pinaywifespeaks » Living in Phnom Penh

Food Trip Friday: Phnom Penh’s Napoli Pizza

Lui — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:29:06 +0000

Yes, you all already know me, hubby and the kiddo are really just pizza eating machines pretending to be human. Lol. And a few Saturdays ago, we were just driving around when we thought of refueling out tummies with what else but pizza. So we headed over to Kampuchea Krom Blvd, thinking of just grabbing a pizza at Pizza Company. But parking there is like expecting to find a 100 dollar bill on a crowded sidewalk so we just drove on.

A few blocks after, my daughter screamed, ‘ I see PIZZA!!’. She was pointing at a resto called Naples Pizza. So of course, we had to go try it. And thank God we did. I think I have a new favorite pizza place here in Phnom Penh!

I like the huge variety of pizza’s you can choose from on their menu. They also have Greek, Canadian pizzas and lot and lots of other choices. But of course, we had to try out first the thin crust, sausage stuffed seafood pizza. And it was soooooo good.

I had iced coffee..

They also had free desserts (taro and tapioca pearls in sweet coconut milk) which was nice, though I forgot to take photos of that.

The service was also efficient and friendly. Prices are affordable, and they also have free pizza promotions during weekdays. Let’s just say, I’ll be going back there again soon to try the other pizzas. I do wish they’d have more branches closer to city center..

Living in Phnom Penh: Randomeness #3

Lui — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 06:41:50 +0000

Hey, how was your Chinese New Year celebrations? Ours was really fun and merry with lots of food involved. Lol. Khmer-Chinese really celebrate the lunar new year with much fervor. Even local Khmers are now joining in with the festivities! While this is not an official holiday, well, people do take a break. Lots of shops and businesses are closed for three days. So the cities empty out and a lot of people go to provinces to just relax and have a bit of downtime.

Chinese lanterns @ Koh Pich (Diamond Island) Park

As for us, we observed the usual Chinese rituals, offering food, incense and prayers to departed ancestors. Then the next few days were spent eating, playing cards, spending time with the whole clan and it was capped with a road trip.

Now, I’m pretty much tired but revved up. I feel like I’m all in good mood and hearing good music. I guess that little break has done wonders to my mind set.

The food and celebration though has wreaked havoc on my diet so I started today doing vigorous high impact aerobic exercises. I feel really good afterwards and its like my own body metronomes are all in tune and working! And the good news is that when I checked the weighing scale..I didn’t gain any weight. Uh, thank God for healthy Chinese food and the workouts. Lol.

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..

Gong Xi Fa Cai From Phnom Penh!

Lui — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 04:42:08 +0000

Everybody (well, almost everybody that is, hehe) is in a frenzy. The streets are getting clogged, the markets are getting more jampacked (if they could get more jampacked) and I keep seeing those pretty red lanterns on a lot of houses and shops. Well, Cambodia is celebrating along with Chinese! The Chinese New Year is one of the biggest festive events here in Cambodia, and while its not an official holiday, the rest of the Khmers are all celebrating this. I think this comes second to Khmer New Year in terms of their celebratory fervor. So now, we’re all getting ready to usher in the year of the dragon!

As for me, I’m leaving all the cooking to my mother-in-law. Hahaha. I’m a lucky, lucky girl! So it’ll all just be eating, offerings, leisure time for the weekend. On another note, I dread the havoc the holidays will wreak on my diet. I guess it’s time to bring out the plus size dresses or maybe I should be doing more intense exercises now to counter the effect of too much eating? Or maybe I should just stick to this particular favorite of mine…sesame seed snacks! Hahaha.

Enough of my blabbing. I just wanna wish everyone, good health and wealth for the coming new year! Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Food Trip Friday: Swensen’s Vanilla Brownies Ice Cream Cake

Lui — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 05:08:22 +0000

One should really stop wondering why my efforts to lose weight seems to be futile. Here’s one of the reasons: Ice Cream! We love it and lately we’ve been so into Swensen’s Ice Cream cakes. It’s a whole new way to enjoy ice cream eh? But the added calories with those creams and toppings…Oh well. I always say, I’ll just exercise more. Heh.

