local life Archives - Dine With The Locals

Two ways to get around in Siem Reap: By tuk tuk or by rickshaw

5 best ways to get around in Siem Reap

Written by André Ruys on 07/05/2022. Posted in eat in Siem Reap, Experience Cambodia, Kambodscha, local life, Siem Reap, Siem Reap Höhepunkte.

Arriving in Siem Reap is breathtaking: Coming by plane you will see the vast area of the Tonle Sap lake and may get a glimpse of Angkor Wat. Traveling by bus, you will enjoy the countryside. But then comes the challenge how to get around in Siem Reap. The good news is: You have a lot of choices.UPDATE: We added a new e-bkk rental place. See below!

At Dine With The Locals we do not include transport to our hosts, but three families in Siem Reap actually offer the service – the husband is a rickshaw driver and will pick you up. If you don’t rent a car and driver for your stay (what is at least 30 Dollar per day) you need to arrange your transport but yourself.

Since there is not public transport like busses or hop-on-hop-of-services like in Thailand and other countries, you have only private transport option. But that doesn’t mean it is difficult to get around in Siem Reap – it’s actually quite easy, mainly because the city isn’t that big.

The most convenient way to get around in Siem Reap: Tuktuk and Rickshaw

Since 2019 the old tuktuk, a trailer pulled by a motorbike, is replaced by Indian style rickshaws – there-wheelers with a cabin. They are smaller, but offer a more comfortable and faster ride. On a hot day however the cabin warms up a bit – for a longer ride a tuk tuk would be a better option.

How to get a tuktuk or a rickshaw

You habe two options: Just check in fron of your hotel or guesthouse for drivers and negotiate with them. Or download one of the ride-hailing apps. Most popular in Siem Reap are PassApp and Grab, Tada is also gaining market share. The apps are convenient since they offer you a fixed price, the driver is know to them and you can see in a map where you are going (some freelance drivers take a longer way to ask for more money).

If you want a day trip, for example to visit the temples in Angkor Wat, it’s best to hire a rickshaw or a tuk tuk for the day. They cost about $25 to $30 per day, depending where you go. If you book our hosts Ms. Vannarith, Ms. Sokvy or Ms. Chan Mony, their husbands can make you a good offer for a trip and they also speak English, so you don’t need a guide, and they know the way around).

These Indian rickshaws can be ordered with an app

Renting a motobike in Siem Reap

There are shops in Siem Reap renting out motobikes. While many tourists love the idea of driving around the temples or through the ricefields in Cambodia, there are some thing to know. First, technically you need a Cambodian driving license to operate a motobike. An International Driving licence is not recognized. Also, because you would drive illegally, your health insurance may refuse to pay in case of an accident. The police regularly stops tourists in Siem Reap, but mostly for traffic violations like turning when its not allowed or not wearing a helmet (all passengers have to wear one).

Then there is traffic: Cambodia it’s one of the highest death rates form traffic in the world. Rules are not respected like in western countries, and especially on overland roads and at night driving is dangerous. For locals motorbikes are the best way to get around in Siem Reap, but for foreigners it might come with a risk

And last but not least the shops renting out motobikes are not always trustworthy. Usually you have to leave your passport as a deposit, although we recommend to refuse this and leave money instead. Some shops will then complain about damage when you bring it back – this can ruin the day or even the stay here.

Many shops offer motobikes and bicycles for rent in Siem Reap.

There is a legal solution we recommend: Rent an electric bike. The E-Green shop at Sivutha road in downtown rents out two models, a smaller one and a scooter like Vorlagen Matrix. The latter is as good as a motobike, the charge is sufficient for a day in Angkor Wat. You don’t need a driving license.. Top speed is up to 50 km/h on the highest setting – but that will drain the battery fast. Go with setting 1 and you are fine. We still recommend to wear a helmet.

UPDATE: THE NEW KOREAN POPLE BIKES

Recently a Korean shop opened not far from the National museum on the Charles-De-Gaulles-Road. It’s called Pople and they rent out quite nice looking electric motobikes. They charge $10 for 1/2 day tour and $15 for a full day or $30 for three days. What is impressive beside the building quality of the e-bikes is the charging station. They do battery swaps, so if you are running out of juice you can just switch the battery pack. Also, the electricity for the charging comes from solar panels the installed on the roof top of the building – which also hosts a coffee shop and community space. They even sell Carbon-certificates.

