I was digging, digging, sorting when I saw a gauzy black empire cut dress a friend gave me last year. I haven’t worn it coz its too short for me, I could wear it with leggings but I always thought I don’t look good on leggings (hehe with my fat legs and all..). But I kept this dress coz I like its stretchy bodice, I mean even if I get totally huge, I could still wear it..Lol! Anyway, my little fashionista and kikay daughter saw it and tried it on. I had to tie the back with a ribbon so it wouldn’t fall off. Haha! She was giggling and asked me to fix her hair, ‘Tie it up, please Mommim and take photos of me..”

Lol! We had loads of fun taking photos again. Hmm, this is something that I really like about living in Phnom Penh. Life is simple, at an unhurried pace so I get to enjoy and play silly games like this with Chinks.

So here she is..And no I didn’t tell her how to pose. She just posedand pouted by herself with me just snapping photos with my phone’s camera..

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February just passed by like a breeze for me. I know it just has 28 days but it didn’t leave me with much impression. Also, though February is where Valentine’s Day falls on, we didn’t really do anything special. We all just spent the day together, me, Hi-ace and Chinks playing board games in the morning, afternoon attending Hi-ace’s school affair then a leisurely family dinner in a Thai restaurant. That’s it! I guess I’m long past appreciating flowers, chocolates and romantic dinners during Valentine’s day, uggh I even find it corny and I get annoyed at those romantic blah blahs being shoved in your face every time the 14th draws near. Happiness now for me, stems from those family bonding moments, times were just together without even doing anything special or being anywhere fancy. Funny, but I feel really content and happy at this point..

Ouwie also had her 30th birthday (I hope she doesn’t read this. She forbids me to mention her real age and wants to pass herself off as 24. Haha!). It was a quiet too. We aren’t really big on celebrating birthdays. I just asked her what she wants to eat and if she wants to go out. She prefers to have home-cooked pasta, so I just rustled up some penne pasta in bacon and mushroom cream sauce. Yummy!

Before I knew it, February was over.. Hmmm, by this time in the Philippines its graduation season and I have nephews and nieces sending their graduation announcements. That’s something really nice and I do feel happy about them graduating from school. But everytime I hear my nieces and nephews graduating or getting married, whew! I definitely start to feel my age..

Last Wednesday, I met Zarah and Josiet again for a cup of coffee and the usual chatter fest. Hayy, I must say, time with these lovely friends I found is one of my ‘decompression’ time. I get to relax, connect with others, and well, eat.. We had to extend the coffee date to lunch and met up with Elma. More girl talk and laughter. Then we decided to go shopping in Boeung Keng Kang Market.. I didn’t buy anything mostly coz it was extremely hot and I’m fussy when I’m buying stuff, but I did enjoy looking around. I really wish I could have more days like this..

Friday was a busy day again. I had to drop by Chinkee’s school to check on her new class. She has already been moved to the Grade I class though she’s about to officially start Grade I next August. Their school uses the Montessori system and once she’s ready, she was moved to the next level so the transition would be much easier. Her teacher also told me she’s exceptionally good in Math (lol! definitely not from my genes) and Art (now, that is from me.. ).  She’s now a fast reader and writing is already legible. Though I had my initial reservations about her school, I’m quite happy with the way she’s progressing in fact, I must say I’m impressed. That just proves I guess that you don’t have to choose the most expensive school, just pick the most suitable one, whichever learning environment she is most comfortable with.

After the school visit, I had to drop by the supermarket for some last minute stuff Hi-ace was bringing on his 3-day Preah Vihear-Siem Reap trip. I had to pack everything for him coz he had class till 8:30 pm and their group leaves at 2 am..

Now, its just me, Ouwie and Chinks for the next three days. I’m a bit scared but our house and the whole compound is pretty safe. My mother-in-law though was apprehensive about leaving us alone, she was just here this afternoon and kept asking me if we’ll be okay. I’m lucky, Ma is the total antithesis of the villain-like mom-in-laws, she’s really nice and always concerned about us without being pushy. But I did assure her we’ll be fine and she should not worry and I’ll call if ever we need something..

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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This is actually my second trip to Kirirom, though last time we went there it was raining hard, so no good photos and I also forgot to write about it. This time though the weather was awesome so I have plenty of photos. If you’re living in Phnom Penh, this is one of the places to escape to if the chaos of Phnom Penh gets a little unbearable.

Ok, so what’s with Kirirom? Its a National park located about 112 km from Phnom Penh, with a lush forest and pine trees. If you’re from the Philippines just imagine the place to be a little similar to Baguio or Tagaytay but with a lot less people around . It’s a very popular picnic area for Khmers as it allows them to escape the hustle and bustle plus the heat of Phnom Penh. Most Khmers go to several waterfalls near the area  and these usually have picnic huts you can rent. I noticed though that the streams were a little dried out so swimming is a little out of the question. Must be because its summer time.

