pinaywifespeaks » Random Thoughts

Living in Phnom Penh: Khmer New Year, Almost!

Lui — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 12:05:38 +0000

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

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

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

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

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

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

A Little Revamp

Lui — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 13:34:35 +0000

Just dropping a little note to inform everyone dropping by this site that.. I’m revamping. Not the entire site or the theme, I’m doing some revamping on my galleries.

I had been hanging around on Google Analytics as well as the site stats provided by my hosting service and apparently majority of people who visit this site come and check out the galleries. A big chunk of people who ‘find’ this site by way of images I have posted. Yes, I had been diligent with most of the ‘alt’ tags on my images and its really worth it.

So I had been contemplating making the galleries a lot more pleasing to the eyes and much more easier to navigate. Mind you, I’m well aware that I’m not the best photographer around, I just take snapshots of things I find interesting and that’s it. But I’m thankful those images some find interesting enough and well, I’ve always said photos sometimes are better story tellers than words.

And another big reason why I’m revamping my image galleries: to save server space. Lol. 90% of my images are hosted in my server and after almost 4+ years of blogging, well, it’s just a lot. So I made the decision to just get a separate image host with hotlinking.

I’ll be downloading all images I have previously uploaded, then re-linking them to the posts. I know this is going to be tedious and I’m writing this posts as some posts might have some broken images for a time. Please bear with me.

And hopefully I’ll have better looking image gallery here in a week or two. Wish me luck.

Image: posterize / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Living in Phnom Penh: It’s Mid-March!

Lui — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 04:02:00 +0000

I was browsing my blog last night and it suddenly occurred to me, I had been posting mostly photos the past few months and writing less and less. Sigh. So much for trying to use this blog to practice writing. One of the main reasons I post a whole load of photos is that I’m obsessed with taking snapshots and I have this little belief that my photos share a better story than I do.

But this isn’t exactly how I envisioned my blog to be. And I have to slowly steer myself to writing more, at least alternate the photos with some articles and stories about living in Cambodia.

Right now I wanna get on with my weeky random ramblings..

Cambodia is now getting sooo hot. It’s scorching hot that I rarely venture out because I always get migraines because of the heat. And were just in mid-March, my husband reckons it’ll be hotter in April. And that just scares me.

I’m doing a bit of window shopping for some jewelry. My mom fancies some gold chains and we figured we’d gift her with some, if the quality and the price is right. Has anyone of you had any experience buying gold from those shops near Central Market? I also checked out some shops in Russian Market for made-to-order jewelry, but I’m scared about making a mistake and buying some fakes. I don’t know much about jewelry and I doubt I ever will know much. It’s just not an interest with me. But I want to have some nice ones for my mom so..

I’ve been receiving a lot of emails from readers and I love interacting with them, and answering questions that I can. Majority of them are very nice folks and its just makes me doubly passionate about blogging knowing that there are indeed a few people who reads this blog.

Among those who email me, there are also those I find very rude. Some demand information from me (usually about traveling to Cambodia) without so much as a please. I am NOT a travel agency and while I take pleasure in answering emails or tweets with tips on traveling, please be mindful of your manners too. I find it disgruntling when I receive an email demanding me to book a hotel or send them a hotel address.I would gladly help out with recommendations but please ask nicely. And it’ll be nice too if you learn how to use Google.

I’m getting busy planning trips. April is my daughter’s birthday and it falls on a holiday. So we are planning going somewhere. She and (both me and hubby too) are not big on parties and during birthdays, we usually travel to someplace where we could enjoy being together and have some relaxation time. I’m looking up some hotels and let’s see where we end up.

Were also going to the Philippines in June for my father’s 1st death anniversary (how time flies..) and as of now we have plans to also spend a few days in Malaysia. My daughter is itching to go up Petronas. I wonder why when it really just makes me feel queasy. Last time I went there, I went running to the bathroom the moment the ‘tour’ was over. Lol. But since she seems really interested, we’ll brave it again. Then after a few days we’ll fly to Manila. Going back we’ll be trying the Manila-Siem Reap, Cebu Pacific direct flight.

