Cambodia - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 68

Fish turns up in many other dishes,
particularly around the Tonle Sap, where
freshwater fish are particularly abundant.
Popular dishes include dt'ray chorm hoy
(steamed fish), dt'ray aing (grilled fish)
and sumlar mjew groueng dt'ray
(Cambodian fish soup with herbs).
For snacks, try noam enseum j'rook
(sticky rice, soy beans and pork served in
a bamboo tube) or noam enseum jake
(sticky rice and banana). Baguettes
( noam pang ) are always a handy snack
food, especially when travelling. Vendors
have a selection of fillings, normally
pork pâté, sardines, pickled vegetables
and salad.
here are some surprisingly tasty
desserts to be found at street stalls,
markets and some restaurants, many of
them made from rice and coconut milk.
hey're very cheap, so you could try a
selection. Succulent fruits are widely
available at the markets. Rambutan,
papaya, pineapple, mangosteen and
dragonfruit are delicious, and bananas
incredibly cheap. Durians grow in
abundance in Kampot, and are, according
to Cambodians, the world's finest; they're
in season from late March.

acquired taste. It's often served (and
generally tastes better) as black ice coffee.
If you order it white, it comes with a slug
of condensed milk already in the glass.
Chinese-style tea is commonly drunk
with meals, and is served free in most
restaurants. You'll only find Western tea
in tourist restaurants.
he most popular local brew is Angkor
beer , a fairly good lager, owing in part to
the use of Australian technology at the
Sihanoukville brewery, although there are
numerous other brands available,
including the confusingly soundalike
(and very similar-tasting) Anchor Beer.

2

CULTURE AND ETIQUETTE
Cambodians are extremely conservative,
and regardless of their means do their
very best to keep clean; you'll gain more
respect if you're well turned out and
modest in your dress. Men should wear
tops and women avoid skimpy tops and
tight shorts. Particularly offensive to
Cambodians is any display of public
affection between men and women: even
seeing foreigners holding hands is a source
of acute embarrassment. Cambodia shares
many of the same attitudes to dress and
social taboos as other Southeast Asian
cultures (see p.40).
Tipping is common only in Western
restaurants - a dollar or two is generally
adequate, and much appreciated.

DRINKS
If you want to reduce the chance of
stomach problems, don't drink tap water
and don't take ice out on the streets,
although it's generally safe in tourist
bars and restaurants. Bottled, sealed
water is available everywhere. Other
thirst-quenchers are the standard
international soft drinks brands, available
in bottles or cans, and a few local
variants. Freshly squeezed sugar-cane
juice is another healthy roadside
favourite, although the tastiest Khmer
beverage has to be dteuk krolok , a sweet,
milky fruit shake, to which locals add an
egg for extra nutrition.
Cambodian coffee is quite unlike
anything you'll have tasted back home.
Beans are traditionally roasted with
butter and sugar, plus various other
ingredients which might include
anything from rum to pork fat, giving the
beverage a strange, sometimes faintly
chocolately aroma - something of an

SPORTS AND OUTDOOR
ACTIVITIES
Cambodia's lack of tourist infrastructure,
combined with the continuing danger of
landmines, has made trekking and
mountain biking di cult (if not
downright dangerous) in the past.
However, an increasing number of
opportunities are appearing for travellers
hankering to get outdoors.
For trekking , the place to be is the
northeast, particularly Banlung and Sen
Monorom, where local guides can lead
groups or individuals on treks into the
surrounding jungle and Virachey
National Park (p.117) lasting anything
from a day to a week. Another good place