Going there by public transpo is a bit hard I was told but its still possible. I saw some foreigners there too and they hired motorbikes to get there. The best way still is to have your own transportation. National Highway 4 (NH4) is pretty scenic but I was very much on my toes as there are lots of cars, taxis with kamikaze drivers. And not only that, there plenty of cows roaming around the highway so things are interesting. Once you turn towards the National Park, there are less cars, more greens…

We reached the place around 11 am, picked a picnic hut near the stream. Khmer picnic huts are usually elevated, with some nipa thatch for roofing, and mats for lounging around. Khmers love eating sitting lotus-style so its hard to find huts with tables in their picnic places.

You can bring your own food or you can order from the resto there. They serve Khmer food only. After a hearty lunch, we lounge around for a bit, while Chinks and Noel where playing around and wading on the stream.

About 2 pm we set off towards Kirirom Hillside Resort a few kilometers down from the picnic area. Nice place though it seemed a bit empty and the facilities not maintained. They also have a swimming pool (which I think was tad small and too pricey!) a cafe, and cottages for rent. They also have a mini zoo, but it was those dinosaur statues that were a big hit with the kids..

All in all, it was a very hot, tiring but really enjoyable day. Especially for the kids…And oh, check out Kirirom Hillside Resort website too.

All photos here or check out my PHOTOS page. Click on the thumbnail to activate the viewer. =)

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This is so not me! But a few days ago I had been planning our trips for the year, at least for the next six months. Hi-ace schedules are as usual very difficult to pin down. I’ve already booked tickets for our month-long Bicol, Phlippines vacation on July. I know its too early but I wanted to have the tickets already so I won’t have reason to back out. It’s just me and Chinks going because Hi-ace still have loads of classes that time as well as office work. His break will be on August 8 and our return date is on Aug 11..So, he really has no choice but to stay put.

He’s been acting morose, I know coz he loves going to the Philippines and he prefers shopping there plus I guess he just misses the place. He has already given me a long list of what he wants to be bought and I seriously think I won’t be doing much shopping for myself since he has quite a long list and I hate having too much baggage when I travel.

He’s constantly murmuring and asking me what is he going to do when were not around. I suggested going to the gym (he says no..), doing some gardening (he says maybe!), going on a short trip (he says maybe not, its boring without me and Chinks ), or maybe go play some sports (other than soccer he doesn’t play other sports) – tennis, swimming or maybe golf. But I could just imagine him swearing at the expense (he’s incredibly frugal unlike me haha!) and he’ll probably be using used golf balls just to be happy.

Anyway I promised to cook him sinigang (Pinoy style sour soup – his all-time favorite) twice a week and this seemed to perk him up a bit. I’ve also bugged him about joining his students trip to Preah Vihear this coming March 6. Initially he didn’t want to go because we weren’t going, but I pushed him into it ..(so he could take photos and I could post here hahaha), so now he’s looking forward to that as well. Ouwie, Chinks and I will be going to Sihanoukville for 3 days. Our first choice was a lazy weekend in Kep but the place I wanted to book was full so we’ll just opt for Sihanoukville for now.

I’ve also already planned Chinkee’s birthday trip which will coincide with the Khmer New Year. We’ll all be off to Ho Chi Minh city in Vietnam. That’s Chinkee’s choice, I dunno why I would have preferred going to KL or Singapore but she insists it has to be Vietnam. Lol! Her current bff is a cute Vietnamese boy and he probably is behind the choice. Anyway since its her birthday, then she can make the choice and well be staying for about 4 days there.

I’m also thinking of going to Bangkok this May, if not Sept or October if Hi-ace is still here. We’ll also be spending this year’s Christmas holidays in the Philippines since it has been two years already we had been having Christmas here and my parents are getting lonely..

And oh, aside from planning those stuff, I had also been worried about my father’s health. Last week, my mom said his blood sugar is up again and his diabetes might recur. His prostate cancer has also been in remission but just recently his PSA is going up and this worries his doctor. If things don’t improve I might also make a short trip this May to check on him..

Ahh, the things I worry about. Now back to my regular programming – blogging and updating some websites.. But wait.. It’s 10:30 am now, time for me to prepare lunch.. Ciao!

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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That’s one of the beliefs me and my sister, Ouwie shares. For nine years, Ouwie has been working as an assistant professor in multimedia communication in a local university in Bicol. She has also been actively involved in various projects in media as well as non-govermental organizations. While doing that she managed to complete her Master’s Degree in Developmental Communication from University of the Philippines.

My sister, Ouwie..

