Koh Kong Trip, Part 2

Another long overdue post.. This is the sequel to my Koh Kong Trip, Part I, which I know I should have posted ages ago but due to combined reasons of laziness, procrastination, convenient memory gaps, on top of Facebook addiction, well, I am now months late in posting this update.

After that refreshing Koh Kong Tatai Waterfalls picnic and swimming, we all piled ourselves in the van and headed towards Koh Kong City. This was another scenic drive and in just thirty minutes we were in Koh Kong town proper. Hmm, a very typical Cambodian town, the only difference was that the roads were wider or maybe it was because it was 12 noon and no one wants to beat the heat of the sun and stay on the road..

Photo above is the riverfront and that long bridge going towards the Thai border – Had Lek. After a few minutes driving around and checking guesthouses, we settled on Bopha Koh Kong Hotel. Not exactly five star accommodations but the rooms were huge and comfy. We got a twin room with ensuite bathroom with hot shower, a TV with lots of channels though mostly Thai, a personal ref and AC. Not bad at all for $18 only per night. In Koh Kong, Thai Bahts are generally more acceptable than the US Dollars or Cambodian Riels.

It was already 1 pm and you can bet I was hungry already. Thankfully, our relatives were done with their quick showers and we all piled up on the van again to have lunch somewhere. We stopped in a small resto, no signs on it, but its right on the riverfront, with several vans parked in front. I was pretty apprehensive about eating on the shack-type restaurant but I went along as this seemed to be the choice of my sister-in-law. But wow! I shouldn’t have been that scared. Let me just put it this way, that must have been the tastiest Khmer  and Thai food I’ve ever had, and I’ve had plenty. To this day, I could still imagine savoring that spicy Tom Yum soup we had, and I’m not even exaggerating. It’s just too bad I wasn’t able to take photos and I was also shy about asking them to wait before sampling the food whilst I was taking pictures of it. They already think I’m plenty weird so I settled on not having photos of the food.

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Living in Phnom Penh: A Day Trip to Kirirom National Park

Last Sunday, Hi-ace got a call from his best friend inviting us to spend the day at Kirirom National Park. Chinkee was ecstatic coz she misses playing with Noel,their 2-year old son. So we set off for the 3 hour drive at around 8 am.

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.

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Affordable Spa Indulgence @ Bamboo Spa

Who doesn’t like experiencing a bit of pampering every now and then? I love massages and here in Asia its quite easy to indulge with lots of spas and salons in most major cities. It’s a tradition that has sprouted different kinds of salons as well as types of massages like Balinese, Thai, Shiatsu etc.. And it has been good to know that Phnom Penh also has it share of spa’s tourists, expats and locals frequent.

I’ve been looking for a spa here in Phnom Penh where I could regularly have my full-body massage as well as foot massages. True, there are lots of spas and massage parlors to choose from and I’ve tried out several in the area, but most of them are quite pricey and its a little hard to indulge when I keep thinking of the cost of each massage haha. I know every since I became a mom, I’ve been a little hard on myself and I tend to be really thrifty.

Anyway, a few weeks ago, I met a lovely Filipina friend and she invited us all to her newly opened spa. It’s called Bamboo Spa and its located at No. 21 St 228. It’s quite easy to find, its  very near Pasteur (St.51) along the same street as International SOS and three doors down from the Italian restaurant – Le Dou.

They have a good range of services and their full-body massage comes highly recommended. I love the small spa ambiance, the scents of the oils and of course, the super relaxing massage. And another thing to love is the price! Full body massages cost less than $10 for more than an hour of pampering. At that price, I could easily make it a weekly indulgence! Bamboo Spa – exactly what I’ve been looking for. Pampering at an unbeatable price..

It’s a must visit.. Check out the link to the map for the Bamboo Spa location. Will post photos soon. =) And you can email  Bamboo Spa at bambootree_house@yahoo.com or call 089-630791 and look for Elma.

View Bamboo Spa in a larger map

Scenic Cambodian Countryside and a Visit to a Pagoda..