The project is funded by the Korean government. It is definitely worth a try. Get more information at www.facebook.com/CafeandTour or on INstagram @poplestation.

Renting a bicycle in Siem Reap

The most environmental friendly and cheapest way to get around in Siem Reap is by bicycle. There are many shops in the city where you can rent a push bike. Some hotels and hostels even offer them as a service to guest. We recommend to get a new mountain bike style bike. Old city bikes often have broken brakes and aren’t well maintained. The costs is around $6 per day. We recommend Angkor Cycling Tour in Tapul road for renting bikes – they also offer bicycle tours around Siem Reap.

If you want to explore Angkor Wat by bicycle, be prepared for a longer ride. It’s around 10km from the city to the main temple. The small circuit is 17 km long, the grand circuit is 26 km long, plus 10 km to get back into town. The roads are in a good condition and its flat, and the trees in the Archeological Park are cooling down the air.

Cheapest way to get around in Siem Reap: Rent a bicycle.

To get around in Siem Reap on a bicycle you can use your phones map for orientation. There are now bicycle lanes in downtown you can and should use. Make sure you lock the bicycle when you take a rest properly – they can get stolen.

All of our hosts in Siem Reap can be reached with a bicycle. We will give you the coordinates and a description, so you can take a ride from your hotel and enjoy the local houses and scenery along the way.

Eat with locals – an unforgettable experience

Written by André Ruys on 12/13/2019. Posted in eat with locals, Experience Cambodia, Khmer food, local life.

I didn’t just want to get to know the country, but also the people. Travel takes you to other places and cultures, but what matters is people. When we first came to Cambodia 15 years ago, many locals still spoke French, and we could not speak a word of Khmer. But my wife had business partners in Phnom Penh, and through them we came into contact with local families. We were able to visit them at home and eat with them. Our guide helped us with translations. I will never forget the first time I eat with locals, having my lunch on the floor. I had no idea how to eat properly. Our host family explained to me with hand movements that I can also add the rice to the soup.

Learning how to eat with locals

15 years later I was back in Cambodia, this time in Siem Reap, to live here. We had lived in Vietnam, Laos and Thailand and I found many new friends there. In all countries, it has always been important to me to understand how people live.

Eat with locals and Cooking at a organic farm in Battambang — Eat with locals and cooking at a organic farm in Battambang

When I arrived in Cambodia, I quickly got in touch with my neighbors. They live in small apartments that consist of a room with a bathroom and are about 40 square meters in size. In it lives a whole family. The men went to work in the morning, the women stayed at home. I asked them if they work too. Most said they needed to stay home, take care of the kids and cook food.

Support for families

I thought: If you cook anyway, why not make money with it? Let people eat with locals and pay for it. A friend brought me into contact with Sorida, with whom I started Dine With The Locals. Our first hosts were my neighbors. I thought to myself: They have beautiful houses, they are great at cooking and they are lovely people. They couldn’t speak English, but that only made it more authentic. I invited friends to test dinners and they were thrilled. “We would never have access to a local family,” she said. Precisely because everything was not perfectly prepared, they enjoyed it. I always enjoyed cooking with friends myself. Cooking is one of the essential cultural activities. A culture is also defined by the food.

Activities beyond cooking

Today we have 15 hosts across Cambodia and two in Vietnam where travelers can eat with locals. We are still looking for new families, soon also in Laos. I visit most of them myself, cook together, explain our concept. We want to offer our guests more than just food. You will learn how to dance Aspara, what modern artists do, how to make a souvenir pendant from coconut palm leaves or what herbs and plants are used for cooking.

Our guests make an experience that I’ve always appreciated traveling: getting in touch with people and making contact, learning new things and making new friends.

Learn how to make Kreung paste in our cooking class in Siem Reap

What to do in Cambodia: 5 secrets

Written by André Ruys on 11/13/2019. Posted in eat with locals, Experience Cambodia, food in Cambodia, Khmer culture, local life, Uncategorized.

