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Monkeys in Mombasa, Kenya. Escape to Mombasa & Time for Reflection on our Diani Beach Stay. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Escape to Mombasa & Time for Reflection on our Diani Beach Stay

We’d only been back at our cottage at Shambani at Diani Beach from our safari for a day when the Internet ground to a halt. It had been operating at a snail’s pace since we arrived almost two weeks earlier and we’d been constantly shifting between the Internet line installed at the property the day we arrived and the USB modems that were meant to serve as our back-ups. A night’s stay in Mombasa made sense.

When both stopped working – copper thieves had stolen the Internet and phone lines the previous night and Safaricom was having its usual problems – we knew it was time to move on.

We were due to fly out of Mombasa for Nairobi the next afternoon, then from Nairobi to Dubai that night, and from Dubai onto Istanbul the next day. I was dreading the travel time – around 24 hours in total – but to be honest I was actually looking forward to the flights for the opportunity to do nothing but catch up on trashy Hollywood movies.

Monkeys in Mombasa, Kenya. Escape to Mombasa & Time for Reflection on our Diani Beach Stay. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

We’d driven through Mombasa a handful of times over the last two weeks – to and from the airport twice after Kenya Airways lost our luggage, and to and from safari – and were eager to have a little look around. We phoned Paul, the excellent driver who had taken us up to Voi, and booked an apartment at Tamarind Village.

Two hours later we were saying goodbye to sweet Emily and the staff at Shambani (and I was giving the manager a piece of my mind for not explaining or apologizing for the Internet going dead), and leaving Diani Beach and the beautiful Colobus monkeys behind. Although not before Terence promised the furry family of four who’d spent the morning hanging out with us that we’d be back one day to help save them…

One last time we drove through the lively villages that line the road from Diani to Mombasa with their brightly painted buildings plastered with Coca Cola, Safaricom and Zain logos (courtesy of the sponsors of their paint jobs) and the ramshackle tin sheds that serve as shops with names like London Paints, Emirates Barber Shop, Miami Butchery, and Netherlands Stores (courtesy of their Kenyan owners who’ve made their riches working overseas).

Monkeys in Mombasa, Kenya. Escape to Mombasa & Time for Reflection on our Diani Beach Stay. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

And we took the car ferry, one last time, crowded with the most diverse group of people we’d seen since we left Dubai early in the year, wearing every kind, cut and style of dress and headwear imaginable, from the colourful khangas that Kenya women artfully wrap around their bodies and the black bui bui that’s like the abaya and shayla of the Arabian Peninsula that the Muslim women wear, to the red-checked shuka of the Maasai and the Bob Marley t-shirts, faded jeans and dreadlocks of the Rasta guys.

In Mombasa, Paul drove through the old centre’s traffic-clogged streets, muddy with rain, by the elegant art deco buildings dappled with black mould, to the affluent northern suburb of Nyali and Tamarind Village. Set right on Mombasa’s old harbour with palm-shaded swimming pools and lush gardens, Tamarind turned out to be a lovely white stucco complex of super-spacious, clean, serviced apartments with big covered balconies and terraces, dripping with bougainvillea.

Monkeys in Mombasa, Kenya. Escape to Mombasa & Time for Reflection on our Diani Beach Stay. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

The conservative 1980s décor may have lacked personality but after sweltering in our windowless cottage at Shambani for two weeks, where we continually battled mosquitoes and lost our war against the Internet, Tamarind’s air-conditioning and fast Internet access were welcome. As were Tamarind’s two excellent restaurants with water views serving tasty food, and the monkeys that came to play on our balcony that afternoon, and attempted to invite themselves in the next morning. Tamarind was definitely a place we could have stayed a while.

Our tour of Mombasa was too brief, little more than a two-hour drive around town with Paul the next day that took in the highlights of the old city on our way to the airport. It gave us a taste of Mombasa despite it being exactly the kind of travelling we don’t like to do. But then our stay at Diani Beach wasn’t something we’d choose to repeat either…

Manned with too many staff and hidden behind high walls, Shambani didn’t offer the sorts of local experiences that we’ve been having this year, that are not always possible in hotels, that are the very reason we love holiday rentals. But then we appreciate that those experiences – shopping the local markets, cooking the food we’ve bought, pottering about the place, and cleaning up after ourselves – are not things that everyone wants when they go on holidays, even when they stay in a rental. All some people want is hotel-like accommodation with a kitchen and more space, and that’s fine too.

