pinaywifespeaks » Society and Culture

A Visit to Wat Vihear Sour in Prey Veng

Lui — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 05:55:59 +0000

Prey Veng is a Cambodian province not usually mentioned in tourist guides, and for some reason places like these appeal more to me. So when my sister-in-law suggested we go there, visit some family friends and also visit Wat Vihear Sour, a well known pagoda, I was all set to tag along. We also heard that in this pagoda, there is one temple that is home to a deity, said to be generous in granting wishes of good luck, wealth and specially fertility. I think this is one of the reasons why my in-laws wanted to make the trip. My younger brother-in-law and his wife have been trying for a baby for some years already and now they wanted to make an offering in that pagoda and ask for help to make their wish come true.

When I heard about this I was mighty curious. I’m not Buddhist but that doesn’t mean I don’t try to learn more or understand more of their beliefs. I always try to keep an open mind about these things and who knows if your wish can be granted. We’ve also been talking about having a second child, with the kiddo very eager to wear her little nurse uniform and be a ‘baby sitter’. Lol. So it wouldn’t hurt if we pray for one while we are there. And besides this reason, drives to Cambodian provinces is always delightful for me. You never know what you’ll see or encounter, aside from the lush, almost undisturbed countryside.

We left about 9 am and the drive was really pleasant. Just under 2 hrs with the roads all new and paved. To say that it was a picturesque drive would be an understatement. Most of the places around Phnom Penh are vast and unpopulated. Most are farmlands. Which makes me realize that Cambodia really has a smaller population compared to other places or perhaps majority are just concentrated on urban areas. Anyway, I’ll let the pics tell my story now…

Wat Vihear Sour has this huge ‘lake’..

This pagoda complex is huge and has several temples you can offer prayers and receive blessings. One can offer food, flowers, incense. In this pagoda you can also get some blessed water and wash your face with it for good luck.

A small temple located a few hundred meters from the big main temple is where the fertility deity is…Here you can make offerings, then a group of clergymen called a’chaa will pray with you. If you are wishing for a child, the a’chaa will bless a small lotus flower and put in the swollen belly of the deity and the girl will ‘pick’ it out of her. The couple would then wipe blessed water on their abdomen, then also drink three times. You will then be given the lotus flower to bring home and once you are home, to soak it in water and take a sip three times.

You can also ask for luck for business etc, by offering any bill and putting it inside the deity’s bag. Then after praying for a short while you can get back the bill and keep it for luck. It’s a pretty interesting ritual to see and I do feel privileged to see, experience and be a part of this. This is a part of Cambodia culture one doesn’t easily experience from your usual tourist places..

Cambodia Snapshots: Nom Ban Chouk Vendor

Lui — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 02:40:58 +0000

I gotta post this before I forget about entirely. Lol. I’m on the hunt for holiday gift ideas so I’ll be preoccupied throughout the weekend.

Love this shot of a lady Nom Ban Chouk vendor. It’s a kind of home made rice noodle dish, drizzled with flaked fish sauce cooked in creamy coconut milk and spices, garnished with mint, banana heart, cucumber, bean sprouts, lotus stem etc. It’s actually delicious and Khmers favor eating it for breakfast as well as afternoon snacks. Check out my previous entry to see how it looks like – Trey Nom Ban Chouk. And they usually buy it from the markets or from roving vendors like the lady in the photo.

Pretty amazing sight, right? And these ladies do have excellent balance. And to think that they walk about and carry even the bowls, noodles and all, See, she even has a small plastic stool to sit on every time she needs to prepare a bowl of noodles for a customer.

Cambodia Snapshots: Khmer Wedding Rites

Lui — Sat, 14 May 2011 05:53:09 +0000

I’ve been meaning to post about Cambodian wedding rites, but I just keep putting it off. Mainly because the rites are quite lengthy, so its going to be a very looong post. I have photos of Khmer wedding in detail but procrastination really keeps me from completing the post. I think I’ll make that a must-do this month.

Here’s a sneak peek. Khmer weddings are elaborate and long-winded affairs. But its very colorful and interesting as well. This one on the photo is just one of the numerous rites during the wedding ceremony. I am totally in awe at the bold colors Khmers are so fond of mix and matching. They are not shy about using colors and I love the way they wear it. Also the flowers, accessories are very interesting.

I have intentionally pixelated the photos. These were taken during my brother-in-law’s wedding, and I am mindful of preserving their privacy although they did consent to me taking photos and using it here.

Invites and More Invites…

Lui — Thu, 05 May 2011 02:10:21 +0000

From the title, one would think I’m like some social butterfly. Hahahaha! My friends would be the first ones to laugh at that. I’m okay with socializing, I’m just not soo crazy or obsessed with it. Truth is, I’m a bit shy. {Really.} So a constant avalanche of party invitations was not what I expected when we moved here in Phnom Penh.

Khmers loves weddings and parties. And they would go out of their way to invite everyone they know, even if you’re not close. Even if you’re merely ‘nodding acquaintances’ don’t be surprised to get an invite to someone’s wedding, birthday or house opening etc. It’s nice, really. Sometimes. It took me awhile to get used to it since back home, when we have parties we invite people who really matter to us. Close relatives, family.. I think its a different case here. The more people you can bring to your party the better. It takes getting used to but after almost three years, I’m not surprised to get a lot of invitations every month. More so I guess because hubby is Khmer. But if you’re an expat here and have a few Khmer friends, you’re bound to get an invite sooner or later.