Of course, if you are going to Cambodia you will want to see the famous temples of Angkor Wat in Siem Reap. You will also visit the capital, Phnom Penh, and see the Royal Palace. But there are still many unknown places to discover. We tell you what you to do in Cambodia.

1. Look at architecture in Phnom Penh

Independence Monument Phnom Penh is one thing of what to do in Cambodia — Independence Monument Phnom Penh

There are not many buildings left by former star architect Vann Molyvann. He has designed the Olympic Stadium and the famous Chaktomouk Theater as well as the Independence Monument. You can still see both of them. He worked directly under King Sihanouk in the golden period of Cambodia between 1955 and 1970, when the city became the pearl of Southeast Asia. He also founds the New Cambodian Architecture, which is still an inspiration for many architects and artists. A glimpse of what Phnom Penh looked like in the 60s is in this video. Another highlight in architecture is the Central Market. You can also watch it from above on Google Maps and see how its arms reach all directions. It was built in 1937 and was then the largest market building in Asian. It is one of the most famous Art Deco buildings in Asia and a must on the list of what to do in Cambodia.

2. Modern Art in Cambodia

As a traveler, you will learn a lot about the past of Cambodia, especially the time of the Khmer Empire and the sad Khmer Rouge period. But there are also interesting developments in the present, and art is at the top of the list. Some artists have freed themselves from the shackles of the old rules and try to break new ground. One is Vannak Khun, a photographer and performance artist who has already presented his works in Tokyo. You can visit him in his studio in Phnom Penh and enjoy a typical Cambodian meal together. He will show you his works and explain what they mean. If you are interested in dance then you can watch the performances of Silverbell in Phnom Penh, a Cambodian dance group that performs modern dance and is also a highligt, what you can do in Cambodia. In Siem Reap there are the New Cambodian Artists, who also perform modern dance. You can also see great art in galleries, such as Theams House in Siem Reap, Tribe Gallery in Siem Reap, Sangker Gallery and Romcheik 5 Artspace & Café in Battambang, and Kbach Gallery and DinArt Gallery in Phnom Penh.

3. Eat with locals

What to do in Cambodia: Cook and have fun with locals — Cooking is on the list what to do in Cambodia.

The Cambodian cuisine is not well known, most travelers know the dishes Amok and Lok Lak, but not much else. The kitchen of the Cambodian kings has even influenced the Thai cuisine, and even has Indian roots. Cambodian food is not so spicy because there was no chili at the time of the Khmer empire – they were introduced later from South America. Many ancient Khmer dishes are still cooked in families today. It is a unique experience to go home to a family and cook a typical Cambodian meal together. You will cook like home, in a typical local kitchen, which is sometimes even outside the house and eat with locals. At Dine With The Locals, you can choose from 15 different host families in Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, Battambang and Banteay Meanchey. Each family has their own dishes and recipes, and if you want to know what you can do in Cambodia, it’s definitely a family visit. You can also help the family earn extra money.

4. What to do in Cambodia: Exploring the hinterland

As a traveler, the best experience is to leave the classic route and explore new paths. For example, if you want to travel from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh, you can make a stop in Kampong Thom, there are guesthouses or the cheap but quite good Glorious Hotel. Here you can see some lesser-known temples like Prasat Andet, Prasat Kuhak Nokor or Sambo Preykuk. To relax, you can take a rest at The Prey Pros. This is a real insider tip what you can do in Cambodia. The villagers have built a tourist attraction on a lake, which is mainly visited by locals. During the week, it is rather quiet and you can wonderfully enjoy the nature and talk to the owners of food stalls. If you want to travel to Siem Reap via Battambang, you can stop in Kampong Chnang. The city is quite small, but beautifully situated on the Tonle Sap River. Climb the Phnom Kong Rei and enjoy the views of the surrounding area. Go to the market and try the dishes there, especially the baked sweets.

