Been Awhile....

I only just noticed that my last post before today was December 2008. It had been awhile indeed. I never knew people (by people, I mean the one or two friends I have :P) actually check-in on my blog to see if I have anymore updates. Until one of them told me today that I haven't updated my blog.

It's not that I don't have anything to say. I have plenty to say. All these words in my head, all the thoughts in my mind.... but I lack the time to craft a piece worthy enough of blog attention. (So, basically, I'm ranting on here just because I can.... and I feel / felt guilty about leaving things hanging since December '08..... now that it's been pointed out to me).....

What's been happening? Long story short - I've launched a new business in Cambodia and working my ass off on it....... (you will understand when you read my earlier posting on Cheap & Good).... trying to adjust to Cambodia (still! eventhough 15th July would mark my first year anniversary of returning to Cambodia for my second "tour")..... going to launch another company here in Khmer land...... also working my ass off on that one (why does everything require me to work my ass off???) .... lost my compassion for humanitarian work and regained it after my dearest pop idol Gone Too Soon....... (and it's been a bit ... sad - more on that below).... so, have taken my first tiny step in trying to start a "youth centre"........ empowering the youth of Cambodia to do something about their lives..... not to mention, i have a wedding around the corner and I don't exactly feel like a bride - I'm not sure whether it is because I've always viewed it with much nonchalance or I've just been too busy and overwhelmed with work to get into the whole mode of it.... or what? really, I don't know. I know that I felt a bit ..... "what the hell??!" when my fitting lasted all of 5 minutes and none of my girlfriends were with me to give the designer hell (Kris - i love you and you're the best)...

Speaking of Michael Jackson - I've always been a great fan.... and I remember how when I first watched Beat It (the video which started my idolization of MJ)...... my brother and I would imitate his every move, down to the ankle-length pants and one-hand glove..... it was crazy! We even managed to get hold of step-by-step instructions on how to do the moonwalk....... MJ was awesome and we continued to grow up listening to his music, watching his performances / video...... I was upset when my parents didn't allow me to go for the MJ HIStory concert back in 1996..... damn... I will never get another chance now...... the thing was.... we grew up knowing the black MJ and the white MJ....... while I could never understand his eccentricities, at the same time, I do understand that somebody who can't even walk into Starbucks to get his own coffee cannot possibly lead a normal life. What I do know is that a lot of MJ's work had inspired me - even from a young age - to "lend a helping hand"............. When I first heard news of his passing, I was shocked and just didn't want to believe it...... but after facing the reality of it and accepting it..... I reminisced all the great videos, songs, concerts that had been in my collection.... and watching Man In The Mirror again re-inspired me to really do something - which propelled me to take that tiny step toward my youth centre. Big dreams indeed.... but..... porportionate work needed. I shall hold fast to my determination to make it materialise.

Before I end my hurried entry - I hope MJ may RIP now that he has found it. I wish the media would stop hounding him and stop reporting on his family, the custody / will battles, his children, his autopsy.... he's GONE. Leave him be. We need to celebrate his life and remember the good times his work had given us. The laughs that we had when we all tried to moonwalk like him. For me - long before he passed on - my other half would always do a poor imitation of Michael to make me laugh when he had just made me angry. And it never fails. MJ - thank you for the good times.

I don't know how this entry came to be paying tribute to MJ - but that's how it is when you're ranting. Your music lives forever in our hearts. And "I'm starting with the (wo)man in the mirror". Peace.

Cheap & Good?

I think taking into account the global financial situation we are currently facing, companies have had to take another dive into their budgets and fish harder for ways and means to make monies stretch. Heads are being chopped left, right and centre.

But really - at what expense?

I am no economist. Surely nothing from any Harvard-linked education system either. But 18 years in the A&P industry certainly counts for some 5 cents from me.

From this side of the wall, I feel that quality has taken a dive. Everyone down-the-line has been pushed to deliver the same quality but at a lower cost. Naturally - what happens? Suppliers who used to do something at the cost of USD3 per pc has now got to deliver the same damn quality at USD1.50 and at half the speed or even the same speed. Can they then sustain their own business?

They do have 2 options - lower the quality to match that of USD1.50 so as to sustain their business. Or else, match the ridiculous demands of the clients - and watch as profits fizzle and the business is driven down the drain. Unfortunately, the smaller businesses who are unable to sustain the increase of cost and the decrease of profit will undoubtedly - fire more staff, close more production lines, etc... you get the picture. The situation worsens.

I had the 'good luck' of meeting a relatively new, but big client last week. And he wanted our quality Brand Activators - but at the cost of what he is currently paying "freelancers". First of all - I wonder if he or his marketing team spends 4 hours a week, training their "freelancers" on the basic concepts of marketing, advertising, presentation skills, brand activation ideas, branding, brand personality, etc, etc, etc. Err - I don't think so. (you see, it is all not in the budget! They are trying to trim the fats, remember?)

So, that's what I tried to explain to them. I am very proud of the 300+ kids that I am working with. They are learning and absorbing everything like a sponge. They turn up like clockwork at the training sessions come rain, shine or snow. Sure, they may not be as fast as I am hoping them to be, but most importantly - they have heart. They have heart to make it different for themselves. It is my investment into them - to make them better, to ensure that they have demanding power in the future when it comes to wages. Quoting them anything lower or similar to an "untrainned" freelancer would be doing them an injustice.

The client's response to my explanation on training, time investment, etc... was "This is Cambodia, this is not New York, or Italy where everything is expensive!" ..... This certainly started getting me prickling hot. He is right - we are in Cambodia. So, he (or rather, his grand big company) brought in a 'mass product' for the country - needs to sell it to the Cambodians. In other words, he needs to make money out of these Cambodians (who are not New Yorkers, nor Italians). What's the word most appropriate to use here? You tell me.

If we forever think of "this is Cambodia! Everything is cheap!" - then when will these 'poor' people of Cambodia ever move ahead in their lives? When my Brand Activators signed up with me, I promised them that if they worked hard, they'll definitely make something for themselves. Aside from giving these kids knowledge, I am giving them self-confidence and pride. Pride in knowing they are worth more as long as they work hard for it (here - I can only speak for the kids I work with, nothing beyond that). But it is clients like what I mentioned above that is driving everybody - including the economy down.