And when you’re invited, you have to show up dressed up. I always make an effort now to be dressed up when attending these parties otherwise you’d totally stand out if you’re so dressed down. Khmers love dressing up and when it comes to weddings they go all out. Formal attire, gowns and with matching bouffant hairdo’s and heavy makeup.

Also, these parties have registers. When you go in, you have to give your invitation and they’ll write down your name on the register. Gifts are in the form of cash. Yes, cash. Although its alright to give something wrapped for house opening parties or birthdays, the most acceptable gift is cash. You have to put it in the invitation envelope with your name and they will also write the amount you give in the register. I was at first shocked at this and badgered hubby why the need to write it down. It’s embarrassing you know. But that is the custom here so…one just adjusts.

My one beef is that, since we get a lot of invites its a considerable dent on the monthly budget. No kidding. The lowest minimum you can give is $10-15. For really close relatives and friends on average you give $20-30. Imagine getting 10 or more invites a month! And don’t include there your dressing up costs! Sigh. I told my husband, from what we ‘contribute’ to these parties we could get ourselves an insurance coverage from Wholesaleinsurance.net! Or I could buy myself 100 pairs of shoes every year.

I know some would say, Oh! just decline the invite.. Yeah, but in Asian society its not very polite to do so. At the same time you’re at risk of burning bridges and hurting sensitive feelings. And hubby says its one way of networking. Sigh. What can one do? At least its an excuse to glam up and eat. Lolz. A friend on mine said, when she goes to Khmer weddings she just pretends its an eat-all-you-can restaurant and eat a lot. After all, she’s expected to pay for her meal.

And oh, one thing. The photo above, those are just a few invites we got last Feb. I do have to say, they love color and stuff a lot of decor on their invites. Really interesting and maddeningly ornate. Makes me want to collect it.

Happy Khmer New Year!

Lui — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 06:13:58 +0000

Chol Chnam Thmey or Cambodian New Year is almost here. For Phnom Penhites like me, that means a week long quiet time, less traffic! Most Khmers hightail it to provinces to be with relatives and celebrate. For most who stay in the city, well its time to relax!!! No school, no traffic, I should say this week would be like my little nirvana in Phnom Penh. And oh, there are also a lot of SALE in a lot of stores. Lol! Trust me always to mention shopping, ok?

Of course, the Independence Monument and most stretch of Norodom Blvd. is bedecked with lights and last night I went there just to take a photo of the monument. Heh! And I picked this shot – a little blurry perhaps but this is simply how I think of Phnom Penh now. This city is on the fast track, like its hurtling towards development..

The Khmer New Year lasts for three days, this time from April 14th. This celebration marks the end of harvest season and its time for the farmers to be merry and enjoy the fruits of their labor.

Happy Khmer New Year!

Excuse me, but I AM HERE!

Lui — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 04:35:17 +0000

There are times I want to say this – “Excuse me, but I AM HERE!”

Why?

Here’s an observation of how some Khmers usually talk. Note that I am not generalizing all Khmers, but living in Phnom Penh for the past three years have made me acutely aware of how most Khmers converse. At first, I got offended. Who wouldn’t be? I mean I’m right there, I’m humongous, one’s eyesight cannot miss me!! but I still get ignored in conversations. Lol!

A lot of Khmers like talking in third person. For example, all my Khmer relatives know my name, but to date they still refer to me as ‘Chinkee Mama’. Lol! I know it sounds like a brand of noodles, but I’ve learned to live with it. Also, even when you are present and participating in the conversation, they would still refer to you as a third person.

I think they also consider this polite if you refer to yourself in third person. Perhaps this is part of their language or culture. Another reason could be most of them are shy particularly around foreigners. A friend of mine who is also married to a Khmer told me she talks about herself in third person specially when speaking with elders. Example, when she’s about to leave for work, she tells her mother-in-law, ‘ Ma, your son’s wife or your daughter-in-law is now leaving for work.’

So, though at first it piqued me, coz it strikes me as impolite, but its not. So now, I find amusement whenever I’m referred to as a ‘third-person’ I think there are really things that one has to learn specially when dealing with another culture. And I always remind myself now not to be quick to judge.

Common Cambodia Sights: Heavily Loaded!

Lui — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 05:49:55 +0000

When I first visited Phnom Penh way back in 2004, I was just alarmed at how vans and other vehicles cram every space in their car till its almost bursting at their seams. It scares me to just stay behind these cars for fear they would suddenly ‘unload’ their load on us. lol! Safety here obviously is not of primary concern. Insurance, injury lawyers like personal injury Tucson are almost ignored or unheard of.

Especially vans travelling to provinces are soooo crammed full of people, goods. It’s an ordinary thing to see a motorbike or two hanging at the end part of vans with just a teeny weeny rope holding it in place. I told hubby about this concern and he said, people particularly in the provinces make do with the limited resources they have. Petrol is expensive and the vans traveling back and forth to these areas are limited so they have to fill it up with their supplies as much as they can.

