Phnom Penh to Singapore (Dec 9, 2009 - Wednesday)

Time files, today marked the end of my holiday in Cambodia and we would be flying back in the late afternoon. The moment I woke up I was already feeling better and frankly speaking, I was very glad that they serve porridge for Breakfast on this day. It was a treat to me, as I was craving for something light and seeing the porridge, it was really heaven sent.

After packing and making sure we did not left anything behind, it was time to check out and wait for Hua and Eric arrival before we embarked on another shopping trip. But first, we need to have some food and Eric brought us to a Chinese-Khmer-Thai restaurant, if I remember correctly. The food here were delicious and yummy, there are tatami to sit on and mosquito to feed on our blood. I remembered when we were at the Silk farm, our tour guide said if Singapore Government were to come to Cambodia, they will be rich as they can collect lots of fines from the stagnant water left lying around.





Having filled our stomach, we went to Central Market for last minute shopping. There are lots of small stores selling mostly the scarves, bags and clothing and most of the stuffs are repetitive. I presume it should be around the situation for Russian Market.


Our last meal at Cam
bodia is Lucky Burger. My brother had been yearning for “local burgers” as he always mentioned, every country you go, you must try the burger and we need to fulfill his burger’s desire. The burger was decent but the fried chicken I found it to be a tact too dry. But I like the bacon roll sausage, it was yummy and the sausage bun with bolognaise sauce was not too bad too.




With some more time to share, we went to Eric’s house again to finish off the DVD that was watched ¾ through – Perfect Suit. I hope we are not too imposing. By the time we finished the show, it was time to leave. Oh, I am going to miss Cambodia and the relaxing days here all except the food posioning.

One last thing, Preg-na and Cat-ti-ka offered to send us to the airport today, however, our dear friend, Eric did not save the numbers and Cat-ti-ka message him to say that she was unable to make it. When Preg-na (she is the one with the car) rushed down from her work to Eric’s place, we were already at the airport or on our way (3 of us shared a cab) and Eric was also on the way too (he came later) as he wanted to pass Hua her shoe and didn’t hear his phone when Preg-na called him. So Preg-na made a wasted trip and she cried as she did not manage to get to see Hua before she left. Eric, next time remember to save the numbers on all your phone cards hor – he had a lot of phone cards. And it was really sweet and nice of Preg-na…

Phnom Penh (Dec 8, 2009 - Tuesday)

Cockles, my beloved cockles… Having cockles for yesterday dinner, gave me Food Poisoning. I woke up to puke and thinking it was just an upset stomach. But, but, but I was wrong… I was in quite a dazed the whole day, I am either sleeping or waking up to puke and wasted my free day at Phnom Penh. Argh…

Initially my brother and I were going to visit the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, this used to be a high school but was used by the Khmer Rouge to torture their victims, where the torture weapons and photographs of the victim were displayed. My colleagues also mentioned that you can also see the blood stains on the floor. Eerie… Well, with my poor condition, this was given a miss.

Hua and Eric were very nice, they packeted lunch for us and we were like so pitiful that they got to have our meal on the floor. Thanks Hua and Eric for your kindness and understanding and sorry if I spoilt your day. The food was quite nice, only downside was that it is more towards the sweet side where else we are more used to the salty taste. Oh, MSG is like free of charge so must drink plenty of water.
After resting and thinking I was getting better, we went to the Russian Market. On the journey, I kept dozing off. When we reached, the moment I stepped in and walked a little distance, I puked. The best part was that some of the store owners are having their meal and I was puking in front of them, so paiseh lo… Well, in the end, I was resting at some café that sell star bucks drink, not sure authentic or not, while Hua and my Brother went shopping away.


Trying not to be a hero, I went to clinic to get medication for my illness. At the clinic – First Clinic Center, the doctor recommended getting a drip but it took 2 hours. According to Eric, every little illness you also get drip. So after insisting of not getting the drip and hence injection and some medication were administered instead. Normally, I thought the injection will be on the arm, so I happily rolled up my sleeve to get ready. But then the nurse told me to lie chest down and this got me puzzled. And she told me to lower my bottom, and then it dawned on me that the needle is going to poke my butt. 2 times some more. So if I kena HIV, I think I know where it comes from.

We slacked the rest of the day away at Eric’s house. The rest were watching DVDs, while I was happily sleeping. Dinner time, we had a get-together with Hua and Eric’s Friend – Preg-na and Cat-ti-ka. I really do not know how the spelling goes. 2 pretty Cambodia ladies, with their kind and generous heart and they treated us dinner, really are very nice of them. Thank you two for the dinner and warm hospitality.