If clients are likening my Brand Activators to the "cheap freelancers" that they use, they are not respecting us, our work and also themselves. Let's put it this way - my Brand Activators do not steal forty winks at the event booth in the middle of the day when the crowd disappears (trust me, I even have photos of these "cheap freelancers" sleeping on the job - which I use as example when I train my Brand Activators). My Brand Activators are motivated to do the job well, with passion, with pride and most of all, enjoy doing it. Proof enough is when I have kids now walking into the office asking to be part of the team simply due to what they see us doing outside for clients. I have Brand Activators requesting to work for free - simply because they were not selected for a certain project and they still want to be part of the work group. Need I say more? Ahh.... the popular phrase of "you pay peanuts, you get monkeys" come to mind.

I had a discussion with some friends from the same industry. We were talking about the CHEAP-GOOD-FAST triangle. If you want it Cheap & Good, it is never Fast. If you want it Good and Fast, it is never Cheap. If you want it Cheap and Fast, it is never Good. Such a simple concept. Unfortunately - not practised widely enough and everyone points their fingers to the global economic situation.

At the end of the day - whatever the global economic situation is - you don't walk into the Four Seasons and tell them you want them to match Bright Lotus Guesthouse prices. Neither do you walk into Vera Wang and demand they give you Chinatown price, right? (you can be sure to get a "Vera Wang lookalike at Chinatown with the label Vela Wang on it too!") It isn't rocket science that you simply don't. If you are willing to wear a Vela Wang - you pay for a Vela Wang. If you want the original Vera, you pay for the original Vera! Such a simple concept!

Sure - you have to trim the fats - even for us - we trim the fats off too! Those who are not making the mark will get the boot. We are keeping a close tab on costs. But I refuse, simply refuse to trim my quality. But I think we have to be aware that you can't pat yourself on the back simply because you got for your company - a cheaper deal. Ask - at what expense? You saved your sorry ass, sure. But at whose expense? And then you continue with "This is Cambodia!" or "This is the financial crisis! You need to cut down on your price!" .... Enough with the excuses!

Quoting the dearly departed MJ - "if you want to make the world, a better place, take a look at yourself, and MAKE A CHANGE".

Siem Riep – A little more charm than Phnom Penh – but just as dusty.

It was a tad bit funny how it all panned out. I was to be in Siem Riep for the Angkor Half Marathon. Originally, my other half would’ve taken part in the race with me. But well, as work would have its way – he had a major event on the same day – the MTV Exit concert at the Angkor Wat as well. So, for me – just making this trip to Siem Riep meant that I killed not just two, but three birds with one stone! I had a race, I got to watch the MTV Concert (being one of the media sponsor for the concert got me tickets!!) and I could of course, be with MoH – however little time he had spare from work.

I flew in on Friday, 5th December evening (the flight was delayed 40mins because a kite was stuck in the wheels just as it was about to take off! Imagine that!). I arrived and was told to head to the Somadevi Hotel – well, MoH had an event launch at the said hotel. Ended up staying for the whole event, had dinner, watched some terrible performances and games and got swamped by bugs. It was oddly stuffy – maybe because of the enclosed poolside area. Anyway, didn’t get up to much that night. After the event, the company’s van (Phibious) dropped us off at the Soria Moria – where we were staying. I got that from the barter deal from my office. Thank you Touchstone J

Saturday, 6th December, we woke up for breakfast (provided by the hotel) and then hopped on to the same van to take us to meet his colleagues who were all staying at the Somadevi Hotel. I got a bit tired of sitting and waiting around so I walked out to the markets by myself. The weather was very pleasant. It was sunny, yet very cooling. I walked to the Center Market – it was modern, clean and huge – unlike the markets in Phnom Penh. Very, very airy as well which made shopping rather pleasant. But Oh my God – it was just shops after shops of the same items! I have to admit though, I can find more boho items here than in the markets in PP. I bought some scarves, a blouse and some bags. I guess, I was lucky enough to go in early as being the first customer, they were more than willing to offer me a great bargain. Which was why, when I walked over to the Old Market afterwards, I was hugely disappointed. The items were the same, however, the price was a lot more expensive – more so than PP and more so than the earlier Center Market! Not to mention – the vendors were not at all willing to bargain.
Well, just about the best thing about making good bargain is when you know you don’t need that item and you will only buy it if the price is right (translate : dirt cheap). The Old Market is a little like the Orussey Market in PP. But what was really off was to see the fish and meat sellers hawking their produce right in the middle of the walkway of the clothes and trinket stalls.

I thought I would be spending the whole day shopping, but there was nothing different at the markets which you can't find at the Russian Market…so I walked out of the market and found the famous Pub Street. Over here, I discovered a sort-of hidden alley in which lies more restaurants and little guest houses – there was a very Marrakesh feel to it and this was one of the charms of Siem Riep which I fell for. I was actually looking for Burgers Without Borders and well – wa-la, here it was at this little alley. Since I had a lot of time to kill before MoH could “potentially” be available for lunch, I went for a massage instead. Frangipani was also located at this alley and I ordered up a Tropical Massage – which was non-oil. It was good. A bit painful, but good. I love the lemongrass tea they served before the massage and the fresh lime juice they serve after the massage.

Anyway, after I finished my massage, it was just in time to meet up with MoH for lunch. Of course, I had no clue that the entire Phibious team was going to be having lunch too! But there they were – all sitting at Burgers Without Borders. But the whole team was really great. I mean, really nice people and all. At BWB – I ordered a Grilled Chicken Foccacia Sandwich (it was all about me trying so hard to keep to the healthy side of food before the race)… MoH had the Cheeseburger. The burgers were just unusually ‘tall’.. not necessarily large. I also had an Apple Cinnamon smoothie which was just too much and I couldn’t finish it (as usual).

After lunch, I basically followed the Phibious team (cos I had nothing to do and nowhere I wanted to go) to go for the site check at Angkor Wat in preparation for their concert. There it was – my first time to Angkor Wat – not as a tourist. Just as a – “oh, we’re going for a site recce. You can come along.” – kinda thing. Whilst I had never had the thing for the Angkor temples, I was stunned by the sheer magnificence of its beauty. It was….. I think it never sank in – the fact that I was actually at Angkor Wat – THE Angkor Wat. After maybe twenty or thirty minutes, we left without MoH as he had a meeting to attend. Again, I went on the Phibious van and we went to Lucky Mall. We met up with Lamp and Nat (MoH’s immediate boss) at the Lucky Mall, and chatted for awhile. After that, we all went back to our respective hotels – I was dropped off at Soria Moria and I waited for MoH at the hotel. Actually fell asleep as didn’t sleep well the night before…. !

