cambodia cooking class

Today we took a cooking class  

we made fish amok, fried spring rolls and beef lok lak.

Before we got

to the cooking we went and bought all the ingredients. They have very different spices then we do and very weird stuff too. like pig heads to eat.  Gross! cow intestines.  really
gross!  ha.

Im smashing up the fish curry paste in a morter and pestle. 

I'm frying the spring rools in oil 

These are the spring rolls after i was done frying them 

 This is all the food that we made

This is the fish Amok in banana leaf with rice. It was steamed in the banana leaf as a bowl. But you don't eat the bowl. 

The is the beef Lok Lak. With a garnish of lettuce, tomato and onion

 they were all very good. the fish amok had a curry taste to it. i didn't try the spring rolls because I'm sick  with a cold.  I'm just getting over it now. but I'm at the

stage that all that Flem stuff is in my lungs and i cant breath very good so i didn't eat very much which sucks because it all tasted soo good. the beef lok lak is the best of
them all. it tasted like something i've never tasted before. it was soo good.

cambodia market

 

Today we went to a market. Its the place where local people buy food for the day. They go to the market every day.  

 

 

 

These are crickets!! 

 

 

 

 

 Here is the fruit area. Coconuts, mango, bananas and lots more

 

 Our cooking teacher was telling us all about whats in the market and what the names of things are that we didn't know.

 

 

 

Shes making waffles in an old fashioned waffle maker over a fire 

 

 

                                                      She is selling chicken and duck eggs

the bamboo traincar in Batambang, Cambodia

we  went to the bambo train it was scarier than a roller coster because we weren't strapped in and that the hole thing comes off the rail tracks because it is only one rail line and if someone comes along in the other direction they have to take the train off the tracks so they can pass.
 so that  means that if it can come off, if you hit somthing you will go flying. skary I know!

 

This is what happened when we were going along and someone came from the other direction.

 

 

 

They are taking off the train from the tracks

 

 

Now they are putting it back on

 

 

 

Thats the person driving the train. Its a motor with a rubber belt that goes on the axel and makes it spin.

When he pushes on the stick it tightens the belt on the axle and makes it go faster.  

Batambang, Cambodia

today we spent our day climbing a mountain and touring the killing caves from when the Khmer Rouge was happening. The Khmer Rouge was the Cambodian war. we climbed to see the killing caves. That's where the Khmer Rouge threw the people in these caves from the very top and they died when they hit the bottom from the impact.  they were also beaten before they were thrown into the caves. One of the facts about the Khmer Rouge is that when they killed the people they left them to rot and when the war was over. People all went down to
pick up all the bones and put them in a big pile for i don't know why. it was very sad to go down there because so many people died. they were all doctors and artists
and teachers and all the kids from 6 to the age of 11 that were the kids of those people.

 we also saw the fruit bat they were so huge they were like a foot and a half in wing span and they were thick to.










i also tried a new food today it is called a pamelo. it is like a cross between an orange and grapefruit but a lot drier but it was very good. .then we went back to our hotel.

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Silk worms

We went to a silk farm. The way they harvest silk is they start out as little worms and they grow till they are big enough to go into a cocoon  and before they hatch they boil the cocoons and spin it to a thread then they  dye it and it is ready to make a scarf  or a blanket. 


       The life cycle of the silk worm

 

                                                   the worms are two weeks here

            She is unravelling the silk off the worms cacoons by putting them in boiling water and the silk comes off in tiny strands and it comes onto the spinning reel

                              weaving the silk into scarves and blankets




     

Jimmy\s dream

Today we went to a school for under privileged kids. That don't get to go to school. It is called Jimmy's school. He is not a real teacher like he has no schooling for it but he does a really good job of it. He gets about 150 kids every day 6 days a week. And he only gets paid 50 $ a month at his regular job and that's what he has to live off of. The school is free so he works during the day and in the evenings he does school. They don't have school on Saturday because on that day they have super for free every Saturday and after that they have a dance party and all of them know gangnam style which is funny because it started and all of them started screaming and laughing . They learn English and math and life skills which Is very important. So when we first got there he said that they needed school stuff and so my mom put on Face book that we went to Jimmy's school and other stuff and basically that we were asking for donations for Jimmy's school and You know how much we raised close to 600 $! So we went out and bought the stuff that he needed and gave it to him. It was so cool to see that. All thoughs little kids were so happy. the  last time we went there were 5 new kids that were living on the street homeless. The families of all of their parents to those 5 little boys were either dead or in Jail for something they did not do. It was very sad to see them. All those little kids not just the ones that lived on the street probably only had one pair of clothing to wear it was sad.

Angkor Wat

Today we whent to Angkor which is a wonder of the world. It took us all day in 40 degree whether. It was very hot! a little to hot to be out all day walking.

Angkor is made of temples lots and lots of temples. Once you see one its kind of like you've seen them all. so once you've seen 10 big temples, it's really boring!

But the temples were very beautiful. so intricate. there were so many carvings and statues. it was cool. The movie tomb raider was filmed here.