And uh, its my birthday this weekend. Yay! I’m getting older and yes, more fabulous. Choz! Hahaha. My plans? Hubby wanted to go somewhere to celebrate, but moi? I want to stay here in Phnom Penh, eat a lot of steak, have a total spa pampering (scrub, wrap, massage, sauna–the works!). And my birthday wish is not to do any chores for two whole days. I’ll miss scrubbing the bathroom if its more than 2 days, noh?

I miss having fish massage. I just had one a week ago in Siem Reap. It’s a totally weird experience but maybe I fancy being tickled while drinking a can of cold soda. Lol. And WOW! my legs and feet look humongous! They are NOT really like that in real life. Hahaha.

Living in Phnom Penh: Random Ramblings

Lui — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 01:50:24 +0000

Was really busy last week, gallivanting around Phnom Penh then we went off for a short trip to Siem Reap. We had some visitors and truth is, playing travel agent / tour guide doesn’t suit me. It just tires me out hahaha… So I’m really very exhausted and in a very pissed off mode right now.

But I do have a lot to say about our recent trip and about people traveling here without much knowledge or research about Cambodia. It’s part of the reason why I’m in a really bad mood right now. I will make a separate post, a full post rant about that later.

For now I have tons of chores to do (sigh….), huge pile of laundry to wash, I still need to go to market coz were out of food. And I have to look for discount dvds for some other project.

Phnom Penh now is extremely hot so I loathe going out after 9am. Not because I don’t want to turn dark but because the heat will just trigger my migraine on. I really dread the time when April/May arrives, since its bound to be even more hot here than now.

Will be back later..

Random Posts

Living in Phnom Penh: Random Bits

Lui — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 12:54:52 +0000

Here I go again with some random stuff..

Last week passed by like whirlwind. Everyone was busy and I was struggling to keep up with house chores and some work online. Sigh. Weeks like this just drains me no wonder I could never keep up with updating this site. But that’s okay. That’s a mom’s life. Full to the brim as always.
We started our own DIY project. We are fixing up our kitchen and we decided to do it ourselves. Yay! I’m just so excited about this. It’s a bit hard to find laborers here in Phnom Penh specially if you just need to fix something small. Oh, you can find someone to do it but based on our previous experiences hiring them, its not really worth it. So we decided to work on painting and stuff by ourselves during weekends. I’m so looking forward to how our new kitchen look. When we finish it. I have no idea when though. Hahaha.
Phnom Penh is currently experiencing almost daily power cuts. We’re lucky if we just get only about 3 hours per day power cut. I don’t why this is but its so frustrating. I miss a lot of computer work and also its hard to finish chores at home and I’m not the type to sit idly and count poly mailers. Just today, we had a three-hour power cut and occurred just while I was washing clothes. So instead of me finishing washing in an hour or so, it took me over 5 hours. And I’m getting more scared, if this would keep happening during summer months. Can you imagine the sweltering heat without even a fan? I’m really sweating just by the thought of it.
Another thing I’m excited about: a weekend trip to Mondulkiri. While its not exactly a leisure/pleasure trip, I am so looking forward to it. I think, Mondulkiri is one of my favorite places here in Cambodia. It’s a breathtakingly beautiful place. Almost unspoilt and tranquil. My kind of place…

Ocean of Trees, Mondulkiri Cambodia. Photos doesn’t do justice to this place. One of the most beautiful spots I’ve seen here in Cambo..

Bousra Waterfalls..

Of course, I’ll be taking loads of Mondulkiri snapshots, so watch this space

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.

Random New Year Ramblings

Lui — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 02:23:02 +0000

Ha! It’s already the 5th day of the first month of 2012 and here I am just greeting everyone a Happy New Year! But then…were still on the first week, right? So I’m sure its ok. Hahaha. As much as I love blogging, I have more important priorities. I’ve been beat and tired so I figured I needed a few days rest from being ‘online’. It was a good call coz now I feel energized, motivated and ready to give blogging for 2012 a big go!

I have tons of plans. And I think its high time I move to other things aside from blogging. I manage multiple blogs, mostly personal blogs with niche topics like fashion and beauty (where I write about fashion finds, things I find pretty etc). I also have a thrift shopping blog, a ‘mom blog’, and a few more. And of course this one, my personal-lifestyle-living in Cambodia blog. And these blogs had been a great journey and a fabulous past time for me (not to mention the shopping money it earns me lol!) and I’ll carry on updating them.