5. By bike through the villages

After the meal have a bike trip around the village

We are not big fans of guided tours, so we do not offer guides at Dine With The Locals. We believe it’s better to explore the area on your own. That’s why we recommend simply taking a bike and touring on your own. In Phnom Penh you can take the bike and the Tuktuk to the Koh Dach peninsula and explore it on two wheels. Another tour leads to Tonle Bati, a popular lake south of Phnom Penh. Try to avoid the main roads and use Google Maps. Here are also small streets and paths registered. In Battambang you can drive through the city from north to south, all the way to Phnom Sampov. If you want to experience something very special, what to do in Cambodia is to visit our host Panha Yem. She has an organic garden and grows her own vegetables. She is also an environmental activist and teaches students how to do without plastic. You will cook a delicious meal with her and take it together and then she will take you on a great tour through her village. An unforgettable experience.

If you have any questions about what to do in Cambodia, just send us an email or contact us via Whatsapp or Facebook. We are happy to help

Boat race during water festival in Cambodia

Water festival in Cambodia (Bon Om Touk)

Written by André Ruys on 11/10/2019. Posted in Experience Cambodia, Khmer culture, Khmer food, local life, Uncategorized.

The Royal water festival in Cambodia celebrates the end of the rainy season in Cambodia. It is one of the most important festivals in Cambodia and probably the biggest one. Every year millions of people celebrate the festival in Phnom Penh, while in Siem Reap it is a bit quieter. With the end of the rainy season, the current of the Tonle Sap changed in recent years. Since the Mekong is the lowest at this time of the year and its water level is lower than the Tonle Sap Lake, the water of the lake flows over the Tonle Sap River into the Mekong. As a result, the Tonle Sap River flows six months a year from the southeast (Mekong) to the northwest (lake) and six months a year in the opposite direction.

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The festival is celebrated especially in the big cities with numerous events, in Battambang usually a few weeks before. But also in the country you will find meetings on the holidays, it is sung, danced, eaten and drunk.

Boat races to the water festival in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh

In Phnom Penh boat races take place at the water festival, attracting teams from many countries. The boats are classic Asian rowing boats, a team consists of up to 20 men or women. There are both rowboats and paddles. Up to 300 teams take part in the competitions. They are made up of organizations – like the police and the army – and also village crews. These often take days of travel to purchase at the water festival. Many teams are accompanied by their families and it is customary to pitch their camp next to the boat for the festive season. The water festival in Cambodia will be opened by high-ranking personalities such as Prime Minister Hun-Sen or the Cambodian King.

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Legend has it that the Water Festival celebrates the Cambodian Marine, which has won heroic battles on the rivers since the 12th century, especially on the Mekong. By the way, Cambodia also holds the world record of the longest dragon boat on a river.

If you want to escape the hustle and bustle in Phnom Penh, you can watch the quieter festival in Siem Reap. The races take place in the early afternoon, on the first evening there is a small firework display at 6.30pm. As in the capital, many small stalls are set up along the river, where you can buy treats such as fried insect pickled mangoes and grilled chicken. Food is a important part of the water festival in Cambodia.

Special dishes for the festival

One of the delicacies that specializes in the water festival in Cambodia is ambok. The young rice is still roasted with the shell and then beaten with a huge pestle. The shells are removed and the flat-looking rice mixed with coconut milk and bananas. This rice is usually only at the end of the rainy season to buy, because then was also harvested. You can also eat it with chilies or even roast with pork and dried crab in the pan. Our hosts are happy to show how these dishes are made when the ambok rice is on the market.

If you want to experience local food by yourself, join our hosts, cook and eat with them and learn what else they know to do.

Book now your truly authentic food experience!

You can also contact us on Whatsapp

What is the Cambodian cake Orn Som?

Written by André Ruys on 09/27/2019. Posted in eat with locals, Experience Cambodia, Khmer food, local life.

Every year during the Pchum Ben holidays members of the family will get up early in the morning and start making Orn Som. It is popular Khmer snack, usually made for special occasions, but also found at local markets. It contains sticky rice, yellow beans and pork, wrapped in a banana leaf.

How to make Num Orn Som?

If you want to make it yourself, you just need a few ingredients. The most difficult to get might be a banana leaf, but it is an important part of the dish. First, you have to soak sticky rice in water over night. Then in the morning you wash the stick rice and let it drain, then mix it with coconut milk, some sugar and salt. Have a bowl with soaked and boiled mung beans and a bowl with slices of pork belly ready. The pork belly can be salted and you may want to add some garlic as well to make Orn Som.