I can understand that but I also fear for their safety. I wish they government could do something about establishing about a better transportation option and an effective railway system would help them out. Cargoes like this are better transported using trains don’t you think?

Every time I see a van filled up to the gills, I can’t help but utter a silent prayer. To keep their passengers and motorists safe.

Typical Khmer City Houses

Lui — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 13:08:02 +0000

Somebody asked me how does your average Khmer city house looks like. So then I scoured my miscellaneous Phnom Penh snapshots for some photos that might show how the usual houses in the city looks like.Please do excuse the hazy and tilting quality of the photos, most of these were taken while I was on the move or riding something.

typical Phnom Penh narrow flats…

Anyway, here’s what I’ve observed. Well off Khmers usually prefer to live in villas. Villas of gargantuan sizes are all around the city. I’m actually in love with a lot of fusion style French-Khmer villas but these are getting less and less now.

But ordinary Khmers usually live in flats. Narrow houses with several floors. I like this style coz its very practical. Majority of the flats here use the first floor as a commercial area. And the upper floors as living areas. It’s also noticeable that most Khmer houses in the city are running a business on their houses.

businesses on the ground floor, living quarters on the upper floors

Another thing I’ve noticed is that, many houses usually don’t have much furnishings on the first floor. Although yes, they are modernly furnished with modern furniture, still they are not much into creating a space as ‘living room’. Since these flats are narrow in width, the supposed living area usually doubles as parking area for their cars at night. Also, though living room sofas are now fast gaining popularity, a lot of Khmer houses still make use of day beds as lounging and sitting place.

massive gates, accordion doors..

A feature also of Khmer city houses are the massive gates they put around their properties. And the whole house is usually encompassed with metal bars which I think is great for security but I also have worries about fire hazards and lack of ventilation.

I did wonder before why lot sizes are very narrow in front but has a depth of about 12 – 20 meters. Apparently, this stems from the French who use to base real estate taxes on the width of the front. Makes sense to me now and come to think of it, lot sizes and narrow houses similar to these can also be seen in Vietnam right?

Living in Phnom Penh: Celebrating Lunar New Year, The Khmer Way

Lui — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 06:26:02 +0000

Cambodia has a sizable Chinese population and their influence in the Khmer culture is really evident. From their food, language and also their traditions and rituals. It’s hardly surprising that Chinese New Year is celebrated here in a more festive manner than the International New Years.

The Lunar New Year is not an official holiday here in Cambodia but even non-Chinese Khmers look forward to this occasion. Most shops and business are closed for a few days. Everything is quiet and majority just stay home, making offerings and praying, while the rest hightail it to the provinces.

Hubby’s family stays home mostly and observe a lot of rituals. They cook a lot of food (seriously a lot..and can last a few days..), make offerings, visit relatives, give gifts, on the first two days. Then the following days are usually rest days. All in all the celebration-holiday lasts for about 5 days.

Anyway, after we were done with offerings and prayers for the first day, we had nothing else to do. Most businesses were closed so Hi-ace decided we go visit the Chinese temple in Takhmao. So off we went. But it was soooooo crowded. I just ended up taking photos of the temple entrance.

A lot of people – Chinese and non-Chinese alike, were lining up the streets buying sugar cane stalks, pomegranate fruits and leaves and mien fruit which they will take inside the temple to be blessed. They believe sugar cane to bring in good luck, help foster harmonious relationships, the pomegranate they believe to ward off bad luck and evil, and the mien/longgan bring in prosperity and wealth.

We did not go inside the temple but instead went to another Chinese temple a few hundred meters from the first one. I love this temple and regularly visit. It’s pretty colorful, ornate, and not so crowded. There was mini-dragon dance and Chinks loves looking at their turtle pond..

[SinglePic not found]

It was a festive time, and I hope the new year brings us a lot of luck. But for now, I’m also glad the celebration is over. Well, mainly because my diet was ruined and it was exhausting..

[SinglePic not found]

Updated Post: Internet Service Providers in Phnom Penh

Lui — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 03:37:42 +0000

I’ve been getting lots of emails, inquiries about my previous post about Finding the Ideal Internet Service Provider in Phnom Penh. And I also just realized the post was dated 2009 so its really out of date and cannot be of much help to anyone.

Thankfully, the fierce competition between ISP’s and with mobile phone networks joining the fray, has been so beneficial for us subscribers. On my previous post, I lamented the fact that internet here is so pricey. Not anymore. And that deserves a big YAY! from me. Whereas before one has to shell out hundreds just to get a lousy connection at home, now, you don’t have to spend big bucks to have a decent one.

I’m currently using Metfone’s METNET service. For some reason I think someone up above is favoring me and my 256 kbps connection has been reliable most of the time. Note that this uses a cable transmission wire and the only interruptions I’ve experienced was when the wires are cut off because of huge construction trucks annoyingly carting over the cable wires and cutting it off. And METNET’s technical team has been great at rushing over and getting it fixed usually within a few hours after I make a call.

I subscribed to a 256 kbps ($25/month) unlimited subscription. I was given this rate perhaps because were an old subscriber coz when I checked their current rates this is supposed to be $45. Also, whenever I do speed tests, I usually get numbers higher than my subscription.