She then came to a point where she wanted something more. To expand her horizons and explore more possibilities.  I told her about the teaching opportunities here in Phnom Penh and I think it’ll do her a lot of good to experience a totally different culture and to see things from a different perspective. So, she took a leap of faith and flew here last month.

After a few rounds of sending resumes here and there. A couple of interviews and not so good prospects materializing, she was beginning to wonder if she was meant to come here and what was in store for her. Then she got the call she was waiting for. I guess she wowed the people over at Limkokwing Univeristy and they asked her to join them as a full time international lecturer under the Faculty of Design Studies.

Today is her first day of work and tomorrow its her birthday. I guess getting the job of her dreams is a really fab birthday gift. I did make a deal with her that if she gets a job offer from Limkokwing, I’d dedicate a post for her, psst! although I reckon, a week-long Orlando vacations would be much nicer.

Anyway, I made this post just to greet her a Happy Birthday and a big congratulations.  Hi-ace, Chinks and I are proud of you and of course, Ma, Pa and Coco. We’ll always be around to support you whatever you want to do and wherever you want to be.

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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Should I or should I go back to school and complete my Master’s? If I do that, what will I do after I’m done with it? If I go for it, what field do I want to get into? Should I find a regular 8-5 work and be part of the rat race again? If I do that, would I have time for my family and how big an adjustment is that for everyone? Whatever I decide to do, it’s going to have an effect not just on me but also my family. So, I guess you can imagine the dilemmas I’m having right now.

I had to get off and clear my head for awhile and I ended up playing around with Photoshop and some brushes. I miss doing this! I’ve been so caught up with writing, blogging, web site building that I hardly ever took the time anymore to one of my favorite pastimes before – toying around with graphics and vectors. Doing these really revs me up and I end up getting motivated again.

Anyway, here’s what I’ve made. Some wallpapers in 1280 x 1024 sizes. I’m posting it for everyone to use and download for personal use only. Just right click open in a new tab/window then save as.

What do you think? I know it all looks a little girly but well I’m a girl. I should do this more often now. I used to remember I always made personalized photo pages, signatures, invitations  for baptism, birthdays,communion invitations, even my own wedding invitation was my own design. I even once thought of doing this professionally but somehow I was sidetracked.

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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A few doors down my mother-in-laws house in Toul Tompoung area, there is a Khmer restaurant (corner resto St. 432 and 163) serving espressos and iced coffees at a fraction of the price of famous coffee houses. And the taste? Whew! One of the best brews I’ve ever had. Not only that, I was amazed to find out  that most of these local cafe’s roast their own local beans so you get freshly roasted coffee which, believe me has the best taste. Khmers prefer their beans roasted really black and adds a little fat or butter making the taste a lot richer. They would usually roast their beans every other day around 2-3 pm and just the aroma is heavenly!

So, though I still frequent nice cafes around Phnom Penh (I do enjoy their plush seats, free wifi, pastries..) but every so often you can find me sampling coffee from these small restaurants found all over Phnom Penh. These shops mostly speak very little English so come prepared and have this memorized (lol! I even have a small note always with me with Khmer translation of this just in case..)

• hot black coffee – caa-fei kh’mav (khdow -hot)
• coffee – caa-fei
• iced coffee – caa-fei teuk koh
• ice coffee milk – caa-fei teuk koh tuk duh koh

Khmer coffee is usually served hot – black or with milk / iced – black or with milk. There’s also a place inside Russian Market (Tuol Tompoung Market) serving what they claim to be the Best Iced Coffee in Phnom Penh. It does taste really good, and since there are a lot of tourists in the market they can speak English, so ordering a glass of iced coffee is a breeze.

It’s located right in the food hall, just look for the sign..

And to tempt those iced coffee lovers..

I’ve already shared this passion for Khmer coffee to some of my friends and also my sister. Ouwie is now also a certified Khmer coffee addict. Lol ! I can still remembered when she first tried it, she found it so good, she had too many glasses and found herself unable to sleep and was looking for natural sleep aids. So, though its tastes really good, just have it in moderation

Happy coffee drinking!

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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One of my all time favorite Phnom Penh Markets is the O’Russey Market. It’s a six-story building, market stalls are on the first three floors, and on the surrounding streets. O’Russey Markets is a well-known wholesale market for food ingredients, seafoods,textiles, and clothing. You can also find some gardening items, mechanical tools, and electronics. Toys and food stuff you usually see being retailed in small stores across Phnom Penh are usually bought from here in bulk.

Be forewarned, this market is huge, and the pathways in between stalls are very narrow so be prepared to squeeze your way in. I always make sure I’m in my best (Divisoria-Manila like) mood whenever I venture to this market. It also helps if you can take walks for extended periods of time as there are limited resting areas around the market so best prepare with your joint supplements, a bottle of water, and something to wipe the sweat off your face. And do be careful also with your valuables.