You will now place a rectangle banana leaf on your kitchen table (you can also put aluminium foil under it). Then spread sticky rice like you would do it for a sushi roll. Press it slightly down, so it’s a flat surface. Next comes a layer of mung beans, flat as well and not extending over the stick rice. Now place a slice of pork belly over it. Cover it again with some mung beans and sticky rice.

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Make a roll and secure with strings

Now comes the tricky part: You have to make a roll out of it. If you use aluminium foil, then just hold both end of banana leaf and foil together, fold it twice and roll over. The traditional way of Orn Som however is to roll and fold carefully, and then secure it with strings. Nowadays many people use cheap plastic, but in the Cambodian villages Khmer families will still use strings made from natural material like banana leafs or water hyacinth. Once the rolls are done, you will boil them. If you do it at home it take about 5 hours to cook, in simmering water. Cambodians will use huge pots and heat the water over open fire.

For a holiday, Khmer will put the Orn Som into a basket and bring it together with other foods to the pagodas. Here it is either offered to the monks and they will have it as lunch, or placed on a certain table, where people then pick it and eat together. You can replace the pork belly with beef or even chicken, the latter isn’t as juicy as it should be. There are also sweet versions, where the meat is replaced with bananas and shredded coconut.

How to make fish balls cooking class

Written by André Ruys on 08/03/2019. Posted in eat in Siem Reap, eat with locals, Experience Cambodia, food in Cambodia, Khmer food, local life.

When we first met Ms. Vannarith in her house in Siem Reap, we went straight to her kitchen in the back of the small worden house to see how she makes her famous fish balls. It’s located in the outskirts of the Angkor forrest, a small path leads to the plot of land covered by big trees. The ancient ruins of Angkor Wat are only a few hundred meters away.

The concept of a kitchen differs from western ideas, in Asia it is more an area rather than a room. Cooking food in Cambodia outside has many advantages, the biggest is that the smoke and smell stays outside. Also, being outside while cooking in Cambodia gives you a much better experience – and less sweating.

Have a seat, please

So it wasn‘t a big surprise when we arrived and saw Vannarith and her mother sitting on a low table. Whenever you eat with locals, expect this kind of setup. This kind of furniture is common in Cambodia, and has many purposes. People sit and chat in the shade, use it to have a nap or sit there and prepare food. Tradition commands an open house in a village, where everyone can come by and have a chat and a snack.

How to make fishballs

Vannarith bought some fish at the local market. Mostly the fish comes from the nearby Tonle sap lake, one of the biggest lakes in the world. It‘s a vital reservoir for Cambodia, for fresh water but also for fishing. In recent years the water levels dropped, and usual the flooded areas included the floating villages in Siem rap were left dry for many month. Nowadays the price for fish has increased to 10 USD for a Kilogramm of better quality. And yet, the fishes are smaller and smaller, as Vannarith‘s husband Chan Nith explains.

Vannarith cuts the fish open and cleans it of the guts, then carefully slices it into two halfs. She then turns the fish filet with the skin on the bottom. Now she carefully shaves the fish meat from the bones and put‘s it in to a plastic bowl. This is quite a time consuming task, since she avoids to break the fishbones. But that’s is on of the most important parts of how to make fish balls in Cambodia.

Breaking up the protein

Once enough fish beat is in the bowl, it get‘s seasoned with salt, pepper and sugar. The latter might sound strange, but Cambodian cuisine is know for being sweet and nearly every dish requires at least a tablespoon of sugar. Traditionally you would use palm sugar, but Vannarith takes refined sugar this time – it‘s cheaper now.

Then her mum takes over. The most important part of making fishballs in Cambodia is to break the protein. When you knead a dough to make bread, you are mainly breaking up the flour to get the gluten out. This is something like a glue, that keeps the dough together later, but also makes it smooth. In meat the same job is done by proteins when they break up. But other than in life, a breakup must be done with force. so Vannarith’s mother smashes the big ball of fish meet on the bowl, kneads it a bit, takes it in her hands and smashes it back again. This process takes about ten minutes, until the texture is smooth and even. Once you know the craft of smahing the dough you really mastered how to make fish balls.