Monkeys in Mombasa, Kenya. Escape to Mombasa & Time for Reflection on our Diani Beach Stay. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

But we have another issue with recommending Shambani and Diani beach, one that has had us continually conflicted during the course of our two week stay. While we recognize that tourism is a way for the largely poverty-stricken local population to get ahead, and that a period on the beach before or after a safari makes a lot of sense for those who want a holiday that combines wildlife spotting with R&R, we have an ethical problem…

We find it hard to encourage people to go to a destination where tourism development has resulted in the destruction of the habitat of local wildlife and the diminishing population of the Colobus monkey to a point where they’re now endangered. If Diani Beach can curb future development and help the Colobus Trust recover the monkeys’ natural habitat, then that would be a different story…

Monkeys in Mombasa, Kenya. Escape to Mombasa & Time for Reflection on our Diani Beach Stay. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Having said that, we hope to return one day. Not to lie on a beach or even go on safari again, but to volunteer at the Colobus Trust. We appreciate that voluntourism doesn’t suit everyone either, but we think it makes up in some small way for the damage that’s been done. What do you think? We’d love to hear your thoughts.

Paul Mwai (our driver)
+254 720 55 7821
paurltours@yahoo.com

Tamarind Village & Restaurant
Nyali Beach, Mombasa
www.tamarind.co.ke

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About Lara Dunston

A travel and food writer who has experienced over 70 countries and written for The Guardian, Australian Gourmet Traveller, Feast, Delicious, National Geographic Traveller, Conde Nast Traveller, Travel+Leisure Southeast Asia, DestinAsian, TIME, CNN, The Independent, The Telegraph, Sunday Times Travel Magazine, AFAR, Wanderlust, International Traveller, Get Lost, Four Seasons Magazine, Fah Thai, Sawasdee, and more, as well as authored more than 40 guidebooks for Lonely Planet, DK, Footprint, Rough Guides, Fodors, Thomas Cook, and AA Guides.

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Comments

  1. Sarah Chambers says

    December 14, 2010 at 3:06 am

    Having visited Diani Beach shortly after you guys, as you know, I agree I felt slightly conflicted during our stay and actually I commented to my partner that I would find it hard to go back to Africa unless I combined a stay with some ‘proper’ volunteering. We too visited the Colobus Trust and I also took some supplies to a local children’s home, but if I went again, I would definitely want to combine the trip with a longer stint of volunteering where I actually help out and work somewhere, and feel I’m making a difference, however small.

    In addition, it is indeed hard to meet and interact with locals in Diani if you’re just going about your ‘tourist’ business of walking down the beach/road etc… as here you will only encounter the beach boys or market vendors who, while all very friendly we found, at the end of the day just want to sell you something. But I do feel there are opportunities for people to have a more meaningful holiday here and connect with locals on a deeper level, if they research opportunities before they go and proactively decide to dedicate a part of their holiday to giving something back. And I feel it would be a shame not to recommend Diani for this type of holiday, as the local community does depend so much on tourism and overall, we were enchanted by the beauty of the country and the friendliness of those we did encounter. Hopefully with organisations such as the Colobus Trust, and the support of ‘voluntourists’, Diani can continue to develop, but in a sustainable and positive way.

    If anyone is interested in working in the children’s home I visited, as I know they take volunteers too, then you can find more information here: http://www.kenya-kids-support.org.

    Sarah

  2. Nicole says

    December 14, 2010 at 5:33 pm

    I appreciate your honest recap of your experience at Diani Beach, but if you make it back someday, I’d love to hear from the beach peddlers, what their everyday life is like and their thoughts about the tourists staying in Diani Beach.

