via Khmer NZ
Date 12.07.2010
Cambodia has a new attraction for tourists - a tarantula hunt. No tour operator has offered the strange activity yet, however locals do invite tourists for the hunt on their own.
Cambodians from around the city of Sukon offer a new attraction to tourists - an extraordinary hunt where the prey is a spider, a tarantula to be precise. Tourists who love extreme experience first hunt down the spider and then eat it. Some foreigners actually enjoy joining locals when looking for the spiders. They hunt tarantulas in their nests and then prepare them with soya sauce or fry them with salt and garlic.
According to news.com.au, the hunting is easy. You go to the jungle or to cashew nut plantations and poke in tarantula's nests. The terrified venomous spiders run out right into your hands. Because tarantula is a night animal, the hunting usually takes place during daylight. You are likely to catch more spiders then.
No tour operator has offered the experience yet. However, the Cambodians from the cities of Sukon and Kampong Cham who eat the spiders most often offer tourists to participate in the hunts.
As lidovky.cz reported, tarantulas are considered a delicacy in Cambodia. They were first eaten and sold for food in the 70s when people flee into the jungle to escape the murderous regime of the Khmer Rouge. In order to survive, they ate spiders and other insects. However, people grew fond of eating tarantulas so they started with culinary experiments.
Many Cambodians even believe that tarantulas can help with certain health problems. They are said to cure backache or respiratory diseases. The spiders can heal the best when soused in rice wine.
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