An early start this morning to watch the sun rise above Angkor Wat.Then off to an old Buddhist university within the Angkor province. There are so many areas to this kingdom. This plenitude adds to the impression of a once-glorious, now lost empire.Hiding from the sun.But the sun finds me, always.There was something special about these round pillars but I have become a bit monument-fatigued. Time for a change of pace…Time for Hero Rats! Hero Rats are a big pouched rat originally hailing from Morrocco that are bred and trained for a year in Tanzania to smell out explosive powder used in landmines and unexploded ordnances. They are set up in this rectangular perimeter and are forced to run in a straight line. If the rat detects explosives, they’ll start scratching lightly on the ground. The little critters weigh less than 2kg, which is too light to set off the landmines. From there a different team can come and clear the area. If the rat runs the length of the straight line with no signal the humans move a step to the left and the rat runs the new length, until the rectangle is finished. The rats can clear a patch of land four times more quickly than a metal detector. The metal detector will pick up scrap metal too and it wastes time to excavate the false positive.Hero Rat gets a banana treat for being so useful. This is such a fun exhibition. There’s facts. There’s a live demonstration. There’s high quality merch. The trainers love the rats as much as we do. They’re damn cute. The program has operated in Cambodia for more than ten years and there have been no detonations in land cleared by the rats. I ask if they are used in Laos and the guide grimaces, scrunching her eyes into an uncomfortable squint, “no, we have the funding but cannot because of the politics”. I recognise this response. It’s the stock standard South East Asian way of communicating disapproval of government without saying anything critical.We’re allowed to hold Hero Rat Jordan. He’s not allowed to go into active service because he interacts with the public too much (too many smells) and is just a mascot now. I want to hold him sooo bad. But I don’t. Because I am Responsible Tourist limiting rabies exposure. I need a come down after all the rodent excitement so I decide to walk an hour back to the hotel. It’s the middle of the day and very hot. I hide for an hour with the cool kids at this cafe on the outskirts of town, which is next to a gallery and antique store. The gallery is owned by a French woman and what I presume is her younger male concubine. The woman has a crazed aura that feels so familiar. I am struggling to put my finger on it… She’s erratic, moving swiftly around the converted open-planned wooden estate like Bellatrix L’Estrange. She’s fretful – Mrs Bennett, concerned that her beautiful paintings will spoil. She’s the spitting image of a character who is somewhere she shouldn’t be and is striving not to go to ruin. I foresee a vehicle based bonus celebration this August… Now I want a Ranger AND a scooter.I continue my walk back into town, breaking for a very late lunch/very early dinner. This is beef Lok Lak: beef, onion and fresh green peppercorns rapidly stir fried with oyster sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce, garlic, and black pepper. Very tasty, paired with a pineapple, passionfruit and lime fresh fruit juice.7pm rolls around and it’s time for a massage. I went to the most expensive parlour in an attempt to distance myself from the feeling of going to a brothel. But still, it feels illicit. You sheepishly walk in, are asked to take off your shoes. You select your treatment from a menu priced by time. Then your madam (sorry, masseuse) walks you quietly up three flights of dimly lit stairs. You sit while she cleans your filthy feet. Then you enter your room and undress while she waits patiently outside. During the massage there are small checks for consent: too hard? Not hard enough? Every now and then, giggles from other ladies bounce around the halls outside. Oh the things she does with her hands…
More excellent photo composition of you in the doorway. This may be the same photographer as yesterday? Similarities in composition.
The stir fry looks great.
I hate rats, so that activity would traumatise me, and I certainly wouldn’t be holding them.
Nice to see some Caitlin Time could be included at the end of the day.
Leo: interestingly different people. The similarity in composition may be due instead to similarities in the Khmer architecture across different sites.
You are officially not allowed to hate the HeroRAT. They’re saving lives! Some are trained to detect animal poachers and others can help identify TB infected.
Caitlin Time is important for stamina refuels.
The sunrise montage is lovely.
Did you buy any hero rat mech or make a donation. I love that story. Somehow i feel that the chubby hero rats don’t make it to old age . The land mines have most probably been in the ground 50 years so it’s amazing that the rats can smell them now. I watched a show once where they had trained a dog which could detect a certain type of cancer before the person showed symptoms because the cancer changed the smell off that person.
Would be interesting to chat with the French lady to see if you accurately captured her essence.
I’ve spotted the first fake photo on the blogs. There is no way that the scooter photo is real. How is that assembled and disassembled. Seems very lopsided. In Australia if you have an accident and your vehicle exceeds the manufacturer’s max load capacity you void your insurance and can be fined. Doesn’t look like that situation has filtered through into Asia. I want to see a reality show where everyone gets the same scooter and insane amount to load and you win by getting it all packed in one go and going a certain distance without stopping in the fastest time.
Food = yum.
Massage time?
Cost?
Quality?
Holy sh*t this post has everything 😍 food, ruins, hero animals, deranged woman with concubine and art. Well done thoroughly entertaining!
Not much of a rat fan either but when you think about it that is an incredible story. I wonder how it came about? Who realised this would work?
Favourite photo: I loved the art cafe one. It looked so cool. I could sit there and read for hours. Also the temple reflection and you in the sunrise – what a wonderful photo and memory 🥰
Would love to see you get that scooter up the Rodriguez driveway!
Glad you spoiled yourself with a massage. Your feet must feel so good. Are you getting a lot of free time? Do you stay near the temples or do you have to travel to them each day?
