I love food blogs and I’ve always been lurking on and following food meme blogs, though I never joined (I’m usually lazy.. lol!). I learned about FoodTripFriday from a friend’s blog – We Ate This! And I had been pondering about joining, I love to cook, we eat out more often than I want to, err whenever I’m lazy to cook, and I also love sampling unique and exotic cuisines..

So here it goes.. My very first FoodTripFriday entry..

Cambodian rice cakes are sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves then steamed. It also comes in several variants. They simplest one would have ripe and mashed bananas as fillings, some with monggo beans and pork, while this one comes with monggo beans, pork and mushrooms. These rice cakes are a main stay during Khmer special occasions and is also usually used as offering during Buddhist religious rites.

When you buy these rices cakes its already cooked and steamed and can be kept for a few days. You can then slice it, then eat it as is, but I prefer deep frying it for an extra crisp..Yummy and so filling. Trust me, two slices is enough to fill me up.

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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As for us, we like driving around this place, getting ourselves a place to sit and people watch for an hour or two, just taking in the vibe of the place. It has been something like our favorite weekly ritual since we started living in Phnom Penh.  I always have a camera with me, a digital camera if I’m toting a handbag with me, or my phone with a camera if I just have my favorite wrist pouch with me. So since I’m compulsive about taking photos, I didn’t realize I’ve collected a good number of photos of Phnom Penh riverside. Let me just share..

The Royal Palace… taken before 7 am, the best time to take photos here I think..

Rows of Flags.. Chinks likes these. She gets to name which country a flag belongs to..

The other side of the road.. lined with hotels, cafes, restos..

Viewing deck…

Chinkee loves feeding the pigeons..

Newly revamped riverside park right before the port..

More on my PHOTOS page..

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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After that refreshing Koh Kong Tatai Waterfalls picnic and swimming, we all piled ourselves in the van and headed towards Koh Kong City. This was another scenic drive and in just thirty minutes we were in Koh Kong town proper. Hmm, a very typical Cambodian town, the only difference was that the roads were wider or maybe it was because it was 12 noon and no one wants to beat the heat of the sun and stay on the road..

Photo above is the riverfront and that long bridge going towards the Thai border – Had Lek. After a few minutes driving around and checking guesthouses, we settled on Bopha Koh Kong Hotel. Not exactly five star accommodations but the rooms were huge and comfy. We got a twin room with ensuite bathroom with hot shower, a TV with lots of channels though mostly Thai, a personal ref and AC. Not bad at all for $18 only per night. In Koh Kong, Thai Bahts are generally more acceptable than the US Dollars or Cambodian Riels.

It was already 1 pm and you can bet I was hungry already. Thankfully, our relatives were done with their quick showers and we all piled up on the van again to have lunch somewhere. We stopped in a small resto, no signs on it, but its right on the riverfront, with several vans parked in front. I was pretty apprehensive about eating on the shack-type restaurant but I went along as this seemed to be the choice of my sister-in-law. But wow! I shouldn’t have been that scared. Let me just put it this way, that must have been the tastiest Khmer  and Thai food I’ve ever had, and I’ve had plenty. To this day, I could still imagine savoring that spicy Tom Yum soup we had, and I’m not even exaggerating. It’s just too bad I wasn’t able to take photos and I was also shy about asking them to wait before sampling the food whilst I was taking pictures of it. They already think I’m plenty weird so I settled on not having photos of the food.

Since we had kids with us, we all decided to go back to the hotel for some nap. Around 4 pm we were again on the van speeding towards Boeng Kayak – Peam Krasaop Mangrove Forest. This place is one of the reasons why I wanted to visit Koh Kong. Once we got there, we had to get off a few meters from the entrance of the park. My Khmer relatives instructed me not to talk in ‘Anglei’ and I could easily pass myself off as Khmer. Apparently, they charge a lot less for Khmers and foreigners have to pay a premium. I wouldn’t have minded paying more since I am all for what this conservation effort is doing for the mangrove forests.. But I didn’t want to argue so I zipped up.

They had a concrete pathway and you can take an unguided tour on among the mangrove trees. All green, with a small monkey greeting you near the entrance. It was a pretty awesome sight – all green and tangled roots, all breeding grounds for fishes.I was sad though that despite lots and lots of reminders and signs not to throw garbage especially plastic, there still some who thought the place was a dumping place for their picnic waste.  I sure wished there were guides so visitors would be properly educated on why and how the mangroves should be protected.

Anyway after about 20 minutes walk, we came upon a hanging bridge spanning about 200 meters. It was wobbly, but safe and surprisingly I was quite agile at walking on wobbling surfaces like this unlike the steep incline of the Tatai Waterfalls. And besides, there’s another incentive on going across that wooden hanging bridge, there’s 4-storey tower just across and it offers commanding views of the mangroves. You can also rent boats to take you around..

Here’s the reason why I think its worth crossing the hanging bridge and climbing the viewing deck..

