BATTAMBANG, CAMBODIA Nov 29, 2011

Today after breakfast on the roof of this Star Hotel, I walked down to the city market, went for a Thai/shiatsu massage, then with sister Sara hired a tuk to take us to see how rice paper is made, had another massage after dinner and we are now packing up for our early morning boat to Siem Reap.  Throughout the day, I drank several fresh squeezed lime juice with crushed ice and a few pineapple shakes - a fresh pineapple blended with ice.  One even had some ice cream in it.  The juice is generally $.50 and the shakes were $.75-$1.25.

The market was similar to other markets with more emphasis on weird foods and lower quality clothes.  No real or fake name brands at all.  The difference at this market is no one is aggressively trying to sell their goods.  I almost had to look for someone to sell me something.  The shop keepers were not in their booths, they were off visiting.  They did not bargain much either.

The boy is a young monk in training.  He has to carry the basket to carry the food they are given.  Monks go from business to business and just stand outside waiting for someone to come out and give them a donation

A knife sharpening business man at the market

Scaffolding completely made of bamboo.  It looked very haphazzard but is probably stronger than it appears. 

The massage was back with the blind people for $6 with ends up about $10 each time with 70% tip.  Tipping is not common but is greatly accepted by all.

Me & Sara in a tuk tuk

Local man wearing traditional sari

The tour greatly exceeded our expectations.  We saw two products in the making, rice paper (the kind we eat) and rice noodles.  In the rural area we went to, at least 30% of the people are involved in the rice business. To make rice paper, they first ferment the rice by soaking in water for 24 hours. The the rice is ground into a paste with a bit of water and sometimes a bit of sugar.  They make a big pot of the white paste.  They burn rice husks to keep a low fire burning under a couple of bamboo poles.  They form very thin circles of the paste and let them cook slightly on the heated bamboo.  Then all the circles of rice paper are set on large iron grates.  The grates are old and rusty and the rice acquires the grid lines of the grates.  The rice paper dries in the sun for an hour or more. When the paper is very dry, it is peeled off the grates.  The crisp hard circles are then laid out on the grass to absorb just enough moisture to make the paper maleable.  That process again takes only an hour or so.  A woman will make about 2000 per day in her home.  Well in her front yard really.  No one does anything inside.

Rice paste made of ground fermented rice

Rice husks pouring down into the fire under the crossed bamboo poles

Rice paper drying in the sun for one hour until very dry

Removing the rice paper so the next batch can be applied

Basket of dried rice paper

The next family business we watched was the rice noodles.  Again, they start with the paste and they also use rice husks as fuel for the fire.  They have a huge kettle of water just before boiling,  They pour the rice paste in a large can with holes in the bottom like a seive.  Another can with a solid bottom is inserted inside the first can to push the paste through into the simmering water.  In about a minute, the cooked noodles are scooped out with a wicker basket and washed thoroughly down by the river.  There are 3 large buckets of water, each one used in order to rinse the noodles so they are tasty and not sticky. 

barely simmering pot of water to cook the rice noodles in

Rice paste squeezed into the simmering water through tiny holes in a can to create rice noodles

fire fueled by rice husks just off to the side of the water pot so the water simmers and does not get too hot

Gathering the cooked rice noodles up in a wicker basket

Washing the rice noodles in the first of three river water washes

Old woman at her home she shares with her cows

Banana drying in the sun.  To prevent a waste of bananas they cannot eat fresh, bananas are sliced lengthwise in very thin strips and overlapped to create these long fruit strips.  As they dry in the sun, they glue together into a long 4" x 16' strips.

Fuel for sale.  The different colours indicate Premium-green, regular-yellow, gas from Thailand is red.

The drive along the river to see the rice making reminded me of the hike through the Borneo jungle.  The houses are similar but single homes rather than long houses.  Lots of dogs, lots of chickens and lots of kids everywhere.  The people were extremely friendly and everyone waved and shouted hello as we passed.  Apparently they don't get many tourists.  We felt like celebrities.  This day is one of the highlights of my life.