Construction Here in Phnom Penh..

Hmm, I know some are a bit curious about costs in constructing a house or concrete fixtures here in Phnom Penh and so I’ve been bugging Hi-ace for some details and pointers..If you want to construct a house, you either hire a contractor,set a budget and a plan, pay for the whole thing and they’ll make it for you. This is okay if you don’t have loads of time to supervise the construction, and you have complete trust in the contractor to deliver exactly what you have in mind.

He also told me there are of course, contractors who cheat, since those who go by this route rarely take the time to be actively involved in the teeny weeny details of the construction, chances are you’d end up with a house with sub-standard materials. But then of course, this also has a lot of advantages, since you don’t have to worry about buying your own bricks, cement, steel and other materials like stainless steel drums, flooring tiles etc..So you save precious time.

Another option you can take is to hire laborers and a foreman. This is the option we always take whenever we have construction needs. Luckily, Hi-ace has one really good friend who has a group of construction laborers. They don’t come really cheap but their work is really good and very reliable. In this case, you provide the materials, and they just do the constructing bit. So you have complete control over the material quality, the costs, but it also demands a lot of time. Materials are really expensive here in Phnom Penh so it pays so shop around and be cost-effective.

In any case, building a house or even a fence for that matter is a huge thing. It’s not something like buying a tv set, where if you don’t like it you can simply ditch or replace it. So whichever way you go, make sure that you end up with a finished product that is worth the money you paid for.

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Angkor Wat Temples – Small Tour

I’m calling it the small tour coz we covered only the top temples, the ‘must sees’ for any new visitor to Angkor Wat. We only had a day to do it hence the small tour choice. It was also scorching hot, so we just picked the one’s conveniently located near each other so we won’t have a hard time especially since my 7 year old daughter was with us.

Moat surrounding Angkor Wat..

The Angkor Archeological Park is located a few kilometers from Siem Reap city. The first time I went there I thought the temples were close together but I was surprised to learn that the park actually covers a huge huge area with hundreds of temples dotted everywhere. Visitors either go by hired cars, some by bikes and more popularly by tuk-tuks. We made arrangements for our tuk-tuk for the day. Costs $15 for the whole day and we could take him anywhere except Banteay Srei and other far flung temples. We did not hire any guide since Hi-ace was with us anyway, and I had a guidebook in hand.

Road to Angkor Thom

We left early. A little past 6 we were already on the way. We missed out on the sunrise since Chinks was difficult to wake up and I didn’t have the heart to drag her while she was still sleepy. We decided to do this route:

Morning: Angkor Thom Gate, The Bayon Temples, Terrace of the Elephants, Terrace of the Leper King, Ta Phrom, Banteay Kdei. Afternoon: Angkor Wat and Phnom Bakheng.

Angkor Thom Gate

At around 11 am it was already scorching hot so we decided to drive back to Siem Reap. Had a leisurely lunch in Pub Street, then we went back to the hotel for a quick swim and nap. Then at around 3:30 pm we were back exploring Angkor Wat and after that we were just on time for watching the sunset in Phnom Bakheng..

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A Bit of Siem Reap City..

I’ve finally gotten around to posting this! You see I find it so easy to string words together for a post but whew! editing pictures is a lot of work for me. I download photos from my camera by batches and more often than not I get too overwhelmed by the volume of photos I need to edit. I don’t take the best photos so all needs a bit of cropping, adjusting brightness etc and I also need to compress it to save on my server space and for fast loading..

Khmer Traditional Puppets on display at the Old Market

And a blog post without much photo for me is just bleh! Anyway, last May we took advantage of the few days holiday to bring Ouwie to Siem Reap. We had been wanting to do this but Siem Reap always takes the back seat whenever we hie off somewhere for the weekend.I’ll be dividing this into two parts, this first part will be all about Siem Reap City and the next one will be all on the Angkor Wat temples..

Alley St..Boutiques, galleries, restaurants, bars..

We left Phnom Penh early by bus. We find this a lot more convenient to go around as there’s plenty of bus services and its very affordable too. The trip was uneventful, the road in excellent condition and at around 1 pm we were already in Siem Reap. The hotel I booked has a free pick up service so it was an added convenience.