  3. Terence Carter says

    December 15, 2010 at 1:06 am

    Nicole, if we’re going to be investigative journalists, I’d rather look into the corruption that lead to the destruction of most of the habitat there rather than researching the beach boys and what it’s like to have sex with late middle-aged female tourists or pimping young girls out to creepy foreigners. In terms of people, there are many far more interesting – and positive – stories to tell, in my opinion.
    T

  4. Raul says

    December 15, 2010 at 4:54 am

    Dear Lara & Terence,

    Congratulations on your concept! I’d like to put an accent on concept since I would like to add a little constructive criticism on the actual product, specifically on your reports on Diani Beach. First at all your lack of sympathy towards shambani cottages has come across quite clearly, this is interesting for other travelers to know, it is also interesting that this accommodation seems to be the one selected by your sponsor Home Away, isn’t that a bit like biting the hand that’s feeding you? Nevertheless I appreciate your honest report and shambani shall not be on the list of accommodations I will recommend to anyone visiting diani. When you talk about internet connectivity and speed it may have bypassed your attention that you are visiting Kenya, a country were only a 15% of the population enjoys internet access at this stage, you may also have overlooked the construction sights along the entire road leading from diani to ukunda, where a brand new optic fiber cable is being dug into the ground so as foreign visitors like the two of you can sit on their laptops and and browse high speed and broadband without loosing their patience, but to realize this you may have had to get out and actually talk to the people instead of waiting for a connection and research this kind of topics online. And then last but not least, your support to the colobus, really heartwarming! In which aspect did corruption actually endanger this species? As far as I know the colobus and their their different subspecies have been hunted to the extend of near extermination in the colonial times as their were sought after for their fur, blaming the actual infrastructure in development on the kenyan coast( with accent on development!) is a wrong approach, thi9s infrastructure needs to be developed accordingly, we all agree, but please be realistic, the high numbers of volunteers coming here will not pay for the funds! This is anyway the beginning of all the problems, the western society believes to know all secrets for a balanced natural growth and development (obviously because they have yet successfully exterminated most of their wild animals) and will then come and volunteer to “help” africans instead of giving them the chance to independently grow and proudly succeed they will allways rather treat them like children who are not able to take care of them self! How do you qualify to be a volunteer and have knowledge to support some of the local monkeys? What gives you the right to negatively make inpression on millions online because you were not happy with your accommodation and the speed of your internet? What of all this you are doing does actually have anything in common with journalism? Thank you for your consideration!

    best regards from Diani Beach!

  5. Terence Carter says

    December 15, 2010 at 6:48 am

    Raul,
    You don’t state whether you’re working at Diani Beach in tourism or just visiting. That might help put your comments in some perspective. However:
    1. We wrote, in our opinion, a balanced review of the property. We highlight the things we loved about Shambani – the staff, gardens, swimming pool, monkeys – and we highlight the things that were broken or didn’t work. This is what a good reviewer does so guests know what they’re in for. The lack of internet and poor air-conditioning wouldn’t bother budget travellers happy to lie around and read books all day. It would bother someone who still needs to work while they’re away. You’ve already stated you’ve taken on board our criticisms of the property.
    2. We have editorial independence as our partners HomeAwayUK want honest, critical reviews. Was Shambani the best choice on Diani Beach? Judge for yourself. The first comment on this post is from HomeAwayUK’s PR manager who stayed at Shambani a couple of weeks after us. The “hand that feeds us” agrees with us. We’re not being paid to write marketing material for the destinations we visit. If you’re looking for that, you’ve come to the wrong site.
    3. The Internet situation in Kenya didn’t ‘bypass’ our attention. In fact, HomeAwayUK paid for the internet to be upgraded at Shambani – organized months in advance. We really wanted to come to Kenya but we need the internet 24/7 to do our jobs, which is why HomeAwayUK went to the trouble to organise it. We are not sitting around ‘browsing’ when we’re on the internet, we’re uploading stories like the one you just read and approving comments like the one that you just wrote. By the way, the internet line was physically stolen, but I guess we shouldn’t write about that either…
    4. In relation to the Colobus monkeys, as someone who has travelled to many of the world’s most popular tourist destinations in some 70 countries and been a travel writer and photographer for nearly ten years, it’s my personal opinion that the Colobus monkeys – in the long-term – are Diani Beach’s best asset as a tourism destination. Which is why I’d go back to help the Colobus Trust. That’s my decision and it doesn’t need qualification from you. Your opinion that Africans don’t need outside help wasn’t shared by any Africans we met in Kenya or South Africa.
    5. How do I qualify to volunteer? Being a volunteer means that you do whatever you’re asked to do, you don’t need to ‘qualify’, however, I think I have a wide range of skills that the Trust could utilise.
    6. Given that you say you’re at Diani Beach, I’d love to know what percentage of the destruction of the local primates’ forest is acceptable to you. Given that it is currently at 75% and your talking about further development, I’d be interested to hear what figure you’re comfortable with.

