Vietnam

After so many months, I finally got to travel again. This time, Vietnam. With my secondary school buddy, Juliet and her hubby and her friend. First time without you guys la (u know who u are) ... I went for a week and when I told this to most of the people, they were wondering what I can do there in a week !!! If just to stay at Hanoi itself, I don't think I will like this country.

Hanoi

We arrived at the airport, greeted by a non-English speaking taxi driver that was sending us to our hotel. His driving was exciting. As Juliet's hubby put it, we were like in a video game, honking and swerving from left to right in the Hanoi's traffic. Hanoi in my memory will always be the city with vehicle's honking sounds, from day to night. We only spent our first and last days at Hanoi, so I guess I did not give the city a chance to show its charm. During our stay in Hanoi, we went to places like Museum of Ethnology, Hoan Kiem Lake, Old Quarter, Water Puppet Show, Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and Temple of Literature. One thing that I notice about the building in Vietnam is they are high and 'slim' ... I still remember that I had to climb to the highest floor of my hotel in Hanoi before I can rest !!! 6th floor? No wonder there are no FAT people in Vietnam ... hehehe ....



During the visit in Hanoi, it was more enjoyable when we were accompanied by the university students in Hanoi. Juliet found Hanoi Kids, a non-profit student-run organization where the members voluntarily took us to tour around Hanoi. Thanks to Quang and Jenda !!!



Quang, having tofu fa with us at the lake side ...



Jenda was posing for a tourist at Temple of Literature. The uncle told her that she would make his students smiling at this photo ...


Halong Bay



I really like this place because it's the sea. Too bad that it was raining and cloudy on the two days that I spent there. My first time spending the night on a boat was enjoyable. Waking up looking at the sea and mountain, I would ask nothing more. The scenery at Halong Bay was like the Chinese water painting.

I was lucky that one of the couple on the boat was celebrating their 15 years anniversary. We were invited to celebrate their anniversary together after dinner. Free cake and red wine :P. 15 years is not a short time at all. Congratulations to them !!!

I guess the most exciting activity for me is to go kayaking. I was scared of water and I don't know how to swim. I was so scared that I would fall into the water. The life jacket did not give me any comfort at all. Luckily, Hoan, the guide paired me up with Uncle Mick from London. He was really good in kayaking. Surprisingly, I enjoyed the session very much, except the soar arms after that (:P). Cruising along the calm water and looking around the surroundings, the nature, the wind ....



Uncle Mick, a retiree accountant from London.


Sapa



This would be my favourite place of all. Cold weather, fresh air, etc ... We took the train from Hanoi to Lao Cai, about 8 hours long journey. I even saw China from Lao Cai. Can't believe that I was so close to the country. Just a few steps away from the border.

First day at Sapa was a tired one. Tired but I think worth it. We started trekking for few hours to see the villages of Sapa. Due to the wet weather, the trail was muddy and slippery. Luckily, the Hmong villagers help us around. During the trekking, you can see how simple is the life of the villagers, the hill paddy field, pigs walking around like your pet dogs ... SOmething you cannot see in Malaysia ... Hahaha ...



Night view at Sapa.

This is Dung's family. He was kind enough to prepare lunch for us at his house. Cat Cat Village, Cat Cat means winding. Although it was simple, we could feel their hospitality. They even prepared a BIG bottle of rice wine for us ... Hong Mong Ju !!! (Hmong language which means Yam Seng !!!) A motor ride around the village was a joy too ...

A mountain near Bac Ha market ...

OVerall, it was really an eye opening trip for me ... Definitely gain a few new experience for myself !!!! THanks, Juliet :)

Beautiful morning

I had stopped writing for a long time. Just do not have the mood to write. Dunno why. But, yesterday morning's view make me want say something. Sometimes, a small little thing can put a smile in someone's face. At least mine. What I saw was a double rainbow. So beautiful. Especially when the rainbow was in front of the Menara Telekom. The building become so colourful !!!

Earth Hour 2010

Earth Hour is organized by WWF to raise awareness of climate change issues. People who took part in the Earth Hour would switch off the lights at an agreed time to pledge their support for the planet.

I heard about this last year ago and my friends who went for the Earth Hour Walk at Caps Square were having so much fun. The t-shirt was nice too. I still remembered I was at a temple attending a funeral at the time when we supposed to off our light for an hour to support the DAY.