Vanilla Brownies: vanilla ice cream on top of chiffon cake. Then topped with cream icing, chocolate shavings, cherries and brownie chunks. How’s that for sugar rush?

And oh, all their cakes have a ‘happy birthday’ thingie on top. But it was nobody’s birthday, we were just craving for some ice cream. Hehe..You gotta love how they pack their cakes. It includes ice on both sides of the cake box, then they give out free paper plates, plastic spoons, plastic cake cutter and candles. And since we had those free candles what else could we do but light it up and take turns blowing it out. Lol.

Living in Phnom Penh: Mission Impossible @ Legend

Lui — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 01:37:41 +0000

I really should be doing this regularly. I know some friends and a small group of readers who are movie buffs and I’ll be posting ‘what’s showing’ feature regularly from now on. If you’re looking for some weekend and New Year entertainment, check out Legend Cinemas (City Mall) and they are showing a bunch of cool movies at this time. The latest in the line up is Tom Cruise’s Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol.

Huge fan of Tom Cruise, I am not so I was actually dilly dallying about watching the advance screening of his movie, but I was surprised that I really enjoyed the movie (in fact I think its the only MI film I actually enjoyed). It was fast paced, lots of fantastic action sequence, a cool enough plot and of course Simon Pegg’s witty dialogue was in its favor. I also must admit to developing a size-able crush on Jeremy Renner. I didn’t know this guy could be funny, but he is. And he does have that really soulful looking eyes. Ha! But that’s another story lol and I know I kinda have it bad.

Do check out Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. Visit Legend Cinema’s website for the screening schedules.

Random Posts

Khmer Street Snacks: Grilled Rice Wrapped Bananas

Lui — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 03:36:01 +0000

Khmers have some really filling, yummy and cheap street snacks. Here’s one I’ve taken a liking to. Banana wrapped with sticky rice and some have bits of grated coconut, then wrapped in banana leaves then grilled. It’s not sweet and specially good when its still hot. It doesn’t look that appetizing at first glance and truth is I’ve passed on trying this for sometime mainly because it didn’t look too appealing to me. It took Hi-ace to persuade me to give it a bite, and I surprisingly liked it. I’m not big on too sweet snacks so maybe that’s the reason why.

Now I haven’t taken on Dietetic Technician Jobs, but I can guess this one’s a lot healthier than eating junk food. And what I love about it is that its soo filling. And I love grabbing it when I’m really hungry. Perhaps its all because of that rice. Lol. But its like and instant carbo boost. The inside looks like the Pinoy version of suman but that’s where the similarity ends.

You can find this yummy snack in a lot of street corners or in the markets and it sells for something like 1000 Riels..

Living in Phnom Penh: Celebrating Christmas in PP

Lui — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 03:46:33 +0000

This is our 4th Christmas celebrated here in Phnom Penh. And I kinda like the relaxing, quiet pace we have adapted when it comes to celebrating the holidays. Of course, Christmas in the Philippines (home for me!) would always be close to my heart and I do miss it. But there’s much I like about celebrating here. After all, Chinks and Hi-ace are with me. Also my sister is with us. Now if, only my mom and brother could fly over here for Christmas next year, then that would make me feel like I’ve won the lottery a hundred times over.

Here, Christmas is almost a non-event. It’s not a holiday, although I know some Khmers, particularly business establishments have started celebrating Christmas mainly because of the presence of a lot of expats here and you know the ‘commercial’ side of Christmas is too great to pass up. But its nice to see something a little more festive in malls etc. And its also not that hard to buy pressies and decors now compared to the past years. But its still quiet compared to other places, which I’ve learned to like because now I appreciate what Christmas is all about. We also now have simpler celebrations and I’m not in a frenzy. When we were living in Manila, I would always just about go crazy during the holidays. The traffic jams, packed and crowded malls, parties here and there. Well, after the holidays there I would feel like I’m in dire need of being checked in a drug rehab treatment centers! Like a hurricane just passed by..