So that’s why I’m sticking to MetNet for now. BUT, I can only speak for my location {Boeung Tompeun Area} coz some areas I’ve heard MetNet’s service is not as good. So I guess this is all a ‘wait-and-see’ game. If it doesn’t work, then its cheap enough to get another ISP provider.

Here’s a new and updated list of ISP’s here in Phnom Penh..{This is by no means a complete list, if you know new ISP’s, please leave a comment with the link so I could keep it updated}

Phnom Penh Mobile 3G Providers:

CellCard (Mobitel)
MFone
Hello
Smart (recently merged with Star Cell)
Beeline
QB More
MetFone 3G
Excell

Most of the providers introduces new packages, promotions, tariffs every so often so I won’t be including their internet packages in this post. Please just visit the links to get the most updated offerings.

Internet Service Providers:

MFone Broadband
Ezecom
ClickNet
Metfone’s METNET
Online
MekongNet
Camintel
CamNet
AngkorNet
CityLink
TeleSurf
PPCTV Broadband
DigiNet
Wizion (Chuan Wei)
WiCam
NeoCom
CambodianBroadband

Gong Xi Fa Cai from Pinaywifespeaks

Lui — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 01:57:05 +0000

Just wanna wish everyone a happy and lucky Chinese New Year! We just finished our offering and prayers and will be off shortly to have a few more new year rituals, but I’m dropping this short post to wish everyone Gong Xi Fa Chai {Wish you an increase in wealth..)

And oh, I really wanted to share some Hong Bao / Ang Pao to my dear readers, but hehe I could only manage a virtual one. Here’s to wishing everyone prosperity and good opportunities this year…

Wan Shi Ru Yi to all..

Living in Phnom Penh: Day Trip To Phnom Chisor

Lui — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 03:19:00 +0000

I think its safe to say, I’m now fully recovered. No I wasn’t injured or hospitalized. My muscles were just a bit traumatized. Lol! I think next time somebody asks me to go somewhere I have to ask what the ‘trip’ entails. Coz after this trip, I felt like I played xbox 360 games for 48 hours straight and my legs were literally shaking when we get back. And that says a lot about my level of fitness. One thing for sure I realized after this trip, I should exercise more.

picturesque countryside. i want to see this during rainy – all green season..

So where did we go? Last, last week, I was really preoccupied. I had lots of things going on plus we were also doing out Chinese New Year clean-up and preparations. Then hubby just asked me if I wanted to tag along on a trip to Phnom Chisor in Takeo. I know Phnom in Khmer means mountain but I assumed we will be riding something to get up that mountain. So I said sure, sure why not?

ready for the uphill climb?

uh oh, they are way ahead…

not yet even halfway…

views from the stairs..

Haha! Serve me right for assuming. Little did I know I was about to make a climb of 412 steps up. Which is a little misleading too coz each ‘step’ is about a meter wide so you take more than 412 steps up. It’s more like double of that and at a steep incline. That’s my only complaint though, coz once you are up the views are amazing.

made it!

Prasat Chisor

The group was actually there for a little community service. We brought packed lunches coz up there are just pagodas and some temple ruins and no places to get food. Had fun taking photos and just drinking in the scenic vistas. I really wonder how this looks like during rainy season..

amazing panorama

Cambodia has some really amazing, almost untouched countryside sceneries. I wish it would remain this way…But I know sometime soon, it’ll all look different, still I’m glad I got the chance to see it, in all its untouched beauty. If you’re living in Phnom Penh, Phnom Chisor is worth going to. Excuse my grumbles about muscle pains {I’m simply not fit hahaha), but the view alone is worth the trouble. It’s only about 2 hours drive from Phnom Penh and can be done on a half-day. If you wanna stick around eat lunch up there, bring packed lunch. There are also food stalls on the foot of the mountain, but I’m not sure what kind of food they sell.

reclining Buddha..