But I’ll be implementing a teeny weeny bit of change here. I’m adding in some recommended products you guys might be interested in. I know I already have a few ads scattered on the blog, but I’m hoping this would make a good addition and would add some more value to each posting. You’ll be seeing ‘featured products’ at the bottom of each post. At least it could help me earn my hosting and domain fees.

I’m also doing a category clean-up on this site. It’s driving me nuts that a few years of disorganized posting habit made this site an almost mess. I need to streamline my categories and re-organize the posts, so if you see something weird around here in the next few days, please bear with me. I intend to come up with a better looking Pinaywifespeaks.

Since its a new year, I’ve decided to pursue another ‘project’. This time I’ll be building niche websites and experimenting with it, trying out different monetizing strategies. Hmm, its going to be a trial and error project, I know the big probability of me failing but I also know its gonna keep me occupied and I’m really really excited since I know this time I’ll be learning more. But whatever the outcome, I don’t intend to quit until I discover what works for me.

Hmm, see I’m pretty much motivated. I must have eaten something really good during the New Years. Lol. Have a great weekend everyone!

From Pinaywifespeaks…

Lui — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 04:07:09 +0000

A Happy Christmas and Great New Things for the New Year…

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.

Food Trip Friday: Boran’s Pad Thai

Lui — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 05:44:44 +0000

I’ve been passing by this little restaurant called Boran, along St. 51 and I keep telling myself I wanna try the food there. The place looks homey, the food they offer looks home cooked and they are always packed full during lunch hours. So I figured they probably have good food. So Sreisaat and I went over there yesterday and my hunch was right on. Affordable (most items on the menu were priced below $3) and sooo yummy Khmer-Thai food. They also have unlimited rice servings.

I had Pad Thai. Love the big serving, how its arranged on the platter. You get to mix it yourself which is a great way to serve it coz say some don’t want bean sprouts or peanuts.. But I do love everything on my Pad Thai and this one exceeds expectations. I love the subtle flavor, its not too overwhelming. Just yummy. Were definitely going back to this place and try out their other offerings.

Cooking up Something New…

Lui — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 02:26:53 +0000

After the really harrowing past two months that I’ve been through, I’m finally beginning to relax. So I think I could now face blogging. I still have to get back my blogging mojo but I’ve been staring at my blogs since yesterday and I thought I need to prod myself out of melancholy and do something. So I could either make a mad dash to the mall and be a crazy shopper, who knows I might end up with laser barcode scanner, which I don’t even need, but in the mood I’m currently in I might just grab something I would regret buying.

So yesterday, I did my bit of online shopping for some bags and shirts. Then today, I’ve decided to do a total blog dress-up for most of my blogs. Yes, the something new I’ve mentioned is a new look for this blog. So watch out for it. And hopefully, I could write down some thoughts also soon.

And oh, I’m liking how WordPress 3.2 looks like. Very sleek and clean. And on another note, I really miss posting my Cambodia Snapshots series so do expect that to be ~~resurrected~~ back soon..

Back in Phnom Penh..

Lui — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 13:42:05 +0000

This is just a short quickie post. I just wanna buzz people who drop by this blog that, yep! I’m still alive. Lol! I know I’ve been out of sorts and so busy the past weeks and this blog went really stale. But now I’m back and hopefully, I could get back to regularly updating the site in the next few days.

For now, I’m concentrating on resting. I need it really badly. Several weeks of 1-2 hrs daily sleep has seriously made me look like a raccoon. Then I think I need some pampering. For the past week I keep experiencing leg cramps, so I think I need some serious session in a spa. I think its time I pay attention to myself coz the past weeks has really been nerve wracking, and I was on the verge of being depressed. Hubby thinks I’m not on the ‘verge’ of depression but I am actually depressed. Maybe he’s right. Just this morning, I was standing in the duty free shop and was picking up stuff to buy without thinking, like I was in a haze. Good thing I didn’t get electronic cigarette wholesale, otherwise now I’d be wondering what I’d do with it.

What I just got were several bottles of wine (???) and lots of chocolates. Now I don’t know why I bought them..

Pinas In a While..

Lui — Fri, 20 May 2011 12:37:45 +0000

Back to posting! It just feels weird for me not to update this blog even for just a couple of days. In any case, I’m not abandoning the blog. I’m simply on a ‘vacation’. How I wish this is one of those leisurely vacations, where I could just count
challenge coins, eat a lot, have a massage and just walk about a new and exciting place.