Now, our Christmas would just be me cooking a bit, saying prayers, mass, exchanging gifts, visiting close friends and just spending time with my daughter and husband. I love it this way now. And the morning after Christmas, I still have some energy. Lol. One thing I do miss - simbang gabi. And of course, puto bumbong. Maybe we’ll have our Christmas next year in Philippines.. Hopefully our schedules would permit this, if not maybe my mom could join us?

Also, the weather here is really fab. Cool and dry. Sun still comes up but I find the heat very mild and tolerable so I’m having fun time jogging in the parks. I wish this temp would last a bit longer. Anyway, since its cold and were weird we decided to treat ourselves to some ice cream cake. Hahaha. Yes, we love eating ice cream when its cold. My daughter said its to check if its possible to have ‘brain freeze’. In any case, this one from Swensens was really nutty good. Comfort food.

Living in Phnom Penh: Bliss, Places and More Random-ness

Lui — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 11:47:39 +0000

Hey. I’ve been out and about so I didn’t have much time to blog. It’s almost Christmas but I’m not really feeling the season since Cambodia is not really much into it. But the breeze and the weather is just great. Very cool and dry. I could just spend days just lazing around, drinking my espresso and doing nothing. I wish. Lol.

But we’ve been taking advantage of the cool weather to do our bit of gallivanting. For the past three weekends, we’ve been out and about. Our Saturdays usually start with jogging at the parks, drive around and end up having lunch somewhere. Just last week we discovered a great lunch place popular with Khmers. The one with hammocks, raised platforms and nipa huts. We had a hearty Khmer lunch and napped on hammocks. I keep thinking this is what life is about. Heh.

Another weekend we visited a farm belong to Hi-ace’s friend. It was a totally lazy day with us just eating non-stop, lazing around in floating huts like this and trying our best to catch some fish.

Sigh. This is one of the best things I love about living in Cambodia. I really get to stop, relax and have a look around. And what I see, I really really like.

Next week is back to reality for me. I’m in an ‘almost panic mode’ now coz I haven’t really done any planning for Christmas and New Years. We were supposed to go to some beach for New Year’s Eve but that would cancelled since most hotels we want are now fully booked. We’ll probably be having a party with family and friends instead. So now I’m on hunt for pressies, so spyder jackets here I come! And thankfully, markets and malls here are not as crowded as in Manila. My friend tells me malls in Manila are danger zones now. I know too well how the Christmas rush there goes.

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.

Food Trip Friday: Vietnamese Food @ Magnolia

Lui — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 13:57:01 +0000

A few months back, Sreisaat and I went to this Vietnamese restaurant called Magnolia. In fact, I already featured one dish we ate there here on Food Trip Friday – a dish called Banh Chao. I was feeling lazy that time and I didn’t include the full review of the resto. Now that I’ve got a bit of time, here’s the rest of the photos of the resto and the rest of the meal.

Magnolia is housed on a lovely old French-Khmer villa along St. 51, Phnom Penh. They have some outdoor seating as well as some indoor seats. I kinda like the garden setting, it was breezy and the place evokes a very homey feeling and would encourage you to linger and enjoy the food.

We wanted a light meal so we ordered a salad – Beef Sesame Watercress Salad(I forgot what they named this on the menu..lol!). This was really yummy. And the serving was huge we couldn’t even finish it! The beef was really tender and the watercress so fresh and adding a crunch in each bite.

Our Banh Chao..

And of course, we just had to have iced coffee milk.

Hmm, we had some really healthy, value for money food. This is one affordable restaurant, the servings were really big and good enough to share for 2-4 persons, the casual ambiance and cheerful service an added plus.