More shots on my PHOTOS page.

~~~~

A side note: I’ll be posting only compressed photos now and with watermarks. I feel annoyed really coz there are some unscrupulous bloggers out there who just use my photos and claim it as their own. I don’t mind really if you wanna grab it but at least have some decency to site your source or place a link back to my site.

Living in Phnom Penh: Khmer Spirit Houses

Lui — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 12:26:41 +0000

When I first visited Phnom Penh, one of the things that caught my eye are the concrete miniature ‘temples’ resembling bird houses usually found in a lot of Khmer homes. Along the streets too, you can see a lot of places selling them. Some simple, others are really ornate and big.

photo taken along the way to Kirirom National Park

Initially I thought this is something to do with pets, then I noticed no birds or anything alive living in this little houses. So I then asked Hi-ace what is that for. They are, apparently ‘Spirit Houses’. It has religious significance and can be seen in some predominantly Buddhist countries.This is a place for the spirits to dwell.

Khmers are ardent believers of spirits and they usually place regular offerings outside the spirit house. Why is there a need for a spirit house? My Khmer relatives tells me, this is to provide living space for the spirits and offering too so they would remain peaceful and not invade our / human space.

a typical Khmer spirit house

So, that got me thinking, I really should start making offerings too unless I want to live side by side with a ghost. Anyway, since Hi-ace family is Chinese, we don’t have a Khmer spirit house we have a wooden one inside the house, its really ornate, with miniature persons. The pot for incense is also replaced once a year only.

our version of the spirit house with offerings

I also noticed a bit of difference with the way Khmers and Chinese-Khmers offer. Khmers usually has flowers, wine, water and incense. While we usually offer cakes, fruits and sometimes meat with incense and tea.

Some may find it weird, but for some reason the presence of this spirit houses comforts me. Lol! You know Hi-ace keeps kidding me, Cambodia has lot of ghosts floating around (from Khmer Rouge time..) and might visit me someday. I would much rather they go inside their spirit houses.

Enough blabbing about spirits, its giving me the goose bumps already hehe and back to work. Still got to search for some cheap auto insurance quotes so more later..

A Budget-Friendly Khmer Buffet

Lui — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 05:45:57 +0000

Been meaning to post this last week but its keeps escaping me. Had the photos taken with the other camera and lazy butt me wouldn’t budge from the seat and look for the cable to transfer the photos. So here’s the post, almost three weeks late lol!

Before New Year’s, Hi-ace, me, Chinks and his work friends went to have buffet dinner in The Spoon located in St. 122 (It’s very near Russian Blvd). I was thinking why do we need to travel so far (we live near Russian Market) and had to drive a good 20 minutes when there were so many restaurants much nearer. It turned out his friends picked The Spoon because of their buffet. All Khmer food.

The restaurant actually has two areas, downstairs with the entrance right at the main street and offers an a la carte menu with Khmer and international choices. The buffet lunch and dinner is on the second floor with the entrance on the side (with a huge signage -Buffet Corner – so you won’t get lost anyway).

The buffet area has a pretty good ambiance, upholstered roomy chairs, freezing aircon , and I like the dividers placed between each table for more privacy and there are also small private rooms for parties.

The food: Khmer and a good selection. They have about 15 viands, Fried and Plain rice, free coffee and tea, fruits for dessert. They have free water for drinking, but if you want other drinks then you have to order separately. With all that food, I was beginning to wonder if do weight loss supplements work?

All of that costs only $4 per person, that’s why I’m calling it budget friendly. There are a lot of buffets in the city at similar prices but with less choices as The Spoon. I would definitely recommend this, especially if you’re on diet hahaha coz Khmer food is more on vegetables and more vegetables. There weren’t much meat in the selections except for chicken. And even the fried rolls were made of taro and other veggies.

my plate: salad, taro rolls, fried fish and egg, cucumbers..of course, I didn’t eat just this. Shhh, I went back a couple of times, if you must know.

Next time you wanna try out Khmer food, this is one way of sampling a lot of them at a low and affordable price.

Spoiled for Choice: Guides to Cambodia

Lui — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 01:18:04 +0000

If someone would ask me to list down the little things I love about living in Cambodia, then it’ll be a looong list. Lol! I guess, I’ve fallen so unexpectedly with this quiet, unassuming yet culturally rich country. And for good reasons too.

One of the things I really appreciate here and I’ve been saying that here over and over again is the wide and very affordable choice when it comes to dining out. In some of my ‘deluded’ moods I even made it my goal to sample all kinds of cuisines and restos here in Phnom Penh for a start. And if you think that is easy, think again coz there are literally hundreds of dining options you can choose from!

But these pocket guides make it a lot easier to make choices! One can almost be confused about which guide to use. Me? I just pick all of them,after all they are FREE! You can get them from restaurants, spa’s, coffee shops, well everywhere!

And they practically cover everything from restaurants, hotels, shopping, travel, maps etc. For tourists and new expats, this is really a big help. It has actually become a staple part of what goes into my handbag. It’s already something I can’t go out without, lol! it has the same status as my phone or my lip gloss.

