tea services, russian market

public aerobics, wat botum park

transport, sisowath quay

note: forms of transport include motorbike (hop on the back), tuk-tuk (the cart to the left of the elephant) and car (I think I've ridden in one here). also, behind the elephant rages the age-old debate: angkor beer or anchor beer?

the perhentian islands, malaysia [photos]

kuala lumpur, malaysia

I spent the past week on vacation in Kuala Lumpur and the Perhentian Islands, both in Malaysia. I stayed with a friend from my program at school, which is always the easiest way to see a new place. The day I got there turned out to be the first time that Malaysia Day, which celebrates the joining of the different parts of Malaysia, was celebrated as a federal public holiday. So after drinks at the Colisseum Cafe in Little India (pictured above), my friend, her friend and I went to the Central Market Annexe, a very cool and active art gallery. For Malaysia Day, the Annexe was hosting a photo exhibition and traditional instrument (called a "sape") performance by a group of indigenous people from Sarawak. As elsewhere, these indigenous people were screwed over by the government, primarily their Chief Minister, who offered voluntary resettlement and compensation in exchange for their land so that the government could build dams. Though it has been more than a decade, the government has not taken care of the indigenous people whose land they have used to become extremely rich. We spoke to a woman afterwards whose father grew up in Sarawak, and she said that there are many allegations of corruption and manipulation surrouding the dams as well as logging in the area. Below is a picture of a Malay Muslim girl in the crowd taking a photo of the indigenous performers and a video of the performance. Other ethnic groups in Malaysia include Indians and Chinese, all of whom dress differently, making subway rides visually interesting. The video below reminds me of American Native American dancing. (Apologies for the breaks in sound when I zoomed in; I'm not used to the video function.)

I'd heard about "Doctor Fish" before, small toothless fish who nibble the dead skin off your feet. The most famous fish spa is located in Turkey, and has been operating since the early 1900s. Since then, its spread to several Asian countries and the US. I went to an aquarium at the mall, where they had a small spa to stick your feet in for a half hour. I'm unsure whether its actually effective, or if the reports of smoother feet or improved foot health afterward are due merely to soaking your feet in water, but it was an interesting (one-time) experience. The video below shows how much more dead skin there apparently was on my left foot than my right! Check those little suckers (pun intended) out. Yes, it tickled, and yes, it itched, but only at first. Here's an article in the Irish press about the process.

The Lake Gardens, a large public garden in the middle of the city, was a highlight of the trip. Below are some photos of the city skyline from the park and the National Monument.

fried frog with lemongrass stuffing: C+

Something I definitely need to do more of here is to try the street food! In between surveys today, we stopped at a roadside stand because the fried frogs caught my coworkers' attention. Above, Cha'riya, a member of the survey team, displays her street food. Below is the full stall. You can see pig's ears, fried frogs with lemongrass stuffing on skewers, assorted fish and pickled things. I tried the frogs, and they weren't bad, but the stuffing was definitely the highlight. Earlier that day, I did get what looked and tasted like small waffles from a street vendor - all they needed was some blueberries or strawberries and I would've been in heaven! And three small waffles only cost about 12 cents. I think the frogs cost a bit more, something like a whole quarter!

bai: kind of a big deal

Worldwide, rice is the most important crop for human consumption. It seems as though calling rice ("bai" in Khmer) the staple food here in Cambodia is an understatement. As in many countries where it has been cultivated for centuries, rice has invaded the culture and the language here. The word for kitchen literally translates to "rice house;" breakfast, lunch and dinner are morning, noon and night rice. More than half of Cambodians are farmers; almost all of them grow primarily rice. Rice is grown by flooding the plot during planting, and below are some photos of harvesting. It's a muddy job, requiring strong arms for pulling the plant and a knife to chop off the stalks, which I believe are used to feed livestock during the hot season. As the workers pulled up the rice plants, flying insects crowded the air in search of new swampy homes.

The point of the last picture is just that woman's smile, and the mesh tank top her baby is wearing - not just for 80s pop singers anymore! She's definitely a rice farmer though, so it's kind of related.