Reuse of plastic bags

While Vannarith ignites the little gas stove, her mum fills the fishball dough into a plastic bag. She uses the same plastic bag where the vegetables were sold her in at the market. We love it, a great way for a plastic free Cambodia. Some drops of cooking oil will prevent the meat from sticking to the plastic. Then she forms a knot and makes sure, there is some pressure in the bag. She turns the back upside down and hold the tip of the bag in one hand, while she care fully cuts it with a small knife. Now she squeezes the bag a bit and out comes a string she cuts when it is about 2-3 centimeters long. This string is then thrown in the cooking water.

Fermented radish is the secret ingredient to make fish balls

Vannarith minces some garlic, ginger and kaffir lime and ads it to the water. Some salt, pepper and seasoning will make it more tasty, before the special ingredient comes to play. A Siem Reap style fishball soup needs fermented radish. The brownish root is cut into small slices and added to the broth. Once the fishball are raising to the top, they be taken out in a separate bowl. For serving the fishballs are transferred to a small bowl and then she pours the broth over them.

If you want to join Vannarith and like cooking in Cambodia and lean how to make fish balls, book your great food experience at her place.

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How to cook homemade Khmer food

Written by André Ruys on 07/15/2019. Posted in eat in Siem Reap, Khmer food, local life.

Cooking is passion, and it doesn’t matter if you do this at home or as a professional chef. We focus on food in Cambodia and the traditional way of cooking. The recipes at our host families were handed down from generation to generation, from the grandparents to the parents to the children. Dishes at our hosts are also prepared the traditional way, often on open fire, using ingredients from the garden or the own farm. When you visit our host, you will learn how Khmer homemade food is prepared and cooked in a very authentic way. And of course we and the hosts are happy if you want to help cooking. So we take you today on a food tour in Cambodia and show you how to make delicious local food.

One of the main differences to western cooking are the kirchen and the tools. Many of our hosts cook outside the house, what is still common all around Asia. Even modern houses have the kitchen outside, nowadays behind under a tin roof. The reason: ventilation systems aren’t known here and you don’t want to have the smell of cooking in your house. Some of our hosts do have a kitchen room, but will always open all doors and windows then get fresh air and the feeling of openness.

While in houses and apartments the use of gas is more common, on the countryside most families still use wood or charcoal. Both is cheaper for them, and charcoal can be bought from passing by vendors with long trailers. Wood is mostly collected from the ground or from dead trees. When you eat with locals, it is also common to help each other and cook together.

How to make Tuk Meric

Our host Srey Moch makes a delicious Beef Lok Lak, one of the most famous meals in Cambodia, even if its not a traditional Khmer homemade food (it came from Vietnam, and you can read more here). What makes the difference is the sauce on the side: it is a mix of lemon, salt and pepper, called Tuk Meric. Some families like Srey Moch’s use a dash of fish sauce and sugar and some minced garlic and chili in it as well. The beef itself comes already with a sauce (made from oyster sauce, soy sauce and onions), but will be dipped in the side sauce as well. You can also try to just eat the rice with the lemon-pepper-salt-mix!

Homemade Khmer food 101: Pork balls

There are many ways to make a vegetable soup with pork balls, but our host Vannarith has a special recipe. Usually you would just like season minced pork and form it to small balls. But when we talk about homemade Khmer food, the pork balls aren’t just rolled. The pork will be minced and them smashed on a table of wood board, picked up and smashed again. The reason for this process is to break the proteins, what enhanced taste and texture. If you come a bit more early, Vannarith will show you how it’s done properly, and you can even try it out yourself. You will see that the shape is also different, they aren’t formed like perfect round balls, but a bit more flat.

