19 February, Phnom Penh to Skun, 74km
Taing Lay Hong Guesthouse 24,000KHR ($6)

Tarantula anyone? Skun is so famous for fried tarantula that two giant tarantula statues greet you as you enter town. Shortly thereafter is a market popular with bus tours. On offer, not only tarantulas, but a variety of crunchy insects and larvae. These unappetising delicacies are leavened with small yellow bananas and juicy palm fruit and fresh pineapple peeled and cut and served with chilli salt. A young girl selling bananas had a live tarantula perched on her shoulder. She told us it was not poisonous and that she had removed its fangs, then placed it first on Charl’s arm and then on my shirt for the obligatory photos. We bought one spider to sample – seasoned with soy sauce, garlic, salt and chilli and fried until crispy. It is sitting beside my laptop daring me to take a bite! We had a great ride, turning north onto Highway 6 after crossing the Tonle (River) Sap via the Japan-Cambodia Friendship Bridge. Highway 6 runs up a spit of land framed on the west by the Tonle Sap and on the east by the mighty Mekong. Charl seduced me off the main highway to ride a narrow back road closer to the Mekong. We meandered through rural Cambodia and small clusters of homes built on cement pillars high off the ground. Past vegetable gardens and slender white cattle. Past temples and churches and mosques. Through a Muslim suburb, the heads of the women and girls covered with scarves. Back on H6, we passed one lotus pond after another, and tiny stalls offering lotus pods and lotus seeds to passing trade. A clammy day, the heat held at bay by welcome cloud cover. Happy Chinese New Year!