My 2010 starts now, hello !

I am finally back !

Gosh the last time i updated my blog was last year, hahaha. One of the main reasons for my no-action is because i was on a backpacking trip in our neighbouring country more than a week ago. Unlike the rest who followed me, i never had the energy to write an entry right after i got back.

I was vomiting profusely upon arrival and decided to rest for the whole week and here i am, strong as a stallion *coughs*

It’s 2010 ! and it’s sad to see what has happened to Haiti. Imagine 1/3 of the population gone just like that, which simply shows 2012 is getting momentum XD we will never know what will happen next and best if we spend our time wisely especially with our loved ones

My backpacking trip which is currently in the 2nd year running has definitely opened my eyes wideeeee. One shouldn’t procrastinate

All in all, the trip was excellent. Everything that Angeline and i planned, turned out just like we wanted. Probably we need to trim the size of the group cause as expected, the bigger it is, the harder to control.

My 2010 will start from now ! Yes January is almost ending and i have a lot of catching up to do

Here’s a snippet on what’s coming up soon !

Borobudur

Prambanan Temples

Water Castle – Taman Sari

Stay Tuned !

The Chronicles of Cambodia 8: The Cambodian Full Body Massage

On our final day, we made a stop at one of the orphanages with respect to Wen Yan’s request. Wen Yan who is Angeline’s ex uni mate was in Cambodia a few weeks before us but she didn’t have the chance to donate. So in return, we were commissioned to carry out her task, lol.

Of course giving cash wouldn’t be the ideal thing. We instead went to a nearby market to buy 100kgs of rice. The seven of us too chipped in to round up the cash so we could get 100kgs. Siya then brought us to this orphanage which was quite near to the place we stayed.

We arrived without informing their caretaker as there weren’t any phone in the house and so he curiously greeted us. We mentioned our intentions and he gladly brought us around the compound. It was like a mini-tour. They have a small classroom in the compound and also their own farm for them to grow their vegetables. We were also shown the rooms of the children and it was definitely small judging from the amount of children that gathered in front of us. Besides that, one of the girls was diagnosed HIV+. We were told that her school knows about it and they are trying their best to give her a normal environment, just like any other kid.

After placing the bags of rice at the kitchen, the children starting singing to us

This all happened after we returned from a long hike up the hill to see the river of the 1000 lingas.

We had to wake up early as the journey to the hill was quite a distance and since there were a few temples on the way, i thought it would be wise to include it into our itinerary. The name of the place is Kbal Spean.

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The Chronicles of Cambodia 7: Angkor Wat & Amazon Angkor

I suddenly had the inspiration to blog about Cambodia again after Chiaw Yin passed a very random statement over on Facebook.

“Mr Shiya is very good”.

I was cracking my head on who is this fella and why is she telling me this. Then it clicked me ! Mr Shiya aka Siya was our tourguide in Siem Reap and i used to call him as Ya. I knew Chiaw Yin was in Siem Reap not long ago but i never knew she also got him as her guide.

The best part was, she said he still remembers me ! ^.^

But to be frank, he is one hell of a guide, to be honest. Though we occasionally teach him the wrong things in Hokkien, hahahaa. I really hope the guide i am getting in Indonesia would be as good and enthusiastic as Siya

Back to my writing, I am still in 3rd day of Siem Reap of the 4 days we were there. The picture above shows a note from one of the kid saying she isn’t well to do and she supports the family by selling books. The thing about the kids, they really look pitiful but if you don’t play their game then you will just end up being cursed. As for the books, after closer inspection you would noticed that it’s photocopied. Just the cover is coloured. So yeah bargain hard.

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The Chronicles of Cambodia 6: Eating the embryo

I am finally BACK ! I am BACK blogging. Curse facebook and twitter for taking up my blogging time, LOL. Anyway i am back here to finish off my Cambodia entries with the second last entry which is basically the 2nd last day in Siem Reap. For some reason i think it was a bad idea shooting this particular shot in sepia cause it emphasizes how dirty the hands were.

If you didn’t already know, the egg looking thing in the plate my friend is the unborn ducky -_-!

It’s known as Balut in the Philippines.

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Chronicles of Cambodia 5: The smiling faces

After so many months of neglecting my Cambodia entries, i am finally writing again and hopefully i can be done soon. For the past 6 months i have been receiving messages, emails and even tweets regarding Cambodia. This has definitely given more the reason to complete the Siem Reap section

Siem Reap is definitely famous for it’s Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom and of course the smiling faces just like the above.

As stated in my previous entry, there are 3 types of passes for Angkor Wat which are the 1 day, 3 days and 1 week pass. We took the 3 days pass which would cost USD40 per person and this covers all temples surrounding Siem Reap. Security is quite tight and the pass has to be with you at all times.

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