Day 16 - Crab and Durian - the Marmite of Asia

We took a Tuk tuk ride from Kampot to Kep also on the south east coast of Cambodia. This is a one chicken town, there are no horses, it is simply not big enough. Aside from the guest houses, Kep has a giant crab statue, a couple of massive chicken statues, reminiscent of Big Bird from Sesame street and a crab market. The specialty here is Kampot Pepper crab. The pepper is grown locally and some of the best in the world. Just before the Khmer Rouge disfigured Cambodia’s landscape and population, the pepper grown here was sought after by every Michelin star restaurant in the world. It is truly wonderful with its fabulously hot fragrant taste, lending background and depth to each dish it graces. (yep this is Nic writing this, can you tell?) Arriving in Kep was uneventful, thought we did share a tuk tuk with a local who only had one eye and a natty taste in sportswear. We checked into a guesthouse and ceremoniously made our way to the crab market. Crab was plucked from the ocean, stir fried with green Kampot pepper, garlic and a hint of chilli and placed reverently before Neil’s greedy pincers. Sam received her citronella and chilli crab and the pair hungrily began to eat..............45 minutes later they finished the 6 crabs that each made up their “small” portion of lunch. Wow. It was worth it just to eat tidbits from their plates. I also believe that after 3 weeks out here, Sam is beginning to develop a decent level of chilli tolerance! I would seriously recommend anyone who likes seafood to come here, the crab is some of the freshest and sweetest I have ever tasted, the whole process from sea to plate taking 5 minutes tops.
After lunch as we reclined replete and at peace with the world. The durian sellers, sensing our good mood and an easy target moved in for the kill. The durian is a curious fruit loved by some and loathed by others, it is the marmite of Asia. As all of us had never tasted it before, we purchased a fruit which looks like an oblong spiky football and smells like a mixture of over ripe cheese and pear drops... We had been promising to try it since arriving in Cambodia and as the area is known not only for pepper but also for the quality of the durian it produces, here was the perfect place to indulge. After parting with $5 (£3) for 1.5kg of fruit, the ladies kindly sliced it open for us to eat. Leaving us alone with our prize, we each scooped a segment of fruit and took the plunge.......
For me it was like placing a delicate sack in my mouth and sucking the fetid festering pus from a spot. The ammonia, caramalised onion custard with the warmth and texture of someone elses snot was my reward. I gagged and spat the offending item into the South China sea. Never again will this fruit pass my lips, not even if it was found to be the elixir of life......it was purely the most disgusting and offending food stuff that i have ever eaten, even worse than chicken feet, offal , doner kebab and KFC all rolled into one. Neil quite liked it. He described it as a mixture of pineapple and custard with pear drops.... I however think that the chilli and pepper in his crab had killed his last remaining taste bud...... Walking home, the durian made its presence felt, even though 2 tightly knotted plastic bags, we were all happy to ditch it as soon as possible. We gave the rest of the stinky offending fruit to the local women who run the guest house, they could not have been happier and I am sure that we will get extra big portions at breakfast tomorrow as it is a delicacy here and very expensive.

After that, everything else was an anticlimax, we spent the evening organising our border crossing into Vietnam, one plus though, Sam has yet to ask what “no chilli” is in Vietnamese....i think we are making progress....