Living in Phnom Penh: Cruisin’ Through The Week

Lui — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 12:23:14 +0000

You know it just occurred to me that I have really adjusted to living in Cambodia. For one the things that were ‘novelty’ to me seems to be commonplace now. Before, I see a lot of curious things. I have tons of things to blog about, to take photos of, but now I seem to think that everything is as it should be. Gone were the days when I could sit outside and marvel at everything, motorbikes careening everywhere, how Khmers could actually fit 6-8 persons in a moto. Now it seems I’m more interested in reading about gps trailer tracking and other inconsequential things.

Hi-ace says maybe I’ve started to see things the way locals do. He’s right, I think. Now that I think about it, I’m pretty comfortable about living here already. Sure there are things that are still foreign to me, but most of the time I feel like this place is so much part of me, it really is my home now. Whilst before I would be terrified to ride a moto taxi, now riding them seems like second nature to me. Lol. Even rapidly spoken Khmer is like a normal thing to hear now. And I was pretty much amazed coz now I could easily identify spoken Khmer from other language, where before I just think it sounds the same as other languages I don’t know. Now, I only get the old amazed ‘I’m in a foreign land’ feeling whenever we venture to the provinces.

This week has been rather uneventful, that’s why I feel like the week has just cruised by. After a whirlwind drive through Kep and Kampot last week and the two week Philippine vacation we had, I was actually glad of the reprieve. For once I didn’t want to go out. I just did the laundry, cleaned the house, did some errands. And oh, I renewed my visa. The travel agency said the prices increased so I paid $285 for a 1 year multi-entry visa which is $10 more pricey than last year. The processing is a bit long though, the agent said to expect the visa after one week coz the long holidays sure left a big pile up of visas to process at the immigration office.

I also got the chance to get down and do some work online. At least on my other blogs that needed updating. And I’ve been inspired enough to go back and do some digi scrapping kits again and reviving my crafting blog – My Crafting Den. At least now I’ve got my creative juices flowing and the blogging mojo back. I also have tons of photos for editing and I’ll be sharing Kampot photos soon.

And to end this post, let me just share a photo I shot of some geese wandering in a pagoda in Kandal province. Pretty aren’t they? I might not find things Cambodian or the Khmer landscapes as novelty anymore, but I would always think this country and everything in it is beautiful.

Cambodia Snapshots: Pretty French

Lui — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 14:22:11 +0000

One of the more notable French Colonial buildings here in Phnom Penh. The UNESCO office right across the National Museum. Pretty, right? And its good to see its in very good condition..There are a lot more buildings like this around Phnom Penh and sadly not all of them are as well restored or maintained as this..

Food Trip Friday: The Noodle House Phnom Penh

Lui — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 01:45:19 +0000

This ‘feature’ is long overdue. Sreisaat, the Queen of Wishful Shrinking and I actually went on this ‘Noodle House’ food trip a month or so ago. Lol. But life happened and I also forgot to download the photos from my camera. I should really just stick to using one camera for blogging coz I always forget where I stuck the photos.

Anyway, we were invited to a movie screening by the ever generous Legend Cinema Phnom Penh and afterwards we were starving. Yes, popcorns and cola weren’t enough for us. You know, we do have a big appetite hahaha.. So we checked out our Phnom Penh Drinking and Dining guidebooks and picked out The Noodle House. I guess we were in the mood for some noodle goodness. It’s located a few blocks down from the riverfront in a lovely old colonial house.

Love the simple decor, the really friendly service and the food. The drinks menu was really interesting too. Here’s what I had.

Keuy Teuw in Spicy Coconut Soup.

Fruit-Mint Shake – the exact name on the menu escapes me now but you can bet it was a really interesting name.

Vegetarian Steamed Buns

Yummyness and very very affordable too! This was definitely a treat, and I must say I would prefer treating myself to this than buying myself call of duty modern warfare 3 xbox 360. Yes, that should tell something about moi. That.. my stomach comes first.

