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Food Trip Friday: Pho2000

FTFBadge

We had a long holiday this week here in Phnom Penh. The Khmers were celebrating [intlink id="2142" type="post"]Pchum Ben[/intlink] and most people took the time off and headed elsewhere for some R & R. We were actually planning on going to Battambang, but since my sister was going home to Manila via Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, we decided we’ll all tag along and spend a few days there. What did we do? Nothing much, walked about the city, did a bit of shopping{ really, Ho Chi Minh is a bargain shoppers haven, you’ll find everything in their markets apparel, even hospital scrubs sale, bags, home decor etc} and we also ate a lot. Hubby and I, are big fans of Vietnamese Pho Bo so we decided to eat Pho every night Lol.

The first night we went to our favorite Pho place – Pho2000. Here’s some drool worthy pics..

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Hubby ordered a large bowl of Pho Bo {Beef Keuy Teuw Noodles} and I was seriously shocked at how huge the bowl was. I thought at first the waiter was bringing it over for us to wash our hands on, hahahaha. And Hi-ace was embarrassed he was the only one eating a huge bowl of noodles. Lol. But he did finish it all up!

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Mine was a really delicious seafood Pho. Clams, squid, fish, prawns and lots of onions. I love the spiciness of this one. Definitely going to my favorite list.

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Cebu Pacific Air Seat Sale Still On!

Cebu Pacific Juan to Fly? Promo:

Manila to Legazpi or Naga | Cebu to Clark, Davao, Ozamiz, Pagadian or Surigao | Davao to Iloilo – P488
Manila to Tagbilaran or Roxas – P788
Manila to Ozamiz – P888

Manila to Ho Chi Minh – P1288
Manila to Brunei, Guangzhou, Jakarta or Kuala Lumpur – P1488
Manila to Osaka – 2088

 

Today’s gonna be the last day of the sale! So go hurry and grab yourself some cheap tickets and have a vacation. Lol! I know I should have posted it earlier, but I guess I was too preoccupied scoring deals. Heh. I just got back first week of July and now I’m trip planning again. Sigh. The expense, the expense. But I can’t help myself, I miss my family terribly and unless I could find budget rates for conferencing calling, then I’d have to fly home from time to time.

Were going home again for All Soul’s Day, and kiddo and I will be leaving on the last week of October and going back early November. And yay! I scored discount tickets from Cebu Pacific and were traveling via Ho Chi Minh on the way to Manila. I’m quite giddy with the savings I scored coz that is more than enough to pay for our RT ticket from Manila to Legazpi! Imagine, the usual no discount fare for 2 pax Saigon-Manila would be around $200++ but yesterday I booked and paid less than $128!

So yeah, I’m in a pretty good mood. Hahaha. Anyway, its weekend and I’m wondering what to do..Any suggestions?

Blurbs About Beauty

Am I vain?  Maybe. I like fashion, clothes, shoes and all. I don’t like looking losyang at all. I mean, just because you’re married or you’re a stay-at home mom or you’ve gained weight, doesn’t mean you have to look bad. I always believe its all about making an effort. I’m not saying you should go ahead and wear stilettos {well, you can if you want to anyway} while scrubbing your bathroom clean, I’m just saying you have to look nice too.

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via Photorack.net

Sometimes just letting it go and look drab can get really tempting. I mean why should I primp up when no one sees me at home anyway. But the thing is I feel good too when I look well. And if I’m not in the mood, I just scour the web for be beautiful videos which never fails to inspire me to again make the effort. Also, I think how you look outside reflects how you feel about yourself, which in turn influences how people perceive you.

I certainly don’t want to be perceived as a lousy and dreary person so although I may not be model-like beautiful {or thin, bwahahaha!}, it still helps being presentable. I also think its a girl thing to shop and dress up. This activities never fails to brighten me up. Sure, some might say, ‘what a vain’ person! But who cares, there really should be time to pamper and take care of yourself. Personally, I have to know my limits though, especially when it comes to shopping. Lol. There’s always the danger that I would go overboard, so a budget must be set.

Whilst I’m typing this, it suddenly occurred to me, maybe I should go to some beauty schools! Hahaha. Nah, it was just a fleeing thought.

