There’s an element of loneliness that comes with the heat. Cuddles and cwtching (Cwtch is a Welsh term for cuddles) are basic forms of contact but are also very effective ways to warm up and be cozy. They are not practical here. The air temp is cloying enough without the furnace like body temp of your loved one. Even a hand gently placed on your shoulder is like being branded with a red hot iron and can be suffered no more than a few seconds. The game of sleep and temperature minimisation leaves a no man’s land in the middle of the bed as we both balance on opposite edges to stay a fraction cooler. Verbally embracing rather than physically. The heat is relentless and the battle between breeze and the noisy hum of fans is real. Contact cwtching is definitely a Welsh climate sport. I am starting to be a little concerned about sleeping in a hut with no air conditioning or fan in the Cambodian jungle. The heat (and lack of sleep) now joining the list of mental concerns that roughly runs in the following order…..
1. Spiders (of any kind)
2. Venomous snakes
3. Pack of Soy (street) dogs
4. Heat
5. Having to go a day without a massage
I’m also starting to worry about the lack of variety in mushrooms available in the UK……this alone may force me to move to Thailand. Last day in Hua Hin for us before heading back to Bangkok for our flight to Cambodia. I think it’s actually cheaper here to eat out than to cook yourself. I’m not entirely sure how the economics of running a street side food stall actually turn a profit but they must do, as there are so many of them. It is a wonderful walking down the street getting that mixture of spice, charcoal and cooking odours wafting around your nose lighting up your olfactory senses.
We went to visit the old train station this morning which was beautiful…..puts our train stations to shame. Beautiful buildings and planted with some lovely mature trees standing outside as sentinels. We then visited the temple and made some offerings to the Buddhas, lit some candles and incense and rubbed some gold leaf on all 4 Buddha statues.
After wandering through the market alleyways we arrived at the beach. A tourist mecca, it was bustling with beers, horses and people. The water was lovely and the beach dotted with coconut palms. We sat in the sun slowly simmering and occasionally dipping in the cooling ocean. Hunger eventually pushed us back into the maze of stalls to find something to eat. We grabbed 2 bottles of fresh iced pomegranate juice. I may have left food too late and allowed the hangry door to be opened, so we needed to move quickly. Most places seemed to be shutting up so we headed for the market alleys. When we saw the entrance there was a food stall which had many Thai’s sat at it so we both thought great, some authentic food. As we neared and my mouth started watering, we stepped off the road and a huge rat sauntered from under the food stall straight towards us and casually walked to a drain, swiped a discarded plastic bottle out of its way and slid between the iron grilles disappearing into the underworld. We both laughed. My mouth stopped watering and we pushed on into the gloomy covered alleyway. There was an open sewer running along the edge of the foot way with a decent flow of murky brown fluid. It was then I was punched in the nose by the aroma of fish, bad fish. The most fishy of bad fish aromas I have ever experienced. We had chosen possibly the worst entrance to the market….the fish entrance. There was a wall of dried squid, shrimp, fish and God knows what each side of us and I was already thinking it was time to leave when Em said we had to get out of here. I’ve got a pretty strong stomach but not that strong. We could see the hazy daylight of an exit to our left and made a bee line for it lapping up the fresh roadside air as soon as we emerged from the fishy catacombs.
The hunger situation was now desperate so we jumped into the nearest shop we could find which turned out to be a bakery and I happily consumed some sticky purple sweet potatoe bread and some fries while Em had an iced coffee. Em then spotted a vegan restaurant 15 mins away so we headed back out onto the city streets and walked 15 mins to the restraunt which was light and clean inside with a good selection of vegan meals. We had a couple of iced singhas some fried cauliflower cakes with chili sauce, tofu and avocado salad and Tom yum soup (getting brave I asked for spicy as opposed to a little bit spicy). The food was well presented and tasted good. The Tom yum had a good spice level, the level that makes you cough on your first mouth full and by your second, beads of sweat start congregating on your temple. The iced singhas came in handy. We left the air conditioned room and we’re back on the streets for 30 seconds before being willingly bekoned into a massage parlour for an hour long foot massage which was bliss, however, the shoulder work was savage and had me wincing. But it felt good when it finished….and afterwards.
We had a taxi home and cooked one last meal before packing our rucksacks and and retreating for an early night in preparation for our 5 am start tomorrow. Not before Ems Dad gifted me some clothes to help me blend in with the locals in Cambodia.
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