Soup with papaya (Sngor Sup Lahong )

Papaya soup with pork rib is one of the homemade Khmer food

In Cambodian cuisine you see the use of fruits as vegetables quite often. The mango salad is made from green or sour mangos, so is the papaya salad. Our host Panha Yem in Battambang cooks Sngor Sup Lahong, and one important ingredient is green papaya (Khmer: lahong). You may only know papaya as a sweet orange fruit, but in most dishes Khmer homemade food is made with the, not ripe state. It will be cut into cubes and then cooked together with pork rips. The soup itself is clear and the meat and papaya giving it the distinctive taste. It is common that you eat the soup together with rice and other dishes. Most food comes either as it is cooked or together, but there is no concept of courses (only fruits will be served last.)

Want to try it? Just check out all of our hosts.

Book now your cooking class experience!

Experience local life in Cambodia

Written by André Ruys on 06/11/2019. Posted in Experience Cambodia, Khmer food, local life.

One of the most recent trends in the travel industry are authentic experiences. While overtourism let travelers reconsider to go to the hotspots in a country, they may change to lesser known, but more individual destinations like experience local life in Cambodia when you visit families. The travelmarket report recently wrote: “More and more travelers are demanding an “authentic” travel experience, a trend that experts say plays into the hands of experienced, high-touch travel agents who can help consumers sift through the vast array of opportunities the world offers. According to a recent Expedia survey, 76% of baby boomers rate experiencing authentic local culture as “the most important” aspect of their decision making, while 62% of Generation X consumers rate local culture most important.”

Cooking together is a great experience of local life in Cambodia

If you are looking for authentic experiences, you may have to look very close. Nowadays many classic tour packages are just wrapped in new paper. Village tours and cooking classes, food tours and home stays are all a kind of authentic and locals experience. But the are also organized, and quite often there is not much time to interact with locals. Also, interpreters and tour guides may help to communicate, but can be a barrier as well. We are a cooking class with families.

Time needed to experience local life in Cambodia

At Dine With The Locals we do not provide guided tours. We let you have the full experience with the host family, without interference. Our hosts are not working in the tourism industry, their houses are private and not open to the public. Also, the tour itself is private: It’s just you, the people traveling with you and a Khmer family. If you are curious enough, you will get a much deeper understanding of the daily life, the dreams and challenges of locals in Cambodia. Dine With The Locals means that you cook with locals, eat with locals and experience local life in Cambodia.

Rice harvest at the organic farm in Battambang

You can stay one or two hours, and even longer if the hosts have time. We had guests staying for 4 hours with our host Vannak Khun in Phnom Penh and talking about modern art. We had even requests if guests can stay overnight at our host in Banteay Meanchey, because it was so beautiful there (we do not provide accommodation yet).

So much to learn from locals

One great example of local life is the use of the mortar. In Khmer its called tabal, and we use it as well in the official name of our company tabalr technologies Co. Ltd. It is one of the most common tools used in Khmer cuisine. In former times, it was the only way to blend spices and other ingredients. But even now, in the age of electricity, most Khmer will use the mortar instead of the blender. The latter is mostly used to make fruit shakes. When you make the Kroeung spice paste with your hands, crashing the lemongras and tumeric until it becomes a thick paste, you understand what local life is.

Largest food tour in Cambodia: 4 cities, 6 places

Written by ronald on 05/08/2019. Posted in Experience Cambodia, Khmer food, local life.

Dinner with a Cambodian artist as part of the largest food tour in Cambodia

Dine With The Locals, Cambodias biggest network for food experiences in local homes, introduces the Largest Food Tour Cambodia. Tourists traveling in Cambodia will get 6 authentic food experiences in 4 different cities and regions.

The largest food tour in Cambodia brings you to four cities and regions in the kingdom, where you meet wonderful hosts

This special Food Tour in Cambodia contents:
– Lunch at a silk farm on the outskirts of Phnom Penh
– Dinner with a Cambodian artist
– Lunch in the Angkor Forest at a wooden local house in Siem Reap
– Dinner in a local house of a former Apsara dancer
– Lunch at an ancient house in Battambang
– Dinner at sunset at a organic farm in Battambang

Learn how to make silk during the food tour in Cambodia

All stops include three different homemade Khmer dishes per meal, possibility to assist cooking, experience the place and skills of the host, chat with the family. Excluded is travel and accommodation, since you may have booked this already (but we can give recommendations).

A special food tour in Cambodia

The new package costs 100 USD per person. Guest will get a voucher and can pick the date. All experiences are private events.