  6. Nicole says

    December 15, 2010 at 7:29 am

    Hi Terence, Thanks for your reply. I really appreciate that you search out locals and offer their recommendations and thoughts. I find great value in that. I think I’m just disappointed that you went to Diani Beach at all.

    Not many report on corruption, and the stories from the beach boys wouldn’t be positive, but you went there and put dollars into their development. Without the middle aged female tourists or creepy foreigners, the beach boys would have no one to sell to.

    I’d love to hear your thoughts on my post about tourism & unsustainable development. http://nicoledurbin.wordpress.com/2010/12/14/an-interview-with-jamaican-environmentalist-diana-mccaulay/

  7. Lara Dunston says

    December 15, 2010 at 7:59 am

    Nicole – just read the interview you did with the Jamaican filmmaker/author on unsustainable tourism – brilliant! I’ve just re-tweeted it. Great stuff.

  8. Terence Carter says

    December 15, 2010 at 8:30 am

    Hi Nicole,
    I’ll make one quick point. We’re not just ‘tourists’ putting money into a place. We write about what we see and are read by a pretty decent audience of well-educated people who can form their own opinions. If I was a tourist who rocked up to Diani Beach for a beach holiday and had a conscience and a pair of eyes, I’d probably be upset at the development, destruction of the habitat and the fact that Diani Beach is a tourism bubble. However, if you go to Tripadvisor, the biggest complaints about Diani Beach are about the food at some of the beach resorts.
    I guess Diani Beach doesn’t attract the kind of tourists who care about these issues or remain very blinkered while they’re there.
    Perhaps now if they Google it, people might be made aware of the real issues there – and I’m not talking about the cottages we stayed in or the lack of internet. They can make up their own minds.

    There are some real parallels between Diani Beach and your interview about Jamaican development. But I can’t really comment on Jamaica, I’ve never been there, but I have been to Diani Beach – and written about it.

  9. Lara Dunston says

    December 15, 2010 at 8:54 am

    Hi again Nicole

    In your interview with Diana McCaulay she talks about ‘leakage’ i.e. income from tourism not staying in and benefiting Jamaica, and we understand that’s a problem at Diani Beach also, as many of the properties are owned by European expats, many of who don’t re-invest money locally, although Sarah, above, gives an example of another property that does, which seems to be doing a terrific job of supporting a local school and their own staff.

    Scale is not such an issue at Diani in that there aren’t that many monster properties, and there are many smaller cottage more traditional-looking developments like the one we stayed at that are fairly eco-friendly. But the properties that are there have still destroyed the natural animal habitat regardless of their size.

    I guess what they could be doing at Diani is coming up with guidelines for future development that require a corridor of natural vegetation to be left so that they monkeys can pass through hotel/holiday rental grounds safely to eat, sleep, etc. That was one of the good things about Shambani, where we stayed, in that there was plenty of vegetation and the monkeys loved it there.

    Thanks for dropping by and for sharing that link!

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Still looking for Christmas cooking inspo? Check o Still looking for Christmas cooking inspo? Check out our seafood recipe collection, especially if you celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve with a fish focused meal in the Southern Italian tradition, transformed by Italian-Americans into the Feast of the Seven Fishes, or like Australians, who celebrate Christmas in the sweltering summer, feast on seafood for Christmas Day lunch, we’ve got lots of easy seafood recipes for you.

Our recipes include a classic prawn cocktail, blini with smoked salmon, a ceviche-style appetiser, and devilled eggs with caviar. We’ve also got recipes for fish soup, seafood pies and pastas, salmon tray bake, and crispy salmon with creamy mashed potatoes.