Fast forward to year 2010. This time, my Company also takes part in the effort to create the awareness. One day, they encouraged everyone to wear green. Today, they encouraged to off the lights from 12.30 to 1.30 during lunch hour. I wonder what would happen tomorrow.

So, 27 March 2010 at 8.30pm, remember to turn off your lights for one hour.

Lantern created here to show my support ... Nice mar ???

The day when i was surrounded with giant balloons ...

It was the 2nd Putrajaya International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta 2010. There, I got to see how they inflate the balloon. It is certainly not an easy task. The organiser had to inflate twice the black giant balloon !!! Besides the normal hot air balloon, we could see a lot of others weird one. I guess the famous one would be the Darth Vader ... I even spotted a giant jeans ... hehehe ...



We were worried about the weather on that day. It was raining on our way to Putrajaya. Luckily, the rain stopped. However, we didn't have the clear blue sky as our background to take those nice pictures. But, I was curious to know what is a night glow.

Well, I love the night glow. So colourful. The nite ended with a superb performance of the fireworks. We were at the right spot at the right time. Lying down on the grass, it felt that the fireworks were falling upon us. It's like millions of stars blinking above my head. Really unforgettable.

From night owl to early bird

Happened to come across this article not long ago ... Should practise this see if it works ... How I can not be a night owl ....

1. Make a nighttime routine
It say to find ways to let my body to relax and make it a habit or routine. Some of the suggestions are taking a warm bath, drink tea, reading or writing a journal. Hhmmm, ok, start reading or writing. Instead of a journal, a blog can or not ? hehehe ...

2. Turn off the TV and the computer
This is a bit hard for me. It's like a routine for me to on the PC before i go to bed. No wonder I become a night owl.

3. Lay off the caffeine
4. Have a light supper
5. Open the curtains

6. Know your motivation
Somehow this is quite true. It's not so hard to wake up early on the weekends as compared to weekdays. It's because i don't want to waste my precious weekends. :P

7. Make morning appointments
8. Give yourself an incentive


p/s: my first step to stop being an owl. finish this and off the pc. this is going to be hard ... hahaha ...

梁文音【最幸福的事】

I like this MV very much, touching. When you all pick up the telephone at the last stop, what will be the pictures that come out? When i think of it, so many good memories flashed by. Those memories really made me happy (^_^)

Happy CNY !

As someone put it, happy roar roar year !!!

Wish everyone as strong as the tiger, as 'bersemangat' as the tiger.

Most importantly, everyone ping ping an an, jian jian kang kang, kuai kuai le le !!!

平平安安， 健健康康，快快乐乐

Almost forget, happy valentines too !!!

See nothing, hear nothing, say nothing

How to brighten up the office ?

How to brighten up the office ? How to make it fun, more lively ?

Easy. Grab a few balloons and put on your workstation. The usual dull office atmosphere suddenly become a bit lively ... Not enough? Take more !!!

I think most of the people who pass by had a smile on their face when they saw this. My mood definitely improved after seeing this. Such a joy !!!!

Balloons anyone ???? (^_^)

立春 a.k.a Lichun a.k.a Lapchun

4 February 2010, today is 立春 day. Happy 立春 i guess... I didn't know what is this until a colleague talked about it a week ago. This is what i found on wikipedia:

Lichun signifies the beginning of spring in East Asian cultures. Chinese New Year is celebrated around this time. Farmers often celebrate the beginning of Lichun with special village events, worship and offerings to the gods and ceremonies for a blissful and prosperous new year. More ...

What makes me curious is the story of 立春 egg. It was believed that it is much easier to balance an egg on a smooth surface during this day. Usually, an egg will look like this when u try to balance it on the floor.



But, because of today, the eggs can stand on its own !!!! Well, I couldn't do it but my colleague manage to do it. Not one but 5!!! She advised me to do it delicately and softly. Ahaha !!! I failed (:<) Some pictures taken by her ... Thanks CFM!!!!

Should try it next year again ....

張學友 Private Corner "迷你"官方完整MV

Blabber ...

Just came back from a pre-CNY dinner with my ex-colleagues and seniors. On the way back, i saw this BIG moon. So big, so clear. At least, it made my night drive an interesting one. If the view is by the beach, it would be spectacular.