I love Siem Reap, not just the temples but the city itself. And Ouwie aptly described Siem Reap as ‘cozy’ and friendly place. I love those quaint little souvenir shops, almost endless rows of restaurants and bars, and of course, galleries, galleries and more galleries. Those who travel with me knows, I could just walk the whole day soaking up the atmosphere of the place, and I would appreciate it all the more if there are galleries and craft shops.

That’s actually what we did the whole afternoon after we got there. Once we checked in the hotel, we picked one that is close to the Old Market so everything was just a short walk away, we just wandered about different shops, eateries..

Check out more photos at my Photo Gallery page..

Wordless Wednesday 08: Loaded

A common sight here in Cambodia..

Laugh-Inducing Fish Massage in Siem Reap

I heard about this countless times before and I swore I won’t give it a try. But on our first day in Siem Reap, I jumped ahead and gave it a try. That should say something about my conviction eh?

I hope you understood at least a little of the above signage..

I was just so curious as to why this became a popular thing in Siem Reap and I was filled with pity with those little fishes begging to have some dead skin out of my feet. Looking at my unkempt feet gave me the last prompt to give this ‘fish massage’ a try.

And besides the signage says if the fish cannot make me happy I won’t be charged and I’ve also managed to convince Hi-ace to join me. Hehe..This has got to be one of the most unique experiences I had..

They are so hungry..

First, I had my feet washed with warm water, then toweled dry. Then, its time to submerge my feet on the water and feed those fishes. The fishes looked so hungry and fierce that for a minute I got scared. Hi-ace telling me that the fish will probably eat the meat off my feet bones was not helping either, but it’s not like were violating the gulf coast jones act, so I just closed my eyes and plunged my feet in.

please just ignore my humongous feet..

hi-ace’s feet.. Why does it look better than mine? ugh!

Then I screamed! God, it was so ticklish.. Not painful. More like a thousand fingers tickling your feet. I couldn’t help but laugh like crazy the whole time.

Definitely a recommended and unique experience. Of course, the dead skin is still there. But at least for 20 minutes I could laugh my heart out. And oh! they also give out free drinks =).  Chinks got so jealous of us laughing like that so the next day she gave had her own tickle fest too..

Chinks.. she’s complaining why there’s less fish eating her dead skin..

Discovering Cambodian Beauty Salons

The first time I came to Phnom Penh I was amazed by the number of beauty salons operating in the city. There’s practically a salon in every nook and cranny here much like the conspicuous “sari-sari” stores (small retail stores selling sundry items in communities and usually run by housewives)  in the Philippines. Of course, there are also “sari-sari” stores here but I just observed that the number of beauty parlors/salons far outstrips the number  of “sari-sari” stores in most neighborhoods.

Hmmn, Khmer ladies must be vainer than I thought. Over time, I discovered the reason for this and why even with the sheer number of salons here, you still have to queue if you want to have your hair done especially during Saturdays and Sundays..

Khmer’s loves parties, wedding parties in particular. While I was used to attending weddings back home simply attired in casual wear or a cocktail dress and minimal makeup, here in Cambodia, its a different matter. No matter what kind of wedding you are attending, whether the guest reception is on makeshift tents on the streets or in a luxury hotel, all guests come in formal dress with matching elaborate hair and makeup and guys in formal clothes even with bow ties (which I think is uggh! I daresay only James Bond looks good in a bow tie). Back home, there’s an unspoken rule – during weddings, it’s the bride’s day so no one should be lovelier than the bride. I guess that doesn’t apply here and I do find it trying most of the time to distinguish which one is the bride (^o^).

At first, I was really bemused by this. I didn’t understand why and I simply assumed it was all for vanity’s sake. I asked my husband why bother to spend about 3 hours in a salon when you’re just a guest and you go there to greet the couple, then you eat so all in all you spend about an hour in the party. If you attend a wedding a couple of times per month then that is several times visit to the salon. Hairstyling and makeup costs about $5 and up depending on the salon you choose. So salons are really good business here. Is it really worth all the time and money? I dunno but who cares if for only for one day you would feel as glamorous as any socialite?