When he got back, he had a shower and we walked out to the Angkor Night Market. It was really really nice weather. The Night Market was really nice. As in – the place was situated very nicely. The first stop – I bought some candies and snacks – I could bring them home for CNY. Then we moved on. Again, it was just shops after shops selling the same stuff. But there was a shop that was doing a “cheap sale” thing. So we bought lots of stuff from that shop – some spices and tea, and we bought lots of T-shirts as well. For spending USD8, the shop owner gave us 3 free items – 2 scarves (yes, more scarves) and a key chain! After that, we left and decided to grab dinner. Went to Pub Street, couldn’t decide what we wanted – and we walked to that Marrakesh alley again. It was really nice. We settled for dinner at Phuket Noodles Behind Bars. It is just normal noodles but the shop is designed in a “prison” concept. Well, the food wasn’t great, it was alright. But the service sucked big time. I had a Seafood Soup Noodle with Beancurd sauce and MoH ordered a Spicy Fried Rice and we shared a Fish Amok. After that, I bought one scoop of Blue Pumpkin ice cream – Dark Chocolate and it was so good. Then, MoH walked me back before he had to go for a meeting for his MTV event again. Sometimes, I see him work and I want to scream. But I respect his work style – just as much as he respects mine. He would do it differently and I would do it differently. And of course, ultimately, it sometimes sucks if we have an idiot client to deal with. In his case – he also had to deal with all that idiotic bureaucratic authorities as well. Poor guy, I guess. I didn’t accompany him as I wanted to get my rest for the race. I think he only came back around 1am…

Sunday, 7th December, I woke up early to get ready for my race. I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. I really had serious doubts as to whether I will make good time for this race. Training’s gone all wonkers and I wasn’t exactly in the prime fitness level I was at when back in KL. Anyway, we caught the tuk-tuk and made our way to Angkor Wat. Oh my God, the journey to Angkor Wat in the tuk-tuk was so, so, so bloody cold! I was freezing my ass off!!! Talk about frozen muscles!!!

So, there I was at the Angkor Wat again. It was beginning to feel quite surreal – being at the temple again. I didn’t see any familiar faces – but MoH actually caught a photo of the Japanese guy – that pro athlete who is always in the international races (to win). Well, I have to say, the entire race was really very well organized.

At 6.30am SHARP – the start horn blared. And off we all went. About 2,000 odd participants, racing with the spectacular Angkor Wat in the background. The weather was really very nice to run in. Very cooling. Cold, in fact. I started off ok. Was trying to gain some constant pace. There was water station every 2km – and they handed out bottled water – not water in paper cups. Which was – both cool and also wasteful. I wasn’t going to carry all that water around with me. But the good thing was that there were the kids that were just waiting for these bottles so they can pick them up and earn some money from recycling them. We were running on dirt road for the most part of the race and the route was really very scenic. Shaded by trees, and then suddenly, you see a temple structure looming ahead, running across temple archways, passing through temple walls, it was just absolutely beautiful. Plus, a lot of kids from the villages were cheering us on and gave out their hand to get a high-five from us. It was really fun and I never knew how just having some spectators of sorts really does help you mentally to keep going. But it was really good fun and I wasn’t sure if it was all that adrenaline, I felt “happy”. When I reached the 8km mark (45mins), I was feeling quite good physically so I accelerated. I was keeping to a 5minute per kilometer pace and I knew if I kept that up, I would make it in less than 2 hours. Of course, just thinking of MoH at the finish line helped tremendously too. All in all, I really enjoyed the entire 21km of the race route. However, I was greatly disappointed when I crossed the finish line. I made 1:52 – which was a great timing. But my MoH was missing in action. And it was odd, but I suddenly felt very alone. I hadn’t expected to feel that way. But it was the first race where I really had no familiar race friends around, so, crossing that finishing line alone was… lonely. And then when I couldn’t see MoH, I just felt like… crying! Cos everyone of the participants had family or friends waiting for them – whether they had raced together or simply just cheering them on….. they all had someone there. I walked about aimlessly, trying to look for MoH. In the end, I borrowed a stranger’s phone and made a call to MoH. He was on the tuk-tuk coming in. I was so mad at him! What kind of stupid thinking was that to go off when he knew to expect me back within at least 2 hours? I was just truly, truly disappointed. Everytime I expect him to be there for me, he had done a no-show. Not cool. He arrived, nonetheless, and I really want to just slap the living daylights out of him. In fact, I just wanted to leave without him. He was such an insensitive jerk. I mean, if he had left because of a work emergency, I could understand that. But it was nothing like that and that made it even worse. Aargh.

Anyway, we went back on his van. He had to be dropped off somewhere else and I had to go back to Soria Moria, grabbed our stuff, checked-out and checked-in to Allson Angkor Paradise. That was part of how the barter deal worked. Don’t ask me why.

After checking-in to Allson, I had a good shower and then I went out. I was starving. I took the tuk-tuk to Pub Street and I had Bacon & Eggs (the name of the shop? I actually didn’t even take notice of that!) and then I walked over to Blue Pumpkin to get me some of the nice pastries as well as my delicious ice cream! This time, I got 1 scoop of Peanut flavour and 1 scoop of Cinnamon flavour. It was super awesome. I got some pastries as well in case I got hungry and also in case MoH had no time to eat, he could have those.
I then went back to the hotel and lazed by the pool the rest of the avro. It was sunny, but not that hot and the water was freezing. I swam some, dozed off some and read my book.

After that, I went back to the room and waited for MoH to come back. Unfortunately for him, he couldn’t make it back in time for a shower and told me to follow the rest of his team to Angkor Wat for the concert. So, I did.