Lately, i got nothing to blog about. No fire, no desire, nothing ... Not even the desire to take pictures. I just want to sit there do nothing. Rot there and grow mushroom. Quarter Life crisis ka? Hong Kong trip which happened a month ago. Still haven't blog about it ... Should I write about it? Maybe I should ....

I should fire up myself. This is only the beginning of the year. Ganbate, CY!!! Ganbate everyone !!!!

Korean craze

Many years ago, friends were crazy about Meteor Garden, a Taiwanese Idol drama and i didn't understand what is so nice about the show. Surprisingly, I'm now crazy about the drama too but the Korean version. Funny plot, lucky girl, pretty boys, etc. What is there not to like about?

And, because i like one of the character so much, i was introduced with a 'reality show' where Korean artist were matched up and lived as husband and wife in a 'make believe marriage' - We Got Married (WGM). The 'marriage' that I watched was a marriage where the age gap is about 6 years. There were a lot of awkward moments and again, it was funny. It was fun at the beginning but it was kind of sad when it ended.


I love Korean show now. Anymore recommendations ? Hahaha ...

Next target ?

After Jacky Cheung and Lee Hom, I really look forward to this one ... Hhmm, i wonder whether they will come here to perform? Hhmmm ....

I'm a Panda

This morning when i woke up, I saw a panda in the mirror. I was practically looking at 'Patrick' the whole nite before i doze off. This always happen during the first week of school or work, when I am required to be awake at normal hours. Hahaha ... I don't know why, i just love to stay up late. Cam called me a 夜鬼 ... I love to study at wee hours. Work at wee hours. Clean up at wee hours. When everyone is sleeping and dreaming. Weird ...

NOw, I must make myself go back to this normal hours. I should off my pc now and go sleep. Hhmmm, maybe not ... kekeke ... Anyway, there is a saying, 早起的鸟儿有虫吃 ...

Walking through 2009 to enter 2010

It's another 12 more hours to enter the year 2010. Looking back at my last year entry, I felt lucky and blessed. Any difference this year? It's the same. Happiest moment would be my brother's graduation. Happy for him and my parents. My little brother now 'tai kor zai' already. I guess mom and dad now more relax. No worries, hmm, maybe me ... hahaha ... Well, we will always be the little baby in our parent's eyes. Mom always say i'm like an adult child. Do u think so?

I guess my biggest success would be able to drive to some places i wanted to. It should be a relief to my friends too since I live in a far away land. I miss those ride (:P) Other than that, life is pretty much the same. I enjoyed every moment of it. 'Bestest' parents and bro in the world. In the office, I have a great team, great colleagues that are fun to be with. And, my friends, I relish every minute with u all ... New born ah bi, newly wed couple. Our 'family' is expanding !!!

I would say 2009 is a good year for me. 平凡就是福 . Ready for year 2010? I do. I wish more travel plans to come. Vietnam and Sandakan, I'm coming!!! Taiwan, pls make it happen. Other than that, to do the best in everything, no regrets. Don't worry be happy !!!

Enough of my rantings. Happy New Year everyone !!!

Merry Xmas everyone !!!

Holiday !!!

It's time of the year again, when i can take long long long leaves ...
Time to be merry, to be happy, to travel !!!
Have been waiting for this trip for so long. Tomorrow will be the day ... MIckey Mouse, I'm coming ... Hhmm, do u think i will bump into JC ? hehehe ... think too much ...
I'll be back in one week !!! MORe pictures and stories on the way ...

Nice ...

It always makes me feel good to be able to enjoy such a sight ... If we are observant enough, beautiful things are just by our side ... Waiting for us to discover it ...

MV and Selangor holidays ...

Lesson learnt today .... Never ever go to Midvalley on Selangor holidays !!!! If you are stucked in the jam, don't pandai-pandai turn here and there. End up u will at the worst situation i think.

had been staring at the uncle in the taxi for very long. at that point of time, i am jealous of him having a newspaper ...

while waiting for the super long traffic lights ...

Saturday on my way to fetch Cam, I saw one 老婆婆 pushing her old bicycle cart in the rain. And, i told myself to stop complaining on how difficult life is and to appreciate what I have now .... CY, u are one lucky girl there ...

Last hunt of the year ...

Top Gear Hunt 2009, from Kuala Lumpur to Awana Kijal, Kemaman ...
The last hunt of Year 2009 ...
It was also my first auto hunt outside KL ... and, I find it interesting and fun !!!

