“Num Banh Chok” is an important and popular traditional food because we often see Num Banh Chok being chosen to serve guests at various festivals. More importantly, there are some festivals such as DaLean, Bon Phum, Bon Leang Neak Ta, etc. The locals who come together for the festival always make Num Banh Chok at their own houses and then bring it as “a contribution to the festival” and eat together at ceremony. As a result, most farmers know how to make noodles. The rice used to make the noodles is a kind of Ksai rice grain and a kind of hard rice. First, the rice is soaked to make it soft and easy to grind. The rice is then washed and re-soaked in water, then grind with a mortar until it become flour. The flour is too liquid to make noodle. So, the flour is wrapped in a thin cloth and pressed with stones or heavy objects to drain the water until it hardens. The flour is covered with a cloth or thin fabric and boiled in hot water, but not too hot (about 50% boiled or called Krasang shell), then the flour is extracted and hit the mortar (now made by machine) until the flour mix well. The flour is then rolled into round long pieces according to the Pen. Pen of noodles is made of copper or Tung Deng with small holes to press the flour into noodles. The flour is then put in a Pen and press on the pen, and the noodles will fall into the boiling water. As the dough falls into the pot of hot water, a stick is used to stir and cut the front of the pen hole to cut off the noodles so that they are not too long. When it is cooked enough, the noodle is taken using a basket to wash and soak in fresh water. In the last step, the noodle is extracted from the water and placed in a basket to dry. They usually do not eat just noodles; they usually eat with soup by having many types of vegetables sprinkled on top or under the noodles. There are many kinds of soups such as Somlor Bror Her (called Khmer Soup), Somlor Kari, Somlor Namya. In addition, the noodle can be eaten with sweet-fish sauce with vegetable. But for the villagers, the so-called Somlor Num Banh Chok is Somlor Bror Her, and Somlor Kari and Namya are very rare, except for those who live in the town or city.

Traditional skills of fishing. Tajik people have several traditional methods of fishing with special tools such as net, basket, chach, fishing line and etc.