So there I was – at Angkor Wat again, for the third time this trip – this time, for the MTV Exit Concert. After a bit of hassle and stuff, we managed to get in and I went to the seated arena as I had tickets. I gave 2 to Lamp and Nat as well. Click Five kicked off the set with their performances. The rest of the show was really rather draggy. But again – the weather was really nice. Cold in fact, to be sitting out there for a 4 hour concert. But again, just watching the concert and with the stunning beauty of the Angkor Wat looming in the background was so…. surreal. Never been to Angkor Wat and all of a sudden, I was there like 3 times in a short trip. But I was not too keen on doing the entire temple tour. My parents had enjoyed the temple tour when they came last time.

Anyway, the local stars and the international artists were giving a bit of a lackluster performance making it quite boring to sit through. Even Placebo had to tone down their act – so as not to “disturb the Gods of the temples” with their blatantly loud rock sounds. So they played acoustic and semi-acoustic versions of their songs instead. They even had to cover up their tattoos and remove their nose rings and eyebrow piercing, etc…. Pou Klaing had his mic switched off twice as he was on the verge of raising “political issues”. So much for freedom of speech. I don’t know how he does it – but he gets the audience going every single time. Kate Miller was a shocker. She was pretty damn awesome. Her voice was spectacular and her music definitely different from the norm. I had to say that I enjoyed Placebo’s acoustic set.

After the concert, we all went to Hotel De La Paix cos the main sponsors threw an "after-concert" party so we had a chance to mingle with the stars and all that. My, my, my… I went round taking photos and autographs of the stars… and I felt like a teenager again. It’s funny how you always feel young when you are star-strucked …. And you even feel young AND daring after knocking back a few glasses of wine! I took photos with the lead of Click Five, the drummer of Placebo (Steve Forrest), the lead of Placebo, with Kate Miller and Duncan Sheikh. Notice that I am unable to name the lead of Click Five or the lead of Placebo. That is because I do not know the names. Just taking photos for the sake of – “Yay! I got his autograph,” or “Yay! I got his photo!” I got all their autographs on my MTV Exit bag. Maybe I can consider e-baying it now. But the drummer of Placebo was oh-so-cute and all of only twenty-one years old! Aaargh! We only left the party at 1.30am….. I knew I was going to be in trouble waking up for my flight. Not sure why, but I didn’t have a lot to drink, yet, I felt rather tipsy by the time I got back to the hotel!

Monday, 8th December, got up at 5am – thinking it was 6am. My Malaysian time is doing me in already. When I found out that it was only 5am, I wasted no time in clambering back to bed and sleeping some more. Woke up again at 6am and went for breakfast at the hotel with Lamp, Nat and Jamie. They were all on the same flight as I. MoH was going to be traveling with the van again. I wouldn’t mind, I just didn’t want to miss a day’s work.
And so, I boarded the plane without incident this time…… and that was it for my trip to Siem Riep! I would go back – only in the cold months. Otherwise, the dust would be a bit too much to bear during the summer months.

For the results of my last race - click here. I think I did not bad. What a way to exit.

And I Fell In Love With A Country….

It’s been a week since I came back from Laos. I didn’t write about the trip immediately because one – I simply had no time. And then I thought, it might be good to let the “iron cool off” for a bit so that I could gain some perspective on my reflections of the country.
However, at this point, I can honestly say that my feelings for Laos haven’t changed a single bit. And I miss it terribly.

Day 1
My other half and I arrived Vientiene in the late morning, together with my parents. But whilst we were on this short backpacker’s trip, they were going on the tour package. The moment the van (we thumbed a lift to our little hotel on my parent’s tour group van :) took us out of the airport and into the city, I fell in love. Vientiene was charming! There was no congestion, not much vehicles on the roads and certainly no hastily-built skyscrapers disrupting its skyline. How should I say it – it was love at first sight. I think one phrase best describes it – I fell in love with the “old world charm”.

We checked into Hotel Laos, a little budget place at the Haysoke district. I do not know what was in the air of Laos, but I loved everything I saw and I also loved the little hotel we stayed in. It wasn’t new or modern but it was very clean with a pond view. We freshened up and then went out to explore the city. I don’t think I can even call it a city. More like a town. Peaceful and quiet town but it wasn’t dead. We walked to the riverside for lunch and finally settled on a little shack next to the river. The Mekong River….. brown as ever. MOH ordered a fried rice and I chowed down on a “Yum White Noodle Chicken” and we also shared a Laos Salad. It was good! Of course, they took their time. It was all in slow motion (and I have to say – slower than Cambodia).

We went on to walk the entire town, stopping at the Hmong market and also the Talat Sao market – which also connects to a modern shopping mall with familiar brands like Nike, Adidas, etc. I even negotiated in Laotion with a street vendor who was selling woven baskets (those used for steaming Sticky Rice – a staple diet of the Laotion). I was quite impressed with myself, really :) The thing that I immediately noticed about the Laotions was that they were not out to get me. I just didn’t get that feeling from them. They were really quite gentle and the men do not group around and behave in an uncouth manner. They were friendly and also helpful, despite the language barrier. Also, they were not so “in your face.” When you say “no”, they just take it as that, unlike the very irritatingly persistent Cambodians or Vietnamese – even if you decline taking their moto or tuk-tuk rides, they still kept chasing after you!

Vientiene was spacious. The main roads were 3-laned. The pedestrian walkways were wide. And not to mention, clean. It seemed like the Laos government was taking their time with the development of this little country. I hope they do and not rush into the throes of development like their neighbours. I think if properly planned, Laos can still be developed and yet not lose her charms. The one thing that was starkly different from their Cambodian neighbours (I haven’t been to Vietnam in awhile and it would be unfair to compare that) was the fact that we saw no beggars on the street nor slump areas. Believe me, we walked almost every nook and corner. Of course, we could see the poor people, not so well-to-do, but the disparity wasn’t a gap wider than my waistline!

We visited the Phatuxay – which is their Independence Monument. It was said that they built the arch similar to the French Arc to spite them. And instead of 2 entrances / exits, they built four. We climbed all the way to the top – 7th floor and got a bird’s eye view of the city. Tired and hot, we made our way back. I just had to grab their little snacks along the streets and guess what? I fell in love with these too! The main ingredients used are sticky rice flour and sticky rice. I had a little sticky rice ball dumpling with a savoury peanut filling (and you eat this with roasted dried chilli) and also a slice of black sticky rice cake. Yums. We walked back to the hotel and had a little tea-time snack at a local stall selling Vietnamese delights.