When I heard about this hunt, my intention to join was Awana Kijal. I fall in love with this place last year, during a road trip with my buddies ... Games and travelling, what is there to say NO to? Maybe the 'deadlines' in the office but the tiredness was worth it, i think ...

Bubbly girls ...

Keef took the role as the driver and me, the navigator ... It's still surprised me that I able to direct them to Awana Kijal ... ehehe ... Not bad eh ... Well, there were some panic and lost moments ... Like, when

- we don't know how to go to Genting Sempah from Glenmarie. Luckily a dear friend sacrifice his beauty sleep for a while to talk us the way out ...

- we turned too early and lost our way to Genting Sempah ...

- i asked keef to turn into some housing area ...

- i was not concentrating on the tulips, and for a while, we thought we were lost in terengganu ... the pen punya pasal ...

While cracking our head, Bubbly Girls still know how to have fun during the hunt ... Especially, when it comes to FOOD !!! We were quite well-prepared ... Chips, hot dogs, coffee, milo, sweets, lekor, fruits ... How can a brain function properly if the stomach is empty, rite :P

McD breakfast still plays an important role in our outstation trip ...

See how well prepared PW is .. With dictionary !!! As for me, I think i've digested the McD breakfast ... Cannot think !!!

Well, at the end, we lost ... But, the way i see it is we win some experience ... Win some good times ... Going back to KL was as interesting as the day before ... This time we hunted food. Kedai Kopi Hai Peng, we finally tried the coffee and the toast. Hhmm, nothing special about the toast but the nasi dagang waas my first time ... Coffee wise, it's not that sweet which is good ...

Nasi Dagang

We still didn't take the highway straight back to KL because of the spicy keropok. From Kemaman to Kuantan to Teluk Cempedak, the keropok was no where to be seen. Finally, we saw it at a road side stall but the keropok was not crispy anymore ... :(

大家姐 with her 'assistant' and 'maid' on keropok hunt ...

Overall, I had fun on this hunt ... More hunt next year? Definitely ...

P/S: 1. Met a primary school friend in the hunt ... It's a pleasant surprise ...

P/S: 2. We still owed FL a Bentong meal ... ekekeke ...

Just love the effect of the sunset towards the white clouds. Pinkish with the blue background. Nice!!! It's this small little things that would make our life beautiful ...

Hunting around KL ...

This year Mooncake Festival is different from the years before ...
With keef, fl and pw, we entered a walk hunt around KL, which at the end turn out to be a demotivated hunt .... Questions were too hard for us ...
I don't know about my other team members, but personally my brain starts to shut down on the 2nd part of the hunt ....

HOwever, I discovered something about KL ... It makes me want to take a walk at KL again ... Take a good look around KL ...

I'm curious to look at a group of people getting ready with the Chinese Opera ...
I didn't know that there are still old old building near Lot 10 ...
Since when there is a big bull at the pavilion mall ?
Pavilion has good place/location to take pictures !!!
Slurpee tastes so good, especially under the sun ....

Yeah, i should do it one of these days .... To walk around KL again ...

中秋節快樂

Happy mooncake festival everyone !!! Kind of miss the days when we took our lantern and walk around the neighbourhood ... Hehhehe ...

The arcade

I forget how addictive it is the games at the arcade, especially when you can collect points to change the prize that you wanted. It has been a long time since I stepped into the arcade and play. Deprive of childhood? Maybe, hahaha .... Luckily, there are a bunch of friends which are not so enthusiastic about it ... If not, there goes my $$$$ ...

Langkawi 2009

I had so much fun 3 years ago that I wanted to go back again.

However, everything went wrong at the beginning of the trip.

- We did web check-in but didn't print out the boarding pass ...
- I left my sling bag in the car until Keef had to send me home to get it again ...
- The taxi driver forgot to come and pick us up ...
- We had a mobile sauna car for the trip ...
- I dropped my CAMERA !!!!!