Noodle House

32A, St. 130

Tel. 077 919 110

Living in Phnom Penh: Randomness #2 – Life and Shopping

Lui — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 02:12:27 +0000

Here goes my random post again. This is beginning to be my favorite part of this blog. Lol. It may not be that ‘SEO friendly’ nor do I think posts like this would get a lot of hits and earn my blog a gazillion but then it makes me happy to write down my most random thoughts. There is just something so liberating about being able to write down even my most convulted thoughts. It allows me some time to be introspective and also marvel at the circuitous way my brain actually works. Hahaha.

So what have I been up to and thinking of these past week?

My first thought yesterday? Oh no. I totally forgot to post my Cambodia Snapshots entries for last week. My excuse: I was swamped with things to do. Hi-ace was going to a week-long meeting in Korea and with a load of things he has to do already, he was left with little time to prepare his stuff. So it was no brainer that I’d put on my ‘secretary’ hat and prepare presentations and such.

Phnom Penh’s see-sawing weather is driving me nuts. Why? I dunno when is the best time to do laundry. Lol. The past week whenever it looks like were going to have some sun, I always make a mad dash to load the washing machine. I know I could make use of the dryer but I still prefer to just squeeze dry our clothes and leave it to fully dry under the sun.

The level of water on Mekong River is scaring me. I know this is the first time I have seen it that high. I don’t want to see more flooding.

I’m sooo looking forward to our trip to Manila on the 27th. I miss my mom and the family will be together for All Saint’s Day. We’ll all be visiting Papa’s grave. This will be the first time I go home and won’t be seeing him and I can’t help but tear up. I miss him dreadfully, I don’t think I’ll ever get over the fact that I won’t be seeing him anymore. Ever.

On a lighter note, I decided to add little somethings to my wardrobe. You know I swore when I was younger that even if I get fat or thin when I age, I don’t want to look losyang. I always believe one should make an effort to look good whatever age, size, color etc you are. Some do it for others (ie to please their husbands, bf’s etc) but me, I do it for myself. I feel good about myself when I’m dressed presentably.

You might ask why I don’t dress up primarily for hubby. Well, he already thinks I’m a goddess so I need not worry. LOL. Kidding! I hope he doesn’t read this. Hahaha.

I do like shopping, but most of the time I prefer thrift shopping. Or bargain shopping. That’s why I just loooove Tuol Tompong Market (Russian Market) here in Phnom Penh. There are lots of branded factory overun clothing in there at just a fraction of its retail price. So this is where I get my everyday and casual clothing. I simply can’t justify spending more than $20 on a clothes that I would just use inside the house or for a casual stroll outside and that’s the main reason I shop at Russian Market for clothes. They are cheap and chic. I blog more about my shopping and thrift finds at GirlOnaThriftHunt

All items from various stalls in Russian Market-Phnom Penh.

Leggings – $2 each; Nice fabric, I wasn’t too keen though on the way the ends flare a bit. I like my leggings tapered. But this is definitely very serviceable. And at that price? Huh, great steal.
One-piece dresses – $3 each; I love this. Can be worn alone or with leggings. The fabric is soft and made of cotton. The sewing though is not perfect but at that price, I’m not complaining.
Tank Tops – 3 for $5. Very comfy. I got three in neutral colors. Easy to pair with other clothes. Great fabric.
Cardigans – $3 each. <3 <3 <3. Lightweight and stylish cardigan. Perfect for chilly days without adding a lot of bulk. I’m going crazy about cardigans these days. Lol.

All in all, I spent $21!!! You know, shopping is really great here in Phnom Penh. We don’t have gargantuan malls but you can discover some really good buys if you just take the time to look.I also find bargaining a lot of fun.

A Visit to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

Lui — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 14:48:45 +0000

This is a photo heavy post ) Hmm, I’m just too lazy to spread this over several posts. A week ago, we had long holiday because the Khmers were celebrating Pchum Ben. With a few days on our hands we decided to visit Ho Chi Minh City again. Last time we went there we didn’t do much sightseeing, we were just there to eat and shop. We picked the place since its near, just a few hours bus ride. For the PP-HCM leg of our trip we took Mekong Express. Left 8:30 am and before 1:30 pm we were already getting our passports stamped at the Vietnam border. You know you’re in Vietnam when you see this..Heh.

