Bacteria Galore

Here it is.

Since my budget nowadays is limited, I’ve decided not to eat at upscale restaurants. Instead, I inhabit cheap eateries which is similar to Philippines’ Turo-Turo. There is one eatery that I frequent. They serve cheap food. The ambience is… well… less to be desired. But I reasoned out that I am going there only to fill up my tummy. I don’t have any complaint with that eatery and its owner. In fact, they became my friends. Very good friends indeed.

My bizaare experience started when I decided once to buy cooked food from foodstalls one can find along main streets.

I bought a chunk of roasted pork. I asked the vendor how much is it and he told me that it costs 3,000riel. That’s cheap! 3,000riel is around 75 U.S. cents.

My frustration came when he picked up that chunk of pork using his bare hand! Wait! What if that guy just scratched his… Gosh!

In my disgust, I abruptly left the stall without saying any word.

I transferred to a food stall which is around 100 meters away from the stall I first approached. I ordered rice and sausage (very similar to Philippine Longganiza). To my dismay, the vendor picked up the gastronomic sausage using her bare hands! I wasn’t able to help myself, so, I violently told her as I turn my back to leave, “Can you not use a plastic to pick that up? Or maybe use a serving spoon!”

I ended up eating nothing for dinner.

This morning, i decided to buy Nompao (similar to Philippine Siopao, a bread with meat as filling) for my breakfast. I can see the steam coming out from the steamer. Nice! I ordered two. Shock of all shocks! The vendor picked up Nompao using her bare hand!

Wow! Now, I know why mortarity is very high in Cambodia. I wish the government and civic groups will focus in educating Khmer how to handle food properly.

Enough of this for the moment. I need to visit a drugstore to buy Zentel (a drug to annhilitate parasites in one’s body).

Ciao!