Last year it was only my friend Tracy and I but this year our little group grew to five of us including Julie, Wendy, and Tarana. It was such a great group of fun girls who are, considering the trip, serious troopers!
We stayed in Kep the same tiny little huts that make you feel like you are in the middle of the jungle with only a cold water spigot and mosquito nets to cover your beds. The owner is an excellent cook and after staying the night and having two great meals, we each paid $12! Perfect. The 10k bike ride was a lot of fun; the 10k run not quite as much fun but I made it the whole way having to stop to walk a few times. Whew.
The next night we stayed in a beautiful hotel in Phnom Pehn with air conditioning and hot water! Heaven. We wandered around the city for a while and visited an interesting night market. But the best part was eating at this great local restaurant. The food was amazing and we even ate tarantula. Yes, I said tarantula. It was one of their appetizers and it sounded like a good idea at the time. When it arrived I was thinking it may be disguised in some way - chopped up, covered in cheese, something. But no, it was just four giant spiders sitting on a dish. Wow. The head and legs were actually sort of tasty - just like something crunchy and deep fried. . . and hairy. But once I got to the body, that was a bit more difficult - it was a bit too meat-like and chewy for my taste. But I got it down and kept it down! I'll add that to Vietnamese Snake Wine as one of the grossest things I've ever eaten. . . whew.
I wish had more photos to share but my camera died on the first day! Ugh! The weekend went by way too fast but it was another wonderful two days in a beautiful country for a great cause.