If I’m looking for some place to eat, or some place to have some happy hour drinks, parties, events, art shows etc, then I’ve got it covered with this guides. If I’m traveling then these guides too just about covers everything from bus schedules, hotels, tours etc. And some of these guides features shopping venues, specialty stores so if say I’m looking for some brembo brakes I could probably find it from here too.

A lot fo these guides have their online versions too. Check out CambodiaPocketGuide, CanbyPublications, AsiaLifeGuide. If you know any other websites offering guides like those listed, drop by with a comment and I’ll add it up =)

Our Sympathies and Prayers for Khmers…

Lui — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 11:31:51 +0000

Reading the news and hearing our Khmer relatives and neighbors talk about it is just heart wrenching. Last night, in what was supposed to be a happy occasion as the whole Phnom Penh was celebrating the finale of their annual three day Water Festival, tragedy struck.

I’m not about to rehash what has happened, so please do check out this article (the latest as of time of posting) - At least 378 die in stampede at Cambodian festival and the Phnom Penh Post for the latest news.

We actually found out early on last night when one of my sister’s students posted an update on her Facebook page that an ‘incident’ happened in Koh Pich. I didn’t really pay much heed coz I simply assumed there was some of your usual disturbance during large festive gatherings. I didn’t have any inkling that it was something as tragic as this.

Then about an hour later I wondered why I kept hearing ambulance sirens shrieking all over. Our place is near Russian Hospital where a good number of injured were also brought. That’s when we knew, this isn’t some simple fluke or incident. I didn’t get much sleep but knowing that no one among my husband’s relatives was anywhere near there, was a temporary relief.

This morning, woke up early to check updates and what greeted me where photos and they were all grim. Till now I could just manage to look at only a few of them without feeling short of breath. But if you’re up to it, do take a look at this slideshow. Do visit also my friend, Sreisaat’s post. She has some links you might want to have a look at.

There’s a lot of talk now going on about investigations and such and frankly I’m not in the mood yet to get into it. I feel that those victims deserves some justice and though some would point out that this was a tragedy, an accident, still I keep thinking that authorities already know and have even said that they are expecting at least 2 million people to be present so I should expect there are enough contingency and crowd control measures taken to avoid incidents like this..

An hour ago I also passed by near Russian hospital and there is a lot of people there, relatives looking for missing loved ones, families of the injured etc, and I just feel so sad for them. For now though, let me just offer our condolences to those who lost their loved ones and prayers for quick recovery of those who were injured.

May all be free from sorrow,

and the causes of sorrow,

May all never be separated from the sacred happiness which is sorrowless.

–Buddhist prayer

Riding The Cambodian Cyclo

Lui — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 11:47:06 +0000

Errr, I’m not the lady riding this cyclo here in this photo.. {Gah! Couldn’t I sound less defensive?} Lol! And a word of warning: this post will be longer than my usual posts coz I have a story to tell about my first and last cyclo ride.

I did took a Cambodian cyclo ride a couple of years ago and sadly I didn’t get to take a photo and since I made a ‘sort-of’ promise not to ride a cyclo again, so I had to hunt down a random cyclo photo from my ‘photos from Phnom Penh’ archive.

I had it in my mind for the longest time already to blog about cyclos here in Phnom Penh but somehow it always slips my mind. When I first came to visit Phnom Penh in 2004, there were lots of cyclo’s around and no tuk tuks. But now only a handful of cyclos can be seen and mostly in tourist/central areas and hordes of tuk-tuks. It’s a pity coz I find them (cyclos) so unique and quintessentially Indochinese and so much a part of Cambodian culture.

So before the Cambodian cyclo really goes into a total decline, I wanna have my say about it here. The cyclo is mainly a rickshaw with three wheels. These kinds of wheels are commonly seen throughout Indochina region.

I find the design of the cyclo a novelty {Sure, I know its a very old form of transportation already..} but since I’m from the Philippines where we have tricycles and pedicabs where the passengers are provided seats on the side of the motorbike or bicycle, so seeing cyclos, where the passenger seat is upfront, and the driver stays behind. In essence the passenger seat is like the steering wheel!!

The first time I saw one, I just thought, ‘whoa! driving that contraption sure is no mean feat! I’d probably commit to driving a Honda Rancher 350 than attempt to drive a cyclo. And to think that cyclo drivers earn really really a pittance.

Anyway on to my story, it was in 2004 when I dared to try riding one. We were doing some ‘pasalubong’ shopping in then Big A department store in Monivong and my Filipina friend wanted to try riding one. I was seriously thinking, ‘huwat!!! Me?? Sit in front of that and have the old man push us? It’s like I’m being pushed towards oncoming traffic! What if, what if some lunatic with zero driving skills decides to run me over?

But still my friend and also { I think } some leftover sense of daring made me agree. Both of us took just one cyclo, and I was so amazed more than two persons can actually ride that thing! We had our ride at around noon time, and we were almost baked charcoal before we could even be half-way to our house. It’s was slow, super slow. That’s not a complaint though since I know how heavy we were.

The trouble began when after an hour of cycling and the driving groaning over our combined weights we reached the place just near the now Phnom Penh Sport Club. That road has a steep incline and I think the driver almost fainted trying to get us over that uphill climb. In the end, we took pity on him and we got down and gave the cyclo a push. With a lot of people looking on and some laughing really hard at us..