Luckily, everything went well after tat. This time, we didn't go much places, the objective is to have a relaxing and easy-going trip ... I think we nearly drove towards the whole island ... I love it when -

* we can go to the beach every morning to kick water ...
* we can blow blow wind at the beach and gunung mat cincang ...
* we 'washed' our leg at telaga 7 (but, it's tired to walk up there, wish there was escalator, hehehe)
* we looked at our old photo of our previous trips ... FL keep on commenting how 'leung' we were back then ... ishh ...
* we had our drinks at nite, be it on the table or on the floor ...
* we had our afternoon nap at 4 season ...
* we had our buka puasa feast in the hotel room ...
* we shopped for chocolates and liqour ...
* we jumped, jumped, jumped and jumped !!!
* we played at the pool, although i'm scared of letting go of my hands. :P tak nak !!!
* the taxi drivers thought we were still students ... :P


Most importantly, i'm glad that i'm still able to spend my holidays with you all ... 你们是最棒的 !!! Muaksss ...

My Beloved ....

I couldn't believe how careless I am ... After survived the fall at Krabi, it didn't make it this time at Langkawi ... :( My beloved have to go into the emergency room this time. And, according to the salesperson, it will cause me RM200 - RM300 !!!! Better go survey another emergency room first ... haihhhh ...

While we were at Langkawi ....

We just love to jump!!! Boink, boink, boink !!!

Music Man

I've just finished the Music Man concert ... Watching the DVD makes me wan to go back to the live performance. I just love to watch him playing at the piano ... WHy i don't have the same passion when I was playing the piano ??? Hhhmmm ... I wonder how it feels to look at thousands of people in front of you ...

who is who ?

One night, husband and wife sit in the living room looking at the old photos ...

Husband: Ah dear, this baby is ah girl or ah boy arr ???
Wife: Let me see ... Hhmmm, let me see again .... Hhmmm ...
Husband: I think we should lable them, then, we will not get wrong ...
Wife: I know ady ... It's easy. The one with BIG head is ah girl lorr ... The one with BIG eye is ah boy lorr ... The difference is really obvious ...

Husband and wife laughed flipping through the photo albums.

p/s: it's a scene that i've captured in my heart.... sweetnye ...

Itchy hands

I realise i haven't been using my camera for a certain of time ....
Looking at friend's pictures, my old pictures, my hands feel itchy dy ....
I want to take pictures !!!! I want to take nice pictures !!!!

Hehehe ....

Once upon a time ....

I've kept this post for a few days, wondering whether I should post this or not ....
But, it's really funny and bring back some good memories ....

Here u go ... Warning, pls don't watch this with full stomachs ... Kekekeke ....

Something I found while looking back to our travel photos ....



Part 1

Part 2

Life has been .....

Lately, i would say life has been good ...
The happiest moment, of course, was my bro's graduation ...
I can see my parents smiling proudly, looking at their only son ...
I guess now that they are not so worried anymore, at least they know that we would not have too much prob to survive in the society ...

Then, work in the office now is not so busy. I got the chance to go home early. How early? Let's say I could see the sun set ... Hehehe ... I'm cherishing every moment of it. There is life after all if you go home early after work ...

Maybe it's time for me to plan something new for myself now ... Hhhmmmm ...

Detained II

After 2 months of hiding, the one and only left of the McD gang could not hide herself anymore. She was spotted at the KL city centre and the latest victim is McCHicken Burger ....

The day before 14 August 2009

Looks like the time has improved this year .... Hihihihi ...

Yippie !!!

Geram

I can't believe I had to explain so many times for a simple matter !!! E-mails, explain patiently on the phone ... haihhh


What else I can do to make this people understand !!! Draw? Feed? Am I that bad in communication? Am I talking gibberish? Alien languages?

What I hated was still talked snobbishly when their understanding is wrong !!!! And, still order people around ... You are not my boss okay !!!! &@#^*$&^


Damn tulan arr !!!! Geramnye ....

blabber ...

today, i was a little bit annoyed with my bro but, think about it, it's not really his fault ...
but, he really knows how to choose the perfect time to call me ...
when the drama becomes kan cheong, he called, twice in a day !!! day and nite ... =.='''

haih, i don't remember graduating would be such a difficult thing to do ...
i don't remember facing so much problem 5 years ago ...
unpaid tuition fee, undelivered registration forms ... who knows what will happen next ?
at this kind of situation, i wish that he didn't choose to work so far away from home ...
had to help him to clean up the mess ..