The first floor contains mostly food items, goods for reselling, electronics, gardening supplies. But what interests me the most about this market is the upper floors. The second/third floor houses wholesalers of books and other school materials, clothing, accessories. You can also find textiles, tailoring supplies, ready-made clothing, tailoring shops and some hair and nail salons.

The best part for me is the second-hand clothing/shoe/bags/home items. We Filipinos call this UK or ukay-ukay  and this is where you can find designer items @ bargain prices not to mention unique pieces. O’Russey’s Ukay-Ukay/Second Hand stores holds a lot of great finds. I found some cute bags and shoes here but what I really really love are the curtains I discovered here. Second-hand shopping can be a bit difficult and only for those who has the gumption to sort though all the piles, but its very rewarding too..Try it for once and you’ll get hooked and one place to start your ukay-ukay hunting is the O’Russey Market.

I found this really interesting video on YouTube featuring O’Russey Market and the surrounding streets. Video courtesy of MSA Production

Click here to view the embedded video.

O’Russey Market on Google Maps

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©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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Kung Hei Fat Choi!

Things have been hectic for me the past few days, not to mention that I was again having an asthma attack. This is the 3rd time were celebrating the Lunar New Year here in Phnom Penh and there’s a lot for me to do. We had some major cleaning to do around the house (which we usually do before the Lunar New Year comes around) to sweep away the bad luck and the hardships of the previous year. Cleaning also means we welcome the new year on a clean start. So, you can assume my muscles are really tired at the moment, so blogging will be on hold for a day. =)

Aside from cleaning, there is that offering to do and almost never ending food preparations. Thankfully, my in-laws mostly does that for me, with just me occasionally slicing some veggies and tasting the finished product. We prepared a lot of food since yesterday, I’ve already lost count on how many dishes there was. All of it was fixed on a ceremonial altar, with cups filled with tea and rice wine, and loads of incense burning.

The we all feasted on the delicious food prepared. I sure ate a lot, I bet I’ll be badly in need of diet supplements again soon. After eating we gave the kids their ‘ang pow’ or their red envelopes with money. Chinks is of course grinning from ear to ear as she amassed a lot of ang pow.

I’m now beat and needing some rest. And oh! I just remembered it Valentine’s Day tomorrow! Whew.. I’m in a bit of a panic now I forgot about that.. Anyway, I wish everyone a great 2010. Good Health, Good Fortune and Harmonious Relationships for the whole year..

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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One reason I like posting my life bits is that I get to look back and put things into perspective, whenever I write short snippets of how it is like living in Phnom Penh, I appreciate new things and experiences more. I also get my chance to gloat and tell myself, ah! so I’ve accomplished that this week! If you call shopping or gossiping with friends an accomplishment =). And the best reason I like posting snippets of our life here in Phnom Penh – it saves me a LOT on my phone bills. Combined with Facebook, well this blog sure saves me a lot. I simply ask my relatives back home to check out my blog for the latest and they get updated. Sometimes they leave messages on my shoutbox (and it sometimes gets weird..) or just send me their comments through Facebook.

Okay, before I get really carried away with the why’s and wherefore’s of this post.. Here’s what I’ve been busy with the past few days..

umm, i kinda like this cartoon..

Wednesday was fun day for me with new friends I found here in Phnom Penh. Josiet invited everyone to her place and cooked a super yummy lunch for us. Pinoy favorites chicken-pork adobo,  ensaladang talong, crab meat omelette, fish in chinese-style sauce, pancit bihon, and dessert was sticky rice with mangoes. Pure yumminess, thanks J! As usual there was never ending laughter and chika with Che, Zarah, Mel and I’m glad I met another two Phnom Penhers- Ate Elma and Janette. I’m looking forward to more bonding times with these fab ladies..

this looks a lot like me when I'm cleaning..

Thursday was dust-attack day for me and my sis. I think cleaning the house is really fun with somebody around to help you out eh? Anyway, we attacked the dusty book shelves, threw out stuff we didn’t need, segregated items for recycling, dusted and scrubbed till everything was clean. Just in time to welcome the Chinese New Year next week, when everything must be spic and span clean..

Friday was working time for me. I had a lot of blog posts to be written, I’ve also decided to do a major computer cleanup and till now I’m still in the process of organizing my horde of files. I find it seriously daunting but I intend to get it done! Seriously, I have to get a bit more organized coz I’m way behind schedule of what I’ve been planning for my online work. I found myself a really cool task organizer. It’s called Taskwise and I find it really helpful. The simplest version can be downloaded for free.