I pre-booked our hotel, picked out Hong Thien Loc Hotel for its proximity to buses going to Phnom Penh and also its right along Pham Ngu Lao street. Very central. The hotel was nice enough, nothing stellar but good enough and I got a really good deal online compared to if we just walked in.

And here’s pic spam of our three day trip.

I actually feel right at home in Ho Chi Minh city. I feel like I’m just in a bigger version of Phnom Penh. What with millions of motorbikes making the city roads their raceways? Well for some, the streaming hordes of motorbikes is a novelty and often scary but I must have gotten immune to it while living in Phnom Penh. I think its pretty ordinary hahaha. And I just found out I’m pretty good at crossing the road and deftly avoiding being side swept by those flying motos..

Above: Backpacker Central – De Tham Street

Tiny alleys packed with mini hotels..

Eats? One of my favorite things to do in Vietnam..We can’t get enough of Pho..

The usual tourist circuit..Hehe we decided to do what the usual tourists do..

Reunification Palace. This place obviously didn’t interest me much. This is the only photo I took of the place.

War Remnants Museum.

Lovely Notre Dame Cathedral

Below: A really old and ornate Chinese Temple

And my favorite place in all of Ho Chi Minh City. The General Post Office. I dunno but this is just gorgeous for me. I feel like I’m on time travel and I could hang out in this place for hours.

i love this ATM booths )

And oh, we also visited a lacquerwood factory..

Applying layers of paint/lacquer or whatever that is. I guess I wasn’t paying attention and busy snapping away.

Egg Shell Art

Below: Finished Products Gallery. One can buy from here. A bit pricier than those in markets but the quality is much much better.

When we came back we booked Kumho Samco bus, you know we want to try out all buses plying the PP-route, just so we know which one is really the better service. Hmmm, OW was $10, the seats were good. I reckon they are better than Sapaco Tourist. At least they don’t cram the bus with ‘goods’ the way Sapaco does. Service-wise I would still prefer Mekong Express.

That’s it folks! I do have a lot of things to say about this short trip but this post is too long already. Haha.. All in all, this was a really lazy, relaxing vacation. I hope we could do this often. Hahaha. Yeah, I’m already checking out the calendar for the next PP long holiday and where we’ll be going…

Living in Phnom Penh: Random-ness #1

Lui — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 09:16:10 +0000

I’ve been thinking of starting a ‘random things’ post for my blogs for a long time already. But the procrastinator in me just keeps me from doing so. But since were half-way through the year and I want to have at least one thing off my ‘new year’s resolution – to do list’ then I’m starting this now. Be forewarned, though, I think my random-ness posts would be a lot more personal and messy compared to my other posts. This would be where I’ll be blurbing about things that come and go on my mind. Of course, mostly things I experience everyday, things I observe and whatnot…

I did a huge load of laundry today coz it’s drizzling. Yes, I’m weird like that. And now I’m crossing my fingers and hoping it won’t smell bad. Lol.
Yesterday, I met my Phnom Penh friends, Sreisaat and Mumsified. And I suddenly think I do miss them. You know I’m not exactly very social, and coupled with loads of things I have to do, I’m always left with no time to see friends. So it was great to see them.
I dropped by IBC bookstore and I ended up buying another pile of notebooks. I seriously don’t know what to do with them except that I looooove notebooks. Oh well, maybe I should start writing down project ideas on one.
I also went to the wet market with the intention of buying vegetables. But I ended up buying fish, eggs and pork. No sign of greens. I guess I have to go back again tomorrow?
Need to go and book our tickets to Ho Chi Minh. Well be spending the Pchum Benh holidays there. And oh I really have to search for a hotel. Any recommendations? And I would prefer a nice hotel near Ben Than Market.
Saturday and Sunday well be visiting several wats and making our offerings.
And oh, I really really love Khmer iced tea. It doesn’t taste a bit like our usual ‘lemon iced tea’ which is yummy but I know its all just sugar and artificial flavoring. The Khmer iced tea though is made from freshly brewed tea with a twist of lemon + lots of ice.

