As we near the end of our time in Cambodia, I pause to refect on what we have discovered. And what remains a mystery.
1) What are the half exploded eggs on skewers we see sold on market stalls? Solved! They have been painstakingly blown out, mixed with fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar and salt and the result is equally painstakingly inserted back into the shells. At which point they are baked. So far though, we haven't actually tried one. Contents of market stalls switch around, dependent it seems, on....time of day...?
2) Why do we see rows if market stalls in one place at specific tines of day, all selling exactly the sane thing? Unsolved. Near our flat there is, every evening, no less than ten stalls, less than two strides apart, each and every one selling roasted duck. In the morning there is not a duck in sight and everything is selling grilled bananas. Browsing, to make a choice of food, is not possible in real time. Why?
3) What are the strange rubber cauldron shaped things dotted along the dusty roadside? Solved! They are rubbish bins. But it's cleverer than that. They are made out of car tyres turned inside out and stalked together at the seam. Genius!
4) How much should a tuk tuk ride cost? Unsolved. Locals will tell you less than a dollar, we found it was usually three. If we bargained we only ever managed two and a half - and were once charged five, though we walked away from that one. None the wiser, I'm afraid. I think the answer might be 'whatever the driver can get away with'.
5) What exactly does '24 hour laundry' mean? Solved! It does mean 24 hours. Well, more or less.... We have used the bargain option of 24 hour laundry, wash with other people's laundry and no iron, for the whole time we have been here. The laundry has been returned folded beautifully and much better than the washer woman at home ever manages! However it seemed that whatever time we gave it in, it was always ready at 7pm the next day. If we handed it in at four, we got it back the next day at seven. If we handed it in at six, we still got it back at seven. On our last day it is important that 24 hours really is 24 hours. I hand it in at ten fifteen in the morning after a very confusing conversation in which I try to get a promise that it will be done the next morning, and not at seven pm. I give up on the conversation. I smile, nod, pay and take our chances. It's ready at eleven the following day.
6) Why is there a constant party, without the accompanying levity? Unsolved. Loud party music blares out frequently from everywhere - and at unpredictable times of day. We have wondered about weddings, festivals, parties or just simple high spirits. Yet there never seems to be anybody dancing...
7) Why is there such loud bird song at a particular part of the market? Solved! We had worried they were caged birds being sold for sport or for food. They are perched on the tall street sign we pass under as we wonder this. There are hundreds of them and they are free.
8) What, if any, are the laws governing the roads - and how does anyone driving on the survive? Unsolved. There is no discernible code of conduct. People pull out at top speed without looking, drive contraflow, open doors into passing traffic and swerve suddenly and rapidly onto the pavement. Mirrors appear to be optional, as do lights - and neither are used anyway. My sneaking suspicion is that if there is any traffic code at all, it is something like 'think of the most dangerous stunt you could pull in thus situation - and then do it, grinning.'
9) Why the hard sell? Solved! Aside from the obvious answer which us related to poverty and to the high competition from similar stores selling similar items next door, we learn from N that there is a superstition that makes the first sale of the day the most important. Once a store keeper makes their first sale, it will be a good day - and they relax a little. But if your first customer looks and doesn't buy, it's very bad luck. Hence, if you are the first person to set foot in their shop, the seller will be frustrated to the point of anger if you browse but don't buy.
10) To sand or not to sand? Unsolved. When we arrived the 'pavement' of the dusty road that we live on was covered on sand. A week or so later it was a hive if activity with people in green uniforms sweeping it away. For an enjoyable few days we walked on paving slabs, and did not sand mixed with cigarette butts/dead crabs/fish bones etc. stuck between our toes or in our sandals. Then we woke up one morning to find a large caterpillar (truck!) busily shovelling sand back onto said paving slabs. Another week after that, the brooms were back out. Is there some sort of sand war?
11) Why do the dogs bark do much throughout the night? Solved! We were up very early one morning when it was especially dark. We cycled past a dog outside his house. We startled him. He leapt up, flinched away in terror, and barked in alarm. The barking spread like wildfire. I think it means "aargh! What's that?!" followed by, "Right well...um....get away from my house you monster or I'll...um....well you won't like it anyway...eek..don't hurt me"
12) Why do the dogs howl in the night? Unsolved. No idea. Why do dogs do anything?
13) What were the leaves we used when we tried to make Amok at home, if not actually amok leaves? Solved! We bought and ate what we thought were Amok leaves. But when we went to the market with the Chef from Bantambong he pointed out Amok leaves. And they weren't the same thing. Then he pointed out another leaf, the one we used for Amok "This is a chewing leaf" he said, "like betel. For old ladies."
14) Why, after the war, after so much foreign aid, after so long, is Cambodia still so poor? Unsolved. I really don't know. Corruption, western carelessness, greed, the weather? I need an economist, a historian, an environmentalist and a political scientist to learn me their brains for a year. And maybe, still, I would not understand.
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