A few months back, Ma, my mother-in-law asked us if we wanted to go to a pagoda to get a monk’s blessings for the coming new year. Though, I am not Buddhist, I would usually come as a sign of respect and also so I could observe and learn closely their customs and traditions. After all, my husband is a Buddhist and its a big factor for both of us to understand each other’s religion.

Anyway, the trip promised to be scenic as the pagoda is located somewhere in Kampong Chhanang. The day started really early and at 6 am we were already on a tuk-tuk speeding towards Sisowath Quay near the riverside and going towards National Road No. 5. This was my first time to take a really long ride in a tuk-tuk. Ma and Hi-ace says its the best way to go, we get to enjoy the breeze and take in as much scenery as we want to. The price of the round trip ride on the tuk-tuk was unbelievably just $8!! I really am seriously in awe of Ma’s bargaining abilities.

So, it was me, Hi-ace, Chinks, our nieces Sokna and Cheng and Ma in the tuk-tuk.. The ride was really so enjoyable and I almost fell asleep being lulled by the wind and the not so bumpy ride. We had been traveling for about an hour when we turned left (lol! don’t ask me where..) towards a small market then onwards. The road became smaller and unpaved and both sides mostly lower with lots of water and some houses on stilts. We stopped for a bit to buy some lotus seeds (Ma and the nieces loves snacking on these..) and also some lotus flowers to offer in the pagoda.

The views were absolutely fantastic and so rural.. Then we reached a place with lots of cows being herded we turned right, then suddenly there was a bang! We had a flat tire and it was in the middle of nowhere, with nothing but the cows, ponds, lotus flowers and rice fields. The nice tuk-tuk driver told us to wait by the roadside and he’ll go look for a vulcanizing shop. So then, we proceeded to occupy ourselves by taking photos of ourselves and the stunning rural landscape.

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Happy 2nd Birthday, Pinaywifespeaks

Time passed by just like a breeze and I was browsing through my archives that I realized February 2008 was when I first started with this blog. And now its hard to believe that I have been at it for 2 years already. There where reasons why I didn’t blog earlier, but I’m glad I did.

This blog has been my virtual playground, a place to take out my frustrations, to rant and vent. How many times did I mess up with my Wordpress installation – read posts here and here, that time when I forgot that I exceeded my bandwidth limitations, my paranoia about transferring web hosting, how many times the whole site went into frenzy just because I could not get enough of tweaking the themes?  It’ll be an understatement if I say I learned something from blogging. I should say, I learned a lot. I also discovered a lot of things about myself and blogging..

…That I have the aptitude for things technical and for tweaking this and that. For understanding what’s behind the blog – the themes, the plugins, the site structure etc.

…That yeah, though I’m not a great writer I can work on it and practice more, still some people somehow survive reading my entries

…That yahoo! I could actually earn from blogging! This blog supports itself. My initial outlay was for the domain registration only, while the monthly hosting bills are all taken care of out of the blog’s earnings. I know some blogging purists would say inserting paid links is something almost like a crime but hey! this is my blog, I’m sure people who visit understands that while I love to blog, write, share thoughts, I’m still a practical person, I don’t have bottomless pits of money to support the blog, so occasional paid links are fine and I do strive my best to be discrete and choosy about paid links.

…  I realized I could actually find lots of people who share the same views, who could somehow appreciate what I have to say. I love receiving emails and comments from readers. Some would email me when they are coming over to Cambodia, asking for travel advice, some would give me suggestions, some would critique a post.. This is for me, is one of the most gratifying things about blogging – connecting with people who reads the blog.

… that I could actually find friends through this blog. I found friends I could constantly correspond with through email, some blogging friends from all over, and here in Phnom Penh, I found a great set of Filipina friends (Zarah, Josiet, Che..)  all thanks to blogging.

Blogging has been a superb learning experience for me. Being able to earn from it is an added bonus and I love the extra income I get out of blogging. So what’s in store for this blog for the next year? More posts, just more.. Things I dunno yet, so do keep visiting, explore and experience blogging with Pinaywifespeaks.

Changes, Changes and A New Blog

I’ve been doing the laundry this morning and its one of the chores around the house that I don’t particularly enjoy. And since I almost loathe it, I would usually allow my mind to wander and ironically this is usually the time when ideas and plans are best conceptualized.

