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

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

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

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

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

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

Other useful sites:

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

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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Check out the article about this on the Phnom Penh Post..

Philippine budget carrier Cebu Pacific has been given the go ahead to fly direct routes to and from Manila to Phnom Penh to start on the spring of 2010 (no specific launch date yet) . This was announced by the Minister of Tourism Thong Khon.

“Cebu Air is authorised to start flying to our country in March or April next year,” he said, citing a memorandum of understanding signed by Cambodia’s State Secretariat of Civil Aviation (SSCA) and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) on September 16 to open the airways between the two countries.

SSCA Cabinet Chief Long Chheng said the two sides were currently working on ironing out the details of the flights. “I am not sure of the exact date the flights will commence because I have received no confirmation,” he said, adding that an Air Service Agreement (ASA) still must to be signed by both parties.

Now at least there is some developments…Hopefully, these the direct flights between Manila and Phnom Penh will be a reality soon.. Spring months are March, April and May, right? I’m still crossing my fingers. Obviously I hate the stopovers and connecting flights, well its a big waste of time =)

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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Image credits: Cambodia.org /Khmerization

Although there is also a smaller scale version of the festival held in Angkor Wat, but the exciting happenings are right in Phnom Penh. Yesterday, we took a stroll along the riverside and whoa! there are loads of stalls in construction, workers touching up on the pavilion that will serve as viewing stand for the boat race, more workers cleaning up the river from floating water hyacinth..

Water Festival 2009 Preparations..

Water Festival 2009 Preparations..

Early Morning..@the Riverside

Flags are Up..Phnom Penh Riverside

The annual Water and Moon Festival is also called the Bonn Om Toeuk in Khmer. This festival celebrates the start of the fishing season. It also marks the reversal of the current in Tonle Sap river. The most watched out for event is the boat racing, and there is fireworks, lots of fairs and mini concerts.

The Boat Race or Pirogue Racing, the highlight and worth watching. Some 300 boats all propelled by synchronized rowers. Most of the rowers are from different provinces and some from other countries. Loads of people from provinces come over to cheer on their rowing team.

The Moon festival coincides with the Water Festival and for Khmers the full moon means bountiful harvest. During this time, Khmers give offerings, light incense and say prayers to the moon.

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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Anyway, its finally confirmed that the much anticipated (it’s probably just me haha!) signing of Memorandum of Understanding between Cambodia and the Philippines allowing direct flights between the two countries happened last September 16, 2009. I got this update from my fave Cambodian news portal – Phnom Penh Post. Yahoo! So that’s one step along the way.

The Philippines’ proposal to open seven weekly flights from Manila to Phnom Penh, 14 flights a week from Clark to Phnom Penh, plus 14 weekly flights to the capital from elsewhere in the Philippines is currently being reviewed by the Cambodian government.

SSCA Cabinet Chief Long Chheng is optimistic that both the Philippines and Cambodia will reach an Air Service Agreement by the end of this year.

Great news right?  The number of Pinoys working here and vacationing here in Cambodia are increasing in numbers so this would definitely be a big help for us. Shorter travel time and cheaper air fares. Now, hubby is worried if this pushes through I might decide to go on a weekly Phnom Penh-Manila jaunts Haha come to think of it, isn’t that a fab idea?

Latest Update here – Update to Direct Flights: Manila – Phnom Penh

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Date: September 1-21, 2009
Where: Wat Phnom Culture and Fine Arts Museum. See map here.
Admission is free.

The Embassy of Japan and the Municipality of Phnom Penh together with its sponsor, the Japan Foundation will be presenting the Japanese Doll Exhibition where about 70 dolls will be exhibited.

Japan has certainly a very unique and fascinating doll culture and we get to see a glimpse of this. Each doll is unique crafted and each theme has a deep connection with the Japanese way of life.

If you’re interested in things Japanese or simply on ends looking for what to do in Phnom Penh on your weekend, then check out this exhibit.

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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**Update 9/29/09: Cambodia-Philippines signs air flight deal. Just click the link to read the post. At least now its official!

