The Big D Shuffle...

Siem Reap, Cambodia

July 11, 2007
N 13°24.747
E 103°51.822

We’ve been on the road for a little shy of six months and have fortunately stayed very healthy. We had a few sniffles in Chile and I fought off a cold on my trip back to the States recently, but we haven’t had any stomach problems… until now.

We expected at least a little food illness in South America, but we walked away clean after 2 ½ months. When we took the risk and ate on the streets of Hanoi and Nha Trang, we thought we might catch something—nope. We were fine until we hit Cambodia.

We are pretty sure the meal that did us in was with the locals the other night. They served a plate of fresh vegetables—peeled carrots, cucumbers, and something called banana leaf (we don’t really remember)—a big no, no when traveling in foreign countries. Yes, everything was peeled, but we don’t know if they were washed again in local water. We dipped the fruit in the dried fish, lemongrass, chili and lime concoction; however, there probably wasn’t enough lime juice to kill any thriving bacteria.

The good news is we aren’t puking our brains out and burning through rolls of toilet paper. Instead we’re just a little uncomfortable at times, eating light, and keeping a strategic eye-out for the closest bathroom at all times. I guess this is when the SEAsia 10 will finally come off!

We were able to stroll around and explore the rest of Siem Reap during our last day, but we also did a lot of relaxing. This was perfect after three jammed-packed days of temples, waterfalls, and floating villages; plus we really weren’t in the mood to do the Big D shuffle.

We’re off to Laos on Thursday where we’ll spend four nights exploring Luang Prabang before heading north into the countryside (PLEASE NOTE: internet access WILL NOT be available).