Here’s what I’ve been mulling on while the sheets were being laundered. I’ve decided to make more changes to this blog. When I first started this I really had no idea what this will be all about, more like a random thoughts – personal blog thing. Then it just evolved by itself I guess and just last year I made changes to organize all posts. For sometime, Pinaywifespeaks.com  has been my blog for musings about living in Cambodia, about life in the Philippines, and also about blogging and the web.

I found myself getting more and more immersed in Cambodian culture and lifestyle so lately that seemed to be what I had been constantly writing about. So then from now on this would be focusing mainly on three things:

• Living in Cambodia and exploring Cambodian culture
• of course, Philippines is still home for me, so expect some occasional posts about Pinas
• and my other passion, Travel. Just featuring travels, places, travel promos and deals.

I’ll be removing the blogging and web categories soon. Though previous posts on these categories will still remain under Exploring the Web category. I will be running a featured Cambodian blog soon too.

Last year, on a whim I registered another domain – Lui-bloggera.com, then I promptly forgot about it and it has been sitting on my hosting account like a wet blanket. I should really bang my  head often on the wall! It’s time I make use of this domain and not let it go to waste.

I’m developing it into a new personal blog where I could blah blah about my other interest. Topics would be…

• blogging – Wordpress, earning with blogs, blogging tips etc,
• trend hunting –   i love trends! ,
• latest buzz  - celebs, gossip, luxury lifestyle,tech, fashion – yeah I’ll be indulging my gossiping tendencies a bit..

I’ll be awfully busy these next few days to get this off the ground and I’m super excited. =) I guess I’ll be loosing some sleep over this and getting some pimples again, but that’s nothing acne scar removal creams can’ t take care of. I’m always excited about new things, new projects.  Things are looking up and I do hope you check out my latest blog – Lui-Bloggera.com..

O’Russey Market, Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh has several large traditional markets selling all kinds of goodies and its advantage over supermarkets? you can also haggle to get a good bargain. As an expat, I’m more used to supermarkets and it took sometime for me to brave these traditional markets on my own. I first got hooked with the Russian Market (Tuol Tompoung Market), then I began exploring other big markets.

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

O’Russey Market on Google Maps

View Larger Map

Khmer Language: Counting and Amounts the Cambodian Way..

I’ve been amiss writing posts about learning the Khmer language. Truth is, I haven’t progressed that much but I can now (though I’m hardly an expert yet) get a ride on a motodup, bargain in wet markets..

Khmer numbers

I’ve been trying hard to learn some basic Khmer so I could get around and I decided to share this to everyone. So learn with me Aside from the basic greetings and form of addresses (see my previous post – Basic Khmer Language for the Traveler) , I believe its a must for any expat living here in Cambodia to learn about the numbers, amounts and their counting system. Why?

• Majority of the streets in Phnom Penh are in numbers. So if you want to be more mobile or you want to easily learn your way around, then first learn the numbers. Check out Canby Publications map and you’ll get what I mean.
• Yes, there are plenty of supermarkets now where prices of goods are tagged in dollars and you don’t need to haggle but all markets and some restaurants quote their prices in Khmer. I’m sure you don’t want to miss the opportunity to haggle and score bargains.

** Note that these are just approximate ‘English’ translations so we can get the closest sounds to Khmer words. These are less than perfect so to improve pronunciation and to get ourselves easily understood, its best to listen well to Khmer native speakers and practice..

• 1  -   muuy
• 2  -   pii
• 3  -   bai
• 4  -   buhn
• 5  -   phrum
• 6  -   phrum muuy
• 7  -   phrum pii
• 8  -   phrum bai
• 9  -   phrum buhn
• 10 – dop
• 11 – dop muuy
• 15 – dop phrum
• 16 – dop phrum muuy
• 20 – m’pai
• 21 – mpai muuy
• 30 – saam-suhp
• 40 – sai-suhp
• 50 – haa-suhp
• 60 – hok-suhp
• 70 – jeut-suhp
• 80 – paet-suhp
• 90 – kau-suhp
• 100 – muuy roy (* hundreds use ‘roy‘)
• 101 – muuy roy muuy
• 200 – pii roy
• 1000 – muy puan (thousands use ‘puan‘)
• 1,000,000 – muuy lian (millions use ‘lian‘)