Living in Phnom Penh: A Walk in The Park

Lui — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 04:45:46 +0000

Ooops. I’ve been missing my regular living in Phnom Penh posts! Lately I’ve been posting mostly just Cambodia Snapshots and Khmer food photos. I do still have my blogging mojo, but I was simply preoccupied with lots of things. Mainly mommy and wifey things. Priorities . I have also been reviving some old blogs and finally I have some spare time now so I would be posting some snippets of our life in Phnom Penh.

For the past few weeks, I had been obsessing on getting fit. I spend a lot of my time tinkering with the computer since I work online so I don’t want to spend some spare time staring at the idiot box or playing on a tablet pc, so I decided I should give myself some love and be fit. I considered enrolling in a gym, but I think that is not for me. I’ve tried that before when I was in the Philippines but I always end up not going. Enrolling in a fitness class is also a no go for me coz I prefer to have a flexible schedule. So I decided to get fit on my own. I started with weekend early morning walks. Now, I jog/walk 4-5 times per week. I do my jogging in the parks , which thankfully Phnom Penh has a lot of. I could walk in the streets but for safety reasons, hubby told me to just walk in the park, I’m the queen of klutz, you see so I could understand his point.

So this has become a routine for us. During the weekends we usually go to the Vietnamese-Cambodian Friendship Park in Sothearos. They have a big free play area for kids so the kiddo can play till she drops and hubby and I can do our brisk walking around the park.

During weekdays, after I send off the kiddo to school and hubby is off to work, I jog around Hun Sen Park. A couple of rounds on that huge park is really exhilarating. Plus you get awesome scenery and this is also an interesting place to do some people watching. See? The photo below was taken during my walk this morning. Lovely, isn’t it?

Sigh. This is what I love about living in Phnom Penh. It’s a simple and good life. You still get to enjoy things for free.

Fast & Furious + Hot Hot Cars

Lui — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 06:00:45 +0000

A late post. I had this in my drafts but I simply forgot to click on the publish button. Sigh. But its never too late for goodies and eye candy right? And I did have boatloads of eye candy with Legend Cinema’s Fast and Furious 5 advance screening and awesome hot cars event. The guys at Legend sure are very generous and you’ve gotta hand it to them. They come up with cool and fun marketing activities for each movie feature. Fast and Furious 5 is still on, so check out Legend Cinema‘s site and Facebook Fanpage.

I was pretty much excited to see Fast and Furious 5. I have watched the previous installments for this series and I did enjoy most of them. Visually, its stunning and who can resist hot cars, anyway? I’m also a fan of Vin Diesel’s voice {lol! yeah his voice} and to see him again with Paul Walker would be a treat. Adding Dwayne Johnson to the cast sure was a stroke of brilliance on the part of whoever produced this film. And I liked the movie. It had awesome visuals, effects, and the script was unexpectedly funny {check out the movie quotes here and you’ll get what I mean}. Yes, funny and that was a surprise since I was thinking this would be an all out action movie considering the mega dose of testosterone from the presence of both Diesel, Johnson and others. As for the acting, well it was so so, but who cares anyway. Just concentrate on the muscles. That’s my advice. LOL.

Here’s the trailer if you need some convincing..

Click here to view the embedded video.

Going hand in hand with the movie {and coincidentally they were also showing Cars 2..}, Legend held a hot car exhibit and here’s some snapshots.

Kudos to Legend Cinema’s team for the onslaught of cool events. I think its high time Phnom Penh gets to enjoy all these.

Shipping Items To Phnom Penh

Lui — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 12:28:49 +0000

It’s a fact. I’m crazy about online shopping. Let’s just say, its my one personal indulgence. It makes me happy, like giddy happy! I’m into Ebay, Etsy, Rakuten and scouring unique individual shops. But when we moved to Phnom Penh three years ago, I put a full stop to my online shopping obsession. Mainly because I heard horror stories about the ‘bad’ postal system here in Cambodia. But after a few years and observing that at least 99.9% of letters/documents I send or receive through the post actually gets through { nothing was lost actually, some were just delayed etc.}, I think I got enough confidence {hehe or shall we say false bravado?} to get back into shopping online and getting it shipped here.