The views was just so tranquil and beautiful that I had a hard time leaving it.. It was almost sunset when we left and here’s the last shot I took of the mangrove park..

We ended the day with a visit to a beach. Deserted, long stretches of white sand. I’m not sure where this was, we crossed the long bridge from Koh Kong, drove about half kilometer towards the Thai border, turned left, drove a bit more.. I guess it was the perfect way to end the day – watching the sun set..

Read Part I.

The third installment I promise will post soon. =)

For the complete set of photos please check my PHOTOS page.

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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I was digging, digging, sorting when I saw a gauzy black empire cut dress a friend gave me last year. I haven’t worn it coz its too short for me, I could wear it with leggings but I always thought I don’t look good on leggings (hehe with my fat legs and all..). But I kept this dress coz I like its stretchy bodice, I mean even if I get totally huge, I could still wear it..Lol! Anyway, my little fashionista and kikay daughter saw it and tried it on. I had to tie the back with a ribbon so it wouldn’t fall off. Haha! She was giggling and asked me to fix her hair, ‘Tie it up, please Mommim and take photos of me..”

Lol! We had loads of fun taking photos again. Hmm, this is something that I really like about living in Phnom Penh. Life is simple, at an unhurried pace so I get to enjoy and play silly games like this with Chinks.

So here she is..And no I didn’t tell her how to pose. She just posedand pouted by herself with me just snapping photos with my phone’s camera..

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February just passed by like a breeze for me. I know it just has 28 days but it didn’t leave me with much impression. Also, though February is where Valentine’s Day falls on, we didn’t really do anything special. We all just spent the day together, me, Hi-ace and Chinks playing board games in the morning, afternoon attending Hi-ace’s school affair then a leisurely family dinner in a Thai restaurant. That’s it! I guess I’m long past appreciating flowers, chocolates and romantic dinners during Valentine’s day, uggh I even find it corny and I get annoyed at those romantic blah blahs being shoved in your face every time the 14th draws near. Happiness now for me, stems from those family bonding moments, times were just together without even doing anything special or being anywhere fancy. Funny, but I feel really content and happy at this point..

Ouwie also had her 30th birthday (I hope she doesn’t read this. She forbids me to mention her real age and wants to pass herself off as 24. Haha!). It was a quiet too. We aren’t really big on celebrating birthdays. I just asked her what she wants to eat and if she wants to go out. She prefers to have home-cooked pasta, so I just rustled up some penne pasta in bacon and mushroom cream sauce. Yummy!

Before I knew it, February was over.. Hmmm, by this time in the Philippines its graduation season and I have nephews and nieces sending their graduation announcements. That’s something really nice and I do feel happy about them graduating from school. But everytime I hear my nieces and nephews graduating or getting married, whew! I definitely start to feel my age..

Last Wednesday, I met Zarah and Josiet again for a cup of coffee and the usual chatter fest. Hayy, I must say, time with these lovely friends I found is one of my ‘decompression’ time. I get to relax, connect with others, and well, eat.. We had to extend the coffee date to lunch and met up with Elma. More girl talk and laughter. Then we decided to go shopping in Boeung Keng Kang Market.. I didn’t buy anything mostly coz it was extremely hot and I’m fussy when I’m buying stuff, but I did enjoy looking around. I really wish I could have more days like this..

Friday was a busy day again. I had to drop by Chinkee’s school to check on her new class. She has already been moved to the Grade I class though she’s about to officially start Grade I next August. Their school uses the Montessori system and once she’s ready, she was moved to the next level so the transition would be much easier. Her teacher also told me she’s exceptionally good in Math (lol! definitely not from my genes) and Art (now, that is from me.. ).  She’s now a fast reader and writing is already legible. Though I had my initial reservations about her school, I’m quite happy with the way she’s progressing in fact, I must say I’m impressed. That just proves I guess that you don’t have to choose the most expensive school, just pick the most suitable one, whichever learning environment she is most comfortable with.

After the school visit, I had to drop by the supermarket for some last minute stuff Hi-ace was bringing on his 3-day Preah Vihear-Siem Reap trip. I had to pack everything for him coz he had class till 8:30 pm and their group leaves at 2 am..

Now, its just me, Ouwie and Chinks for the next three days. I’m a bit scared but our house and the whole compound is pretty safe. My mother-in-law though was apprehensive about leaving us alone, she was just here this afternoon and kept asking me if we’ll be okay. I’m lucky, Ma is the total antithesis of the villain-like mom-in-laws, she’s really nice and always concerned about us without being pushy. But I did assure her we’ll be fine and she should not worry and I’ll call if ever we need something..

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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This is actually my second trip to Kirirom, though last time we went there it was raining hard, so no good photos and I also forgot to write about it. This time though the weather was awesome so I have plenty of photos. If you’re living in Phnom Penh, this is one of the places to escape to if the chaos of Phnom Penh gets a little unbearable.