My father is sick and I simply cannot stay and wait for news. So my husband and I have decided I’ll fly home and stay in the Philippines for a few weeks at least to help my mom and also I’d like to be given the chance to take care of my father. I know its a tough task but I could only remember how he has sacrificed a lot for us and at the very least I want to show my endless gratitude by being there when he is in pain.

I think everyone goes through something as painful as seeing a parent sick and almost coming to an end. I don’t want life to end for anyone but who am I to say life cannot end. In the end, we have to accept things. I can only wish that he won’t suffer too much pain because seeing it just breaks me. It’s also tough seeing my mom deal with it so I have to be here at least to lend some support. There’s still a tough road ahead, so please pray for my dad and also for my mom.

I hate being melancholic when I post something, but this is exactly how I feel right now. I’m sad, but grateful too because now I realize that really there are people who are there to support us.

Cambodia Snapshots: Phnom Penh Chaktomuk Theatre

Lui — Sat, 14 May 2011 06:08:38 +0000

One of the landmark buildings here in Phnom Penh. The Chaktomuk Theatre. Located along Sisowath Quay. Originally opened in 1961 as La Salle de Conférence Chaktomuk. It is mainly used now for performances as well as business conferences.

It’s small and not as huge as other complexes in Cambodia but its very distinctive and eye-catching. Reminds me so much of plantation shutters, villas etc. This is one Phnom Penh’s architectural landmarks and well worth the visit.

~oOo~

This is also an entry to

Just Having Villa Holidays Dream

Lui — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 01:11:53 +0000

I’m really itching to go on a lovely, relaxing holiday. While I’m usually the type to travel the backpacker way, sometimes I also crave some luxurious, pampered travel. Perhaps this is a pipe dream, but I choose to think otherwise. Who knows? I work hard, hubby works hard so to be truthful we could make it happen…Have a dream vacation, in an awesome, remote, beautiful location and have villa holidays. That would be heavenly.

Where do I want to have this opulent holiday? My easy answer would be Europe, particularly Spain. I am a Filipino and for some reason I feel a unique affinity with all things Spanish and I want to see and travel this place. The Philippines is an old Spanish colony so some of our language, habits, cuisine share a lot of similar characteristics with the Spanish. In our region we even count in Spanish! And if those aren’t enough reasons, well another reason I wanna visit Spain is that I’m a huge Rafael Nadal fan, in fact I am a fan of the who Spanish armada {tennis players}! So who knows next year I might be searching for villas in Spain and taking off?

You know, when one travels one of the things to consider is the place to stay. And what comes easily to mind are the endless list of hotels. I know there are really luxurious, one-of-a-kind hotels all over the world, but sometimes one hankers for something different. After awhile, for me hotels tend to be too impersonal and all look rather the same. So much for a unique experience. Stay homes with locals are cool and would make a great experience if you’re after cultural exchange or more local interaction. But if you’re looking for some luxury, seclusion and a unique experience as well, then self-catering villa holidays might be something to consider.

There are luxury villa or apartment owners who just use their properties for vacation and open these little pieces of plush accommodation for rent for those who are on holiday. The advantage to this I see is the location. That’s location in imaginary all caps. Of course, wealthy villa owners have their pick of the prime properties in every locality. And a whole lot of these villas have stunning, expansive views of the place. Finding these place is not hard. If you know your way around the internet, a little bit of searching would yield sites with listing of luxury villas for let on your holiday.

Sigh. As for now, I’ll continue dreaming on..

Pinaywifespeaks 1st Blog Giveaway

Lui — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 14:43:14 +0000

This is a sticky post..

This is my first time to run a giveaway. Just a little thank you to everyone who has been reading my blog for the last three years. If things go according to my plan then I’ll be regularly running giveaways. Of course, since the blog is about living in Cambodia, I want to showcase Khmer products. Plus of course some stuff I find as we go along..

I’m kinda tickled pink too coz the giveaway is coinciding with Khmer New Year, which will be next week. So I guess, I could also call this my Khmer New Year blog giveaway? :D

So what’s in the goodie bag for this April? Your chance to win Cambodian gift items without actually traveling

Cambodian silk (2.5 metres) dark red with embroidery. You can have this tailored to make a dress or long skirt or anything you fancy doing with them.
2 Silk scarves in deep purple and dark red.