And after all that, the driver charged us a pittance! We were conscience stricken and gave him an extra dollar. I then promised I won’t try riding one again, coz I think I was secretly traumatized after seeing that look of agony on the driver’s face while he was trying to get us over that steep rise.

Cambodian Pchum Ben Holidays

Lui — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 02:53:28 +0000

Can’t believe it has been a year since I wrote this post about Pchum Ben Festival, and now Phcum Ben is here again. We don’t exactly have any activities lined up since this is essentially a Khmer religious holiday. We often just take one day to visit a pagoda, pray for deceased relatives and offer to the monks. Just read on my previous post above to know more about the Phcum Ben Festival..

Hahaha I know that sounds like me being lazy, but the week long holiday is something to be savored. During the holidays, Phnom Penh seems a lot more subdued and less frenzy, well except if you venture to the markets. It gets extra crowded especially in the mornings as women of the house shops for things they need for visiting the pagodas.

As for us, we’ll be visiting a nearby pagoda with my M-I-L on Friday. The rest of the week will be ‘rest time’ though I’d still be working hehe.. The kids don’t have classes since Monday, so Chinks now is just so happy about being able to oversleep and play all day long.

It’s also starting to get quiet coz a lot of Khmers after visiting the pagodas usually go somewhere else, the provinces or wherever to relax with their families. Ouwie even said, now she’s getting swamped with students asking permission to be absent on Thursday coz they’ll all be going somewhere for the long weekend..

On a side note, it also just occurred to me that we had been living in Phnom Penh for two years already! And I’m loving it, and it may sound cliche, but for me this is second home now..

To all my Khmer relatives and friends, Happy Phcum Ben!

Little Quirks That Make Khmers Unique

Lui — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 12:18:24 +0000

I’ve got about a dozen posts on draft but I’m nowhere near half way finishing them. It must be that really soothing massage I had earlier @ Bamboo Spa or the hearty late lunch we had at Mexican resto – Casa Lika near the riverside. But whatever it is I’m just so in the mood to procrastinate. So what I did this past two hours instead of researching best weight loss supplements- I just surfed the web and ended up in YouTube watching vids about Cambodia.

I found this really interesting and funny video from Spring Roll Fever, a Chicago Comedy Sketch Group and it had me ROFL! I just love those little quirks they mentioned and yes I’ve observed them among Khmers.

Click here to view the embedded video.

There are people who say negative things and tries to put down Khmers {see comments on the said video}, and I just don’t understand them. Khmers are just some of the most charming and nicest people I’ve known. Sure, there are some bad apples in the group like what I’ve mentioned in my previous post here. Just the same as in most races, there are good and bad points but in my experience the good far exceeds the bad.

Khmers have gone through a lot and I find them very admirable their sense of fortitude and their sense of humor even in dire times. I’ve also noticed a lot of similarities between my own Filipino upbringing and Khmers.

So how do you know you are Khmer indeed? Here’s some quirks mentioned in the video that I’ve personally observed too..

Your living room contains only Khmer DVD’s and karaokes – oohhh! I’ve seen this in my M-I-L’s house. And my Khmer nieces and nephews can belt out Khmer songs on karaoke like pros..{Which reminds me so much of my Filipino relatives back home hehe}

During a Khmer bbq party, the moms are the one’s cooking and the dads drinking and gambling and telling each other corny jokes - true! I’ve seen that a lot, but not really all..

Your parents buy a new dining table but your not allowed to eat on it – uh, yeah. Hubby’s cousin just bought a really pricey all wood dining set {I thought it was really nice} and I wondered why they still had to spread out a mat and not eat on the table..

You love to eat mango with salt, sugar and chili – oh yeah! and this has rubbed on me too! Now I can’t imagine eating green mango without those..

Khmers you haven’t seen for a long time tell you to your face that you got fat – Haha I’ve been on the receiving end of this one that I’ve grown immune to it already, perhaps they consider me now as semi-Khmer. Same with Pinoys too, they really would tell you to your face that your fat. No subtlety at all.

You wash with water instead of using toilet paper - true and this I don’t mind. I would definitely feel much cleaner with water and soap.

You use a pail and scoop for bathing even if you have a working shower – most Khmer homes I’ve been to have this bucket and scoop setup. Personally, I prefer using the shower but I don’t mind this Khmer quirk because most Pinoys are like this too.

You have at least one big picture of Angkor Wat in your house – ooops! we don’t have one yet. We do have an apsara wall decor…

Whenever you get sick you scratch with a coin – traditional cure. Yeah! I’ve tried this and you know what it did make me feel better and I even know how to do it!

You own at least one luxury car so you can roll it in a Khmer party even if you are poor- LMAO! Now I need to stop wondering why there are lots of Lexuses around..Maybe I should consider buying one hehe..

You got beat with almost every object in the house – hmm form of discipline. Yeah I’ve observed some..

Everybody is your cousin. – Another thing I feel comfortable with here. Extended family, just like back home in the Philippines!

You love prahok!- love would be an understatement! I think prahok is almost synonymous to being Cambodian. I even kidded hubby and asked him if eating prahok is a requirement for citizenship. Too bad I haven’t really learned yet to eat this. I’m just too sensitive with the smell, but who knows I might learn to like it someday.

