Yoga Nomads

At 8am, Phsar Leu market was buzzing and I was scouring the food stalls at for veggie-friendly breakfast items. Past the rotating chicken carcasses, I discovered a lady selling items wrapped in banana leaves. Trying out the little Khmer I know, I greeted her (sues'dey) and pointed at the green parcels, asking hopefully "num ansom chek?" (rolled banana rice cake). "Chrouk", she responded unsmilingly, indicating that the contents is pork. I should have known, given that it was displayed next to bowl of fried grubs.

Nom (នំ, also transliterated as num) means cake and seems to be used in much the same way as bánh in Vietnamese, referring both to sweet and savoury items.

Outside, I found a more promising-looking stand, selling bananas on sticks roasted over an open flame. Next to these were identical green parcels, but this time containing the chek I was seeking.

Nearby, I also picked up a container of nom plae ai - glutinous rice balls (think Japanese mochi), filled with partially crystalised palm sugar and topped with fresh shredded coconut. Apparently, these are also called nom somlap pdey or 'dessert that kills your husband', owing to the likelihood of choking on the sticky little dumplings.

Back at home, we enjoyed the spoils with a cup of jasmine tea. Unwrapping the charred banana leaves, the contents was still warm and the sticky coconut rice surrounding the soft banana inside was golden brown from having been steamed then roasted over an open flame. It proved not too sweet. However, the rice balls were tiny explosions of sweetness, the pillowy rice dough yielding to a golden liquid and a crunchy centre of palm sugar crystals, which combined with the creamy coconut into a heavenly mouthful.

As the yoga nomads that we have become, we tried out yet another venue today. Navutu Dreams is an hotel and resort just south-east of Siem Reap town centre. Down an uninspiring dirt track, a magnificently opulent garden oasis awaits. Being a spa, the hotel offers yoga to residents and outsiders.

Having made the sweaty journey by foot, we joined a small Vinyasa class and stretched our weary bodies. The benefit of this location was that we were able to make use of the hotel's pools after the lesson.

Slightly east of the town centre and out of the main tourist area is Vitking vegetarian restaurant. Here we met Noung, the lady that taught us Khmer last Saturday. She agreed to have dinner with us and to discuss details of a trip we would like to make, as she also works as a tour guide. Besides being a guide, language teacher, Noung is also an interpreter and has worked as a consultant on many projects and productions to do with Cambodia. She has a wealth of knowledge and a relaxed presence.

Vitking restaurant is owned by a Chinese family and so some of items on the menu owe more to China than to Cambodia. Both K and I had the mock fish in ginger sauce - thin slices of a soy-based fish, with a nori 'skin' providing the taste of the sea. The sauce was full of lip-tingling shreds of ginger and carrot for colour.

Speaking to Noung was a real pleasure, even though we can only tap a small amount of the knowledge she had. Perhaps she should write a book about her life.