I love TaskWise! Simple Task Checklist. Download it for free..

Last Friday was also Ouwie’s demo schedule at Limkokwing University. She’ was pretty excited and nervous about it, and I was waiting anxiously for news from her and when she arrived she was gushing coz yahoo!  she passed with flying colors. She’s hoping she could get a full-time position and she’s just waiting for the main branch to approve her application. I’m really hoping she could get that coz that’s what she really wants to do and where she wants to be. I’m crossing my fingers and praying hard for her..

Saturday we began work on our front porch. Were raising it leveled to the street and putting tiles so it looks better and can be easily maintained too. We’re also planning on putting a small garden set, a swing for Chinks and more greens for me. I must have been crazy coz I thought those cement tiles were light and I tried lifting some and the typically klutzy me, I sprained my right wrists and the left one was left bruised. It took two days to make it better and I swear I won’t be lifting those things again.. Anyway, the porch remodeling work is going well and will be done by this week hopefully.

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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Hi-ace then told me he’ll bring us over to one place that is uniquely Khmer. Hmm, that was enough to pique my interest. I know Khmers loves picnics so I was expecting somewhere in a park or a place with lots of mats, you sit down and order food..

After crossing the Japanese bridge, he drove on for more than 30 minutes and I was beginning to wonder where he was taking us. All I could see where fewer and fewer houses and big empty fields. Then we reached a place with houses built on top of stilts and towering over a huge pond filled with lotus plants..

I just love discovering out of the way places like this and when I saw these, I knew I was in for a treat.. Hi-ace told me this is where a lot of Khmers go for food and some R & R. So how’s the inside of those houses on stilts? Here..

You can choose which nook you want to stay in. There’s a mat and a low table in the middle and hammocks made of dried hyacinth. And I was so surprised that those hammocks was so comfy! It was no wonder I fell right into sleep after we had lunch. It’s hard to resist anyway, the food and breeze made me so sleepy..

Anyway, these places serve Khmer food and surprisingly the menus have English translation so it was easy enough for me to choose. We had beef loc lac, stir fried noodles, seafood fried rice, banana heart salad and a serving of ‘balut’. And sorry I totally forgot to take photos of the food coz I was already starving. Lol! I hope you all can cut me some slack. But take my word for it, the food was really, really good. Better than most fancy eating places in Phnom Penh!

I already swore I will drag Hi-ace back there the next chance I get! Now I know why those Khmers are so into those kinds of places. The food is great, and though the decor is not fancy but the comfy hammock and the cool natural breeze is more than enough to make up for it, and best of all, the price! I was shocked, we ate a lot and it didn’t even cost more than $20!! The only thing I didn’t like much was the karaoke singing. I wouldn’t have minded it really except that it was super loud, I swear my eardrums where hurting. Good thing it started when we were already done with our naps. But they do seem to be enjoying it a lot so I’m fine with it.

Hi-ace now keeps laughing at me coz I keep asking him to go there every chance I get and I know he’s secretly laughing at me coz I’m having a hard time losing weight here especially with all those delicious temptations. Wait till I bug him about buying me a dip machine or elliptical. He sure won’t be making fun of me anymore..

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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As if I didn’t know.. Last Christmas, I got her those kiddie laptop with lots of educational games and it also comes with a card where she can store points/pretend money to use in a digital petshop. I was amused that she could learn about money and saving with that card feature. She tells me always, “Mommim, I have to get the answers right and work hard so I can save  money to buy the pet  I want.”

So it has been like this for sometime now.. Like when she’s holding her latest favorite toy, there’s an invisible ‘Don’t Disturb’ Sign over her head..

Like most kids now, she likes techie gadgets and recently she has been bugging me about getting her a mobile phone.  Mainly because some of her classmates have one. I have reservations about giving her one, though it has some advantages but still I think its too early. Perhaps when she’s in Grade II or III. Right now, she’s keen on having a cute kiddie cellphone but Hi-ace and I are still discussing it.

She tells me she wants to have the Hello Kitty C90 China phone, costs about $100 online. It comes with e-book reader, alarm clock, FM radio, calculator, calendar, memo and bluetooth.  And the packaging is adorable, no wonder she’s almost stomping her feet with excitement. It looks really cute at first I wondered if its really a working phone but they say it does make calls and send SMS!

Should I get it for her? Maybe. If the time is right and the cost is right. Or perhaps I should just wait until it becomes the deal of the day. I don’t want to buy something expensive for her first phone coz who knows she’ll just destroy it in a day.. But I must admit her choice is cute. I guess she had her aunt Ouwie browse the net for cutie phones..

I’m imagining maybe next time when she gets busy, she’ll just say, ” Mommy, I’m busy. Just send me an SMS..” Lol! Kids..

