They run through the fields and eat garbage. They roam at night and I have shot them with a 22 and 410. In America we set traps and put out poison. In Cambodia I am eating them for lunch-- they are -- RATS!

I ate one piece of the rat and it was very greasy . Later on, before it was all gone, I ate one more piece of the rat. It has a very strong meat flavor, like wild game. I have to say it was the best rat I have ever eaten.

I ate frog soup while Villa and Samnang finished up the rat. I'm not sure if the frog soup is made from toads or bullfrogs. I tried to ask them but they didn't understand. I got on all fours and stretched my legs and barked like a bullfrog and then drew my legs in and puffed out my cheeks like a toad, but they didn't get it. They clapped and laughed at the show but it didn't mean anything to them.

Sometimes you get served very small frogs whole. They are fried. Sometimes I think maybe I don't really want to know what I am eating.

Some of the bamboo and grass huts we eat in just have bamboo mats to sit on, cross-legged. Others have very short, small tables like you would have for a small child to play with. This is also the case in many sidewalk cafes and restaurants . Seldom do you have normal size table and chairs.

Another thing I ate was a small bird of some kind. It was cooked whole with the head and feet still in tack. I think maybe it was a quail but am not sure.

Just eating here is such an experience, especially eating in the places where the locals eat. Today, our meal was served with a small cooking stove and we cooked our own meat. It's an art Villa and Samnang are very good at. The way you mix and serve the meals is always interesting. The meals are served with chopsticks to eat with. When 3 of us go eat, the bill usually comes to $5-$7. That includes several courses and our drinks. I couldn't eat for that by muself in the U.S., and here I have the fun company of these two Cambodians.

And, in case you look at my pictures and think I am getting fat around the waist from the food here, let me tell you I am often wearing my money belt . Unless I have a safe to lock my passport and credit cards in, I take them with me in the money belt. But, I will not say how much belly fat is under the belt. I just wanted you to know the food here is not near as fattening as what we eat in the U.S.

The boys are teaching me to drive the moto. They take me to an old airport where there is not much traffic. I don't think I want to drive in the crazy traffic in Asia.

THE SCAM, A true story:While walking around Battambang one day, a man on a bicycle stopped me. He said he had a niece that was going to California to school and wanted to ask me some questions about it. After talking a while, he invited me to come to his house the next day for breakfast to talk to his niece about the school in the U.S.I had read other backpackers say that sometimes the local people in different countries would invite you into their homes to eat and sometimes to spend the night. I thought this would be a good chance to see how the locals ate and lived .The next day I met him at the river and, when I got to his house, we entered though a large gate. I took a photo or two of the house. When we started inside, though, and I wanted to take some photos he asked me not to.Then things started seeming strange. There was no niece and no wife. There was another man he introduced as his brother, although they did not look anything alike.He had prepared a breakfast, though, and we ate and talked. As soon as breakfast was over, the brother started telling me about his job as a casino 21 dealer. I said I knew of the game but had never played.He took me into a room and started to show me the game. He showed me how to play the game and told me about the dealers. Then he said he worked in Phnom Penh (I told them I was going there next). He said when I got there, I should call him. He then said he knew how we could make some money. I would go into a private room at the casino with him. But, I was not to act like I knew him. He would give me these signals to let me know what cards were coming out next . If I needed that number I would take the cards, otherwise I would pass. I would lose sometimes but win most of the time. At the end I would walk out with thousands of dollars. We would meet up later somewhere. He would take a 60/40 split with me. He would put up the money for me to play with, so I would not have any money of my own in the game. I had no intention of ever getting involved with this, but the game he was showing me was fun. Then, he says some woman cheated him the night before and he wanted to win his money back.  He will act as dealer when she comes to the casino and I will play against her. We, together will win his money back.He got a cell phone call about then and talked in Cambodian, so I don't know what was being said. As he hung up the phone, he said it was his sick mother from the hospital. About 15 minutes later this woman shows up with rings on every finger and every kind of jewelry you can think of hanging from everywhere else. I didn't know there was that much jewelry in Cambodia!This was the one he said had cheated him the night before . He acted surprised that she had dropped by. It was 9 a.m. This woman would not even have been out of bed by this time. I smell something's not right here. He introduces me and says he needs to leave the room and I can practice what he has shown me with her.Sorry, I say, looking at my watch. I have to get going. Nice to meet you and goodbye. All this as I was walking out the door, before the gate could get locked.I am not sure what their scam was, but sure wasn't about to get involved. I didn't take any of my money or valuables with me when I went to meet him, just in case.As I was leaving, they said they would e-mail me with contact info in Phnom Penh. I never heard from them, though. They knew I was not falling for whatever they had in mind. So, some kind of scam avoided. During my time in Battambang and even later in Phnom Penh I had locals stop me with a story about a daughter or niece going to America to study and would I come to their house to talk to them. Of course, after the first experience, I always just said sorry, I have no time.
I took a picture of a car wash here. You drive the car up on some concrete risers and people wash and dry it. 

Things are so low-key here. It's like I'm in a time warp.