Taxi car kidnaping

Today we got to Bangkok Thailand. It was really fun till the taxi. First we got in the car and started driving it all seemed  fine. then my mom asked, is the meter going? my dad asked why is it not going? The driver said no no no you just pay 600 batt.  my dad said no we are only paying 400 batt.that is what it was supposed to cost.  he would not put the meter on. then my dad demanded he puts the meter on so he did and then he stopped the car. I Thought  he was going to throw us out but he was pretending to check the care tire and said the car is broken.  I Can't  drive.  so he got back  in the car and started driving and Colton said I have a hunch that we are going back to the air port. so my dad asked, where are we going. he said car go bang bang bang go back to air port.  let me tell you it went down hill from there. 

So back to the story so my dad said ok just let us out here and we will get another cab. He said no you go back to air port. And my dad said NO I want you to stop right now let me out of the car we will get another cab. He said no then my dad said then we are not paying you a single dime if you are not taking us to our hotel.  he said no we go back to the air port my car go bang bang bang . He would not let us out of the car that is what  I call kid napping. he was holding us against our will in the car. it was scary.

we were told that he expected that we were supposed to pay the toll that he was supposed to  pay. so my dad paid and we got back  to the air port and  the security  person that we told was saying that no no no it was accident.  my dad said no that was not an accident. there is nothing wrong with that car and there wasn't  anything wrong with that car. this guy still owes  my dad 60batt for that toll. So we got a different cab and we finally got to our hotel. So that is the story of how my family got kid napped by a cab driver.

Gili Air, indonesia pictures

this is our hotel room in that little island we stayed at called Gili  air

             

 

 

i went snorkeling every day and i found a hermit crab

 

 

 

 

this is me doing math

 

 

 

 

 

in one of the places i stayed at i learned to crocette a hat

 

 

 

 

me snorkeling

 

 

 

 

 

 

Snorkelling

Today we went snorkelling finally and I saw lots of different fish. most often I saw angel fish. I saw 250 angel fish and 10 sea turtles. it was lots of fun. One time I dove down to a sea anemone and the clown fish that lived there was really  big. almost 2 inches long. it swam right up to me and was really  close to my face. then I had to go up for air.  I also saw a 100 pound parrot fish. They are really big. There were  20 of them. There  are lots of different kinds of parrot fish too. I know it sounds funny,  but Ive got a head and sinus cold, And we don't even have air conditioning.  it's always 26-33 c here.  not to complain but boy is it hot. :) I got sun burnt to day on my back. it hurts.  We are back at our  hotel on the same island.  we are leaving for Cambodia tomorrow at 10:00  am.  But first we have to go to Thailand   and take a plane to Cambodia, then we go back to Thailand.   then we go home. 1 more month till I come home :) I'm really missing the food at home.  it's so different here and no good pizza!!!!!!!!!!! :( well I miss you all. bye!

gili air, indoneasia

today we had to cancel our snorkeling trip for the third time. it sucks. it is all cloudy and cold, which is kind of nice because it is always so hot
here. its always 25-33 degrees Celsius. so we are going tomorrow unless it is the same as today.we haven't done any thing for 3 days which is unusual
for us because we are always on the go when we are traveling. its kind of nice, this trip has bean like this the  whole time. we spent 2 weeks in the same spot
in new Zealand. on my last trip the longest we stayed in one spot was 3-5 days then we were off never to go there again.

I'm on my second book now. its called flipped and I'm half way threw in 2-3 days. its a good book you should read it some time. my favorite carrictor is named Julie. she sounds like she would be a lot of fun if she was really real.

i am also almost finished the hat that i am crocheting.

                                            fresh orange juice in the morning on the beach!

some of the things i learn are counting money from different countries. they have the indonesian rupiel here. $5 = 50,000.00 R

growing rice

In Bali they grow rice in rice terraces  that look like steps going up and down the hills. i know a little bit of how they grow the rice.
First thay plant the rice randomly by hand and then when it has sprouted they transplant it by hand into rows. When their other harvest is finished and they have room in the fields they can plant it where they would like. Then when it is planted they have to go through a series of flooding and draining so the rice will grow.
Sometimes they really flood it so that it is totally under water.Later when the rice is a bit bigger they just let the water trickle over and just the bottoms are under water.
When it starts to grow the rice looks like it is wheat. When it is ready to harvest they let all the water drain off and let it dry. Then they chop off the top and let the straw dry in the ground. When the hay is done drying they cut it down and use it.The rice is taken and dried till the shells of the rice are loose. They then put it in a big bowl and beat the rice till the shells of the rice come off. Once the rice is off the shell they use a fan to blow all the husks away so the rice is left.
I eat rice almost every day just like the Asian people here. My favorite way is the local way called Nasi Goreng which is fried rice with vegetables and chicken.It is really good

outside our homestay in Ubud Bali

 

 

 

                                                                         rice terraces

 

                            The homestay owners we stayed with in Ubud Bali