Ok, so what’s with Kirirom? Its a National park located about 112 km from Phnom Penh, with a lush forest and pine trees. If you’re from the Philippines just imagine the place to be a little similar to Baguio or Tagaytay but with a lot less people around . It’s a very popular picnic area for Khmers as it allows them to escape the hustle and bustle plus the heat of Phnom Penh. Most Khmers go to several waterfalls near the area  and these usually have picnic huts you can rent. I noticed though that the streams were a little dried out so swimming is a little out of the question. Must be because its summer time.

Going there by public transpo is a bit hard I was told but its still possible. I saw some foreigners there too and they hired motorbikes to get there. The best way still is to have your own transportation. National Highway 4 (NH4) is pretty scenic but I was very much on my toes as there are lots of cars, taxis with kamikaze drivers. And not only that, there plenty of cows roaming around the highway so things are interesting. Once you turn towards the National Park, there are less cars, more greens…

We reached the place around 11 am, picked a picnic hut near the stream. Khmer picnic huts are usually elevated, with some nipa thatch for roofing, and mats for lounging around. Khmers love eating sitting lotus-style so its hard to find huts with tables in their picnic places.

You can bring your own food or you can order from the resto there. They serve Khmer food only. After a hearty lunch, we lounge around for a bit, while Chinks and Noel where playing around and wading on the stream.

About 2 pm we set off towards Kirirom Hillside Resort a few kilometers down from the picnic area. Nice place though it seemed a bit empty and the facilities not maintained. They also have a swimming pool (which I think was tad small and too pricey!) a cafe, and cottages for rent. They also have a mini zoo, but it was those dinosaur statues that were a big hit with the kids..

All in all, it was a very hot, tiring but really enjoyable day. Especially for the kids…And oh, check out Kirirom Hillside Resort website too.

All photos here or check out my PHOTOS page. Click on the thumbnail to activate the viewer. =)

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©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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I’ve been looking for a spa here in Phnom Penh where I could regularly have my full-body massage as well as foot massages. True, there are lots of spas and massage parlors to choose from and I’ve tried out several in the area, but most of them are quite pricey and its a little hard to indulge when I keep thinking of the cost of each massage haha. I know every since I became a mom, I’ve been a little hard on myself and I tend to be really thrifty.

Anyway, a few weeks ago, I met a lovely Filipina friend and she invited us all to her newly opened spa. It’s called Bamboo Spa and its located at No. 21 St 228. It’s quite easy to find, its  very near Pasteur (St.51) along the same street as International SOS and three doors down from the Italian restaurant – Le Dou.

They have a good range of services and their full-body massage comes highly recommended. I love the small spa ambiance, the scents of the oils and of course, the super relaxing massage. And another thing to love is the price! Full body massages cost less than $10 for more than an hour of pampering. At that price, I could easily make it a weekly indulgence! Bamboo Spa – exactly what I’ve been looking for. Pampering at an unbeatable price..

It’s a must visit.. Check out the link to the map for the Bamboo Spa location. Will post photos soon. =) And you can email  Bamboo Spa at bambootree_house@yahoo.com or call 089-630791 and look for Elma.

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©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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This is so not me! But a few days ago I had been planning our trips for the year, at least for the next six months. Hi-ace schedules are as usual very difficult to pin down. I’ve already booked tickets for our month-long Bicol, Phlippines vacation on July. I know its too early but I wanted to have the tickets already so I won’t have reason to back out. It’s just me and Chinks going because Hi-ace still have loads of classes that time as well as office work. His break will be on August 8 and our return date is on Aug 11..So, he really has no choice but to stay put.

He’s been acting morose, I know coz he loves going to the Philippines and he prefers shopping there plus I guess he just misses the place. He has already given me a long list of what he wants to be bought and I seriously think I won’t be doing much shopping for myself since he has quite a long list and I hate having too much baggage when I travel.

He’s constantly murmuring and asking me what is he going to do when were not around. I suggested going to the gym (he says no..), doing some gardening (he says maybe!), going on a short trip (he says maybe not, its boring without me and Chinks ), or maybe go play some sports (other than soccer he doesn’t play other sports) – tennis, swimming or maybe golf. But I could just imagine him swearing at the expense (he’s incredibly frugal unlike me haha!) and he’ll probably be using used golf balls just to be happy.

Anyway I promised to cook him sinigang (Pinoy style sour soup – his all-time favorite) twice a week and this seemed to perk him up a bit. I’ve also bugged him about joining his students trip to Preah Vihear this coming March 6. Initially he didn’t want to go because we weren’t going, but I pushed him into it ..(so he could take photos and I could post here hahaha), so now he’s looking forward to that as well. Ouwie, Chinks and I will be going to Sihanoukville for 3 days. Our first choice was a lazy weekend in Kep but the place I wanted to book was full so we’ll just opt for Sihanoukville for now.