Your name is almost the same as your brothers and sisters – true! I really have a hard time remembering the names. And its hard to distinguish a girl and boys name. Ex. I used to think Dara was a girl’s name but what do you know last week I met a guy named Dara. So now I’ve learned never to assume things..

You watched Tomb Raider only because it was filmed in Cambodia – hahaha yes I know..

You mix fish sauce, lime, some garlic, chili as dip for crab and lobster. – This is my all time favorite Khmer sauce! And it goes well with fried fish, shrimps and marinated/grilled pork too..

You bring the rice cooker on a picnic – so I’ve seen..

You own at least one furry fleece blankets and you have five more in stock just in case someone sleeps over. – =) My Khmer M-I-L gave me a whole bunch of these blankets and what do you know, I love it they are so comfy and warm. Can you blame Khmers for getting attached to it?

Your parents get invited to weddings every other weekend – yes, we get tons of invites and its not polite not go or not to send some $$ with the envelope. I rarely go but hubby usually goes and just a secret between us — this thing can get really expensive and threatens the monthly budget.

You dip french bread with condensed milk – ugh! hubby’s favorite snack. He says its so good. I don’t like it, I prefer french bread with ice cream haha specially those from the street carts!

Khmer men wear sarong at home – thankfully, Hi-ace doesn’t do this. But I did ask someone who does and they say its comfy. Now who are we to argue with that?

And one other unique thing I observed:

Khmer ladies just love pajamas! Just walk out, whether on the street, the market, malls, pagodas well you can see lots of them wearing pajamas. I’ve never seen any other place with so many pajama clad people roaming around.

Well, that I would say makes Cambodians really unique! All part of the fascinating Cambodian culture.

Learning Khmer Language: Let’s Talk Food

Lui — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 04:03:23 +0000

It’s been awhile since I last posted any tidbit about learning Khmer/Cambodian language. Let’s see, I’ve written about Counting the Cambodian Way and also some Basic Khmer for the Traveler.Those are really very basic and would be helpful to travelers. Now I’m thinking, what about those expats settling here?

One of my dilemmas when I was just new here was ordering food from local restaurants and buying food from the markets. There are groceries here but they are a lot pricier and learning how to haggle and bargain your way in the wet markets would mean huge savings plus that interesting interaction with locals. And one big reason to learn a bit of these – the local food is really good and most a must try so a little Khmer would go a long way in asking for what you want to try.

Here are some Khmer words about food that I learned early on, making buying food a lot more easier. Lol! For a girl who is always in search for best diet pills for women, I sure am fixated with food. Note that the transliterations are just approximate sounds of Khmer words, so there might be some errors. It would help if you can listen to a Khmer to ‘get’ the exact pronunciation. All thanks to Hi-ace and my Khmer relatives whom I bugged endlessly to translate for me =) any errors would be mine.

What’s typical:

Rice – bai
Bread – nom pang
Eggs – pong thea {duck egg – more common} and pong mowan {chicken egg}
Fish – trey
Beef – saik gow
Pork – saik chrook
Chicken – saik mowan
Crab – k’daam
Lobster - bawng khawng
Shrimp – bawng khia
Squid – meuk
Vegetables – buhn plae

Cooked:

Fried – chaa / jhien
Grilled – ahng
Steamed – dyam’hoi
Rice porridge – boboh/bobor
Rice Noodles with Vegetables Soup -kyteuw dak buhn plae
Spring Rolls – chaa yaw {fried}, naim {fresh}
Noodles – mii {egg/yellow noodles}, kyteuw {rice noodles}
Soup – sup
Curry – ka-ari

Your Basic Ingredients and Condiments:

Salt – umbahl
Sugar – skow /skor
Pepper - m’raik
Ginger – kh’nyei
Garlic - kh’tom saw
Fish Sauce – teuk trey
Soy Sauce – teuk si-iw
Chili - m’teh
Lemon grass – sluk krai

Drinks:

Water- teuk
Ice – teuk kho
Beer – beer
Soda – coca
Hot Coffee – cafe kdouw
Cold Coffee – cafe teuk kho
Tea – tai
Tea with milk – tai teuk duh kho
Milk – teuk duh kho
Sugar cane juice – teuk umpow
Mixed fruit shake – teuk krolohk chek
Orange juice - teuk krowit por sat

All about Fruits:

banana – chek
apple – phlae i powm
dragon fruit – phlae srakaa neak
grapes – tompeung baai chu
lemon- krow’it cha’maa
Lychee – krow’it khwait
Mango – svay
Orange – krow’it por sat
Papaya – low’hong
Pineapple – menowa
Watermelon – ewv luhk

Phrases:

I would like – Khnyom sohm..
Please – sohm
Thank you – ow’khun
Excuse me – sohm to
Bill please - sohm ket luy
Not too spicy, please – sohm kohm toe hal pek
This is delicious – a nih ch’ngun nah
Please bring me - sohm yohk mao..

More basic:

restaurant – resturan
market – psar
fork – sawm
spoon-slapreea
plate - jaan

pinaywifespeaks » Society and Culture

A Visit to Wat Vihear Sour in Prey Veng

Related Articles

Cambodia Snapshots: Nom Ban Chouk Vendor

Related Articles

Cambodia Snapshots: Khmer Wedding Rites

Related Articles

Invites and More Invites…

Related Articles

Happy Khmer New Year!

Related Articles

Excuse me, but I AM HERE!

Related Articles

Common Cambodia Sights: Heavily Loaded!

Related Articles

Typical Khmer City Houses

Related Articles

Living in Phnom Penh: Celebrating Lunar New Year, The Khmer Way

Related Articles

Updated Post: Internet Service Providers in Phnom Penh

Related Articles

Gong Xi Fa Cai from Pinaywifespeaks

Related Articles

Living in Phnom Penh: Day Trip To Phnom Chisor

Related Articles

Living in Phnom Penh: Khmer Spirit Houses

Related Articles

A Budget-Friendly Khmer Buffet

Related Articles

Spoiled for Choice: Guides to Cambodia

Related Articles

Our Sympathies and Prayers for Khmers…

Related Articles

Riding The Cambodian Cyclo

Related Articles

Cambodian Pchum Ben Holidays

Related Articles

Little Quirks That Make Khmers Unique

Related Articles

Learning Khmer Language: Let’s Talk Food

Related Articles