This morning  I took our my planner thinking I should really organize myself coz I’m guilty of having done almost nothing this month. And I just had to sigh coz April is almost over.

Everything.. the days of this month just passed me by like it was some tornado. I guess it was the overabundance of Khmer holidays that set me to thinking I have all the time in the world to finish things but really, I am always cramming.

I’m almost done with my Khmer classes, with just a few more weeks to go on. And I’m pretty much pleased with myself coz I could now read (very very slowly – ha!) simple Khmer sentences. Yay! to me. Level 2 would make things easier in terms of speaking and writing and I’m looking forward to enrolling in that class.

During Khmer New Year, we stayed in Phnom Penh deciding we didn’t want to go with the hordes of people traveling out of the city. It was a very good call coz friends and relatives told me a lot of places in the provinces were pretty much crowded. And I loathe that. Too much crowd gives me claustrophobia and we usually stay away from places in need of serious crowd control. We had Phnom Penh very much to ourselves and I loved it.

My husband however didn’t feel that happy that we didn’t go anywhere. Lol. Between the two of us, he has an ‘itchy-er’ feet. And since it was going to be a start a new semester in his university, he decided we need to go somewhere.

So we decided to climb up to Bokor Mountain in Kampot. Have a look around at the new casino, take photos of the awesome mountain views, then go down to Kep for some downtime, swimming and seafood. I’ll be posting about the trip with photos and videos (of the trip up Bokor Mountain) soon. I just need to sort it out and do a bit of editing first.

More later.

A friend told me a few weeks ago that I’m lucky, I’m in the front row seat when it comes to experiencing Khmer cuisine. I mean real Khmer food. The one’s cooked at home, not those delicious but often ‘fusion’ or tweaked food to suit the visitor’s palate. I never really thought about it, but then most of these things I consider ‘normal’ or a daily routine. I eat mostly Khmer food now, so I guess I took it for granted.

Sure  there are a lot of Khmer restaurants around, but those catering specially for tourists don’t really offer the real Khmer food. More like a semblance of Khmer food. I think its a bit hard to find, authentic Khmer food in those restos. Probably, the most usual Khmer fare that tourists and some expats taste would be amok and lok lak which is a shame coz the country has a lot to offer in terms of food. Take for instance, their wide variety of samlors (soups), its a must try but they are often hard to find. That’s why if you have Khmer friends and you get invited to their homes to eat, I would suggest jump at the offer (I know it sounds mercenary but..) you might be in for a little palate adventure.

While its a bit hard to find authentic Khmer fare in most city restos, you can still find something close to it across the Japanese bridge. I’ll let you on a little secret: this place is my favorite place to relax during weekends – those little stilt huts with hammocks along the river! Mind you, these places aren’t posh, and not for those who prefer their napkins to be sparkling white. But its an experience you’d find in no other place.  This is an entirely Khmer affair and celebrates the Khmer love for lounging around on mats, hammocks and food.

There are a couple of places like this a few minutes drive away from the Japanese bridge, but the ones we usually go to are the one’s near the Chinese temple. I’m not sure exactly about the directions and the restaurants usually have Khmer names. But these places are a fantastic places to relax, be with family and friends. The food is also cheap and really really really delicious.

Just a few weekends ago, we went there again to enjoy the food and some quiet time. Here’s some pic spam..

The food..

grilled shrimps with garlic-chili sauce, served with herbs, cucumbers & tomatoes

chicken stir-fried with ginger & spring onions

samlor koh kor – veggies, fish, spices and flavored with roasted rice..this is super delicious.

Nice, relaxing place..

fabulous river views..

little huts for some privacy

the super happy to be there kiddo. she loves the hammocks obviously.

This is an entry for:

I’m going to talk real estate here. So I can’t guarantee its going to be interesting. Hahaha. I personally find finance, real estate blah blah boring. But since I’m a wife and a mom with a family to think of, such things I have to deal with. A little disclaimer, I’m not an expert in real estate nor am I a broker. I also have no knowledge about foreign ownership of real estate in Cambodia and its legalities.  So what I’ll be discussing is our own personal experience in owning a home in Cambodia.

We have our own lot and a small house here in Phnom Penh. It’s within the city limits and very accessible to the markets, and other conveniences. We love the place coz its quiet, safe but very accessible. We’re not moneyed folks and a billion trillion light years away from being an ohkna (equivalent to tycoon), so owning a house and lot was a big hurdle for us.

If you’re just like us, regular working folks, then buying a lot and a house is almost impossible here. For several reasons: (1) Prices are so steep-really crazy steep and unregulated! (our neighbor’s lot 6×20 m is priced at $80,000! I find this amount obscene! It’s not even a commercial area!) (2) Home financing is not widely available nor is it popular, and its not a very practical option either as loan interest are sky high.

Before we decided to settle here, I was full of complaints about how real estate in the Philippines was so expensive and how lame was the government backed home financing – Pag-ibig, was. BUT when we got here and was faced with the realities of how we can own and not rent our own place, I had to appreciate that the real estate prices back home was regulated and people could at least have some access to home financing without being buried in debt and interest.