Tips:

• Cambodians count in increments of five. After you reach the number 5 (phrum), you just then add one to five (phrum muy for 6) and so on. When you reach 10 (dop) , the cycle begins again by adding one (dop muy for 11).
• You will also often encounter some Khmers who reverses the orders of the numbers especially for numbers between 10-20 and they usually insert dun between the numbers. Example, for 12 – instead of saying dop pii, they usually say pii dun dop.
• Khmers usually also use shortcuts like instead of saying ‘muuy roy‘ for 1,000 they would say ‘ma’puan‘..
• The trick is to listen well. If you simply don’t get it, you can ask them to speak slowly, say ‘Sohm, niyeay yeut yeut..’

Living in Phnom Penh: February 2010 1st Week

Hmm, time for my Living in Phnom Penh snippets. Hehe I realize that most of this blog’s readers (“what!!? you have readers??” – I guess Hi-ace is reading again from behind me! )aren’t really reading this but I like writing these kinds of posts the most so I’m trying to make these at least once per week..

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..

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Loner..

Recently, Ouwie and I have been doing walking exercises often walking several kilometers every two days. A few days ago we walked from our house in Boeung Tompoeun to St. 271 and stopped at Monivong Bridge near Phsar Chhar Ampoeu. From the bridge,  I was gazing down the quietly flowing waters of Tonle Bassac  river, I saw this and I just took a shot with my mobile phone camera.

I don’t know. For some reason, it made me feel lonely and so solitary. Like I’m in the middle of nowhere with nothing around me but just the vast expanse of water. Perhaps, it simply struck a cord with me since I’ve been feeling some homesickness lately..

Khmer Hammocks and Food

This happened a few weeks back.. It was a weekend and with Hi-ace having a day without anything scheduled, so he asked me where I want to go for the rest of the afternoon. That day, I didn’t want to eat in any fancy resto or even go malling, I simply wanted to have some wind and rest and I was thinking I wanted to eat grilled sweet corn.

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..

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There’s a Mine!

Cambodia is the Land of Mines.. See I saw this sign in an internet shop here in Phnom Penh..

Lol! The ceiling was low and the sign was just a kind warning. I’ve now decided to be on the constant lookout for funny signs like this, uniquely Khmer!

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Job Search Websites in Cambodia

Since my sister came last week and has been looking for a job here in Phnom Penh, I’d been familiar with job sites here that she has been constantly checking. Previously, I have also received emails from readers (lol! I have readers pala.. I thought only my relatives read this ) about which sites are best to use when searching for jobs here in Phnom Penh. I then came up with listing of which sites are currently being used for posting job opportunities. Surprisingly there are several sites offering this type of service which is a good thing for Cambodia.

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.

Cambodian Rice Porridge – ‘Bobor’

Typical breakfast for Khmers is a French baguette with fillings or plain with coffee or a bowl  of kuyteow (white noodle soup in beef, pork or chicken) or a bowl of porridge called ‘bobor’.

‘Kuytwew’ soup is Chinese but has been adapted by Khmers. I’ve tried it countless times already and its really delicious. But I am more interested in the Khmer version of the porridge, the ‘bobor’ . Actually, ‘bobor’  is an all-day meal for Khmers. Porridge shops are open @ dawn every morning till early afternoon. Those wanting to eat ‘bobor’ again in the evenings can still get it from traditional Khmer restaurants as well as those vending carts that set up near the markets. My fave ‘bobor’ places are those that set up @ around 6 pm near the Tuol Tompoung (Russian) Market parking lot (the one adjacent to St. 163).

Cambodian Porridge - Bobor

Sorry the photos is kinda blurry LOL! I guess I was too hungry to care. Here’s a close-up..

Cambodian Porridge - Bobor

The Cambodian ‘bobor’ is made of rice cooked soft with lots of water, then mixed with either chicken, beef, fish. You can also request to add chicken liver, gizzard, blood. Then this is topped with roasted garlic, chopped mint leaves, onion leaves. And it just tastes so good! Super nourishing, an explosion of flavors, an all around comfort food. And it’s cheap too, a bowl would cost about 5000R or less than $1.5. If you’re here in Cambodia, don’t just take my word for it, it’s a must-try!

