Cambodia Local Custom Tips by bkoon Top 5 Page for this destination

Languages

You can speak :
- French to those in their forties;
- Russian to those in their thirties; and
- English to those in their twenties

- Khmer to all.

Petrol

Petrol is still sold in bottles or pumped from barrels by the roadside. There are very few "big" petrol stations.

The Cambodia people still prefer buying from the roadside though. Well, they somehow feel more at ease when they see the petrol flowing into their vehicles' petrol tank rather than a more modern pump whereby they can only see from the meters.

Morning Rush in Phnom Penh

Everybody rush to the market early in the morning for the best fresh foods. This fresh food wet market is situated near the riverbank in Phnom Penh and it was so crowded although the sun had not risen.

Lotus Flower

This is how a lotus flower looks like. I love the pink of it.

Lotus Seeds

Lotus seeds are nice to eat and they taste good. Locals like to eat them like a fruit. In the picture, you can see that my moto driver cum guide is holding on to a few stalks of lotus seeds.

Try them when you are there.

I tried them and well, nice. Didn't know they can be eaten.

Half-Hatched Eggs

In Cambodia, the locals like to wat semething which I almost gross out when I saw them eating. It was half-hatched eggs. When the eggs were half-hatched and the "little chicks" were formed (with its feathers, etc), they were all brought to the market place and eateries to be sold.

The locals eat them raw. They will break the tip of the egg and gobble down the "liitle chicks".

The Dishes

We were told that typically, the must-haves for a Cambodian Meal are as follows (and as seen in the picture) :
- Vegetables ('Salad')
- Raw fish
- Boiled pork
- Lots of home-made chilli sauce
- Eaten with Rice

Typical Cambodian Family Meal

At Phnom Sampeau in Battambang, as I was exploring the surroundings, I saw a few Cambodians preparing lunch in the kitchen near the stupa.

When lunch had been prepared, the dishes were placed on the floor.

Favourite Pastime

In Cambodia, especially in the afternoon, you will see many people gambling during afternoon breaks.

Interesting to watch them gamble though.

Tonle Sap : Washing Clothes

As they do not have washing machines, clothes are usually hand-washed and since they do not have proper washing room, their clothes are washed in the river.