looks like a bowl full of spiders!”. And when I realized that that’s exactly what it is, I about jumped out of my chair! Sounds like a great trip filled with new experiences!
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Sorry if we gave you a fright 😃
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Amazing! Could you please take me in your suitcase next time? Thank you for sharing your amazing journey with all of us. And the spiders and water bugs… I couldn’t help but taste their crunchiness!
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Please join us! You could then tell me about the water bugs!
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Ha ha… very kind of you. Thanks
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NO WAY AND NEVER! You never know where insects have been. The thought ……… no thanks.
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Hmmm, good point.
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OMG, I’m so excited that you got to try a tarantula. What a cool opportunity. How wild to eat a large spider. Love your on-the-water lodgings. Looks very soothing. Enjoy!
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It sounds like you would have joined me! A new experience, that’s for sure.
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Wow, the title of this post made me stop & read. Yuck is all I can say! Good for you trying them but I will admit I could not do it. If you could see my face while reading this post you would laugh. 🙂
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Amy, I too have some pictures of me with pretty aweful expressions when trying a wide variety of “things” over the years.
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Good for you! Not on my list
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No way, not spiders!! I’ve seen bugs in the markets in Thailand, but not spiders…
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Oh my!!!!
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