I could only thank my lucky stars that my husband has some financial genius tucked in there somewhere in his brains. Early on in our marriage, when prices are not so high here in Phnom Penh, and instead of spending a lot on a lavish wedding, we decided to just invest in a piece of  land. That time, this lot was pitiful looking. With a smelly creek at the back, not much neighbors/houses around, pot holed streets, and I lamented that this place can’t possibly get any internet connection (ha!) and it ‘seemed’ far from the city. But hubby argued that the city is expanding rapidly, and we won’t have to wait long till the area is developed. So we shelled out a couple of thousand dollars and got ourselves that lot. I was consoling myself that at least we won’t have to rent a place when we moved here.

Hmm, I think I just found my favorite time of the year to be in Phnom Penh: Khmer New Year! Why? The streets are almost empty, I had a crazy time driving around. Lol. The only time I could actually brave to drive. Hahaha. Yes, those careening motos and speeding SUV’s makes me a coward so I’m really scared to drive here and I’m trying to overcome that sloooowly.

Phnom Penh Street During Khmer New Year. Yay! Almost empty!

The past few Khmer New Years, we joined the exodus of city dwellers to some vacation destination. But this year, we have decided to stay on. And I’m so happy we did decided to stay behind. The only downside is that most shops were closed from the 13th, so if one suddenly gets inspired to shop  for test sieves, I doubt if there is any place open.

an almost deserted junction. this place is usually packed with traffic..

The only places open for business were biggie supermarkets and a couple of restaurants and mostly just along the riverside area. Our neighborhood which is usually noisy has been eerie with too much quiet. Even our neighbors dogs are out of town!

my kind of street. I can drive here. hahaha!

But sigh, this moment of peace and quiet is almost at its end. I’m sure lots of those who drove out of the city are now hurrying back. Hmm, still, I’m happy we got to loosen up  a bit.

There are always reasons to celebrate. Just the fact that we can celebrate is a reason to celebrate. Lol. That was a mouthful. I have always believed that everyday is a day to celebrate but there really days that are extra special.

This time of the year is specially hectic with celebrations for us because its Khmer New Year and it coincides with  my daughter’s birthday.

Cambodians (as well as some other countries around the region like India, Burma and Thailand) celebrate a separate New Year from the international new year (Jan 1) and Chinese new year. The Khmer New Year lasts for 3 days but the declared holidays usually start a day before and then a day after the said days. This new year simply means the end of the harvest season and the time for the farmers to enjoy the fruits of their labor and they also await the incoming rainy season.

During this time, Khmers cook special dishes for the family and for offering in pagodas/temples. They also make an offering table and place it on their patios. Offerings usually consist of fruits (bananas in particular), sodas, candies, flowers, etc. I even saw our neighbor place cigarettes, perfumes &  cosmetics on their Khmer New Year offering table.

This is a really merry time for Khmers and they usually hold parties, with dancing and often part of these parties are traditional Khmer games. A Khmer friend told me that this is the time when Khmers really spend their money and splurge. They also believe that wearing new clothes is lucky.

On another note, we had a quiet but super fun birthday celebrations for the kiddo. That’s our rule, during birthdays, we do what the celebrant wants to do as long as its reasonable. Ha! I mean we had to stipulate some ‘limits’ coz she might one day take it in her head to ask for a trip to the moon on her birthday. Lol. I’d much rather she ask for Godin Bass instead of something totally outrageous and one we cannot afford.

For this year, she just asked for a whole day of swimming on a pool, lots of spaghetti and not to forget her favorite double chocolate ice cream cake. Of course, since she had been a good girl she got what she wished for plus some more.

And whoa! this ice cream cake is totally awesome. Sinful, specially for a serial dieter like moi.

Yay! Time for my random blurbs. Why is it that now that I am doubly busy, I am more motivated to blog? I’m weird like that. Or perhaps I just have a lot of stories struggling to be told. Hahaha. I know it sounds serious but what I have are just mundane everyday stuff.

• Phnom Penh was in a bit of a frenzy this past week. The ASEAN Summit was held here so traffic jams, soldiers in full uniforms, attentive police (for once!), journalists, convoys abound. Some universities were told to suspend classes to lessen the traffic jams. And I did have a lot of fun getting stuck in the traffic and watch out for those wang wangs and diplomatic bigwigs and their convoys.

• And yup, a big indicator if there are some foreign dignitaries/visitors in this country: lots and lots of flags scattered throughout the city. Here’s a big lot of them in front of Chaktomouk Theatre along Sisowath Quay.

• I’m very very excited. Why? Khmer New Year is almost upon us and I’m always happy when it comes around. Not that I would stop working on my online projects and blogging, but the one week vacation would be a wonderful reprieve for me. And besides hubby and the kiddo won’t have work/school so we’ll all be together. We might go somewhere else for some R & R but at this time our plans are fluid. Bwahaha.. It’s subject to change and follow our whims.

• My Khmer language classes are going really well. You won’t believe how happy I was the first time I was able to read a sentence written in Khmer. I was practically giddy, I dunno why. Perhaps because I have always thought this language is difficult to learn and here I am actually making some progress in learning it. As of now, I only know about 15 consonants and a couple of vowels and I still have a long long way to go, but right now I’m all positive I could do it.

• Going back to school, even if its just a short course, is bringing some excitement back in my life. Not that my life now is not exciting but I kinda feel old. But going to school and seeing kids like these in the photos makes me feel a bit younger. Ha! I think there really is some truth to some advice I heard or read before that when you surround yourself with young ‘uns you’ll feel younger. See.. The snapshot below looks idyllic. Sigh.