In traditional Khmer belief, "The Medium" refers to ghosts that have spiritual power and often live in seas, rivers, lakes, creeks, streams, and ponds. Others live in trees, bushes, and mountains, and have their own more or less power. When traveling in the forest or crossing the lake, travelers must mind their words and speak carefully because some words may interrupt or annoy the spirits guarding the place, yet it will cause illness or other disasters. Another type of ghost refers to the souls of ancestors who are believed to be dead, but the soul or spirit does not die with the body. They are around to help take care of and protect children, but sometimes those souls are also angry and punish their children if they make a mistake and do something wrong. It is believed that if a person is “Arak Kach” there are weird signs such as the person is sick, trembling with fear, mouth paralysis slurred speech, or inability to walk…etc.) Although today's society is evolving to a more modern level, including modern medicine, Cambodians, especially those living in remote areas, are still seeking traditional treatment such as ghost possession. Therefore, if there are any disasters such as disease, eradication, drought, or lost cattle, and lost property for no reason, the locals will seek help from “Kru Hmor” to predict or use a method called “Bol” or summon a spirit called “Ban Jorn Arak”, each of the methods can tell the locals about a root cause behind the incidents that happened. After they found out the cause, they had to organize a "Leang Arak" ceremony, or “Ban Jorn Roub” and make an offering for Arak spirits to keep a promise. In some areas, when a male or female is possessed by a spirit, people believe that the spirit is an Arak. But in other areas, such as in the north of Siem Reap, Angkor people called a spirit that possesses a male and female body differently. If the spirit possesses a male body is called Arak, whereas a spirit that possesses a female body is called "Memot". That is why sometimes we hear people call "Pithi Leang Arak" and sometimes we hear "Pithi Leang Memot". The ritual is organized by an individual, a family, or a community to pray for a well-being for everyone. As for the date, protocol, and agenda in Pithi “Leang Arak”, we observe that they vary slightly from region to region. As mentioned above, the residents of Angkor (north against Phnom Kulen and south against Tonle Sap Lake), especially the village north of Angkor Thom (Nokor village, Pronit village, Prasatchar village, Phlong village, village Leang Dai, Daun Ov village, Tak village and Samrong village, etc.) call a spirit possesses male body is called Arak, whereas a spirit that possesses a female body called "Memot", but from time to time, we also see one or two Arak spirits to join Leang Memot with Memot spirit too. The locals in this area hold this ritual once a year, during Meak month to commemorate the Memot, who helps to cure the villagers' illnesses and make them happy. The ritual was held with ten to fifteen people who are ready to be possessed by Memot and one Memot Master. Locals believe that each person has her own birth teacher spirit “Kru Komnert” who looks after her life. Therefore, they have to install an altar and prepare offerings or Jorm Komnert for the spirit. Some install the altar on the head of the bed. There are two types of Jorm Komnert, one is made of a ripe coconut and another is made of carved wood with legs in the shape of monkeys and other animals. During the Leang Memot, participants have to bring Jorm Kru Komnert and Jorm Memot to put on a tray together. For those who have just joined or their, Jorm is torn and old, they have to make a new one that day before the ritual begins. The offerings and utensils were also prepared on the day of the ritual, including a basket of rice for storing rice, and on the basket of rice was a tray of offerings such as a banana, orange juice, fruit juice, water perfume, ten incense sticks, five candles, cigarettes, Mlu, Sla, Bay Srey Pak Cham. These items are stacked under the tray of Jorms, which is placed in front of their respective seats. At around 7 pm, the Leang Memot ritual begins. At that time, the Arak music band began to pay homage and then began to play music for Main Memot to possess the body. After playing two or three songs, the Memot spirit begins to possess and make strange gestures, some wearing a scarf on his head or tying his waist, while others wear a skirt (usually a Hol), pulling a sword or carrying a pole to dance rheumatically, the locals realized that the Arak spirit is possessing Memot body, so they shouted and clapped their hands to make the Memot dance happily, it continued until 11 PM which made the ritual very noisy. Until all the bodies are possessed by Memot, they would together joyfully. Finally, Memot Thom prays, then the villagers take the offerings “Pe Sam Neann” (Offering) and throw them away in order to avoid any misfortune or other diseases. In other parts of the region, Leak Arak ritual may be held in private, arranged by relatives of a patient in order to find out the root cause of the sickness. The most common offerings are Bay Sey, Sla Tor, Pe, candles, incense sticks, and flowers. The food offerings include rice, soup, bananas, boiled chicken and pork heads...etc. In addition, there is an Arak music band, and especially there is a messenger called “Snom”, a woman who interrogates and interprets to the spirits that possess the body and she also helps facilitate the ritual. When the ritual begins, Arak music is played to summon the spirit to possess the body. When the spirit possessed the body, the woman start to ask questions and find the root cause of the sickness. What has the patient done wrong? and plead the spirit to cure the patient with a promise to offer a steam chicken and port head to let the demons help heal the sick by promising a rooster, a pig's head, offering music, or whatever the ghost commands.

Bamboo weaving is a traditional business and an extra earn income besides farming for farmers. Everyday use tools are woven from bamboo (local bamboo and Pingpong bamboo) including varieties of baskets like Chang-er, La ey, Tao, Kanhjer, Kanhche, Kanh Jreng, Jeal, Kantrok, Kongtrong Brohotk...etc. There are also bamboo fishing gear such as Chhneang, Angrut, Lop, Tru, Proul and so on. Some tools’ names are found in ancient inscriptions, for example, Residents in Banteay Meanchey Province. The word "Chhneang" is found in the K.56 inscriptions, 10th century, "Kanh" (basket) is found in the K. 353 and K. 158 inscriptions, 11th century, "Kcheang" (basket) in the K. 353 inscription, 11th century, and so on. It takes a lot of effort and time to make each tool. They first have to cut bamboo trees and cut them into pieces before thinning them into strips. Strips’ sizes or shapes are made according to the materials which needed to be made. The strips are then soaked in water for 2 to 3 days protecting them from worms called (Proy) before starting to weave as a tool. Today, although some appliances are made of plastic from the factory, all those traditional tools are still popular with Cambodians.

These photos were taken on 19-23 November, 2019. Hội An(會安, translates as "peaceful meeting place") is a city on Vietnam’s central coast known for its well-preserved Ancient Town, and noted as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999. During the business trip, we visited the workshop of basket boat making artisan and he also had a skills for traditional weaving with his own loom.

Traditional bamboo basket from Navatusila in the Western Highlands of Viti Levu, Fiji