This news definitely is making my day. I was browsing the Phnom Penh Post (one of my daily morning rituals) and I was reading the article about the national airline (Cambodia Angkor Air), and a short include caught my attention. The article quoted Minister of Tourism Thong Khon and mentioned that,

“He added that direct flights to Manila on Philippine Airlines would start later this year following an agreement due to be signed Wednesday.”

Check out the entire article at the Phnom Penh Post.

Now, isn’t that a terrific news? We’ve been waiting for this for sometime since there has been rumors a few years back that the Philippine flag carrier as well as the budget airline Cebu Pacific has been applying for adding direct flights to the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh. There is a sizeable Filipino community here in Cambodia and at the same time there are a lot of tourists here in Cambodia so hopefully this could also encourage them to include the Philippines in their iteneraries.

Before we used to come to Phnom Penh via Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong or Ho Chi Minh and the trip would usually take around a day to complete because of the stop overs and its such a hassle too especially if you’re traveling with kids so direct flights would really cut short the travel time plus a big savings on the airfare.

That means Manila will just be less than a four-hour trip away from Phnom Penh!!! Hubby is now kidding me that he bets I’ll probably be booking the first ever seat on the first-ever flight! Can you blame me? I’m just too excited as it is..

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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The Secretary of State Mao Havannal have just recently announced that Cambodia plans to begin operations of Cambodia Angkor Airline or the CAA and also to inagurate Preah Sihanouk International Airport (formerly Kang Keng Airport), located in Sihanoukville, on July 27.

The said airline would be operating flights between Siem Reap and Preah Sihanouk province with an ATR-72 plane. This national airline is a joint venture between the Cambodian government and Vietnam Airlines. The government and Vietnam Airlines have also signed an agreement to purchase Airbus 320 and 321 in late 2009 -2010 so the airlines could also serve routes to other countries, including South Korea.

This is definitely a good news specially since more and more tourist are discovering the Cambodia. I am also hoping that this airline would stick to the safety standards so the past airline accidents would not be repeated and it would not suffer the same fate as the other airlines that operated here. Having its own national carrier would definitely boost Cambodia’s tourism sector and its economy.

***UPDATE 8/7/09*** Cambodia Angkor Air’s website is now up. Click here to visit. They also have ongoing fare promos so check out the website.

These are also their offices and contact numbers:

Phnompenh:

Address 1:

1-2/294 Boulevard Mao Tse Toung, Phnom Penh 2 – Cambodia

Tel:  +855 23 6666786

+855 23 6666787

+855 23 6666788

+855 23 6666789

Vietnam Airlines Branch Office in Phnom Penh, Cambodia:

No. 41, 214 Str., Samdech Pan, Phnom Penh

Tel : +855 23 990 840/ 215 998

Fax : +855 23 213 499

Siem Riep:

Telephone:

+855 63 964488

Ho Chi Minh city:

Telephone:

+848 38 320320

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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I guess the frenzy about the swine flu hasn’t really reached me yet. But yesterday, I made a call to my mom in the Philippines and I gather there is really a lot of cases H1N1 cases already in the Philippines and they are doubly cautious.Of course she spent a good 5 minutes of our conversation lecturing me about keeping healthy and about the symptoms of this and that..

Here in Cambodia, there is no H1N1 outbreak yet and the likelihood of an outbreak is “very small at this point”, a senior WHO official was quoted. I’ve been browsing the news this morning and I read that Cambodia now has a total of six confirmed H1N1 cases, including one domestic case of the H1N1 virus.

Among the six confirmed cases, one is a Filipino national who was tested for the virus after showing flulike symptoms at the Poipet border. All of these six confirmed cases are currently receiving treatment here in Phnom Penh.

I really hope there won’t be any outbreak, as health services here are limited at best.. Check out the latest updates from WHO.

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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This tradition dates back to the 13th century and starts with the royal procession arriving in Phnom Penh. This ceremony is regarded as superstitious but is nonetheless taken seriously by some Khmers. Two sacred oxen pulls a wooden plough in the ceremonial ground and then they are given offerings. Whichever crop the oxens would choose to eat, it is believed that it will be abundant in yield.

This year the royal astrologer said the cow ate beans and corn, meaning both crops will enjoy good harvest. Here’s a video of the recently held Royal Ploughing Ceremony.

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