Another early morning start, with a 7.15am departure on a cycling food tour around Battambang.

Due to the heat and the distance on the bike, Michelle decided to take the more sedate and relaxing option of following behind on a tuk-tuk with a couple of the other girls.

Andy was in his element and pleased to be back in cycling mode and with Rapha tagged water bottles!

Our first stop on the food tour was a visit to a local family who have been making rice paper for the last 3 generations. Andy got to ‘help’ by placing a couple of the rice papers on the bamboo stand to dry in the sunshine. It’s hot work and a long day for the family who start each day at 3.30am.

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Next stop was a visit to a family who make dried banana and mango fruit & crackers. This was one of our favourites, as the mango was so chewy and delicious.

The lady cut the bananas into slices on a board and interweaves them before drying them in the sunshine ready to be sold at the local market.

Cambodia is a real foodie paradise, especially for fruits with over 11 different varieties of bananas alone. All have a slight different sweetness and taste.

The smorgasbord of bananas and mango dried fruit & crackers was delight for the tastebuds and is so healthy and filling.

After saying our thanks and goodbyes, Michelle then re-boarded the Tuk-Tuk and we departed to the next place, a rice wine business a short distance up the street.

The rice wine is seen as being more medicinal in Cambodia and is served to all the family, to help with fatigue and tiredness after a days work or to a mother after childbirth or even a small child to help with sleep or illness.

The wine came in three varieties, original and the most potent is spiced at 40% proof, followed by the fruit flavoured with bananas and pineapple at 25%, and lastly the snake infused which supposedly helps men vitality & stamina in the bedroom (!), and is 35% proof. All were potent, especially at 10am in the morning….

Our guide explaining the process of filtrating the rice to make the wine. A process that from start to finish takes just 5 weeks.

The cycle ride took us out of the city to the country areas where we got the opportunity to see how people live and work. All seemed happy and contented despite the challenges of earning a living in a country where the costs of living are rising by the day.

We made two further stops to try bamboo sticky rice, sold to the locals as a snack for breakfast or lunch, which is cooked early in the morning within a bamboo stick and sold as a meal you can open and eat whenever you like during the day. It proved to be a firm favourite for Andy who ate all of his coconut infused rice before getting back on his bike.

We also got the chance to try coconut water along with pineapple and mango at a local’s house. Having just been picked and then been chilled before serving it was so refreshing.

Our last stop was at a local Buddhist temple where we were greeted by some unusual objects erected by the monks to show the people what might happen if you sin this life! They make for interesting viewing and proved to be very symbolic and amusing.

Next to the ‘hell zone’ was an area for the kids, with dinosaurs and animals, this one we recognised from our time in Oz…

Before leaving the temple grounds, we managed to get a group photo of us and one of the local monks.

We had a fun morning and after the exercise we returned to the hotel for a last dip in the pool, before changing and getting back on the bus for a 3hr drive on to the infamous Siem Reap where we will be staying for the next 3 nights as we get the chance to explore the beautiful jungle Angkor.

After arriving in Siem Reap, we had some at the hotel pool before heading out for dinner.

The centre was a lot more touristy and included an ominous strip called Pub Street.

We found a bar selling Tomb-raider cocktails and local Cambodian beers and got settled to avoid a rain storm.

Next stop was dinner at a funky Cambodian restaurant where the food was of Michelin standards.

With dinner polished off it was time to find a bar and Shaun’s contacts paid off again, leading us to a drag queen bar, certainly he was v happy we visited…!!!

Tomorrow is the highlight of the tour with a visit to Angkor Wat and surrounding temples.