That evening, we walked to the Ban Anom Night Market. Street food galore!!! We had some grilled bacon (or I hope it was bacon) and also some fried cricket with lemongrass. Crispy and tasty :) We walked and walked some more and bought more snacks along the way – namely the very delicious fruit shakes that was pure fruit juices ice-blended and then made our way to The Fountaine. This place was utterly romantic. I felt like I was in Paris just being at The Fountaine and it was surrounded by quaint little French-colonial restaurants. We waited for my parents here to meet up because they stayed just down the road from The Fountaine. And then we sat down at Dao Café for a Beer Lao. I have to say – the Beer Lao was quite good.

It was time to call it a night and I was excited with my journey ahead of this beautiful country.

Day 2
Woke up bright and early for breakfast at the hotel. Since we were still early, walked out, had my internet fix and got back to the hotel to wait for our bus pick-up. We were making our way to Vang Vieng! It was just tremendously easy to travel in these countries. The transport comes to pick you up right from your hotel and moves on. But surprise! Surprise! It was a tuk-tuk which came to pick us up from the hotel. Were we going to make that 4 hour journey to Vang Vieng on a tuk-tuk??? Oh, no, no. He dropped us off at where the bus was waiting. Our luggages were hauled to the roof-top. And off we went!

The journey was rather pleasant. I mean, the roads were not your fancy highways, more like some old trunk roads with bumps and all. But overall, it was ok. And the scenery was quite serene – little villages dotting the roads. There was one stop for snacks and toilet-break before we finally arrived at Vang Vieng at 2.30pm. Looked like it had stormed there earlier, but when we arrived, it was only drizzling. I have to say, I was rather disappointed with Vang Vieng. I got the feeling that this town was trying to be, but not be. Nevertheless, we went on a tuk-tuk to look for a place to stay. Vang Vieng was rather deserted. Very quiet, no hustle and bustle. True to what the travel reviews wrote – every eatery was playing either “Friends” or “The Simpsons”! Strange. We finally settled on GrandView Guesthouse. It was reasonably clean but the view was spectacular! We faced the river and against that was the mountains. Surreal.
We went out and wanted to go tubing. First, for some food. We stopped at a little local shop and had fried rice (MOH loves fried rice) and I had rice noodles. But we didn’t have much time to go for tubing because I didn’t want to pay for the experience and have to rush it. The rules strictly said we had to be back with the tube by 6pm or else we would be fined! And it was already 4pm by the time we tried to pay for it. Ah, also, they were having the Vang Vieng International Mini Marathon so I went to the district office to enquire. How odd – they don’t even publicize this and the fact that they call it an international race! I wanted to participate, but was torn between the trip journeys. Secretly, I didn’t want to spend too many days in Vang Vieng. So, I didn’t register immediately.

Since we couldn’t go tubing, we negotiated a tuk-tuk ride to the Phak Toum Cave and Blue Lagoon. It was a bumpy 7km ride on dirt road. MOH decided it was worth paying the money since the poor guy’s tuk-tuk seemed likely to fall apart at any minute due to the bad roads. Again, the ride was made enjoyable with the utterly beautiful scenery of limestone hills and green, green, green paddy fields. Finally, we arrived at the Blue Lagoon. Had to pay an entrance fee. And by golly, the water wasn’t blue!!!! But since we came all this way, might as well jump in. Oh boy, the water was freezing and the current strong. But it was still fun. After half and hour or so, when our bodies were numb as hell, we got out of the water. We decided to climb the cave. We only made it one-fifth of the journey. Both of us were in flip-flops, it was steep and extremely slippery. Climbing down would’ve been hazardous and we decided that we didn’t want to get trapped there when night falls. Bumped into some other sperlunkers on the way down. One was a Japanese guy who could seriously talk. Held us to his stories for a good half an hour before we said we had to go.

We grabbed a chocolate & peanut pancake on the path in to our hotel. It was actually “roti canai” – Laos style. It was quite good, or we were both just starving. We walked out again looking for a dinner place and then we settled on Sticky Rice Café. MOH had a fried noodle and I had the Pork Larp with Sticky Rice. Yummy yummy (in the days to come, I would be sticky-ricing myself out throughout the trip!!). After dinner, we walked to Elephant Crossing Hotel where my parents were staying. We seem to be catching up with each other on the tour :) The hotel was really nice, the room was really cosy too. It was dark, but apparently the view was very beautiful as well. My Dad loves the notion of wining and dining by the waterfront – be it the sea (1st choice) or the river!

I can’t wait to get a move on to Luang Prabang. I had heard so much about how beautiful the place is and like I said, I was a little disappointed with Vang Vieng. I think the problem with Vang Vieng is that they tried to make it to become this little backpacker’s place and molding it to the likes of Koh Samui or Phuket but Vang Vieng just does not fit the profile. It is too beautiful. The view too grandiose to turn it into a backpacker’s hub with rows and rows of bars and riverside open-air discos. It was an ill fit.

Day 3
Woke up to a beautiful, beautiful view from our guesthouse balcony. It was drizzling and the clouds enveloping the mountain tops were just …. mesmerizing. We didn’t want to waste such a beautiful morning and thus went out for a walk. We walked across the bridge and saw the remnants of a party at one of the riverside open-air discos. Tsk.. tsk.. tsk…. We then went back, grabbed our luggages and made our way to the travel agency to await our pick-up to the bus station. We had brekkie at the Luang Prang Restaurant. I had a Sticky Rice Noodle with spicy soup and MOH had a sandwich. The noodle was rather awesome! A tuk-tuk came to get us to the bus station and from here, we boarded a “mini-bus” (which was really a van) to Luang Prabang.

We started the journey at 9.30am and at 11am, the driver had stopped us at a deserted roadside shop for lunch. The view was scenic throughout the journey, however, the ride was very bumpy. It was a good thing we were smart enough to get the front seats. It was supposed to be a 5 hour journey! And believe it or not, it was only 180km from Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang (ok... maybe the distance was a lot further). Midway through, there was a long line of vehicles stuck in the middle of the mountainous road. There was a landslide and two trucks were stuck in the mud! Oh boy! I sure as hell hope we won’t be stuck forever. Our driver wasn’t exactly the sharpest tool in the shed and he seemed not to know what to do. The little villagers and some local tuk-tuk passengers actually co-operated to make a narrow path right on the edge of the cliff for vehicles to pass. Our driver had to pay them some money so that they would help push the van while he was trying with all his wits to get us up and out of that track. I found it odd that he didn’t ask a single one of his 9 passengers to get out of the vehicle first. But well, a few dozen strong men managed to push us up and ahead and therefore, we carried on with our journey. I really had to stop for toilet but alas! The driver didn’t understand what I was trying to say. I had to draw the toilet signs for him before he understood. We made another stop at a little hilltop town. The air was very cooling – much like Cameron Highlands in Malaysia.

