Food

I should preface this by saying that we loved the Vietnamese and Cambodian food. Spring rolls, salads, pho, bun, lemongrass, sticky rice, fish, stir-fried veggies, etc. It was all delicious and not too spicy. This trip was a Viking River Cruise. We spent seven days on a lovely small boat on the Mekong River with 53 passengers, where we got all our meals, and the remaining 13 days at five star hotels with great restaurants. Although we ate native foods whenever they were offered, we did not eat street food and were advised not to. If we ate at a restaurant outside of the hotel, they made sure that it had high hygienic practices.

These next pictures were taken in an outdoor food market. Very crowded and very hot. And humid. This was a different culture and they eat some foods which would make us squeamish. Nothing is wasted.

All pictures are clickable for a bigger view.

Filleting fish that were just swimming in tubs nearby.

Live frogs with their hind legs tied together to keep them from escaping. There were also live skinned frogs . They can live for 10 hours after being skinned. Ouch!

Fresh produce looked wonderful.

Nor sure what kind of tuber this was. We saw a lot of fruits and vegetables unfamiliar to us.

Sticky rice treats wrapped up in leaves.

Live squid

Yes they do eat rats. They are river rats that live in the rice fields are so are considered clean. They are also referred to as "river bunnies". These were never on our menus.

Raw meat with no refrigeration or cover. Remember that I said how HOT it was.

Notice the duck heads

Live fish in shallow bowls.

More meat and organ meat to the right.

Many varieties of rice.

All kinds of eggs, including ones with fully formed embryos inside, considered a delicacy.

One night on the ship was Cambodian Night and all the food was Cambodian, with woven reed mats on the table and servers dressed in Cambodian clothing. Before the first course they brought around platters of deep fried insects, a common treat for Cambodians and Vietnamese. Most people said Yuck and declined, but the man across from me tried them all, Here he is eating a tarantula, which he said was the best.

Also offered were crickets, tiny frogs, water bugs, and baby birds, with the head and feet attached. I did eat a baby frog. It just tasted crunchy and a little spicy. The rest of the meal was delicious.

Dinner, anyone?  Come back tomorrow for more of my travelogue.