LUCKILY, we have a devoted father ... help us to solve most of our problem ...
will be there whenever we need him ... we are so LUCKY
but, poor dad, still have to 烦 his children's matter

p/s: phew, i feel better now ... if my brother see this, you should sponsor me to HK this year !!!! :P

Moral of the story: Don't kacau me when i'm watching movie/drama ... I'm a monster ... kekeke

Lucky - Jason Mraz ft. Colbie Caillat

During this time of the year, i would always search for songs to keep me sane most of the time. There was a year when I listened to Mayday 离开地球表面 over and over again.

This year, I guess this would be the song. So easy going and relaxing. Make me want to feel that lucky too ... Kekeke ...

側田 - 30日 (KTV)

東成西就 "哥仔靚"

LOL ... This is my all time fav movie !!!

Home Alone

Mom and Dad go back to Taiping for a few days ady. LEaving me home alone. I think it would be the first time to be left alone for a long time. Although i'm OLD enough to care of myself, somehow there are no situation there would need me to stay away from home and live alone. Studied in KL, work in KL ... I've been staying at KL my whole life ...

How does it feel ? Friends asked whether i feel alone. Yeah, some time. But, maybe because it's my peak period now that i didn't really feel the effect. But, one thing for sure is I'm glad that I didnt stay alone. If not, I will have the potential to become a workaholic ... When I know my parents are at home, I wouldn't stay too late in the office. Cos I know they will be waiting for me at home. When you stay alone, everything is done at your own time. Not to worry what time to go home.

McD Olympic Day Run 2009

My first run was Mc D run ... A 7km run ... And, I thought I would stop after that. It was really tiring and I always say, run no need to find me, walk u can find me .... kekekekeke ...



So, when FL asked whether i want to celebrate my anniversary run. The answer is NO !!!!!



But, i ended up at Dataran Merdeka this morning .... Running ...

Well, this time it's not that tired anymore. Timing wise, i think a bit faster also. So far, the leg not pain yet .... Hhhmmmm .... Looks like the morning walk at the lake on Sunday is not wasted at all .... :p

Back !!!

It has been a few weeks, nearly a month that i stopped blogging. Only because my house modem K.O.... THanks to someone for lending me his modem .... Hhehehehe .... Somehow, i miss writing. That is something unexpected.



Many had happened during this few weeks. I would say all the good things.

After last year, I had the chance to celebrate my birthday with the other Gemini babies. A simple dinner at Jun Kee, Taman Midah. We did not go out to eat together as a group for quite some time. As we all getting older, each of us have our own life. I liked it when we could sit together at Nick + Su's place to chat. The best thing is my 3 buddies chi mui sacrifice their precious annual leave to accompany me on my birthday .... Touching, i can't ask for more... Good food good chat ... FL and Su even asked me to grow something on that date. I hope the plant survive ... So far still look good.

Jacob Walk @ Taman Metropolitan, Kepong

Standard Chartered KL Marathon

Jacob Walk and Stan Chart Run. Both also 5 km, the difference is one is a walk and another is a fun run. I didn't enjoy Jacob Walk as much as last year. Maybe it's because of the poor co-ordination from the organiser. It was a chaos during the time to queue up for the t-shirts and goodie bags. I must say the participation this year was more than last year. Hmmm, at least i got to take a photo with the MyFm Dj and enjoyed a sumptuous meal after tat....

Standard Chartered KL Marathon Fun Run. The reason i joined it's because I enjoyed the atmosphere so much during the Singapore Stan Chart Run last year. I thought why not give it a try. To my dissappointment, the atmosphere was not as good as Singapore... The funny thing was I run the wrong route !!!! I was so surprised when I could finish within such a short time ....

Hooked on Jewels

Currently addicted to this !!! The kiasu-ness kicks in whenever I saw friend's marks are higher than me ... Haiz ...

Siem Reap 2009

This is a long overdue post, since someone helped me to compose this ...

About a month ago, we went for our annual vacation and this time, the chosen place is Siem Reap, Cambodia. What are there to be seen ? Well, if you go to European countries, the attractions would be churches and castles. So, in Asean countries, temples would be the one.

I didn't expect much from this trip because the idea of visiting temples everyday did not sound too exciting for me. I was so wrong. It turned out to be one of my favourite place. It's in my TO VISIT AGAIN list. The architectures, the stories and the people made it an unforgetable memories.