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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Friday..

Met the Fabulous Pinay’s of Phnom Penh (haha! yeah I call them that..) Zarah, Josiet, and Che (blog ka na ulit, Che so I could link ) @ our now fave hangout Brown Cafe. After about 2 hours of girl talk, we all decided to have lunch at Khmer restaurant – Sugar Palm along St 240. Hmmm, food was bland and a bit pricey so I must say I have tasted better stuff. But then again, the company was great so I forgot about the not-so-good food.

After lunch, we went off to check boutiques along St. 240. Love this street, definitely a fashionista’s haven with elegant boutiques and Cambodian silk and product stores along the sides. Then, we checked Diva boutique along St. 57 , well a bit pricey but they do carry  a good selection of brands like Bebe, Guess etc, though they tend to stock on teeny weeny sizes.

After Diva, we all went different ways and Che invited me to meet her cutie daughter Isabelle. Their place is just a few meters walk so I happily agreed. Met the pretty doll-like Isabelle. I also got to hitch-hike home with Che’s nice help, Pheary who lives near my place. That must be my lucky day =).

After a few hours rest at home, my sister wanted to check out City Mall, Phnom Penh’s latest shopping heavyweight, right beside Olympic Stadium. We roamed around the mall, and seriously, I’ve been there a couple of times, but the layout still mystify’s me and I always manage to get lost several times each visit. We got so exhausted and ended up having dinner at Pizza World coz Chinks was demanding to eat spaghetti..

Saturday..

Chores in the morning. Then afternoon, Ouwie and I went to O’Russey Market. We have this goal to go on market tours every weekend and after the Russian Market last week, we picked O’Russey Market mainly because of the second-hand clothes/bags/shoes stores there. We are so into “ukay-ukay”! But that day, it was so crowded we didn’t end up buying anything in the ukay-ukay section but I saw a couple of things I will definitely go back for. Like that gauzy, silver and gold embroidered second-hand curtain. We also got to buy half-dozen colorful shorts for only 3000 Riels, which Chinks likes wearing at home.

After walking around the different sections, Ouwie and I decided we had enough already and we were already sweating profusely. My throat was screaming for some iced coffee so I dragged Ouwie to Brown Cafe. Hah! Heavenly! We also took out some muffins and chocolate cake for Chinks and she loved it.

Sunday..

Morning, workers came to the house to add more sand to the backyard. They had been at it for a couple of months already and were almost done. Then well just have to wait for it to be compressed and start planning our home renovation. Around 9 am, Hi-ace and I went to Russian Market where we usually buy our weeks supply of veggies, seafoods and some meat. We prefer buying in the wet markets since we get to have the freshest and also it’s really almost half the price of what’s in the supermarkets.

I was also in the mood to cook for lunch, so I marinated some pork and grilled it, Pinoy way! I love the way Pinoy’s make barbeque with lots of garlic, say sauce, bit of sugar, kalamansi juice and pepper. Then I made that sour garlic-chili sauce that Khmers are so fond of, and it went perfectly with the barbeque. Hi-ace also prepared some crunchy mangoes with chili-salt mix. And since Chinks cannot eat without soup, I made that Khmer fave – ampalaya (bittergourd) stuffed with ground pork mixed with garlic, pepper, salt. Then boiled with chopped onion leaves. Suffice it to say, we had a really sumptuous lunch!

After lunch, I decided to set up a home network at home for my PC and the netbooks we have at home. I wanted to use the router so we could all access the internet all at the same time. Took me an hour then voila! it’s was working! You can now imagine Chinkee’s glee that she doesn’t have to wait for me to get off my computer to start playing Playhouse Disney games.

I had a couple of hours to kill before fixing dinner so I watched an episode of City Hall ( a Korean Drama..) Okay… the first two episodes were  lame but after the third one I’m getting hopelessly hooked. Kim Sun Ah is simply awesome, one of the better Korean actresses..

Late afternoon, Hi-ace’s bestfriend Norrong and his Filipina wife, Netcy (hi ganda! O you’re mentioned here ) dropped by and invited all of us to have dinner. Of course, it’s Pinoy food and where else but our favorite Pinoy carenderia here in Phnom Penh – MJ’s Carenderia @ St. 294 right beside the North Korean Embassy. As usual we had a blast making ‘okray’ of different things and the food was great. Fish escabeche, pinakbet, calamares, lechon kawali, sinigang na hipon..

I guess I just ate too much and now I’m writing too much..:) Anyway, I hope everyone had a good weekend.

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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But after a half-day of trying to learn I was learning bit by bit, enough already for me to drive several meters haha! I was surely gaining a little confidence about my being on the road.