Siem Reap to Phnom Penh (Dec 7, 2009 - Monday)

This morning, we took the Mekong Express from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh, and it was going to be a 6 hours ride. It felt a bit like going to Kuala Lumpur from Malaysia, just that there are a few more stops for toilet breaks. Since the bus comes with a toilet facility, we only stopped once for lunch. There are also snacks available and a free bottle one mineral water, all for just USD11. This is a lot more cheaper than taking the boat across the Tonle Sap river to get to Phnom Penn which is USD33 and the boat is rather small and looked very flimsy, which Hua immediately declined to it.

Upon reaching Phnom Penh, we took a tutu to Hotel Cara. Having stayed in good 4-5 star hotel and when you move to somewhere of lower standard, it is quite visible of the comfort level you are getting.

With Angkor Century Resort & Spa having carpeted floor, bath tub, ,pipe connecting basin to sewers, spacious room and of course higher price. Hotel Cara, well, it is decent, but one bad thing is that you cannot anyhow pour water into the basin as the water will flow on the floor to the sink at the shower area. Well for the price of around USD 50 a night, I think it is good enough. Oh, at Angkor Century Resort & Spa, even if you put "Do not makeup room" sign, the staff will still dutifully clean up your room. But we are very paiseh as we do not left any tips, on the last day, we do put more tips for them.




Since we do not have much plan for Phnom Penh, it will be more like a Rest and Relax kind. And hence, we went for a haircut at this posh looking salon, De Gran. It was opened by a Japanese and I must their service is very good, however, I think their cutting style is not really that fantastic. Service wise, there are a few translators since the hair stylists only speak Japanese – there is one who translate from Japanese to Khmer, then Khmer to English, but there is also one that can translate Japanese directly to English. Price wise of haircut for VIP is USD25, normal is USD15, Shampoo for VIP is USD 8 while normal is USD5.

We had the VIP service, since Eric mentioned that before the normal hair cut is USD50, so it is consider very cheap now. There are also free drinks and the people will serve the drink to you. When shampooing, they will massage your head which is quite norm if you go to those better salon, but during blowing dry the hair, there will be someone to massage your hands too. This is something you will not get and do not expect from any salon in Singapore or Malaysia. And you even get a small gift like chopsticks, handkerchief, cup, origami paper or postcards, depend on your liking.

Oh, the toilet is a bit fun, it comes with a sensor that auto opens the lid cover, they can wash your butt with different water pressure and airs dry it too. The most exaggerating part is that after you left, all the staffs came out with you and see you off, a bit like those Taiwan Idol show. But I did not get to take any photo, as it was a bit pressurizing to leave as there are so many people out there. And the total price for my hair cut is around USD 50 (25 + 8 + 10% tax + 10 tips).

Dinner time, we had sort of like Khmer BBQ food, however the BBQ was done by the staff and not we cooked ourselves. The food was okie, we had BBQ meats, cockles and hot & sour soup, and I “LOVE” the cockles. I prefer the food at the Khmer Kitchen more than this, maybe next time I should tried the BBQ myself, which will be more fun and get the lingering cooked food smell on our clothes.

After dinner, we went to satisfy our ice cream craving and this time we went to Swensen. Frankly speaking the pricing here is so much more economical, where in Singapore can you get an ice cream sundae for USD1.50. Before turning in for the night, our last stop is at a restaurant near the river named Titanic Restaurant to meet Eric’s friend, Pana (not sure of the spelling) who is a very friendly and humorous person. Oh, we did not take a group photo, hence I do not have his picture. And I think I forgot how he looks already. Ops…

Siem Reap – Marathon Day (Dec 6, 2009 - Sunday)

We need get up early for our Run today which starts at 6.30 am, however we got to reached the place at 6.00 am. I kind of like the run in Cambodia, the air is fresher and I don’t sweat as much as Singapore and best of all, for 21km, I managed to jog within 2.5 hours. Yeah… My actual timing is 2h 11mins 03 sec. One thing to take note is that please remember to tie the timing on your shoes, else it will not be detected. Why I know? Because I am the bim who put the chip in the pocket, so later when the organizer send photos through email, I am the only without the timing. Argh… really is BIM… Lucky, in the list of the timing, I managed to match one missing person column to my timing. Oh, the winner of Ankor Wat International half Marathon is a Singaporean, Vivan Tang, with a time record of 1hr 24 min, that is super fast.