Ouwie’s Intro To Phnom Penh..

My siste, Ouwie arrived Wednesday evening from Manila. She’s planning on staying here for sometime, an extended vacation maybe and to also check out if she could work here.. Anyway, after she had a good night rest after arriving, we have all started orienting her to all things Khmer.

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. =)

Airfare Promotions Updates

Awhile back, I’ve started to post updates on airfare promos and deals from airlines servicing Asian and mostly Southeast Asian city routes. I have lots of relatives and friends who share my love for backpack traveling and would constantly ask me about airfare deals (simply because I’m always online =)). Anyway, I’ve been getting emails from them as well as some blog readers to keep this going so I’m going to keep it up..

Hope you guys can grab a good deal! =) Just click on the images and it will redirect you to the airline’s website.

CEBU PACIFIC Promo – System Wide Sale

Book Cebu Pacific Seats on January 6-8 2010 for Travel Period of February-April 2010 and get 50% off New Year seat sale to all destinations.

I always get great deals with Cebu Pacific, but the thing is, you have to book really fast and if you can on the first day the promo runs. These seats run out really fast so grab it as fast as you can =)

AIR ASIA Promo – ‘ a New Year Gift For You’ Promo

Book Air Asia seats from Jan 4, 2010 – Jan 10, 2010 for travel period Jan 11 – Feb 4, 2010. Applicable for all seats, all flights from Monday, 12pm to Thursday, 12pm.

Same with Air Asia. Great deals but hurry when booking. This is one really good value airline and is really popular not just among backpackers.

TIGER AIRWAYS AirFare Deals – ‘Tis the Season to Book Your Getaway’ Promo

Book Tiger Airways flights to Jakarta Indonesia, Bangalore and Chennan India, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Langkawi, Kuching Malaysia and Bangkok, Phuket, Krabi Thailand and get low, low fares..

Book your 2010 flights from Clark, Phlippines for only $85 (including tax) OW for Travel from Mar 28 to Oct 30, 2010.

Also, Tiger Airways Early Bird Savers Deals are still on. Flights till October 30, 2010 is still on sale.

BANGKOK AIRWAYS Cheap Flights – Best Buy Plus

This Bangkok Airways promo is valid for online bookings only via www.bangkokair.com only. Booking period: 16 November 2009 to 31 March 2010 and Travelling period: 16 November 2009 to 15 April 2010. You can find good deals for domestic flights in Thailand as well as flights from Bangkok to Siem Reap, Phnom Penh and Luang Prabang (Laos)

HONGKONG AIRLINES Early Bird Saving Deals

Hongkong Airlines bargain airfares on sale till January 15, 2010 for travel period February 22, 2010 to March 27, 2010. Bargain flights to Sapporo, Denpasar, Hanoi, Harbin, Kunming, Okinawa, and Beijing are up for grabs.

HONGKONG AIRLINES Special Online Offers

Low low airfares for flights from Hongkong to Changsa, Sapporo, Denpasar, Haikou, Hanoi, Hangzhou, Harbin, Kunming, Guiyang, Guilin, Manila, Nanning, Okinawa, Beijing, Shanghai, Sanya, and  Xiamen.

MALAYSIA AIRLINES Special Offers

Great service and facilities at fabulous prices? Yes you can have that even if you are on a budget. One of my favorite airlines, Malaysia Airlines usually has great deals on their website. Sign-up for their Get-The-Deal Alerts for airfare sale alerts, check their Stimulus Packages as well as their Holiday Packages.

Latest special offers:

• Bandar Seri Begawan – Kuala Lumpur Only BND 80 (OW)
• Ho Chi Minh – Kuala Lumpur Only USD 85 (OW)

MALAYSIA AIRLINES -ASEAN PASS (Not actually a promo, more like a regular service  but a great bargain nonetheless..)

