Tue 10th Mar – Phnom Penh to Kratie

The original tour plan was to visit a city closer to the border of Thailand after Phnom Penh. The skirmishes with Thailand have meant that the itinerary gets adjusted to take a big bus ride (7 hours including stops) east to a Mekong town called Kratie.

Fried Insects are the truck stop snack of choice. Piled high in a black tower are the fried tarantulas. I like the idea of being an adventurous eater but the spiders are so big… Ick.

A dry season bamboo bridge, rebuilt every year. We’re assured that the bridge is checked ‘regularly’ for structural soundness.

Our group sans one Canadian for whom the rickety bridge did not pass safety inspections. I am holding my tummy sheepishly. Chekhov’s gun.

Only in the last ten years has the more modern bridge (Japanese funded) been built. Before that to get to this island in the middle of the Mekong in wet season it’s a ferry across or the pictured bamboo bridge in dry season.

We finally arrive in Kratie. On one hand, a long transit day sucks. It’s uncomfortable and surprisingly tiring. On the other hand, it’s in sympathy with the rhythm and movement of the country. When school’s out you’ll see Dad picking up his young daughter on a scooter and she’s industriously reading a book on the back. A tobacco farmer hauls loads of branches on a cart, his wife sitting on top of the tower of fronds as though she is on an elephant. Trucks rattle down the motorway with gangs of workers sandwiched together in the tray, buffs protecting their faces from the sun. Traffic is never boring in South East Asia.

The sun sets peacefully over the Mekong.

But my body is not calm. I have the dreaded ‘tummy troubles’. It’s the first time I’ve been properly sick on this trip and I accept it inevitably. I need to quickly abandon a group walk around the market to head for safe havens. On the sprint back to the hotel I try and force down a quick, non-threatening dinner. I am not hungry at all so I just decide to go the busiest spot I can find (safety in numbers). All the ‘local restaurants’ are empty. Every Cambodian has decided to go to Pasta Corner tonight.

I struggle through my cheesy slices and return to the hotel a shivering mess. A long sleep interspersed with visits to the bathroom awaits. My motto, reinforced here: always pay up for the single room supplement.

Categories:Thailand, Laos and Cambodia 2026

Cait

Maria says:

March 11, 2026 at 2:51 am

Oh no Cait that is no good :(((

Hope you are starting to feel better by now and can access appropriate medication.

Loved your description of the snippets you saw on your drive. Very evocative.

I couldn’t work out if you crossed on the bamboo bridge or if you just posed. Let’s just say I know a certain someone who would have a lot of thoughts on the bridge.

Very extreme ends of the food pendulum there. I could maybe do a cricket but a big spider is a hard no.

Did you leave something for the library?

Glad the tour is keeping you away from border troubles.

Favourite photo: I am a sucker for those sunset Mekong shots. Especially with the boat in place. Beautiful 😍

Sending your sore belly a big hug xx
Cait says:

March 11, 2026 at 3:51 am

Whoops, should have made that clearer. We did cross the bridge 🙂
About 500 metres.
Dad says:

March 11, 2026 at 8:07 am

Eating insects is a classic survivor challenge.

Not sure if I would partake but must admit they are much healthier than my snacks.

Love the use of local sustainable products for the bamboo bridge.

Not sure if the guide would let me on due to max load limits .

Are any of the other women on the tour suffering the same tummy problems.

Sorry for hear about your situation

Are you throwing up as well?

Hope you feel better soon.
Cait says:

March 11, 2026 at 10:41 am

Dad: haha that’s funny about size limits on the bamboo bridge. They’d have to find you a good alternative activity.

No one else has issues that I am aware of.

Not throwing up just a loooot of poor quality 💩
Felt a bit achy as well yesterday but that’s better at the moment.
Leo says:

March 11, 2026 at 12:58 pm

I very much hope that your gut and sense of well being is in advanced recovery mode. Horrible, especially when traveling. Only positive is that your gut defence will be super engaged now. Personally, I would not have eaten, just hydrated.
Other than saying you didn’t eat the spiders, you didn’t say whether you ate any of the other “bugs”. We had ants in a Bento box in Japan on a couple of occasions. Pretty standard in Japan. You may have as well on your trip there. Not bad, sort of tasty actually – if you ignored what you were eating, but not many calories.
Cait says:

March 12, 2026 at 12:48 am

Leo: I like the image of my gut cells putting on swords and sheilds, arming itself against oncoming threats. They may have lost a battle yesterday but hopefully the war is not yet lost.

I should have googled whether it was recommended to eat or not. I was so out of it though I didn’t even think to do that.

I didn’t eat any of the bugs. I had had some in Thailand two years ago. While not disgusting, I didn’t feel as though I needed to try again.

Ants are interesting in Japan. I associate insects with poor countries, but Japan is not. What is the reason they eat ants? Declan and I did not have any.