Quick Stop in Kratie

We were up at just gone 5am this morning to finish packing up in time for a tuk tuk ride to our "VIP" bus. We waited 45 minutes for an array of packages and people to board and re-board the minibus. This included the attempted tetris game with a full sized cooked pig which they luckily gave up on as the bus was already full. Just after 7am we left for Kratie (Krong Kracheh).
The bus driver seemed to be paid by the maximum speed he could reach on each road which led to some near misses with oncoming scooters and trucks. Our first stop was to allow the older men of the bus to relieve themselves on the roadside, the second was to drop off some seafood to a shop-owner and then the third was at a "service station"; a busy restaurant with drop toilets and home-cooked food of some sort. We somehow ordered some rice and chicken "bits" and some vegetable crisps for the journey. Soon we were back on the bus, picking and dropping off locals until we finally got to Kratie about 12:30. We refused the moto (motorbike taxi) offers and stretched our legs by walking to our next guesthouse.
We are staying at Le Tonlé, a NGO tourism training centre, as well as guesthouse and restaurant, which provides vocational training to disadvantaged young people in the north-east of Cambodia. Our room is a cute wooden-cladded sauna, with a mosquito net and fan. There are two shared bathrooms just opposite, which are surprisingly clean (minus the mosquitos).
We had a wander around this small, riverfront town and through the local market where we came across some of the local delicacies such as Balut (a fertilised duck egg with a partially grown fetus). We decided against trying these and instead we had lunch at a corner-side restaurant finally trying the Cambodian 'Amok' (curry) which was delicious. We met a man who was originally from England but now lives here, working with local NGOs (and we think also with the place we are staying) for the past 30 years.
This evening we are sat during happy hour tasting what the students can make with alcohol... and about to order dinner before an another early night as we move again tomorrow.Read more