One really fabulous deal! Imagine flying an airline with all amenities and perks but at budget prices.. This is what I thought  of when I first chanced upon Malaysia Airlines ASEAN PASS.

ASEAN Pass gives you the freedom to enjoy up to 4 flights within ASEAN countries at a truly amazing price – 1049 MYR (roughly US $310). Up to 6 months travel validity. You can use it for 4 flights within Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar. Easy to use – just buy the pass, then if you get the itchy feet, then exchange it for your travel tickets!

Living in Phnom Penh: A Simple Christmas..

I’m feeling the side effects of Christmas. =) Wallet is almost empty haha, I can’t seem to fit my jeans and I’m obsessively browsing for the latest ellipticals so I could plan to buy it to help me with my gain weight struggle. That is, it usually ends up with just browsing and planning haha!

Anyway, Christmas has been fun albeit a quieter one. This is the second Christmas we have celebrated here in Phnom Penh and though I miss the rowdy, and really festive Christmas we used to have in the Philippines, I think I’ve also gotten used to the way we celebrate it here. It’s one of the things I had to adjust to.. Living in Cambodia means celebrating Christmas in a quieter but still meaningful way. The most important thing is that I’m with Hi-ace and Chinks and on Christmas eve I was still able to talk for about an hour to my family in Bicol, Philippines.

The last week was spent shopping for presents and it was a bit difficult coz of the schedules. I had to shop while Chinks was not home which is hard coz she’s in school mostly mornings and shops open late 10 am so I don’t get much time and I had to keep most stuff from her. I hate spoiling surprises! She had a lot of fun though and was really happy about the presents she got. I also had to prepare stuff for her school Christmas party (which is really annoying if you ask me coz they scheduled it December 24th).

December 23, we also visited some Khmer friends we met in Manila and we had some sort of impromtu get together. Then we went off for dinner with another Pinay friend at a Filipino resto and as usual Hi-ace and his best friend feasted on sinigang and crispy pata and I was of course tempted to steal a few bites.. Bad bad for the diet!

December 24 was a quiet day for us. I cooked Chinkee’s fave foods in the morning. She told me she’ll die if she doesn’t eat spaghetti with lots of hotdogs and cheese on Christmas (she could really be overly dramatic!). Hi-ace still had to go to office and in the afternoon he had to attend a wedding. He came home a bit late and we had our own Christmas celebration. Just the three of us and it was nice. Something we’d want to make a family tradition. Initially, Hi-ace wanted to take us out, have a fancy dinner in some hotel but I wasn’t up to it. I didn’t feel lik e going out and just wanted to cook something we both like and have a quiet dinner at home. Which turned out really better than I thought..

I also made an hour-long call to my parents in Bicol, and it just made me miss them more. It’s my brother’s birthday on the 25th so we usually have a big party at home and they were telling me only us were not present. The only good thing about it is that, Ma told me she’s cooking 3 kinds of pasta, they have beef caldereta plus hordes of desserts so it’s just great I could avoid that though you can imagine me salivating for those stuff we usually have on Christmas eve.

The Christmas day was spent sleeping late for us. I was dead tired and later in the afternoon, we again had to prepare to attend a wedding. I had to go since the mom of the bride is a close friend and work colleague of Hi-ace, so I had to dress up. Why are Khmer’s so sooshyal when attending weddings? Before I did not bother much, I’d just go wearing semi-formal clothes, no makeup but haha this made me standout. Imagine everyone, even just wedding guests wearing glittering gowns and outlandish hairdo’s! So I tried to make effort, at least I put minimal makeup and donned my Khmer dress. At least, the food was delish!

There goes my Christmas for 2009. Hopefully, I could be home in the Philippines for Christmas 2010…

Cheers to Year 2010!

Update to Direct Flights: Manila – Phnom Penh

I must have missed this one I’ve been watching out for updates to the agreement between  Cambodia and the Philippines to establish direct flights. You can read my previous posts here and here.  Anyway, here’s an update to the to-be launched direct flights between Manila and Phnom Penh.