UPDATE:

I’ve been flooded with entries so I’m adding 2 consolation prizes. Apparently, you folks love scarves so I’ll be adding two more scarves {in a different design and fabric}. I’ll be posting the photos as soon as I have it.

Now, for the giveaway mechanics..

You can earn an entry by doing any of the following:

(1) Follow Pinaywifespeaks on Google Friend Connect (1 entry);

(2) Follow LuiinPenh on Twitter (1 entry);

(3) Like my Facebook Page (2 entries);

(4) Subscribe to my RSS feeds via Reader or Email (2 entries);

(5) Blog about this giveaway and include a link to this post (10 entries)

(6) Tweet “Win Unique Khmer Items – Pinaywifespeaks Blog Giveaway” and link to this giveaway (3 entries);

(7) Grab the giveaway badge and add it to your blog sidebar (5 entries);

<a href="http://pinaywifespeaks.com/blogging-webfinds/blog-giveaway/pinaywifespeaks-1st-blog-giveaway/" _mce_href="http://pinaywifespeaks.com/blogging-webfinds/blog-giveaway/pinaywifespeaks-1st-blog-giveaway/"></a>

Submit your entries: By leaving a comment on this post : ).. Please list what you have done so I could count your entries. **Please condense all your entry list on one-comment only for easier comment moderation.**

Who can join? This blog giveaway is open to everyone! Yes, anyone who wants to join. As long as your address can be reached by registered mail {in case you win}.

Giveaway duration: This blog giveaway starts from April 8 and all entries must be in by 11:59 PM April 30, 2011. Winner will be drawn via Random.org and will be announced on May 2, 2011. Winner will also be notified via email.

Prizes will be shipped via Registered Air Mail.

And So He Blogs…

Lui — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 01:17:41 +0000

I’m talking about the hubby. He’s ever supportive about my blogging activities, but he’s not really much into it. Although I know he reads my posts regularly hahaha. Lately though, he’s been bugging me to teach him how to blog. And he has a very specific niche in mind. Lol! And this ‘blogging student’ is very meticulous, he makes me squirm.

Anyway, he already has his own domain which he uses only for his email and as place for his files/lessons for his students to download. We haven’t really developed it coz I thought he didn’t have any interest nor the time to maintain it. But now I guess he’s been seeing the merits and the passive income that blogging brings. He says, its cool even if I stop blogging for a week, a month I’m still earning passively. Also, he says its one way for him to polish his English writing. So now he wants to get into it.

So what does he want to write about? His field is education and I can’t imagine him blogging about stuff like hydroxycut reviews, so I assumed he wanted to talk about studies, study abroad, scholarships. He was interested in this niche initially but renege at the last minute coz it’ll take too much time in research and writing. So I suggested something a little more personal, why not write about your travels and the insights he gains from them. He travels frequently because of work and he also has tons of photos from various places he has been to so they’ll make a great blogging material.

For now, his blog is up but still empty, I also did the header and I’m envious, I wish its my blog lol! It’s running on wordpress and I picked out the Misty Look theme. I’d be helping him out with the technical end and also some post editing. You can check it out here.

Not as Planned…

Lui — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 11:56:06 +0000

Sometimes things really don’t go as planned. And it feels like this week things aren’t going my way. But I’m not complaining, I could just sigh and move on. There are times too I’m in the mood to be surprised. Like I was supposed to go to Olympic Market to buy stocks on wholesale, but it seemed to be always pushed off. Last Tuesday I was already dressed to go but something else came up. Then I was planning to go on a day out with my friends when the night before one of hubby’s older relatives passed away and we were supposed to go to the wake. Having someone pass away is not a welcome news but that’s how life is..

And not just that, a lot of small must-do’s and things I plan on doing seems to be getting side tracked. Like I was planning to have my other laptop reconditioned and the VGA card replaced, but I can’t seem to make it to the shop. Hahaha! I know, that can be frustrating specially when I looked and asked already about prices of reconditioned laptops because I’m planning to just sell it coz I rarely use it. Oh well. At least, I have something to do next week.

Now on to work…

Cheers for 2011!