Finally, we arrived at Luang Prabang bus station. From here, we were engulfed by little guesthouse agents trying to get travelers to stay with them. We picked one, and got on the tuk-tuk that would ferry us over to the guesthouse. And since I didn’t particularly want to hunt anymore, we decided to stay at the Shayada Guesthouse. It was quite nice. Only 100,000 kips. For that price, I have to say – it exceed expectations. The accommodation rates seem to be getting cheaper and cheaper as we travel north. We freshened up and headed out for our walk. We had been walking so much since we got to Laos.

I love, love, love Luang Prabang. It was charmingly quaint and just had such a romantic feel to it. The main street – Sisavangvong St looks a little like Jonker Street but just way more spacious, less busy and again – I don’t know why, just that romantic notion to it. We had wanted to go on the home-stay experience, but it cost too much money! Well, we went for food first and again – along the Mekong River. So, so, so damn delicious! We ordered a Lao Mushroom Salad and Fried Sticky Rice. After the light meal, we went back to Tiger Trail Outdoor Adventures to book our half day elephant experience :) The guy there was really friendly and even told us that we were going to be in Luang Prabang for the Boat Race and Buddha Day – which means, lots of activities and stalls will be happening in this little town (which is the 15th day of the lunar calendar). Then, we started exploring the night markets. It was like the entire town was made up of markets! From the traditional Tribal Market (where the Hmong tribes from the mountains hawked their handicrafts and wares) to the Street Food night market and to the normal night markets the likes of the Malaysian night markets. We bought some pork patties for snacks and kept walking on while waiting for my Mom & Dad to show up. I had wanted to look for the 2009 SEA Games souvenirs but none seemed to exist. When I asked the Tiger Trail agent, he said that it was due to the fact that the government hasn’t even issued the licenses yet. I think the government hasn’t even made the announcement because a lot of the Laotion doesn’t seem to know that they are hosting the SEA Games next year!

Finally, Mom & Dad showed up. We walked the Tribal Market for a bit and I stopped at a 5,000 kip buffet stall. Yes, it was a stall, selling dishes – all you can put on your plate for 5,000 kips. Had some of their salads. Quite yummy. I’m turning out to be quite the glutton in Laos! I loved the Tribal Market simply because it had a lot of the ‘boho’ stuff which I liked. I bought a Champa bag! Champa is elephant – I am not sure if it is the Laotion language to mean Elephant but I do know at least, that the SEA Games icon will be Champi & Champa (girl & boy elephant) :) So, I’m just gonna call all elephants Champa cos it befits them!

On the way back to the hotel, bought a chocolate and banana shake. I decided that I do not want to go back to Vang Vieng so soon and will stay another day in Luang Prabang. I am falling head over heels with Laos day by day. What had really charmed me so much?

Day 4
Woke up at 5.15am hoping to catch the Tat Ba (giving of offerings / alms to the monks) but we got downstairs at 5.45am and only caught the back of the monks walking away! We had missed it! Shucks. Nevermind, we’ll catch them again tomorrow. We got our stuff ready for our half day trip and walked out to Sisavangvong again. The market was to be a whole day affair in lieu of the boat race festival and we saw some of the boats practicing. We had noodles at some street side stall for brekkie and then made our way to Tiger Trail to await our ride for the Elephant Experience.

Oh my God. It was a dusty-dusty ride on the tuk-tuk to get to the elephant camp. We were literally covered in dust. We also made friends with some of the mat sallehs that were going for the tour too. I had dust covering me from head to toe. No kidding. When we got to the village, we took a boat ride to get to the camp area and had to do very, very slight trekking to get to the camp. And at the camp – I was truly captivated by the elephants. Eversince I read the book “Water For Elephants”, I had been captivated by these large creatures. But not until today, that I got so excited at being so close to them! We got to ride the elephants – and I got to be a “mahout” for the day and rode on Champa’s neck. Mahout is a Laotion elephant caretaker / trainer. Our elephant’s name is Metaham (of course, I doubt this is how you spell the name). I learnt more Laotion words : “Bai” = Go; “Sai” = Left; “Kua” = Right; “How” = Stop. It was a really nice 1 hour ride in the jungle. The elephant had no smell but the bristly hairs were extremely pokey and scratchy. But who cares! I was having so much fun!!!!!! And then, I got to feed the elephants some bananas too. Metaham was so, so, so cute. And cheeky. I think he could smell the bananas from a mile away! Looked like I have now discovered my favourite land animal (my other love for dolphins evoke similar intense insanity!)

After that, we took the boat again along the river to get to the Tad Sae waterfalls. I tell you, the waterfalls made Telaga Tujuh in Langkawi looked rather dismal. It was beautiful and gorgeous! There were many people there. We had packed lunch – which was part of the tour and we opened our lunch boxes to gleefully find fried rice and vegetables in them.

And then, we took the plunge into the absolutely ass-freezing water. They had made a so-called pool area at the bottom of the falls and roped it off, so we could swim a bit in it despite the current being absolutely gushing-strong. But the water was just really cold. Even my brains froze. We left Tad Sae after an hour or so. Many of us on the tour said we would have gladly stayed the whole day. It was nice, breezy, cooling, everything!

It was another dusty, dusty ride back to town. Huh – right after we washed off all that dust, we’re now caked in it! In Luang Prabang, we walked all over the town looking for the Lao Red Cross. You see, I was hell-bent on supporting all things NGO about Laos. We wanted to get massage done and the Lao Red Cross does it to support themselves. The map in the Stay Another Day booklet was so off its mark! Finally, we found it. And had this oil massage. The girl was tiny, but my God, she was strong. I had blue-black bruises all over that evening. !! After the massage, we went into town because I wanted to get my Lemongrass Ice Cream. There was an ice cream shop in town which sold that. It was super-super delicious. We ordered a Lemongrass Ice Cream and a Beer Ice Cream, which was really a sorbet.