I’ve also already planned Chinkee’s birthday trip which will coincide with the Khmer New Year. We’ll all be off to Ho Chi Minh city in Vietnam. That’s Chinkee’s choice, I dunno why I would have preferred going to KL or Singapore but she insists it has to be Vietnam. Lol! Her current bff is a cute Vietnamese boy and he probably is behind the choice. Anyway since its her birthday, then she can make the choice and well be staying for about 4 days there.

I’m also thinking of going to Bangkok this May, if not Sept or October if Hi-ace is still here. We’ll also be spending this year’s Christmas holidays in the Philippines since it has been two years already we had been having Christmas here and my parents are getting lonely..

And oh, aside from planning those stuff, I had also been worried about my father’s health. Last week, my mom said his blood sugar is up again and his diabetes might recur. His prostate cancer has also been in remission but just recently his PSA is going up and this worries his doctor. If things don’t improve I might also make a short trip this May to check on him..

Ahh, the things I worry about. Now back to my regular programming – blogging and updating some websites.. But wait.. It’s 10:30 am now, time for me to prepare lunch.. Ciao!

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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A few months back, Ma, my mother-in-law asked us if we wanted to go to a pagoda to get a monk’s blessings for the coming new year. Though, I am not Buddhist, I would usually come as a sign of respect and also so I could observe and learn closely their customs and traditions. After all, my husband is a Buddhist and its a big factor for both of us to understand each other’s religion.

Anyway, the trip promised to be scenic as the pagoda is located somewhere in Kampong Chhanang. The day started really early and at 6 am we were already on a tuk-tuk speeding towards Sisowath Quay near the riverside and going towards National Road No. 5. This was my first time to take a really long ride in a tuk-tuk. Ma and Hi-ace says its the best way to go, we get to enjoy the breeze and take in as much scenery as we want to. The price of the round trip ride on the tuk-tuk was unbelievably just $8!! I really am seriously in awe of Ma’s bargaining abilities.

So, it was me, Hi-ace, Chinks, our nieces Sokna and Cheng and Ma in the tuk-tuk.. The ride was really so enjoyable and I almost fell asleep being lulled by the wind and the not so bumpy ride. We had been traveling for about an hour when we turned left (lol! don’t ask me where..) towards a small market then onwards. The road became smaller and unpaved and both sides mostly lower with lots of water and some houses on stilts. We stopped for a bit to buy some lotus seeds (Ma and the nieces loves snacking on these..) and also some lotus flowers to offer in the pagoda.

The views were absolutely fantastic and so rural.. Then we reached a place with lots of cows being herded we turned right, then suddenly there was a bang! We had a flat tire and it was in the middle of nowhere, with nothing but the cows, ponds, lotus flowers and rice fields. The nice tuk-tuk driver told us to wait by the roadside and he’ll go look for a vulcanizing shop. So then, we proceeded to occupy ourselves by taking photos of ourselves and the stunning rural landscape.

After about 20 minutes of waiting, the tuk-tuk came back well and fine, then we were off again. We passed by a small cemetery for the Chinese and I just had to take photos of those. Cambodians usually cremate the remains of their dead relatives and they keep the ashes in stuppas in pagodas. As far as I know, its only the Chinese-Cambodians who have cemeteries and bury their dead in tombs. And these cemeteries are less seen near the cities so I was definitely fascinated.

After the cemetery, we came into a huge compound and that’s where the pagoda was. Our group went on to light incense the a monk approached us to tie some colorful yarn bracelet on us for good luck and some sort of blessing. Then we all waited for the head monk, gave our offerings then he proceeded to pray over us, then he was holding this short staff made of elephant tusk and carved with various images. He put some ointment on the tusk then rubbed some on our hands, on the cheeks of the kids, then he uttered some more prayers. Afterwards, an assistant brought a vase full of water, the monk blessed it, then sprinkled it over us.

Afterwards, Hi-ace, the kids and Ma had to change clothes because they also joined the ceremony where they had to be showered with holy water. Ok, I didn’t join this part for some reason so I just watched the going ons.

After that showering/blessing ritual, we all piled ourselves back on the tuk-tuk as Ma was anxious to return to Phnom Penh around lunch time. It was a marvelous experience for me. I was able to see some religious customs and also enjoy some Cambodian countryside scenery..

Click on the thumbnails to view the photos..

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A few doors down my mother-in-laws house in Toul Tompoung area, there is a Khmer restaurant (corner resto St. 432 and 163) serving espressos and iced coffees at a fraction of the price of famous coffee houses. And the taste? Whew! One of the best brews I’ve ever had. Not only that, I was amazed to find out  that most of these local cafe’s roast their own local beans so you get freshly roasted coffee which, believe me has the best taste. Khmers prefer their beans roasted really black and adds a little fat or butter making the taste a lot richer. They would usually roast their beans every other day around 2-3 pm and just the aroma is heavenly!

So, though I still frequent nice cafes around Phnom Penh (I do enjoy their plush seats, free wifi, pastries..) but every so often you can find me sampling coffee from these small restaurants found all over Phnom Penh. These shops mostly speak very little English so come prepared and have this memorized (lol! I even have a small note always with me with Khmer translation of this just in case..)