In a Thrifty Mode

I’ve been doing some self-auditing and we figured its high time we go into a mega thrift mode. Having savings is a priority. I mean, a definite portion of our income will be set aside from savings, not just the excess. Thankfully, hubby is really good with handling money so he keeps me in line. I think its a wise thing to save and invest while you can still work.

We also have a lot of big purchases in the offing, so I wanna have some cash handy. And in the next two years, were rebuilding our house here in Phnom Penh. Nothing grand, just something ‘liveable’ and sturdy hehe.. We bought the lot a year after we got married and thank God for hubby’s insight in buying this piece of lot. It’s located well within the city, in a safe and accessible neighborhood, very near the market. The only problem is the access road which is small. But its a prime location which we bought for almost a pittance and can you imagine that last year someone wants to buy it from us for more than 10x its original selling price? I think its a great investment and we’ll be building a much better house on it with a couple more rooms to accommodate guests and a home office for me.

After were done with this, we have plans of purchasing another place in the suburbs. Phnom Penh is growing exponentially, it won’t be long when the city would be like bursting in its seams so we really want to have a place to settle in, have a small garden, sunshine, a lot less chaos and noise. Sort of like a retirement home and we want to save for that early and buy it at least while we could still afford it.

Wouldn’t it be just awesome to walk out your back door and see this view…

So with all these big expenses were planning we both have to work more, save more and invest some. I’m thinking on investing I’m not sure yet which kind. Should I go for real estate, penny stock picks, high yield {but high risk} investments? All this would be given ample thought and research of course. For now, I’m quite excited. Lol! That might be hard to believe but the prospect of seeing something solid out of the work you put in is exciting and very gratifying. Wish us luck!

Image via Photorack.Net

Finding Cheap Furnishings in Phnom Penh

A lot of expats here in Phnom Penh usually stay for a few years, so its a practical choice too to buy not too expensive furnishings for their temporary Phnom Penh homes. There are actually a lot of options for you to find cheap, pretty and quality furnishings here. I’m guessing these are some things that a lot of people who are going to be living in Phnom Penh are looking for.

One, you can scour ads for garage, yard and expat sales. A lot of expats leaving for another post abroad hold yard sales to dispose of their furnishings. Bringing these stuff with them can be quite costly so majority of them just hold sales. So there’s your chance to grab some quality furnishings at really bargain prices. I myself, like watching out for these garage sales and have scored lovely home decor items like my decorative mirror and some small home appliances. Where to check out ads: Bongthom.com, classified ads on dailies, also a Yahoo group called Cambodia Parents Network posts garage sale schedules.

Two, second hand shops! Yes, there are some of that here. Some imported from Japan while there are also some who source locally. Just last week when I was looking for some floor mirror and an office chair {you know the one that can whirl around, is quite comfy, but often pricey when its new} and we came across a shop along Schola Road called ‘Used Office Furnitures’ and with lots of office furnishings which are of still tip top shape and at really low prices. I’ll be posting about this as soon as I sorted out the photos. 88 Japanese Furniture along Norodom  Blvd and the warehouse along National Rd. 1 is also a place to check out.

Three, buy it new. If you are into those quaint wicker furnishings then check out Sothearos Blvd. Rattan furnishings in various shapes and forms can be found along the street near its intersection with Norodom Blvd. These items make stylish and perfect of the hot Phnom Penh weather furnishings. They are lightweight but durable and you can find a lot of items in these shops. From bookshelves, to lounge chairs, bar counters, dining sets, sofas etc. all at very affordable prices.

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Four, have them custom made. You can have some nice but not too pricey furnishings customized. Just visit one of those small shops along Sothearos Blvd. Last time we actually bought a custom made vanity mirror with nice vintage like wood finish for only $20. Along the same street selling rattan furnishings are small furniture shops like these..

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Hope this post has been of some help. If you have more tips, places to shop, please leave a comment.

 

 

Current Decor Fascination..

Yes, I have another obsession. Home decor. At least for now I limit the fascination/obsession to obsessively browsing sites featuring home decor items I currently dig. lol! So what do I have a thing for now? Decorative wall clocks! Who says, your wall clocks have to be boring? Take for instance, this totally unique wall clock:

decorative wall clock

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