Your description of the “Bellatrix L’Estrange” gallery owner is spot on, there’s always one erratic expat keeping things interesting. Also the pictures in this post have really filled my cup – its a cold rainy sydney this morn…
Dad: I bought HeroRAT merch aplenty. I got a plushie rat, a tshirt and a stubbie holder. We were told the rats train for a year, work five years, and then get to retire for the last year of their life in air-conditioned paradise where their keepers come and play with them to keep them company.
The scooter with the food cart bolted on is common and it shocks me every time. I’d be shocked if any of the street vendors have any insurance full stop..
I like scooter game. I’d be loading books into mine.
Massage time – 60 minutes.
Cost – A$55
Quality – good but with a bit of flim flam. Would have liked to have tried a few different types to see which I preferred the most.
Mum: I agree! I like to think someone just had a smart rat as a pet and thought, I wonder what they can do.
Art cafe was good! They’d just put the Taylor Swift playlist on shortly before I left and it was hard to get the motivation to leave. I wanted to hang more in the aircon with Taylor.
Declan seriously looked into getting a scooter for me to go around Blackheath with while we were in Laos but the Rodriguez driveway was the deal breaker.
Ooh the feet was good! Not much free time actually. A free few hours and dinner at most. I think it’s a good mix though, as the activities we do during the day are mostly ones I would want to do in my free time anyway.
The temples are a distance away and we drive to them. We’ve had the same minivan and driver the whole two weeks which has been great. Can leave bag/stuff on the bus and it’s always clean and aircon works. That’s been a big plus about the trip actually.
Maddy: I reckon you could broke rice or salt here if you’re up for a weather change 😉
More excellent photo composition of you in the doorway. This may be the same photographer as yesterday? Similarities in composition.
The stir fry looks great.
I hate rats, so that activity would traumatise me, and I certainly wouldn’t be holding them.
Nice to see some Caitlin Time could be included at the end of the day.
Leo: interestingly different people. The similarity in composition may be due instead to similarities in the Khmer architecture across different sites.
You are officially not allowed to hate the HeroRAT. They’re saving lives! Some are trained to detect animal poachers and others can help identify TB infected.
Caitlin Time is important for stamina refuels.
The sunrise montage is lovely.
Did you buy any hero rat mech or make a donation. I love that story. Somehow i feel that the chubby hero rats don’t make it to old age . The land mines have most probably been in the ground 50 years so it’s amazing that the rats can smell them now. I watched a show once where they had trained a dog which could detect a certain type of cancer before the person showed symptoms because the cancer changed the smell off that person.
Would be interesting to chat with the French lady to see if you accurately captured her essence.
I’ve spotted the first fake photo on the blogs. There is no way that the scooter photo is real. How is that assembled and disassembled. Seems very lopsided. In Australia if you have an accident and your vehicle exceeds the manufacturer’s max load capacity you void your insurance and can be fined. Doesn’t look like that situation has filtered through into Asia. I want to see a reality show where everyone gets the same scooter and insane amount to load and you win by getting it all packed in one go and going a certain distance without stopping in the fastest time.
Food = yum.
Massage time?
Cost?
Quality?
Holy sh*t this post has everything 😍 food, ruins, hero animals, deranged woman with concubine and art. Well done thoroughly entertaining!
Not much of a rat fan either but when you think about it that is an incredible story. I wonder how it came about? Who realised this would work?
Favourite photo: I loved the art cafe one. It looked so cool. I could sit there and read for hours. Also the temple reflection and you in the sunrise – what a wonderful photo and memory 🥰
Would love to see you get that scooter up the Rodriguez driveway!
Glad you spoiled yourself with a massage. Your feet must feel so good. Are you getting a lot of free time? Do you stay near the temples or do you have to travel to them each day?
Your description of the “Bellatrix L’Estrange” gallery owner is spot on, there’s always one erratic expat keeping things interesting. Also the pictures in this post have really filled my cup – its a cold rainy sydney this morn…
Dad: I bought HeroRAT merch aplenty. I got a plushie rat, a tshirt and a stubbie holder. We were told the rats train for a year, work five years, and then get to retire for the last year of their life in air-conditioned paradise where their keepers come and play with them to keep them company.
The scooter with the food cart bolted on is common and it shocks me every time. I’d be shocked if any of the street vendors have any insurance full stop..
I like scooter game. I’d be loading books into mine.
Massage time – 60 minutes.
Cost – A$55
Quality – good but with a bit of flim flam. Would have liked to have tried a few different types to see which I preferred the most.
Mum: I agree! I like to think someone just had a smart rat as a pet and thought, I wonder what they can do.
Art cafe was good! They’d just put the Taylor Swift playlist on shortly before I left and it was hard to get the motivation to leave. I wanted to hang more in the aircon with Taylor.
Declan seriously looked into getting a scooter for me to go around Blackheath with while we were in Laos but the Rodriguez driveway was the deal breaker.
Ooh the feet was good! Not much free time actually. A free few hours and dinner at most. I think it’s a good mix though, as the activities we do during the day are mostly ones I would want to do in my free time anyway.
The temples are a distance away and we drive to them. We’ve had the same minivan and driver the whole two weeks which has been great. Can leave bag/stuff on the bus and it’s always clean and aircon works. That’s been a big plus about the trip actually.
Maddy: I reckon you could broke rice or salt here if you’re up for a weather change 😉