Ta Som and Local Market

 Friday, September 30, 2022

Ta Som

Bonus Beauty!

When there is an abundance of beauty and art, concentrated in one place, how much can you take in? How much can you cover in one day? Some people say that after seeing 2 or 3 you will get "templed-out". How short is our attention span if we feel the fatigue to just gaze upon this endless beauty? How much effort they would have put into creating these timeless masterpieces. I could just look at each one with awe all day long. I would like to compare and contrast the aesthetic styles, how it fared the ravages of time, how nature is interacting with each stone. I could just go from a moss covered structure to the next till I drop and still be awed. 

We had limited time and we were only afforded the opportunity to gaze upon the highlights of the Angkor Wat complex. We finished the main gems in the morning. I told Sam that if time permits, I would like to take a quick peek at the East gate of Ta Som. 

The gate is largely overgrown, with the roots of a giant fig tree growing over the upper structure and faces, creating a perfect blend of nature and ancient architecture. There were huge centipedes in the nooks between the intertwining roots.

We were the only ones in this whole place. I was so glad Papu decided to join us in this site. It was so serene. 

I know that we had only seen the tip of the ice burg. I must come back for more!

Sam took us to a local market in the evening. We passed through the same street in the morning and there were no stores there. In the evening they park big trucks and van and set up stores to sell clothes, toys and food to the locals.

We went to a lady who was selling the local delicacies in a cart. She had roaches, silkworm pupa, grasshoppers, frogs, all sautéed or fried to perfection and looking very appetizing. She also had a bag of green chillies that she was mixing the food with to add flavor. 

Sam made us try the grasshoppers. Papu was nibbling on the foot. I closed my eyes and bit off its head. If we close our eyes and just try the flavor, it was crispy and salty. It tasted like Lays potato chips. It wasn't bad at all. But looking at the bugs makes our mind block the taste and set on a gag reflux.

We both threw the rest of the grasshopper out. Then Sam bought a bag full of silkworm pupa. He insisted we should give that a try. We both picked one each. We were very hesitant but felt like we should step out of our comfort zone and just go for it. We chewed on it and I could only compare it to boiled peanuts.

The texture was very similar to the boiled peanuts and the spicy green chillies and seasoning made it actually yummy. Sam said that his whole family enjoys it very much and his wife usually adds more spices and cooks it again before they eat.

To imagine that I actually ate a worm willingly, with my extreme worm phobia, made my mind revolt against my mouth and my stomach. I felt very weird and wanted to throw up even though the taste was pretty good. So I blocked the fact that it was a worm and tried to distract myself with other things till that revolting feeling subsided.