Lui — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 10:25:36 +0000

Oh, I miss blogging!! I’m just so sorry I haven’t been updating the site. It has been almost two weeks since I last posted. I was simply preoccupied with loads and loads of things to do. Hubby arrived, then it was Christmas and of course, the crazy mom in me just has to get busy. Cooking, shopping, wrapping pressies, partying.

Then afterwards, it was clean up time. I always have this compulsive thing to clean the house before new year. And when I was about to be done, I caught a really bad cold and now has been feeling really under the weather for the past two days. I’m thinking of not cooking for new year’s eve and just ordering take out food. Hubby says we should just eat out. Maybe we’ll just do that, I am in dire need of some rest and I don’t want to start the year sick.

I’ll blurb about our third Christmas here in Phnom Penh on my next post. But suffice it to say we had a quiet yet very happy Christmas. I just wish that were with my parents and brother during this time of the year.

I’m also hoping New Year’s Eve here in Phnom Penh would at least be a little more festive than last year. Phnom Penhois aren’t just into celebrating Christmas and New Year, as they prefer to celebrate the Chinese New Year and their own Khmer New Year in April.

Blogging, I think I would resume after New Year’s and I just wanna greet everyone a Happy New Year in advance. I can’t thank you enough, dear readers (I know, I don’t have a gazillion readers but I am really appreciative of the few I have…), you guys have made blogging all the more enjoyable. This has been a great year, and I hope the new year will bring in happy and squeal worthy tidings for all of us..

I'm still Purple Obsessed. Obviously.

Image can be saved as wallpaper. Just click on it to load the 1600×1200 pixels file and right click, save image as. I also went Photoshop crazy this morning and I’ll be releasing a couple of 2011 Wallpapers for free and it’ll be available in my crafting blog – MyCraftingDen soon. Will blurb about it as soon as I’ve posted it.

Feasting on The Dragon

Lui — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 01:30:51 +0000

Hahaha! I love the post title. That’s just me imagining I waged a war with a dragon and ate it. Gross, I know. I think I’m having weird side effects from watching too much kung-fu movies with the kiddo. That’s what she is into lately..

But I digress. I actually love eating the Dragon. The fruit that is. It’s just so yummy for me. I don’t like super sweet fruits and this one just got the right mild flavor plus the black seeds adds a little texture to it.

image credit: ifood.tv

I first tasted the dragon fruit, also known as pitaya back home in the Philippines. Tasted so good but I quit eating it coz its expensive there mostly because its not native to the place and its just being cultivated, plus the fact that its like a novelty fruit there.

But here in Phnom Penh, the dragon fruit is common place and very cheap, so I could literally feast on it. Probably because neighboring Vietnam produces a whole bunch of it. Here’s a wikipedia article about the dragon fruit you might want to hop over and read about it.

Photo taken from wholesaler’s market, Had Lek Thailand

This is also regularly served as desserts in restaurants and almost always included in Khmer buffets. I’m also pleased to know that yay! the dragon fruit is also very low in calories and contains very little saturated fat. It’s also high in vitamin C, fiber and minerals, cancer fighting anti-oxidants, a great source of dietary fibre and is particularly good for diabetics.

If you haven’t tried it, then do so. Aside from the nutritional values, it tastes really good. Specially when its chilled. =)

pinaywifespeaks » Random Thoughts

Living in Phnom Penh: Khmer New Year, Almost!

Related Articles

A Little Revamp

Related Articles

Living in Phnom Penh: It’s Mid-March!

Related Articles

Living in Phnom Penh: Random Ramblings

Random Posts

Living in Phnom Penh: Random Bits

Related Articles

Living in Phnom Penh: Randomeness #3

Related Articles

Random New Year Ramblings

Related Articles

From Pinaywifespeaks…

Related Articles

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

Related Articles

Food Trip Friday: Boran’s Pad Thai

Related Articles

Cooking up Something New…

Related Articles

Back in Phnom Penh..

Related Articles

Pinas In a While..

Related Articles

Cambodia Snapshots: Phnom Penh Chaktomuk Theatre

Related Articles

Just Having Villa Holidays Dream

Related Articles

Pinaywifespeaks 1st Blog Giveaway

Related Articles

And So He Blogs…

Related Articles

Not as Planned…

Related Articles

Cheers for 2011!

Related Articles

Feasting on The Dragon

Related Articles