After the marathon, Hua was already limping and I think this marathon had overexerted Hua’s already slightly injured ankle. Eric kept saying Hua “逞强 lo”. I think Hua really had problem walking that day, poor her. Hope she let her leg fully recovered and we can go jog again.

Having a good rest in the Hotel, we continued our tourist attraction which is tour of the silkworm farm. Initially we got a poor tour guide, which do not do any explanation of the types of mulberry trees to feed the worm, how to get the silk etc. Then Eric, asked and looked another tour guide instead. And this time, the tour guide was super good, he is more enthusiast about his work, giving detailed explanations and answered all the questions to the best of his knowledge. We got to know the cycle of the breeding, to cocoon formation, boiling of the cocoon to get the silk. Spanning of the silk thread and making of the silk cloth.

We did not manage to go the craving the school as rather late after we laze at the café outside silk farm and enjoying our ice cream from Blue Pumpkin - again. But me and my brother went to the Angkor National Museum while Hua and Eric went for another massage.

For the Museum, we got to understand more about the different Buddha or deity enshrined in the temples, get educated of the Khmer history, civilization and cultural heritage. No photography is allowed in the Museum. But I do prefer viewing the 2nd level which depicts more about the Buddha, the Khmer history, religion and beliefs. It was a bit like reading stories and getting to know more about the culture. Hua said it will be better to get the hearing guide as they gave good explanation, but we were not offered any when we purchased the tickets (USD 12). And please allow around 2 hours here to really spend more time to appreciate the information and work here.

Dinner at the hotel, the set dinner was nice and Hua is amused with the banana leaf cone for her rice. We also got to enjoyed some Apsara dances, or Cambodia dance. Oh, Apsara is the Dancing goddess and there are lots of their cravings on the walls of the temples.

Siem Reap – Tour of the Temples (Dec 5, 2009 - Saturday)

Breakfast was complimentary throughout our stay at the hotel. It was the typically type of American Breakfast and I found the way they cooked the omelette to differ from what I usually known. In Siem Reap, the omelette was cooked scrambled with the added ingredients and smoothen the surface and shape to oval. Not the kind you fried the egg, put all ingredients in the middle and fold in to half while the egg is still moist in the middle.

The itinerary for the day is exploration of the ancient capital city of Angkor Thom which was built by great King Jayavarman VII. We start with the further circuit and combing down to the smaller circuit with Angkor Wat as the last destination. Before we start off with the tour, we went to Angkor City Hotel to collect our marathon race pack. First Stop is of course to purchase our One Day Pass (USD 20) and having our photo taken just in case you are being impersonate to visit the Angkor Thom.

Our first ancient viewing is at the South Gate of the Bayon, with one row of devas (god, deity – the good) on one side and another row of asuras (demons, sinful – the bad) on the other each holding a giant 8 headed snakes – Naga, like doing tug of war. To differentiate the good people, the statute with a “Cone” crown and the bad guys are flat crown.

Bayon had many towers of massive stone faces on the top of the building and Apsaras craved on the wall of the temples. Most of the temples that we viewed later bear similar resemblance of Bayon. The next temple we visited was the Baphoun and Phimeanakas. Baphoun had lost its formal glory due to poor condition it is in and it is a representation of Mount Meru. Phimeanakas was built with rectangular layout having a central Sanctuary and several courts and ponds surrounding it. We walked the through the Royal Palace, and on top of the Elephant Terrace where elephants performed their acts and in the past it was a way to find the best elephant trainer. At the Leper King Terrace, is a wall of wide of laterite faced with sandstone and I had no idea who is the Leper King.

Before we visited the temple, our driver Sun Same, gave us a brief introduction of the temple, when it were built, by which King, etc. However, his English still need some practicing and you could actually engage a “Licensed” tour guide to take you tour around the temples, definitely with extra cost and also in your native languages. However, Sun only charged us for his driving services only, hence I got nothing to complain. Moreover, he always waits patiently around the car for us to return, come 10 mins earlier on the stated time and he kept a lookout for us too.