• hot black coffee – caa-fei kh’mav (khdow -hot)
• coffee – caa-fei
• iced coffee – caa-fei teuk koh
• ice coffee milk – caa-fei teuk koh tuk duh koh

Khmer coffee is usually served hot – black or with milk / iced – black or with milk. There’s also a place inside Russian Market (Tuol Tompoung Market) serving what they claim to be the Best Iced Coffee in Phnom Penh. It does taste really good, and since there are a lot of tourists in the market they can speak English, so ordering a glass of iced coffee is a breeze.

It’s located right in the food hall, just look for the sign..

And to tempt those iced coffee lovers..

I’ve already shared this passion for Khmer coffee to some of my friends and also my sister. Ouwie is now also a certified Khmer coffee addict. Lol ! I can still remembered when she first tried it, she found it so good, she had too many glasses and found herself unable to sleep and was looking for natural sleep aids. So, though its tastes really good, just have it in moderation

Happy coffee drinking!

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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• January 17, 2010 -- Ouwie’s Intro To Phnom Penh.. (0)
• November 3, 2009 -- Sour Soben, Kandal Province Cambodia (5)
• June 25, 2009 -- Keeping Chilled and Cooled in Phnom Penh.. (2)
• February 1, 2010 -- There’s a Mine! (2)
• October 19, 2009 -- Street Finger Foods – Khmer Style (13)
• August 3, 2009 -- Direct Flights – Phnom Penh to Manila via PAL to start late 2009 (15)
• July 4, 2009 -- Cambodia is Changing My Eating Habits :) (5)
• June 30, 2009 -- Techno-Savvy and Gadget Trendy Khmers (2)

One of my all time favorite Phnom Penh Markets is the O’Russey Market. It’s a six-story building, market stalls are on the first three floors, and on the surrounding streets. O’Russey Markets is a well-known wholesale market for food ingredients, seafoods,textiles, and clothing. You can also find some gardening items, mechanical tools, and electronics. Toys and food stuff you usually see being retailed in small stores across Phnom Penh are usually bought from here in bulk.

Be forewarned, this market is huge, and the pathways in between stalls are very narrow so be prepared to squeeze your way in. I always make sure I’m in my best (Divisoria-Manila like) mood whenever I venture to this market. It also helps if you can take walks for extended periods of time as there are limited resting areas around the market so best prepare with your joint supplements, a bottle of water, and something to wipe the sweat off your face. And do be careful also with your valuables.

The first floor contains mostly food items, goods for reselling, electronics, gardening supplies. But what interests me the most about this market is the upper floors. The second/third floor houses wholesalers of books and other school materials, clothing, accessories. You can also find textiles, tailoring supplies, ready-made clothing, tailoring shops and some hair and nail salons.

The best part for me is the second-hand clothing/shoe/bags/home items. We Filipinos call this UK or ukay-ukay  and this is where you can find designer items @ bargain prices not to mention unique pieces. O’Russey’s Ukay-Ukay/Second Hand stores holds a lot of great finds. I found some cute bags and shoes here but what I really really love are the curtains I discovered here. Second-hand shopping can be a bit difficult and only for those who has the gumption to sort though all the piles, but its very rewarding too..Try it for once and you’ll get hooked and one place to start your ukay-ukay hunting is the O’Russey Market.

I found this really interesting video on YouTube featuring O’Russey Market and the surrounding streets. Video courtesy of MSA Production

Click here to view the embedded video.

O’Russey Market on Google Maps

View Larger Map

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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Kung Hei Fat Choi!

Things have been hectic for me the past few days, not to mention that I was again having an asthma attack. This is the 3rd time were celebrating the Lunar New Year here in Phnom Penh and there’s a lot for me to do. We had some major cleaning to do around the house (which we usually do before the Lunar New Year comes around) to sweep away the bad luck and the hardships of the previous year. Cleaning also means we welcome the new year on a clean start. So, you can assume my muscles are really tired at the moment, so blogging will be on hold for a day. =)

Aside from cleaning, there is that offering to do and almost never ending food preparations. Thankfully, my in-laws mostly does that for me, with just me occasionally slicing some veggies and tasting the finished product. We prepared a lot of food since yesterday, I’ve already lost count on how many dishes there was. All of it was fixed on a ceremonial altar, with cups filled with tea and rice wine, and loads of incense burning.

The we all feasted on the delicious food prepared. I sure ate a lot, I bet I’ll be badly in need of diet supplements again soon. After eating we gave the kids their ‘ang pow’ or their red envelopes with money. Chinks is of course grinning from ear to ear as she amassed a lot of ang pow.

I’m now beat and needing some rest. And oh! I just remembered it Valentine’s Day tomorrow! Whew.. I’m in a bit of a panic now I forgot about that.. Anyway, I wish everyone a great 2010. Good Health, Good Fortune and Harmonious Relationships for the whole year..