Dine With The Locals wants to give food lovers a new way of experiencing Cambodia not just by eyes and ears, bust also by their taste buds. Our hosts prepare delicious Khmer food. Every hosts will cook three dishes and you will have lunch or dinner with the hosts and its family. Most speak English, so you can get a great insight about the daily life in Cambodia and the dreams of Khmer people. You will have an unforgettable experience off the beaten track. And with your money you will improve the income and life of locals people.

Contact us for a booking through Email, Facebook Messenger , Whatsapp or call us +855 15 879 410

Banteay Meanchey and it’s great Khmer food

Written by ronald on 03/13/2019. Posted in Khmer food, local life.

Meet Vorleak, our newest member of the Dine With The Locals family. Vorleak is a housewife who stays in a beautiful Khmer house in front of Chamkar Khnor pagoda in Banteay Meanchey with her family, including the grandma. Her husband is a credit officer. She can speak good English, is very good in cooking and likes meeting new people.

Vorleak is one of our hosts in Banteay Meanchey

Explore the beautiful garden with lots of flowers, and learn how to make Baysei. Those ate items used for traditional Khmer traditional ceremonies and decoration. They are made from banana trees. Locals offer them to the Tevy, the angels connected to the Khmer New Year.

The Khmer food she offers in Banteay Meanchey is as delicious as it looks like.

Her grandma is a fortune teller and also a Khmer traditional nurse, who knows a lot about Khmer herbs. But you don’t have to be sick to learn more about natural ways of healing and a tradition that dates back for centuries. Even the kings of Angkor Wat used some of those old medicines.

Her menu:

Samlor Mchou Ktischicken soup with coconut oil, pumpkin, pineapple,
Chha Bonleafired of mixed vegetables with oyster oil
Bok Teuk kreunghe famous khmer food , made of mixed of fish, prahok, chili , lemon or tamarind and eat with different kind of fresh or steam vegetables.

More about her and the food she will prepare here: http://new.dinewiththelocals.com/hosts/vorleak

Things to do in Battambang

Written by ronald on 02/05/2019. Posted in Experience Cambodia, Khmer food, local life.

While Battambang is the second biggest city in Cambodia, travelers still haven’t discovered it’s full potential. For a long time it was a industrial town, but the downtown area has kept it’s charme. There are many thing to do in Battambang, and some are of course related to food.

Most travelers will look for the famous bamboo train in Battambang. During the time when Cambodia was under UN authority, locals made their own lorries and used the old rails to transport good and people – and bamboo. Since Cambodia has it’s civil government, the lorries were still used, but also discovered from the first tourists. Today there are two Bamboo trains, the original and a new one. Forget about the new one, it’s more a local attraction and only goes just in one direction and back.

Explore the surroundings of Battambang

Battambang is also know for the hills around with temples and remains of the Khmer Rouge and the civil war. One of the things to do in Battambang is either renting a bicycle or getting a tuk tuk and go to Phnom Sampov. There is the bat cave (best late afternoon). but also the a cave where the skulls of the fallen and killed Khmer displayed.

This cave at Phnom Sampov is on the top list of things to do in Battambang

Things to do in Battabang when hungry

After your excursion you may get hungry, and Battambang is a good place if you like food. It’s famous for grilled rats from the rice fields, but that’s not everybody’s taste. One the list of things to do in Battambang should be a visit at the organic farm run by our host Yem Panha. She is passionate about food and will not only prepare a delicious set of Khmer food, but also take you to a tour around the farm.

Yem Panha runs an organic farm near Battambang (15 min drive), and is passionate about food and healthy lifestyle.

Another special place for breakfast is the R1 restaurant. You have to come early, because after 8am most of the popular dishes are sold out. What makes it so special ist the cooked black chicken on rice. It is well know with locals in Battambang. And if you are a bit adventurous, then have a pork brain soup on the street 2017 not far from Emerald Hotel.

After your meals reserve some time to visit the galleries in Battambang. The city has a vibrant art scene. Many artists from Phnom Penh moved up north, since it’s more quiet here. The most famous place is Romcheik 5 gallery and art space, where different artists exhibit their work.