To get to my story, something happened to scare me off again. Hi-ace has a couple of classes in two universities and he has to hurry to get to those classes. He doesn’t have much time in between classes so he prefers to ride a motorbike to get there faster especially since those classes are during the rush hours. So two days ago, he was on a rush again, and it has started drizzling making the roads slippery. And on his way to his class in PUC he was near Pencil Supermarket when he had a minor accident. There is a part there where the road is not even and he didn’t see it plus the road was wet and he slipped on the side.

Thankfully, he got off with just a scrape on his elbows and hand. When he got home and told me about it, I was really horrified and imagined that happening to me. Geez, I probably should get myself a life insurance first before getting on a motorbike again. For now my riding lessons are on a hiatus till I gather the courage again to try.

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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We changed the layout of our living area as well as my work area. It’s really so messy with tons of books, paper on top of my desk together with my desktop PC, laptop plus my printer. Now that I fixed it in a way that can make me work seamlessly or at least have some space for my elbows..

After Clearing Up the Pile

It’s amazing how we’ve amassed a huge pile of paper and stuff and I actually have two boxes ready for recycling shops. I promised myself I won’t wait till it piles up again otherwise I would probably need muscle gain supplements just to help me move it around.

I know my work desk still needs some work… I’ve decided the laptop is going out so I’m also getting another small working table it will would go there coz now I prefer working with the PC. I’d just use the laptop occasionally whenever I want to work outside or when we travel.

I’m also thinking of getting another bookcase, a bigger one to accommodate Chinkee’s ever growing collection of books, my paperback collection and Hi-ace Chemistry stuff. But that would be for a bit later. Now, that at least my work desk is breathing, I’m off to tackle our messy bedroom..

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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Again, lunch @ Ma’s house. My mother-in-law called us early coz she cooked my favorite Khmer dish fish amok! Ok, so we lost no time going there =).Ouwie wanted to have brewed Khmer coffee again so Hi-ace brought her to a stall serving coffee and noodles and there she had her fill of strong black coffee..It was really funny to see how the one’s who makes the coffee, the stall owner and the waiters all gathered around her to see if she liked it. No doubt she loved it! Verdict? A lot better than pricey espresso’s in designer cafes and it just cost 2000 Riels ($.5). The downside is, she wasn’t used to the strength of the coffee so she could barely sleep a wink last night.

Cambodian Fish Amok

Amok was so delish as usual. I ate a lot of rice and afterwards I felt so guilty hehe. Nothing surprising there, so I just dragged Ouwie to walk around the Tuol Tompoung Market and we also checked out the new store right across it – WImports. It’s airconditioned so we stayed a while but it was so crowded with Korean tourists in bus loads. The shop has good stocks of factory overruns with name brands mostly for American market, but its a bit pricey compared to the ones you can find inside the market stalls and the price is fixed but shopping is more convenient because of the bigger space and cooler temp..

Late Afternoon..

After Chinks had a short nap, we were planning to check out UCare Pharmacy or Pharmlink for some beauty creams. Shopping for those items can be difficult here and those are the two pharmacies that has a good range of brands to choose from. I had been searching for best night cream since the one I’m currently using doesn’t seem to be working for me. It’s keeps leaving my skin flaky and dry so I wanted to switch to another product.

Anyway, this was postponed coz a friend’s family dropped by and we got talking for a couple of minutes. Then we all just decided to eat dinner out. We settled for Khmer-Thai Restaurant again along St. 163 and we all feasted on Steamed Prawns with Vermicelli, Mixed Seafoods Salad, Banana Heart and Chicken Salad, Fried Squid in Garlic and Pepper and of course, Pad Thai Noodles. I was meaning to take photos but hehe I was too preoccupied with eating so I forgot.

I guess that’s one of the things I love about living in Phnom Penh. I get to eat seriously delicious food without me breaking the bank! More later..

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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Living in Cambodia is quite easy and exciting too and now Ouwie is finding that out. We all consider it an everyday adventure just discovering things about Cambodia culture. So, Chinks have started teaching her some really basic Khmer language, like numbers, how to ask ‘how much’ etc..

We spent a good part of Thursday afternoon orienting her to the traffic and some landmarks around Phnom Penh. We went first to Tuol Tompoung Market to shop for some silk scarves and slippers then we walked around the Royal Palace, and on her request near the Royal University of Fine Arts and we ended the walk in the park Sothearos St. around 6pm. Then we all decided to get some coffee, and instead of going to the nearest designer cafe, we opted to try out the Cambodian coffee at a coffee and burger place near the park. It took us a couple of minutes to give our orders to the waiter (my Khmer is really rusty..) but we managed to order a steaming cup of hot and brewed coffee for her and iced coffee milk for me. The verdict, yummy and cheap too! She says better than Starbucks espresso! We only spent about 6000 Riels or about $1.5.. I agree…

For dinner last Thursday we had her try the Cambodian roasted chicken found on the streets.. Goes for about 15,000 Riels, about $3 for the whole chicken, plus slices of cucumber and mint, and two kinds of sauce (sweet-sour-spicy and the salt-pepper mix).  This was really so good we ended up finishing a whole pot of rice hehe. Bad bad for those on the diet!