We were quite fast walker or viewer and we visit temples of the small circuit: Ta Keo, then we continued to visit the most incredible jungle Buddhist temple from 12th century, Ta Prohm (jungle temple). Ta Keo is the only temple with no cravings or decorations on the walls. This is the only unfinished temple and it unravel one mystery which is the temples are built with constructing the structure before craving of the decorations. Ta Prohm is living in harmony with the trees, e.g. Banyan, figs, which had grown with roots or trucks intertwined with the pillars or the roofs. There is also a famous Tome Raider temple and if I remembered correctly there is also an Echo temple, where if you stand at the sides of the wall and you hit your chest, you can hear the echo sound. In the afternoon, we visited the Blue Pumpkin for lunch, which is quite highly recommended for their ice creams and nice, cosy seats and of course, we got to meet hua’s boyfriend, Eric. He purposely take off and come Siem Reap to be together with hua lo, so sweet.

After lunch, hua did not join us for the Angkor Wat as she had visited the place before and also she wished to spend some time alone with her Dear. Hence, me and my brother continued our visit to a magnificent ancient archaeological wonder of the world from early 12th century, Angkor Wat Temple.

Angkor Wat is the largest and best preserved architectural monuments. It is a replica of the universe in stone. The central tower rises from the centre and symbolizes the mountain, Meru situated at the centre of the universe, while the five towers correspond to the peaks of Meru. The outer walls represent the mountains at the edge of the world, while the moats represent the ocean. The best time to view Angkor Wat is in the late afternoon, the color is nicer during that time according to the guide.

After the temples, we met up with Hua and Eric and had dinner at Nest. Nice place with nice ambience and good food, but the price is for tourists and expats. Only bad thing is there are lots of mosquitoes in Cambodia.

Singapore to Siem Reap (Dec 4, 2009 - Friday)

It was a late afternoon flight to get into Cambodia, Siem Reap and when reached the country it was 6pm. Cambodia is one hour behind Singapore, meaning if in Singapore it was 7pm, in Cambodia it will be 6pm.

The airport was quite small scale, we got to walk down into the airport at ground level, and it sort of reminded me the time when I went to Hong Kong with Jetstar. Upon reaching the entrance, we got to fill up the health declaration form and wait for the snail crawling custom.
The transport was already arranged when we booked our deals at NATAS fair in September and I said we had quite a rather good deal. First, our flight is by Silkair – more leg room and with dinner and drinks provided, second, our hotel is a 4-5 star - spacious, clean and new. Services were definitely up to standard.

When we arrived at the hotel, we were presented with a scarf each; hua said it is the farmer icon. We were seated in the sofa chair and the staffs help us with the check in, you are really treated like royalties…

After dumping our bags in the hotel and changing to something more causal, we started to walk to the tourist area in Siem Reap, which is the Moonlight Night Market that we explored after dinner and the Pub Street. It was a tiny area like Boat Quay, with lots of restaurant and Pubs along the stretch and there is NYDC, but with no customers when we passed by. Prices are around the same in Singapore, just that there is no GST or Service Charge.

For Dinner, we tried this Khmer Kitchen Restaurant and surprising, the food was quite good and tasty. Dishes like Amok – tasted like curry, pork chop, baked potatoes with meat, etc. I found that in Khmer dishes they used lots of onions. Yes, onions... Initially, we thought hua is going to suffer from all the flatulence that is caused by the onions by me or my brother. But in the end, she is the one relieving all the poisonous gases. According to our Siem Reap tour guide/driver, he told us that this Khmer Restaurant serves good Khmer food and the prices are quite economical. So lucky…

Christchurch to Home

This was the last day and towards the very end of my New Zealand trip. Tomorrow I should be flying back to Singapore. Normally, the last day of any trip will be a shopping day, time to spend and tried to finish up all my currency. The souvenir store to shop in Christchruch is the DF Souvenir which is 3 storeys high, but not very big, the prices are cheaper than most around the area.

I went for a walk around the city and I get to go inside the Cathedral at the Cathedral Square, the interior of the church is very nicely decorated and it was one of the most beautiful churches that I seen in New Zealand. I also go to the Warehouse, one of my favorite shopping place while I was at Wellington, I still preferred the Warehouse at Wellington.

Frankly speaking, there wasn’t much to do. I stayed at YHA Central and beside is a very cheap and nice fish and chips store, it was a walk to the Cathedral Square, the central part of Christchurch, but still manageable. Base was a more strategic location and you can save more money as there is this NZD 5 shuttle going to the airport and the stop is just outside that hostel. However, you could stay at the Coachman Backpackers that is just behind Base.

Oh, I managed to met Bonnie the day before my flight, hope everything goes on smoothly for her and she enjoyed the rest of her trip.