Finally, we got to shower. Then, we walked out for dinner. Again, based on the Stay Another Day recommendation, I was determined to find Tamarind. And I was so glad to have found it. The food was so utterly good. I had a Mango & Lemongrass shake while MOH had a Chocolate & Banana Shake. It was so potent. No water added. So you can see, one basically gets filled up with just the shakes! We had most of the Laotion food platters and a simple sautéed rice noodle. (I accidentally had buffalo meat too)…. And we even bought a Lao Lao drink as well as the absolute fiery chilli powder as souvenirs.

After dinner, we started our shopping spree. Or rather, I started my shopping spree. I totally went bag-crazy and I bought 6 Champa bags!!!! Ok, I think I was still under the spell of Champa when I bought the bags. But I have to say – the Laotion people were so easy to buy things from and negotiate with. Like I said – they don’t make me feel as though they were out to get me – the idiot tourist. You know what I mean? I also bought all souvenirs and then we went over to the riverside for a supper of Papaya Salad and Honeydew Shake. We didn’t meet up with my parents tonight.

Day 5
Today, made it a point to wake up really early – 5am so that I do not miss the Tat Ba again. Plus, today was a bigger deal to the Tat Ba as it was the 15th Day of the Lunar month – which coincided with Buddha Day. Since it was Buddha Day, young & old alike came out in droves to give offerings. I found out later from a nice & friendly hotel staff (not the one we were staying at, but the one next door) that the Tat Ba is offerings that people make to their relatives who have passed on. Anyway, as I observed the Tat Ba within the “rules” stipulated – shoulders, chest and legs covered, I realized that when their alms bowl were full, the monks give out their food and stuff back to the people. And usually, these “people” they gave to were the beggars. This had to be the first time in five days that I saw beggars. I think in a way, you don’t have much begging or hungry people because of the Tat Ba done all over Laos (most prominently in Luang Prabang). Because the beggars usually end up with baskets full of food from the monks. The monks had actually threatened not to do Tat Ba before, due to the fact that many tourists do not observe the ritual with respect (exposed skin, using camera flash, standing above the monks, etc…). You see, in Laos, a monk is revered. When observing the Tat Ba, we squat down or sit somewhere so that we appear lower than the monks.

Anyway, after that, we walked to Saffron Café for brekkie. Apparently, they had the best coffee in Luang Prabang! We shared a breakfast set of bacon & eggs because I still wanted to get to the market and have my street food :) We decided to skip Khoungsi Waterfalls today as it was just too much traveling and I wanted to be in town to see the Boat Race and all the festivities attached to it. Plus, MOH wanted to visit some stupas and he was falling ill too.

We climbed Mount Phousi. Everytime I pronounced the name, I can’t help but giggle :P Anyway, there were many statues of Buddha here, including Buddha’s footprint (I have little faith – the footprint was huge and I seriously didn’t think Buddha was a giant! But MOH disagreed. Funny, for a guy who is always apprehensive about things, he has a lot of faith indeed!) I don’t recall the name of this Wat. But it was the tallest point in Luang Prabang town. And the view was quite spectacular too. But it was so hot. You know, the sun in Laos is just vehemently scorching. No wonder in all the paintings that depict monks, they were always carrying umbrellas. All Laotions carry an umbrella – not to protect from rain, but to protect from the sun. Even 10 seconds under the sun, your skin gets painful already! So, because it was so hot, and also Luang Prabang was rather crowded (due to it being the Boat Race Festival), we decided exploring one stupa was enough. The rest of it, we were happy to just glimpse from the outside.

We walked about and around, the entire town was in fiesta mode with stalls set-up lining the Nam Khan river. All the locals were out in full force to cheer their teams. Each village must send a team, otherwise, they have to pay to support other aspects of the Boat Race Festival. It was really great community co-operation to keep things alive. Again, another thing odd to me was that – it wasn’t made into a tourist attraction. We only knew about the Boat Race when we got into town and just so happen that we were able to be around. I guess, it was truly just a local affair. But I think it was an experience worth going for! Just the crowd and festivities! And the stalls – food, games, odds & ends, etc …!

We had lunch at the same riverside stall (as the first day in Luang Prabang) and this time, I had Aurlam (a Laotion stew with chicken, aubergine and sticky rice) with Sticky Rice (so I got sticky-riced twice over lunch) whilst MOH had the Khou Savy noodles. He had a Pineapple Shake and I had a Mango Shake. I tell you, the fruit shakes are a great brain-freeze on a hot day. It was only 11.30am when we finished lunch….. gleefully – it means more time for other snacks later :) We walked so much in the heat today and finally, cooled off at Dao Café (the branch of the Dao Café in Vientiene). Had a cup of coffee before we walked into Lotus de Spa for a 90minute session of the Laotion Herbal Massage. It was oil-free which was great. Much like a pressure-point massage and then they used this herbal wrap to pound on your back. I loved the fragrance from the herbs. After that, we stopped for Lemongrass ice cream again. This time, I ordered 2 scoops of the ice cream for take-away. We continued walking on. We had set our mind to have dinner at Tum Tum Bamboo (another NGO-run restaurant) and so made our reservations before making our way back to the hotel. I wanted to walk some more while MOH was feeling ill and wanted to go back for a nap. So he did and I walked around, looked at the Boat Race a bit, watch the people cheering and jeering, and then, met up with my parents – at the ice cream shop again!

We had dinner at Tum Tum Bamboo (cute name). Again, the food was super awesome. Had Deep Fried Bamboo Shoot stuffed with Pork, a Fried Jelly Noodle (which was really Tang Hoon) and a Minced Fish Larp with Sticky Rice. For dessert, I couldn’t resist the Sticky Rice Ball Coated with Peanut and Coffee Cream. It was so goooood! And guess what I had for drinks? Sticky Rice Wine. I wonder what all these Sticky Rice is doing to my body system. More like – the fatty bits.