A Khmer co-worker of my friend once attended a wedding on a Sunday. She spent about 2 hours getting her hair styled and another half an hour applying makeup. She wanted to make the most of the time and money spent so after the wedding party she didn’t remove her makeup, slept sitting upright on a chair so her hairstyle wouldn’t be spoiled. The next morning she went to office elaborately made up with an extravagant hairstyle..Now, wouldn’t that be startling to have a co-worker looking like she’s on her way to a grand party?

Out of curiosity, I tried out the hairstyling services in several salons here and I was amazed by the creativity of these stylists. They could come up with extremely elaborate hairstyles in about an hour. I’d say if you want your hair looking like a garden ;P, or a weaved basket or you want to have the Imelda Marcos look, they could easily whip up your hair in any style you want. A friend here jokingly told me, “Cambodian beauty salons are staffed with stylists with Master’s Degree in hairstyling, makeup and hair straightening.” Lol! If there is such a degree, I would say hairstylists here would easily make the grade.

As for makeup, they are pretty good at it too the way I see it, they just prefer using bold colors but if you want something subtle, then tell tell the makeup artist otherwise you might end up with brilliant green eyeshadows ( I saw one and honestly, she looked really odd..). Personally, I prefer applying makeup by myself since I’m kinda picky about the sponges and the brushes they use in salons.

And, oh, another thing I find a little odd here – They love fake eyelashes, so if you don’t want to wear one or you don’t want to look like you have just been electrocuted and have a perpetually surprised expression, tell the stylist beforehand.

All photos are from a fashion magazine I was browsing when I was having my shampoo and drying done. No copyright violation intended, I simply wanted to give you guys an idea of how creative stylists here can be.

Wordless Wednesday 06: Intricate

Photo taken from a Khmer Restaurant, Battambang Cambodia

Khmers are well know for their artistry and their carving skills. Well, after all they made the fabulously intricate Angkor Wat temples. So it was not surprising to see wood carvings like these around the country. Some of the best I saw are in on display on some pagodas and some Khmer restaurants..

Finally! A Real Fashion Mag in Cambodia

Don’t get me wrong, I love Cambodia to pieces and I consider it now my second home. But there are times I think of things I miss and am on the diet for just because of living here. Sure, coffee here is delish and there’s close to a gazillion coffee shops around, but I miss Starbucks sometimes. I also miss Manila’s humongous malls, I miss Divisoria. I miss those craft shops in Quiapo. And many other things..

Another thing I miss are fashion magazines! I’m not a fashionista, nor do I obsess with brands. But I like knowing what’s in and what’s going on with the world of fashion etc. When I was in Manila I used to stock up on fashion mags and I specially loved Preview. And we don’t didn’t have that here in Phnom Penh. Really, in my desperation to keep myself abreast with the trends I turned into obsessive online surf shopping and even managed to create two blogs for my finds! See Lui-Bloggera and Feminine Reveries.

So, I was pleasantly surprised, no really I was ecstatic to see a fashion magazine one time I was doing my groceries. And it was in English!!  Finally, a mag I could read! It’s called the FMagazine, and I was also intrigued with their tagline – ‘The First Fashion Forward Magazine in Cambodia.” I grabbed myself a copy and was surprised! It was actually good. I love the styling, I seriously didn’t recognize the Khmer singer on the cover coz she looked so ‘sushyal ba’ haha, the layout was great. All in all, it was pretty impressive for a magazine just on its 5th issue. I wish to see more articles but the ones they had were good too. It features a lot of fashion trends from abroad intermixed with local fashion finds, places to be and I think its amazing to see local Khmer celebrities styled and looking really fashionable for a change.

I’m making the mag now a monthly treat for myself. And oh, I realized that yeah, this thing is bound to get some comments like, ‘sus, Cambodia is a poor country, so a fashion forward magazine is not really needed now or going high-class is too much for a country where most people earn less than $2 a day..” Some conservatives consider fashion as trivial and too frivolous but guess what, if a community wants to progress and move on, it has to embrace and learn about culture too. Fashion is inevitably part of that. And if you really think about it, fashion encompasses a big industry, one that Cambodians have a serious chance to play a role at.

And besides, having trendy mags like this would slowly open the locals eyes to new things, new trends, to explore more.  A little fashion education wouldn’t hurt a bit, right? I think FMagazine’s efforts to introduce new things to locals is highly commendable and here’s to hoping for good things for them.