15 February,
Svay Rieng to Neak Leuong, 63km
Chea Sovannpich Hotel 48,000KHR
($12)
Our day
began with a pretty sunrise over the lake we could see from our hotel balcony;
otherwise it was another flat day, the scenery uninspiring. On view, however...
elaborate gateways constructed at the entrance to side roads leading to unseen
villages; women biking in sarongs, a check scarf wrapped about their heads; heavy-duty
couplings on motorbikes making it possible for their drivers to transport
passengers and goods in buggies and long trailers attached behind; pretty
pagodas with steep tiled roofs in orange and green; and families making rice
bran for rice bran oil at small roadside stalls. Wikipedia: “Rice bran oil is
the oil extracted from the hard outer brown layer of rice after chaff (rice husk).
It is notable for its high smoke point of 232°C (450°F) and its mild flavor,
making it suitable for high-temperature cooking methods such as stir frying and
deep frying. It is popular as a cooking oil in several Asian countries,
including Japan, India and China.” The family uses a heavy pestle and mortar to
make the bran, a youngster standing on the back of the pestle, rocking it into
the mortar where a woman stirs and monitors the husks between each stamp of the
hefty pestle.
Sunrise over Svay Rieng lake
Between Svay Rieng and Neak Leuong
Between Svay Rieng and Neak Leuong
Between Svay Rieng and Neak Leuong
Between Svay Rieng and Neak Leuong
Between Svay Rieng and Neak Leuong
Between Svay Rieng and Neak Leuong