And here’s my experience..

Using DHL/FedEx etc. Yes, the big names. I shopped from some shops already and the first few times, I used mainly these couriers. Especially DHL. They will also handle the customs clearance and whatever taxes and duties that needs to be paid. They would also normally call before delivery and inform you how much are the charges. Pros: hassle-free, fast and efficient, with tracking. Cons: Pricey! The price though is worth it especially if you are shipping items of worth or items you need fast.

Package of Electronics Shipped Via DHL

EMS: Efficient service and much cheaper than other couriers and they also provide tracking. ~~I haven’t tried this inbound to Phnom Penh but this is mainly what I use when sending packages out of Cambodia.~~ Last time I shipped a package to Manila, it took only 3 days to get there. Update: I’ve been regularly shopping from Gmarket Korea and they had been shipping my goodies via EMS. They are not as pricey as other couriers but they are also fast. Here in Phnom Penh, though they don’t deliver. They’ll assign a number to your package and call you up or send you a pickup receipt. Then you have to go to EMS counter at the Main Post Office and claim your package. The customs officer present would also check your package and prepare to pay a couple of thousand riels. The most expensive tax levied on me for a package worth $100+ was 15,000Riels (less than $4), providing you don’t have electronics on your package. Prepare also to have your ID on hand, preferably your passport or your embassy ID since they would verify if you really are who you say you are hehe.

Regular Airmail: I think my sense of daring got the better of me when I ordered something online and saw that it had free shipping, the catch though is that the item would be shipped via regular air mail. But since the item I was purchasing that time {from lightinthebox.com – shenzen/hongkong based} were just small gadgets and accessories, I decided to try it out and see what happens. I did wonder if the item would ever get here or if would still be functioning when it gets here. But I took the jump and was pleasantly surprised. The online shop said air mail might take 15 to 30 days so I prepared myself to wait a long time. But yay to Cambodia’s post service, I got the package in less than 8 days! And in good condition too.

Package with Mobile Phone Accessories and Computer Accessories. Unopened and Items Inside Were In Good Condition. Yay!

Items sent via AirMail here are usually delivered straight to our address or sometimes they would deliver a claim receipt and you have to go to the Post Office and claim it there. I dunno how they select items they deliver directly or for pick up but I noticed items that are light weight like my last Artscow.com order {personalized canvass bags, magnets, photobooks} were delivered directly to our address, while another package with mobile phone and computer accessories were designated for pick up.

Packet from Artscow.com. Arrived in Very Good Condition. Fast Shipping Too..

When you pick up a package from the post office be prepared to pay taxes/duties, but I seriously don’t know what is the tariff. They charge in Riels and the highest I paid for was 3,500 Riels or less than $1.

Customs and Duties. From experience, majority of the stuff I bought online has been charged taxes. Except for some paper products I ordered, everything else were taxed from a few thousand riels to a few dollars. You can’t really avoid it coz most of items bought online has receipts and declarations, so they will be taxed. All stuff I ordered worth below $50 and sent via Air Mail has just been taxed for a few thousand riels. The most expensive I could remember was a tax of 3500 Riels for something worth about $30+. It also helps if you have a Khmer with you when you pick up your packages though.

I also tried buying electronics {eg. MP3 players/Phone etc} worth $100+ and they were levied $20+ in tax. This one was sent via DHL and they were the one’s who facilitated the customs clearance. So I would conclude that Cambodian government charge about 20% of the declared value for electronics.

Overall, I’m quite satisfied with shipping choices here. Now, its giving me a lot more confidence to shop more, and its a good guess my wallet is experiencing some heebie jeebies.

pinaywifespeaks » Living in Phnom Penh

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