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 =)

Koh Kong Trip, Part I

Part 1 – On to Tatai Waterfalls, Koh Kong Cambodia

Tatai Waterfalls, Koh Kong Cambodia

Better late than never. That’s my motto. Hahaha! For this post anyway. I keep forgetting to schedule posting this.. Forgive the memory gaps.Anyway, this is all about our trip to Koh Kong, Cambodia last August? Seriously, I even forgot the date already .

We were looking at another boring weekend that time and Hi-ace suggested we go over to Kompong Som (Sihanoukville) so we could roast ourselves a bit (I really mean we could have a good rest at the beach). So that was the plan, till my sister-in-law heard we were going and pretty soon there were about 10 more people wanting to join us. I so appreciate my Cambodian family, they are almost always having itchy feet. You know, they are what my father usually calls ‘layas’ that’s a Bicolano word meaning ‘wanderlust’.

Instead of taking a bus, we all just decided to rent a van. Then we just realized all of us had been to Sihanoukville several times already, and since we had a van at our disposal, why not go someplace else we all haven’t been to. We picked out Koh Kong, mainly because it has beaches too, less touristy, plus we all wanted to see the Mangrove forests. Koh Kong was IT then. Our Mondulkiri travel was a superlative for me, so I was really excited too about this Koh Kong Trip since well a lot of people had been raving about the place.

Koh Kong is at the southern part of Cambodia, and the city is about 8 km from the Thai border. Krong Koh Kong has also been dubbed before as Cambodia’s Wild West. This province is just so vast, with little houses around, sparse population, lots of beaches, rainforests, mountains etc. Simply a great place to explore (I just wish we had more time, but we could always go back )

Traveling with my Khmer relatives was fun and educating as well. Well, educating for me anyway, in terms of their culture and made me realize more how Cambodians are really into picnicing. Anyway, we took off early morning, the van was all packed, lol! we were almost bursting full (not with people!) but with the goodies and foodies my mother-in-law insisted we take. You know, she knows how much we love eating and what if we get stranded or something, in any case, lets just say if we get stranded in the middle of nowhere, we had enough food and water to last 10 of us for 2 days with more to spare.

My nieces and nephews were also lugging in luggages and I did wonder what’s in there coz we were only going for two days. I know, this kinda weirded me out, since I usually travel light, with just the essentials. Another thing I noticed, most of them were dressed to the nines and for a minute I felt left out. I mean, two of them were wearing heels and dresses, others were wearing pants and long sleeved shirts like they were going for a job interview or something, and Hi-ace, Chinks, me and another niece, well were the only ones wearing shorts, shirt, and slip-ons. Ok, so I thought maybe that’s just how they like to travel.. No sweat.

One good thing about going to Koh Kong is that the road condition is excellent. I could still remember how numb my butt was when we went to Mondulkiri so this was a great thing for me. And once you get past the intersection between National Highway 4 (going to Sihanoukville) and National Highway 48 (going to Koh Kong) the views are just stunning! Everything is all green and there are a couple of bridges you have to pass through and the water is all clear and reflecting all green colors of surrounding lush mountains. The road is mostly winding, carved from mountains, with very little houses almost all the way.

A few kilometers before we reached Koh Kong, around 10 am, the driver said were stopping for a swim at Tatai Waterfalls. The van traveled on something like a dirt path away from the main highway for something like half kilometer, then we came upon a small er and really steep path and the driver told us we just had to go on by foot. Okay, I’m a total klutz and I just keep imagining myself simply tripping and rolling over and just finding myself plunging on the waterfalls.

None of that happened though, thankfully Hi-ace had the good sense to order me to remove my slippers so I could go down barefooot. God! Even Chinks got there ahead of me. It was really that steep and I wasn’t even carrying anything. You could guess how amazed I was when I saw my nieces carting their luggages (which they told me has their clothes so they could change after swimming), and they were going down the steep hill like it was nothing.

And was it worth climbing down? Totally! The water levels were not so high so the river was gently flowing. We had to climb down a couple more rock formations, and wow! just wow! something like 4 meters of thundering water and it was awesome! The water was crystal clear, you can actually see little fishes swimming all over.. The kids had a great time swimming and of course, we adults had a picnic! I think any Cambodian outing is incomplete without this… I know my description won’t do justice to Tatai Waterfall, so here are the photos..

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