You’ll find the recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/seafood-recipes-for-christmas-eve-and-christmas-day-menus/
(Link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Merry Christmas if you’re celebrating!! 

#christmas #christmasfood #seafood #fish #recipes #christmasrecipes #foodstagram #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood #picoftheday #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #grantourismo #grantourismotravels #xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas
If you’re still looking for food inspo for Chris If you’re still looking for food inspo for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day meals, my smoked salmon ‘carpaccio’ recipe is one of dozens of recipes in this compilation of our best Christmas recipes (link below). 

The Christmas recipe compilation includes collections of our best Christmas breakfast recipes, best Christmas brunch recipes, best Christmas starter recipes, best Christmas cocktails, best Christmas dessert recipes, and homemade edible Christmas gifts and more.

My smoked salmon carpaccio recipe makes an easy elegant appetiser that’s made in minutes. If you’re having guests over, you can make the dish ahead by assembling the salmon, capers and pickled onions, and refrigerate it, then pour on the dressing just before serving. 

Provide toasted baguette slices and bowls of additional capers, pickles and dressing, so guests can customise their carpaccio. And open the bubbly!

You’ll find that recipe and many more Christmas recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/best-christmas-recipes/ (link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Merry Christmas!! X

#christmas #christmasfood #recipes #christmasrecipes #foodstagram #salmon #smokedsalmon #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood #picoftheday #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #writingacookbook #grantourismo #grantourismotravels 
#xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas
If you haven’t visited our site in a while, I sh If you haven’t visited our site in a while, I shared a collection of recipes for homemade edible Christmas gifts — for condiments, hot sauces, chilli oils, a whole array of pickles, spice blends, chilli salt, furakake seasoning, and spicy snacks, such as our Cambodian and Vietnamese roasted peanuts. 

I love giving homemade edibles as gifts as much as I love receiving them. Who wouldn’t appreciate jars filled with their favourite chilli oils, hot sauces, piquant pickles, and spicy peanuts that loved-ones have taken the time to make? 

Aside from the gesture and affordability of gifting homemade edibles, you’re minimising waste. You can use recycled jars or if buying new mason jars or clip-top Kilner jars, you know they’ll get repurposed.

No need for wrapping, just attach some Christmas baubles or tinsel to the lid. I used squares of Cambodian kramas (cotton scarves), which can be repurposed as napkins or drink coasters, and tied a ribbon or two around the lids, and attached last year’s Christmas tree decorations to some.

You’ll find the recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/homemade-edible-christmas-gifts/ (link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Yes, that’s Pepper... every time there’s a camera around... 

#christmasgiftideas #ediblegifts ##christmasfoodgifts #foodgifts #giftideas #homemadegifts #christmasfood #ediblegiftideas #hotsauce #chillisauce #sriracha #pickles #homemadepickles #recipes #foodstagram #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood 
#blackcat #blackcatsofinstagram #picoftheday 
#christmas #christmastree #xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas #cambodia #siemreap
This crab omelette is a decadent eggs dish that’ This crab omelette is a decadent eggs dish that’s perfect if you’re just back from the fish markets armed with luxurious fresh crab meat. It’s a little sweet, a little spicy, and very, very moreish.

Our crab omelette recipe was one of our 22 most popular egg recipes of 2022 on our website Grantourismo and it’s no surprise. It’s appeared more times than any other egg recipes on our annual round-ups of most popular recipes since Terence launched Weekend Eggs when we launched Grantourismo in 2010.

If you’re an eggs lover, do check out the recipe collection. It includes egg recipes from right around the world, from recipes for classic kopitiam eggs from Singapore and Malaysia and egg curries from India and Myanmar to all kinds of egg recipes from Thailand, Japan, Korea, China, Mexico, USA, Australia, UK, and Ireland.

And do browse our Weekend Eggs archives for further eggspiration (sorry). We have hundreds of egg recipes from the 13 year-old series of recipes for quintessential egg dishes from around the world, which we started on our 2010 year-long global grand tour focused on slow, local and experiential travel. 

