Cambodian spider sellers worry the tasty treat may soon disappear

by Suy SeWed AFP Aug 23, 2:07 AM ET

As Tith Phalla gets off a bus in this bustling market town, she is immediately besieged by a cluster of excited food vendors proffering fried black and hairy eight-legged creatures.

The 26-year-old has come from Phnom Penh in pursuit of the tastiest "a-ping", or Cambodia tarantula, and this dusty town some 75 kilometres (45 miles) from the capital is renowned for the beastly treat, which Tith Phalla says is tastier than any western fast food.

"Comparing the spider with hamburger, each one has its own taste, but when we eat too much hamburger, it is boring," she tells AFP.

"Some Cambodians and foreigners are so scared when they see these spiders, but for me, they are so tasty," she says, eyeing up a plate with hundreds of tarantulas piled high.

Travellers and traders from around Cambodia flock to Skun buy its renowned arachnids fresh from the vendors, while tourists come to gawp and take pictures of the creepy treats.

According to connoisseurs, the best way to enjoy a spider is fried -- cooking destroys a taranatula's deadly venom -- and then dipping in garlic and salt.

They are also turned into a popular tipple, their ghoulish bodies squeezed into bottles of rice wine.

But vendors in Skun are worried that the destruction of the surrounding forest may soon rid the area of the spiders' habitat, and thus these peculiar but tasty treats may disappear too.

Spider-trader Thy Kan, 32, says business people have been clearing the jungle where spiders used to burrow.

"Before, people dug spiders in the jungles around the town," she says. "But now there are no more spider burrows because the jungle has been cleared to plant cashew nut trees."

Thy Kan, who has worked as a spider middle woman for 10 years, says that these days many spiders are brought to Skun from nearby Kampong Thom and northern Preah Vihear provinces.

"Spiders are still popular for the travellers, but the number of spiders is declining from year to year," Kan sighs.

The price of the spiders has also increased, rising from 300 riel (seven US cents) per beast at the beginning of 2006 to up to 500 riel today.

In a country where half the population live on less than one US dollar a day, that represents a significant jump.

But Lem Sok Thoeun, 40, says she earns enough money to feed her family by hawking the creepy-crawlies.

"These spiders are from nature and have no chemical substance," she says, adding that business has been good since she set up shop two years ago.

"I can sell between 200 and 300 spiders per day. And on a good day, I could sell up to 500 hundred spiders," she says.

Spiders are believed to have made their way onto the local palette during the Khmer Rouge regime, when Pol Pot's drive for an agrarian utopia forced millions into the countryside.

Up to two million people were executed or died of starvation and overwork between 1975 and 1979, and Cambodians turned to whatever sustenance they could find, including spiders, rats and lizards.

"When the people fled into the jungle to escape from Khmer Rouge troops, they had nothing to eat and they ate these spiders because they were starving," Lem Sok Thoeun says.

The Khmer Rouge's murderous regime came to an end, but spiders have remained a popular snack.

"People found out they were tasty," Thoeun shrugs, adding that homesick Cambodians abroad often return for Skun's unique treat.

"Some people who fled the Khmer Rouge and live in the United States never forget to come to Skun to eat these spiders when they come to visit Cambodia," she says.

For Van Nary, 56, who comes from the eastern province of Kampong Cham, it is not just the taste but the medicinal qualities of spiders that keep her coming back to Skun for more.

"I always make a stop at Skun to buy a-ping for me and my children. They are so delicious and they can also cure a cough, back ache and lung problems," she says, devouring another crispy arachnid with a satisfying crunch.