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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Khmer numbers

I’ve been trying hard to learn some basic Khmer so I could get around and I decided to share this to everyone. So learn with me Aside from the basic greetings and form of addresses (see my previous post – Basic Khmer Language for the Traveler) , I believe its a must for any expat living here in Cambodia to learn about the numbers, amounts and their counting system. Why?

• Majority of the streets in Phnom Penh are in numbers. So if you want to be more mobile or you want to easily learn your way around, then first learn the numbers. Check out Canby Publications map and you’ll get what I mean.
• Yes, there are plenty of supermarkets now where prices of goods are tagged in dollars and you don’t need to haggle but all markets and some restaurants quote their prices in Khmer. I’m sure you don’t want to miss the opportunity to haggle and score bargains.

** Note that these are just approximate ‘English’ translations so we can get the closest sounds to Khmer words. These are less than perfect so to improve pronunciation and to get ourselves easily understood, its best to listen well to Khmer native speakers and practice..

• 1  -   muuy
• 2  -   pii
• 3  -   bai
• 4  -   buhn
• 5  -   phrum
• 6  -   phrum muuy
• 7  -   phrum pii
• 8  -   phrum bai
• 9  -   phrum buhn
• 10 – dop
• 11 – dop muuy
• 15 – dop phrum
• 16 – dop phrum muuy
• 20 – m’pai
• 21 – mpai muuy
• 30 – saam-suhp
• 40 – sai-suhp
• 50 – haa-suhp
• 60 – hok-suhp
• 70 – jeut-suhp
• 80 – paet-suhp
• 90 – kau-suhp
• 100 – muuy roy (* hundreds use ‘roy‘)
• 101 – muuy roy muuy
• 200 – pii roy
• 1000 – muy puan (thousands use ‘puan‘)
• 1,000,000 – muuy lian (millions use ‘lian‘)

Tips:

• Cambodians count in increments of five. After you reach the number 5 (phrum), you just then add one to five (phrum muy for 6) and so on. When you reach 10 (dop) , the cycle begins again by adding one (dop muy for 11).
• You will also often encounter some Khmers who reverses the orders of the numbers especially for numbers between 10-20 and they usually insert dun between the numbers. Example, for 12 – instead of saying dop pii, they usually say pii dun dop.
• Khmers usually also use shortcuts like instead of saying ‘muuy roy‘ for 1,000 they would say ‘ma’puan‘..
• The trick is to listen well. If you simply don’t get it, you can ask them to speak slowly, say ‘Sohm, niyeay yeut yeut..’

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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One reason I like posting my life bits is that I get to look back and put things into perspective, whenever I write short snippets of how it is like living in Phnom Penh, I appreciate new things and experiences more. I also get my chance to gloat and tell myself, ah! so I’ve accomplished that this week! If you call shopping or gossiping with friends an accomplishment =). And the best reason I like posting snippets of our life here in Phnom Penh – it saves me a LOT on my phone bills. Combined with Facebook, well this blog sure saves me a lot. I simply ask my relatives back home to check out my blog for the latest and they get updated. Sometimes they leave messages on my shoutbox (and it sometimes gets weird..) or just send me their comments through Facebook.

Okay, before I get really carried away with the why’s and wherefore’s of this post.. Here’s what I’ve been busy with the past few days..

umm, i kinda like this cartoon..

Wednesday was fun day for me with new friends I found here in Phnom Penh. Josiet invited everyone to her place and cooked a super yummy lunch for us. Pinoy favorites chicken-pork adobo,  ensaladang talong, crab meat omelette, fish in chinese-style sauce, pancit bihon, and dessert was sticky rice with mangoes. Pure yumminess, thanks J! As usual there was never ending laughter and chika with Che, Zarah, Mel and I’m glad I met another two Phnom Penhers- Ate Elma and Janette. I’m looking forward to more bonding times with these fab ladies..

this looks a lot like me when I'm cleaning..

Thursday was dust-attack day for me and my sis. I think cleaning the house is really fun with somebody around to help you out eh? Anyway, we attacked the dusty book shelves, threw out stuff we didn’t need, segregated items for recycling, dusted and scrubbed till everything was clean. Just in time to welcome the Chinese New Year next week, when everything must be spic and span clean..

Friday was working time for me. I had a lot of blog posts to be written, I’ve also decided to do a major computer cleanup and till now I’m still in the process of organizing my horde of files. I find it seriously daunting but I intend to get it done! Seriously, I have to get a bit more organized coz I’m way behind schedule of what I’ve been planning for my online work. I found myself a really cool task organizer. It’s called Taskwise and I find it really helpful. The simplest version can be downloaded for free.

I love TaskWise! Simple Task Checklist. Download it for free..

Last Friday was also Ouwie’s demo schedule at Limkokwing University. She’ was pretty excited and nervous about it, and I was waiting anxiously for news from her and when she arrived she was gushing coz yahoo!  she passed with flying colors. She’s hoping she could get a full-time position and she’s just waiting for the main branch to approve her application. I’m really hoping she could get that coz that’s what she really wants to do and where she wants to be. I’m crossing my fingers and praying hard for her..