Friday morning we had to rush out for her interview with some company and afternoon we all had her try out Cambodia’s own ‘Subway’ sandwiches. And yeah she found it really really good, plus with the price of 3000-4000 Riels ($1) for the whole loaf filled with butter, mint, onion leaves, mixed sardines and pork sauce, and two kinds of pate filling in a crunchy French loaf, who wouldn’t fall for it?

She ended up liking it so much that yesterday afternoon, she bugged me to go walk to the market to buy some again.. So now I told her if you see a cart similar to this..

then she could have her fill. Last night we tried out (again.. the one on the streets..) ‘Mee Chaa’ or the fried noodles.. We went to Orussey Market around 8 pm and ate our fill of yummy fried noodles. Wow!  The whole plate just cost about 4000 Riels ($1) – all yellow noodles, with green veggies (they call it ‘katna’), lots of soft and chewy beef and topped with sauce and best eaten with chili sauce! Seriously, we could barely breathe with our tummies so full..

She has yet to the Khmer fruit smoothie – the ‘teuk kralok chek’. Maybe this afternoon. She says if this keeps going on she’ll be needing weight loss diet pills in no time. That’s not to say she’s complaining coz now were scheduled to have a hearty lunch again in my mother-in-law’s house. Yahooo! Home cooked Cambodian food again. =)

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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Anyway, back to the present, Ouwie sure brought a lot of gossip from the Philippines. I was really curious about how my family was doing back home. I know since we have been living in Phnom Penh, I used to email and call a couple of times a month but only to talk about the really important stuff, so all gossip has been taking a backseat. I’m quite happy to know that my parents are doing well as well as my brother. My cousins too are good, and some of our nieces and nephews have graduated from college while a couple have also passed license exams for engineers, accountants and nurses.

It’s amazing how time could fly really fast, I mean I could still remember those kids still playing and now they are professionals, some even got married already.

Gosh! I suddenly feel like I’ve aged. Ouwie, with her usual wacky way of thinking says this is nothing anti aging products could remedy. She says even our dear aunt Tiger Lily (my mom’s elder sister) has been having regular botox treatments since last year to keep the wrinkles at bay. Ha! I know it works for some but I do have some reservations about these treatments. I guess I still want to figure out how to age gracefully hehe. For me its okay to have a few wrinkles here and there, its how things should be anyway. But we both resolved to still be fashionable even if were now in our 30’s. So I suppose you won’t find me wearing any tacky clothing (read.. ‘dasters’) until I’m about 80.

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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It just made me think and feel guilty with myself coz while I was  thinking of what is the hottest handbag, what’s the latest fashion accessory I could get for myself, these people don’t even have even a house to stay and they have lost almost everything. I know some would say I should not feel that way but I seriously hope there is something that I could to even in the smallest way to help.

Just have a look at this raw video of Haiti Hospitals (video courtesy of Associated Press)..

Click here to view the embedded video.

and here’s a raw daytime video of the earthquake aftermath..

Click here to view the embedded video.

For now though, what I could help on is to use this personal blog to spread the word on how we could all send our help to the survivors of the Haiti quake. I found this through Yahoo News and I find it holding comprehensive information on how to help.

I’ve also added Network for Good’s donation badge on my sidebars. For fellow bloggers and web site owners, you can also help spread the word by using similar badge available on their website.

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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Grumpy and Late Morning!

I woke up a bit frazzled this morning. I guess the season is changing 6 am here in Phnom Penh now feels like its just before 5 am and for the past few days I overslept. This morning was worse though, I barely had enough time to fix Chinks for school, Hi-ace went rushing out to his classes without breakfast, and I barely had time to have a cup of coffee before the school bus monitor came knocking.

After Chinks left for school, I had to do some minor cleaning. Then had to do laundry and I was not yet even half way with it when I checked the clock it was time to prepare lunch. Whew! Things could get really hectic like this and I seriously don’t have time even for a breath.

Around 11:30 am I finally got the chance to check on my emails, reply to comments on my blogs and do a bit of updating. Now its afternoon and I’m getting really to leave for the airport @ 4 pm to pick up my sister.

I do feel like I’ve been on a whirlwind ever since this year started and its only just the beginning. Hi-ace has been badgering me to regularly take my vitamins and I should otherwise I don’t know if I could keep up with this pace.

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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