We’re hoping 2023 will be the year we can finally publish the Weekend Eggs cookbook we’ve talked about for years based on that series. After we can find a publisher for the Cambodia cookbook of course... :( 

Recipe collection here (and proper link to Grantourismo in our bio):
https://grantourismotravels.com/22-most-popular-egg-recipes-of-2022-from-weekend-eggs/

If you cook the recipe and enjoy it please let us know — we love to hear from you — either in the comments at the end of the recipe or share a pic with us here.

#recipe #recipes #eggs #eggslover #breakfasteggs #WeekendEggs #egg #breakfast #brunch #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood  #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #lookingforapublisher #writingacookbook  #grantourismo #grantourismotravels
I’m late to share this, but a few days ago Angko I’m late to share this, but a few days ago Angkor Archaeological Park, home to stupendous Angkor Wat, pictured, celebrated 30 years of its UNESCO World Heritage listing. 

That’s as good an excuse as any to put this magnificent, sprawling archaeological site on your travel list this year.

While riverside Siem Reap, your base for exploring Angkor is bustling once more, there are still nowhere near the visitors of the last busy high season months of December-January 2018-2019 when there were 290,000 visitors. 

Last month there were just 55,000 visitors and December feels a little quieter. A tour guide friend said there were about 150 people at Angkor Wat for sunrise a few days ago.

If you’re looking for tips to visiting Angkor, Siem Reap and Cambodia, just ask us a question in the comments below or check Grantourismo as we’ve got loads of info on our site. Click through to the link in the bio and explore our Cambodia guide or search for ‘Angkor’. 

And please do let us know if you’re coming to Siem Reap. We’d love to see you here x

#siemreap #cambodia #asia #travel #instatravel #traveldeeper #slowtravel #localtravel #experientialtravel #exploremore #neverstopexploring #goexplore #igtravel #angkorwat #angkor #temple #temples #angkorwithoutcrowds #unesco #unescoworldheritagesite #unescoworldheritage #archaeology #archaeologicalsite #traveladdict #beautifuldestinations #beautifulplaces #travelgram #wanderlust #picoftheday📷 #grantourismotravels.
Our soy ginger chicken recipe will make you sticky Our soy ginger chicken recipe will make you sticky, flavourful and succulent chicken thighs that are fantastic with steamed rice, Chinese greens or a salad, such as a Southeast Asian slaw. 

The chicken can be marinated for up to 24 hours before cooking, which ensures it’s packed with flavour, then it can be cooked on a barbecue or in a pan.

Terence’s soy ginger chicken recipe is one of our favourite recipes for a quick and easy meal. I love the sound of the sizzling thighs in the pan, and the warming aromas wafting through the apartment. 

It’s amazing how such flavourful juicy chicken thighs come from such a quick and easy recipe.

Recipe here (and proper link to Grantourismo in our bio): https://grantourismotravels.com/soy-ginger-chicken-recipe/

If you cook it and enjoy it please let us know — we love to hear from you — either here or in the comments at the end of the recipe on the site or share a pic with us x 

#recipe #recipes #chicken #soygingerchicken #asianfood #southeastasianfood #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #cookingtime #recipe #recipes #comfortfood #foodblog #food #foodstagram #healthyfood #instafood #healthy #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #writingacookbook #grantourismo #grantourismotravels
Who can guess the ingredients and what we’re mak Who can guess the ingredients and what we’re making with my market haul from Psar Samaki in Siem Reap — all for a whopping 10,000 riel (US$2.50)?! 

Birds-eye chillies thrown in for free! They were on my list but the seller I spent most at (5,000 riel!) scooped up a handful and slipped them into my bag. She was my last stop and knew what I was making.

My Khmer is poor, even after all our years in Cambodia, as I don’t learn languages with the ease I did in my 20s, plus I’m mentally exhausted after researching and writing all day. I have a better vocabulary of Old and Middle Khmer than modern Khmer from studying the ancient inscriptions for the Cambodian culinary history component of our cookbook I’m writing.

So when one seller totalled my purchases I thought she said 5,000 riel but she handed back 4,500 riel! The sum total of two huge bunches of herbs and kaffir lime leaves was 500 riel.

Tip: if visiting Siem Reap, use Khmer riel for local shopping. We’ve mainly used riel since the pandemic started— rarely use US$ now as market sellers quote prices in riels, as do local shops and bakeries, and I tip tuk tuk drivers in riels. I find prices quoted in riels are lower.