The temples, architectures, etc

We had been visiting temples everyday, since the day we stepped our foot on Siam Reap. Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Bayon, Bantey Srei, Ta Phrom, Roulous (did I miss out anything?) ... Hinduism and Buddhism had a great impact on the structures of the temples. Basically, there are two main design here, it's either looked like a mountain, which symbolizes Mount Meru (i.e. for e.g. you would see 5 towers) or Buddha faces carved on the structure of the temple. The carvings are impressive and make me think, how do they do it, without the technologies of today. The endurance, the hardworks that they had put in ... Wow ... There are so many restoration projects going on in the temples. with the collaborations from other countries like France, Japan and Thailand.

Besides the temples, we went to the country side, Mount Kulen to see the waterfall. While we were there, we even saw carvings at the bottom of the river. It supposed to be place for the Kings to cleanse themselves. The road towards the waterfall was quite fun. It was like riding a horse, a powerful one especially for Yong and Addy at the back ... Kekeke ...

The stories

Each temples would have their own stories. The carvings on the wall would tell you the stories. If you know how to read the Khmer or even the Sanskrit, you would know more. I don't really remember the stories now but I know it's quite interesting. It's about the King, the wife, how they fight for power control, stories from the Ramayana ... Words like linga, naga, always appear ... I guess the one I remembered most was how the carvings looked like the two were having sex but actually the good one were strangling the evil one ... Hahaha

Our tour guide would always start the visit by feeding us with the facts of the temples. It was like a geography and history lesson and being a 'bad student', I would pick up my camera and start clicking away ... The most attentive 'student' is FL. Hhhmmm, what do I remember from the lessons ? There is always library at the front of the temples. Kekeke ...

The people

The local people that we know the most would be our driver and tour guide, who accompanied us for the past 4 days. We stayed at this place called Golden Mango Inn, which is a family business. How often would you be able to wake up in the morning and crocodiles are waiting for u in the backyard ???

The driver, Sony Cheab, is actually the boss's son. A young entrepreneur who is trying to attract more foreign tourists so that the parents are convinced that he is able to expand the family business. Phanith Cheab, our tour guide (the cute one) is actually a part time law student. Both of them are good friends and what is common between them? Both are working hard to achieve their personal goals in their life and they love their country. Sony always asked us to support his country economy by goin to the restaurants open by the local, not the foreigners, where Phanith feels that his country needs more educated and professionals people to become more developed.

Besides that, u can actually see alot of kids hanging around the tourist area, to beg and sell things. If there are no customers, they would just play among themselves by the roadside. When I saw them, I would think why are they not in school ? I find out that it's not a compulsory for kids to go to school. Although i feel that they live in poverty and lack of the simple utilities and facilities, they can actually be very happy. They look contented. So, actually I am so much lucky and I still complain that life is hard. Something that I need to learn from them. We can be happy and contented, it's how u look at the situation. The glass is half empty or half full? You decide.

The food

One word to summarise, Cambodian people like to eat sweet and sour food. Even their curry is sweet. But, it's not the usual sweet and sour taste that we get here in Malaysia. HOw would I describe it ? Hhmmm, pineapple with water ... Ekekeke ... We became a bit adventurous in one of our lunch that we ordered the most local food there. The highlight dishes of that lunch were the morning glory and the deep fried fish with scales !!! Especially the fish. We thought the person forgot to clean the fish. Keef and Addy were brave enough to try the deep fried scale and the comment was CRUNCHY, yum yum ? Others were the amuk (a lot of santan).

One thing we notice was they don't have fast food outlets there. Not even McD, our fav makan-makan place during holidays. Only KFC penetrates the market. As Sony and Phanith put it, Khmer Fried Chicken is coming soon. Hihihi...

About US

After the long winding stories above, I must talk about US ... the people in the holidays. I guess the highlight was we were excited to get a cute tour guide. Keef was super happy to take pictures with him, FL when he gave his hand to her to help her walk across the waterfall and Addy was estatic when he hug him. Myself le, super shy when he 'kap' food for me on our last dinner. But, it was green pepper, =.=''' Only Yong and Carina a bit normal ... Hahaha ...

I do enjoy the trip very much .... It would be more fun if everyone able to go. Hope there will be another opportunity la ...

Ok. The ENd. Before that, some interesting pictures that we took during the trip. It's a long one too ...

(pictures mostly taken from Keef and Addy. TQVM!!!!)

p/s : for those who read this post, fell asleep boh ? hahaha ...