Saturday we began work on our front porch. Were raising it leveled to the street and putting tiles so it looks better and can be easily maintained too. We’re also planning on putting a small garden set, a swing for Chinks and more greens for me. I must have been crazy coz I thought those cement tiles were light and I tried lifting some and the typically klutzy me, I sprained my right wrists and the left one was left bruised. It took two days to make it better and I swear I won’t be lifting those things again.. Anyway, the porch remodeling work is going well and will be done by this week hopefully.

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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I don’t know. For some reason, it made me feel lonely and so solitary. Like I’m in the middle of nowhere with nothing around me but just the vast expanse of water. Perhaps, it simply struck a cord with me since I’ve been feeling some homesickness lately..

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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Hi-ace then told me he’ll bring us over to one place that is uniquely Khmer. Hmm, that was enough to pique my interest. I know Khmers loves picnics so I was expecting somewhere in a park or a place with lots of mats, you sit down and order food..

After crossing the Japanese bridge, he drove on for more than 30 minutes and I was beginning to wonder where he was taking us. All I could see where fewer and fewer houses and big empty fields. Then we reached a place with houses built on top of stilts and towering over a huge pond filled with lotus plants..

I just love discovering out of the way places like this and when I saw these, I knew I was in for a treat.. Hi-ace told me this is where a lot of Khmers go for food and some R & R. So how’s the inside of those houses on stilts? Here..

You can choose which nook you want to stay in. There’s a mat and a low table in the middle and hammocks made of dried hyacinth. And I was so surprised that those hammocks was so comfy! It was no wonder I fell right into sleep after we had lunch. It’s hard to resist anyway, the food and breeze made me so sleepy..

Anyway, these places serve Khmer food and surprisingly the menus have English translation so it was easy enough for me to choose. We had beef loc lac, stir fried noodles, seafood fried rice, banana heart salad and a serving of ‘balut’. And sorry I totally forgot to take photos of the food coz I was already starving. Lol! I hope you all can cut me some slack. But take my word for it, the food was really, really good. Better than most fancy eating places in Phnom Penh!

I already swore I will drag Hi-ace back there the next chance I get! Now I know why those Khmers are so into those kinds of places. The food is great, and though the decor is not fancy but the comfy hammock and the cool natural breeze is more than enough to make up for it, and best of all, the price! I was shocked, we ate a lot and it didn’t even cost more than $20!! The only thing I didn’t like much was the karaoke singing. I wouldn’t have minded it really except that it was super loud, I swear my eardrums where hurting. Good thing it started when we were already done with our naps. But they do seem to be enjoying it a lot so I’m fine with it.

Hi-ace now keeps laughing at me coz I keep asking him to go there every chance I get and I know he’s secretly laughing at me coz I’m having a hard time losing weight here especially with all those delicious temptations. Wait till I bug him about buying me a dip machine or elliptical. He sure won’t be making fun of me anymore..

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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Lol! The ceiling was low and the sign was just a kind warning. I’ve now decided to be on the constant lookout for funny signs like this, uniquely Khmer!

Guess I’ve posted enough for now. Off now to check out some Korean stores and look for a dehumidifier. Both me and Chinks keep having colds and since we both have asthma, we need this pretty badly Ciao!

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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Friday..

Met the Fabulous Pinay’s of Phnom Penh (haha! yeah I call them that..) Zarah, Josiet, and Che (blog ka na ulit, Che so I could link ) @ our now fave hangout Brown Cafe. After about 2 hours of girl talk, we all decided to have lunch at Khmer restaurant – Sugar Palm along St 240. Hmmm, food was bland and a bit pricey so I must say I have tasted better stuff. But then again, the company was great so I forgot about the not-so-good food.

After lunch, we went off to check boutiques along St. 240. Love this street, definitely a fashionista’s haven with elegant boutiques and Cambodian silk and product stores along the sides. Then, we checked Diva boutique along St. 57 , well a bit pricey but they do carry  a good selection of brands like Bebe, Guess etc, though they tend to stock on teeny weeny sizes.

After Diva, we all went different ways and Che invited me to meet her cutie daughter Isabelle. Their place is just a few meters walk so I happily agreed. Met the pretty doll-like Isabelle. I also got to hitch-hike home with Che’s nice help, Pheary who lives near my place. That must be my lucky day =).

After a few hours rest at home, my sister wanted to check out City Mall, Phnom Penh’s latest shopping heavyweight, right beside Olympic Stadium. We roamed around the mall, and seriously, I’ve been there a couple of times, but the layout still mystify’s me and I always manage to get lost several times each visit. We got so exhausted and ended up having dinner at Pizza World coz Chinks was demanding to eat spaghetti..

Saturday..