Psar Samaki is cheaper than Psar Leu, which is cheaper than Psar Chas, as it’s a wholesale market, which means the produce is fresher. I see veggies arriving, piled high in the back of vehicles, with dirt still on them — as I did on this trip. 

The scent of a mountain of incredibly aromatic pineapples offloaded from the back of a dusty ute was so heady they smelt like they’d just been cut. More exotic European style veggies arrive by big trucks in boxes labelled in Vietnamese (from Dalat) and Mandarin (from China), such as beautiful snow-white cauliflower I spotted.

Note: the freshest produce is sold on the dirt road at the back of the market.

#cambodia #siemreap #foodwriter #foodblogger #foodphotography #igfood #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #instadaily #picoftheday #market #siemreapmarket #psarsamaki #marketfresh #vegetables #healthyfood #marketshopping #traveltips #foodtravel #culinarytravel #localtravel #cooking #cookingtime #curry #homemade #currypaste #grantourismotravels
My Vietnamese-ish meatballs and rice noodles recip My Vietnamese-ish meatballs and rice noodles recipe makes tender meatballs doused in a delightfully tangy-sweet sauce, sprinkled with crispy fried shallots, with carrot-daikon, crunchy cucumber and fragrant herbs. 

The dish is inspired by bún chả, a Hanoi specialty, but it’s not bún chả. No matter what Google or food bloggers tell you. Names are important, especially when cooking and writing about cuisines not our own.

This is an authentic bún chả recipe:  https://grantourismotravels.com/vietnamese-bun-cha-recipe/ You’ll need to get the outdoor BBQ/grill going to do proper smoky bún chả meat patties (not meatballs).

My meatball noodle bowl is perhaps more closely related to dishes such as a Central Vietnam cousin bún thịt nướng (pork skewers on rice noodles in a bowl) and a Southern relation bún bò Nam Bộ (beef atop rice noodles, sprinkled with fried shallots (Nam Bộ=Southern Vietnam) though neither include meatballs. 

Xíu mại= meatballs although they’re different in flavour to mine, which taste more like bún chả patties. Xíu mại remind me of Southern Italian meatballs in tomato sauce.

In Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, home to millions of Khmer, there’s bánh tằm xíu mại. Bánh tằm=silk worm noodles. They’re topped with meatballs, cucumber, daikon, carrot, fresh herbs, crispy fried onions. Difference: cold noodles doused in a sauce of coconut cream and fish sauce. 

Remove the meatballs, add chopped fried spring rolls and it’s Cambodia’s banh sung, which is a rice noodle salad similar to Vietnam’s bún chả giò :) 

Recipe here: (link in bio) https://grantourismotravels.com/vietnamese-meatballs-and-rice-noodles-recipe/

For more on these culinary connections you’ll have to wait for our Cambodian cookbook and culinary history. In a hurry to know? Come support the project on Patreon. (link in bio)

#recipe #recipes #vietnamesefood #cambodianfood #asianfood #southeastasianfood #ricenoodles #rice #noodlebowl #meatballs #igfood #igfoodie #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood  #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #writingacookbook #writingacambodiancookbook #patreon #patreoncreator #grantourismo
It is pure coincidence that Pepper’s eye colour It is pure coincidence that Pepper’s eye colour matches the furnishings of our rented apartment. So, no, I did not colour-coordinate the interiors to match our cat’s eyes. 

I keep getting DMs from pet clothing brands wanting to “partner” with Pepper and send her free cat clothes and cat accessories. Although she did wear a kerchief for a few years in her more adventurous fashion-forward teenage years, I cannot see this cat in clothes now, can you? 

#pepper #blackcat #blackcats #blackcatsofinstagram #blackcatsrule #blackcatsmatter #cat #cats #catsofinstagram #catstagram #catlover #catlovers #catlove #catoftheday #catphoto #catpic #catpics #cambodiancat #cambodiancatsofinstagram #catlife #catloversclub #catoftheday #catgram #catstagram #cats_of_instagram #catphotography #catsofig #catsoftheworld #catsofinsta #cats🐱 #siemreap #cambodia

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