Our Silk Island Adventure

   Siem Reapers agreed to pick us up at our apartment at 7:15am before the start time of our tour at 7:30am.  It's important to start journeys like this one early in the morning in PP because of the heat in the middle of the afternoon.  The pick up was via remorque and the gentleman who pickes us up was both friendly and on time - a win!

Next up we got fitted for our bikes.  It certainly wasn't the most thorough fitting I've seen, but they did a nice job making sure that we did have 3 different sized bikes for us 3 different humans (and the two Dutch women who were on our trip with us) and that our bikes and helmets were in good shape, so I'd call it a win.  

After navigating PP traffic and our first ferry, the first stop on our journey was a temple.  We visted inside a more modern temple (about 50-75 years old) and saw the outside of the 125 year old temple next door.  I love the colorful nature of the wall pantings - much more entertaining to view than our dusty old concrete and marble churches in Christian and Catholic cultures. ;-)  

Following less traffic (as we moved further out of town) and another ferry ride, we were officially on Koh Doch where our next stop was at a Bean Curd or Tofu skin factory.  Our guide taught us about the process which includes both cooking the liquid tofu over a wooden fire initially and then transitioning it to a coal fire later, to ensure a nice slow cook.  If it boils, then the "skin" on the top of the pot can't form.  As the skin forms, the gentleman in the picture cuts the skin into strips and hangs them to dry.  The hanging tofu you see over the boiling pots is still soft - we got to try!  But then it transitions to outside where the sun and heat turns it crispy.  This stuff is sold by the kilogram later- about $6-8 per 1 kilo.  And for you Americans out there, a kilogram is about the weight of one liter of water.

One more ferry to the far side of Koh Doch took us to the silk maker who graciously hosted us for a much needed hand washing, snacks, and a brief tour of her family's silk making business.  

We ate Mangostein, Rambutan, Burmese Grapes, Dragon Fruit, and two yummy baked treats - one the texture of a corn bread muffin with jicama and the other a sticky puree (definitely IDDSI level 7 here, folks!) in a banana leaf that was made with sticky rice and fruits.  

Our tour guide was a 7th generation silk maker who runs her family business with her husband and brother. She told us so many facts about their silk making and, not wanting to pull out my notebook and pen, I'm sad to say I don't remember them all.  But I appreciated the details she shared about how her husband and brother care for the silkworms to make sure they are healthy and growing well before they build their cocoons, how they transfer the cocoons from the mat to the stick for the best growing/texture, and how even while the worm is not yet finished spinning in their circles, they begin to peel apart The threads to ensure that they have strong fibers which do not have many breaks or points of damage.  

After the cocoon is taken apart, grandma ("Ohm" in Khmer) spins the fibers into the skeins of silk thread, carefully tying off any broken parts and preparing the strongest threads for the warp and the other threads for the weaving.  

Our guide and her sister and cousins will then do the weaving.  She notes how hard it is to learn each of the patterns and how certain patterns can be indicative of which family has woven them.  with hundreds of warp threads and meters of fabric to create, I cannot imagine the patience and attention this job takes!  So impressive!