Hmm, I think I just found my favorite time of the year to be in Phnom Penh: Khmer New Year! Why? The streets are almost empty, I had a crazy time driving around. Lol. The only time I could actually brave to drive. Hahaha. Yes, those careening motos and speeding SUV’s makes me a coward so I’m really scared to drive here and I’m trying to overcome that sloooowly.

Phnom Penh Street During Khmer New Year. Yay! Almost empty!

The past few Khmer New Years, we joined the exodus of city dwellers to some vacation destination. But this year, we have decided to stay on. And I’m so happy we did decided to stay behind. The only downside is that most shops were closed from the 13th, so if one suddenly gets inspired to shop  for test sieves, I doubt if there is any place open.

an almost deserted junction. this place is usually packed with traffic..

The only places open for business were biggie supermarkets and a couple of restaurants and mostly just along the riverside area. Our neighborhood which is usually noisy has been eerie with too much quiet. Even our neighbors dogs are out of town!

my kind of street. I can drive here. hahaha!

But sigh, this moment of peace and quiet is almost at its end. I’m sure lots of those who drove out of the city are now hurrying back. Hmm, still, I’m happy we got to loosen up  a bit.

This is a rather late posting. We made this trip mid-February and I never got around to editing the photos. Mainly coz when we got back, that’s when Phnom Penh had its almost daily power cuts, then March arrived and I was swamped with stuff to do. I found myself just browsing for custom made t-shirts instead of doing the editing. Sigh. The internet could be really distracting.

But anyhow, here’s some pics spam of our recent Mondulkiri trip. With my usual nonsense commentary. Ha! And I really should mention, I love Mondulkiri with a fierce passion. I don’t know why. I think this goes to my top 3 favorite places here in Cambodia. It’s remote, almost wild, with a totally different terrain than the rest of the country, gorgeous natural scenery and just awesome cool weather.

We were actually just tagging along with Hi-ace and his students, so the trip was like a ‘group tour’ with strict time schedules and whatnots but I didn’t mind, it turned out to be actually fun. We left real early and we made a brief stop in Kampong Cham to check out the Rubber Trees. It was not as boring as it sounds, it was actually interesting, check out my separate post on that.

I was surprised to see the roads were now in tip top condition. My butt was happy because the ride was now smoother than the last time with all the mud and potholes on the road, but the adventurous spirit in me was kinda sad. I really must have missed that first time we went to Mondulkiri in 2010.  That time we all had to get down the bus, and walk coz the mud was just too sticky! But now the roads are all paved and nice, so travel time is now on average 7-8 hours from Phnom Penh.

It was also not as green as before, perhaps because this is the dry season. And its also sad to see a lot of forests are being cleared (some were obviously burned) to make way for more rubber plantation. Sigh. The lure of money.

A few kilometers before reaching Sen Monorom, the students demanded a brief stop on the road. They were obviously happy with the pine trees and the nice temperature drop. They couldn’t stop taking photos, and I also can’t stop taking photos of them taking photos. Hahaha.

Once we reached Sen Monorom, we opted to go to the Ocean of Trees aka. Sea Forest instead of checking in the hotel first. The problem though was that the climb going that way was so steep, our bus couldn’t get up. So we were ordered to get down and walk. And I’m glad I did get down and walk as I got to capture this: a monk making a lonesome climb up a hill..

Two young Khmer girls giving some alms to an elder and doing the sompiah as a sign of respect. The elder in turn give thanks and blessings. This is one of favorite snapshots of Cambodia, it says a lot of their culture. Respecting elders is big deal here.

Orkun Charan is the Khmer phrase for ‘thank you very much’.  Snapshot taken in Pursat, last year 2011.

Phnom Chisor, Takeo is just a few hours drive from Phnom Penh and one of the main features of this ‘mountain’ temple is a reclining Buddha.

I kinda like this place. Not very touristy and you get the feeling that its so remote. But its not really. The climb up the temples were just gasp inducing. Lol. Or maybe I’m just out of shape.

Prey Veng is a Cambodian province not usually mentioned in tourist guides, and for some reason places like these appeal more to me. So when my sister-in-law suggested we go there, visit some family friends and also visit Wat Vihear Sour, a well known pagoda, I was all set to tag along. We also heard that in this pagoda, there is one temple that is home to a deity, said to be generous in granting wishes of good luck, wealth and specially fertility. I think this is one of the reasons why my in-laws wanted to make the trip. My younger brother-in-law and his wife have been trying for a baby for some years already and now they wanted to make an offering in that pagoda and ask for help to make their wish come true.

When I heard about this I was mighty curious. I’m not Buddhist but that doesn’t mean I don’t try to learn more or understand more of their beliefs. I always try to keep an open mind about these things and who knows if your wish can be granted. We’ve also been talking about having a second child, with the kiddo very eager to wear her little nurse uniform and be a ‘baby sitter’. Lol. So it wouldn’t hurt if we pray for one while we are there. And besides this reason, drives to Cambodian provinces is always delightful for me. You never know what you’ll see or encounter, aside from the lush, almost undisturbed countryside.

We left about 9 am and the drive was really pleasant. Just under 2 hrs with the roads all new and paved. To say that it was a picturesque drive would be an understatement. Most of  the places around Phnom Penh are vast and unpopulated. Most are farmlands. Which makes me realize that Cambodia really has a smaller population compared to other places or perhaps majority are just concentrated on urban areas.  Anyway, I’ll let the pics tell my story now…

Wat Vihear Sour has this huge ‘lake’..

This pagoda complex is huge and has several temples you can offer prayers and receive blessings. One can offer food, flowers, incense. In this pagoda you can also get some blessed water and wash your face with it for good luck.