Chores in the morning. Then afternoon, Ouwie and I went to O’Russey Market. We have this goal to go on market tours every weekend and after the Russian Market last week, we picked O’Russey Market mainly because of the second-hand clothes/bags/shoes stores there. We are so into “ukay-ukay”! But that day, it was so crowded we didn’t end up buying anything in the ukay-ukay section but I saw a couple of things I will definitely go back for. Like that gauzy, silver and gold embroidered second-hand curtain. We also got to buy half-dozen colorful shorts for only 3000 Riels, which Chinks likes wearing at home.

After walking around the different sections, Ouwie and I decided we had enough already and we were already sweating profusely. My throat was screaming for some iced coffee so I dragged Ouwie to Brown Cafe. Hah! Heavenly! We also took out some muffins and chocolate cake for Chinks and she loved it.

Sunday..

Morning, workers came to the house to add more sand to the backyard. They had been at it for a couple of months already and were almost done. Then well just have to wait for it to be compressed and start planning our home renovation. Around 9 am, Hi-ace and I went to Russian Market where we usually buy our weeks supply of veggies, seafoods and some meat. We prefer buying in the wet markets since we get to have the freshest and also it’s really almost half the price of what’s in the supermarkets.

I was also in the mood to cook for lunch, so I marinated some pork and grilled it, Pinoy way! I love the way Pinoy’s make barbeque with lots of garlic, say sauce, bit of sugar, kalamansi juice and pepper. Then I made that sour garlic-chili sauce that Khmers are so fond of, and it went perfectly with the barbeque. Hi-ace also prepared some crunchy mangoes with chili-salt mix. And since Chinks cannot eat without soup, I made that Khmer fave – ampalaya (bittergourd) stuffed with ground pork mixed with garlic, pepper, salt. Then boiled with chopped onion leaves. Suffice it to say, we had a really sumptuous lunch!

After lunch, I decided to set up a home network at home for my PC and the netbooks we have at home. I wanted to use the router so we could all access the internet all at the same time. Took me an hour then voila! it’s was working! You can now imagine Chinkee’s glee that she doesn’t have to wait for me to get off my computer to start playing Playhouse Disney games.

I had a couple of hours to kill before fixing dinner so I watched an episode of City Hall ( a Korean Drama..) Okay… the first two episodes were  lame but after the third one I’m getting hopelessly hooked. Kim Sun Ah is simply awesome, one of the better Korean actresses..

Late afternoon, Hi-ace’s bestfriend Norrong and his Filipina wife, Netcy (hi ganda! O you’re mentioned here ) dropped by and invited all of us to have dinner. Of course, it’s Pinoy food and where else but our favorite Pinoy carenderia here in Phnom Penh – MJ’s Carenderia @ St. 294 right beside the North Korean Embassy. As usual we had a blast making ‘okray’ of different things and the food was great. Fish escabeche, pinakbet, calamares, lechon kawali, sinigang na hipon..

I guess I just ate too much and now I’m writing too much..:) Anyway, I hope everyone had a good weekend.

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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There’s room for improvement though and I’ve noticed that most of these sites contain similar job postings, so best check all out and choose which sites has the functionality and interface you feel at ease at. Just click on the site name and it’ll link you up with the website..

• CamHr – good interface, easy navigation plus the categorization are a big help. Focused primarily on jobs and recruitment. Good listing and constantly updated.
• BongThom – popular classified ads site with job openings section. I like the wealth of information you can find here but I do wish they could improve how the site looks.
• KhmerWS – job listings, forums, chat. Clean interface though the listings available are not as extensive as the two sites mentioned above.
• EBMCambodia – well designed website, good navigation, easy to use. Good number of job listings plus ability to filter your job search. You can also find language training, career training as well as overseas study postings.
• PelPrek – good listing, clean and simple interface. Also features some downloadable resources for job seekers.
• CambodiaJobPage – more like an aggregator of several Cambodia job sites. Jobseekers can also post their resumes for potential employers to browse.

Other useful sites:

• CambodiaJobs –  a blog brimming with information about Cambodia job postings, scholarships, training, volunteer posts etc.
• JobsAbroad – excellent resource for teaching, internship, volunteer and job opportunities abroad.

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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But after a half-day of trying to learn I was learning bit by bit, enough already for me to drive several meters haha! I was surely gaining a little confidence about my being on the road.

To get to my story, something happened to scare me off again. Hi-ace has a couple of classes in two universities and he has to hurry to get to those classes. He doesn’t have much time in between classes so he prefers to ride a motorbike to get there faster especially since those classes are during the rush hours. So two days ago, he was on a rush again, and it has started drizzling making the roads slippery. And on his way to his class in PUC he was near Pencil Supermarket when he had a minor accident. There is a part there where the road is not even and he didn’t see it plus the road was wet and he slipped on the side.

Thankfully, he got off with just a scrape on his elbows and hand. When he got home and told me about it, I was really horrified and imagined that happening to me. Geez, I probably should get myself a life insurance first before getting on a motorbike again. For now my riding lessons are on a hiatus till I gather the courage again to try.

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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