We met up with my parents and then walked the market a little. It was now quiet at the market since the Boat Race was over and most people had returned to their villages. Tonight, it seemed like the vendors were not too interested in making a bargain. Maybe they had made enough over the last 2 days! We then went to Le Peppilion by the riverside for drinks. Thereafter, Mom & Dad took a tuk-tuk back to their hotel while we walked back to ours.

Day 6
Happy Birthday to me!!!
Woke up at 6am and walked to town to look for brekkie. Was all excited when we stumbled upon a morning market. It was a wet market selling some breakfast snacks as well as vegetables and meat. I was so excited at seeing black sticky rice and bought two! We walked on over to the riverside and stopped at the same place for breakfast. I ordered a Khao Savy noodle, but a Pho came instead. There was no time to get them to change it so I ate that anyway as we had a bus to catch. The Lemongrass tea was really good too. I was feeling very reluctant at leaving Luang Prabang today and going back to Vang Vieng.

When we got to the Guesthouse, we found out that the pick up had came and left! But will soon return again for us. Darn in, for once, they were early! Though Shayada Guesthouse was nice to stay, I didn’t think the staff were friendly. Plus, upon check-out, the guy pissed me off because he charged me for an extra night and insisted that we had stayed four nights. I was like – “No! We only stayed three!” We just left him money for three nights and walked off to the waiting pick-up van. And guess what? I left my precious, precious sticky rice behind :( I don’t know why, I was so upset, I cried. Leaving Luang Prabang was getting to me! Plus, I was a little annoyed too at MOH for not having planned anything special for my birthday :(

We bussed all the way to Vang Vieng and stopped twice on the journey. When we arrived in Vang Vieng, we didn’t want to go too far, so checked-in to Babylon Guest House. It was fairly clean and at 80,000 kips, a steal. But I think of all the places we stayed at, this had to be the worse. Even the towel was …. horrible. I still wish I was back in Luang Prabang. Vang Vieng just wasn’t romantic. Nor charming. But I have to admit, Vang Vieng’s scenery was grandiose. Beautiful. It just doesn’t fit that backpacker’s partying place.

We rented a mama’s bike and MOH fetched me on the bike all the way, 4km out of Vang Vieng to go to the Organic Farm. The ride was fun! And the scenery, like I said, grand and spectacular. At the Organic Farm, we had intended to have dinner there. But because we met a couple (been meeting the couple since Vientiene on the bus to Vang Vieng – but they stayed on in Vang Vieng) who said the food wasn’t that great. So, we just snacked on Deep Fried Mulberry Leaves with Lime Honey Dip and a Mulberry Shake (which was awfully good brain-freeze drink). The Mulberry leaves were really good too.

We biked all the way back before night fell…… we stopped at a night market. It was actually the remnants of the marathon carnival. There were game stalls and bumper cars. And ….. I found sweet Sticky Rice again! This time, even better – I don’t know how they do it, but these were stuffed in sugar cane!!!!! It was so good, that I bought another large one – intending to save it for my bus journey tomorrow.

We returned the bike and went around looking for food. It was extra quiet in Vang Vieng today and all the eateries were running empty. Stopped at Oh La La Café and had a Spicy Raw Prawn Salad, Chicken Larp with (you guessed it!) Sticky Rice and MOH had a Rice Noodle. We had the Lao Lao (Lao Vodka) and a Lao wine each. It was very very delicious food. I was getting fatter and fatter by the day. The amount of sticky rice I consumed……. !

We walked back to the hotel and called it a night.

Day 7
Woke up at 6am and went for breakfast at the Friendship Café. We were going to go tubing today. I had a Sticky Rice Noodle. Midway through our breakfast, it started to rain. Oh no!! I hope it stops because I do so wanted to go tubing! Well, it was the first real rain I saw in Laos. And it did stop. So we went to the tubing shop and got us our ride to the start of the tubing journey.

Tubing was quite good fun. The current was strong and at some points, there was slight rapid – I wouldn’t say life-threatening, but was cool anyway. At one point, I got trapped amongst some rocks and had to use my wits to free myself safely. But overall, it was really fun. The scenery? What can I say – just grand. Spectacular. Beautiful, postcard-perfect. There were a few bars along the riverside where you can stop while tubing. All you need to do is call out to them and they will throw a float out to you. You catch that, hang on to it while they pull you ashore. We were pulled in twice but didn’t stop as we didn’t have the time to stop. One of it was an old man. I do not know why, up till today, this old man’s image remains starkly in my mind. He had a very kind face and I felt really bad that he pulled us in and we didn’t stop. He had said “Come in. Sit down.” And I told him “oh, no time,” and he just smiled. I felt so bad that I gave him 2,000 kips for pulling us in anyway. When we neared the end of our tubing stop, a little Lao kid jumped in and pushed us to shore. I had no idea what she was doing at first, and I thought perhaps she was just hitching a ride. Later on, she said “this is tubing stop. No more tubing.” And then asked for 10,000kips as a payment for “pushing” us to the shore! This, I felt quite cheated by. In the end, because we had no small change, she walked away from us and we walked off too.

We showered and checked out and then went to Luang Prabang Restaurant for lunch again while we waited for our pick-up to take us to the bus station. We were now nearing the end of the trip and making our way back on bus to Vientiene.

After a 4 hour extremely bumpy and slow ride, we arrived Vientiene at 5.30pm. On the first day in Vientiene, we had already booked a place to stay – Riverine Guesthouse (which faced the Mekong River) and so we just walked straight there when we arrived today. This place was the nicest of all the accommodations. Of course, it was new. It was cheap too. We showered and then quickly walked on to explore the city once again. I had missed Vientiene. It was so peacefully charming. Again, walked over to The Fountaine. Waited to meet up with my parents.

When they got there, we walked over to The Deck, by the riverside to have drinks and for MOH and I, to have our dinner as well. We ordered a Luang Prabang sausage (yes, I just can’t get enough of Luang Prabang), and a Duck Larp + Steamed rice (they ran out of sticky rice). Soooo yummy. As you can see by now, I had done Pork Larp, Chicken Larp, Fish Larp and Duck Larp. Then, we parted with Mom & Dad at The Fountaine, we continued walking back to the Hotel Lao area where we first stayed and did our last minute shopping at a 7-11 type shop. We got coffee and some instant noodles J Then, we finally made our way back to our guesthouse – via The Fountaine – I can’t get enough of this place too…….. and called it a night.

Day 8
Woke up at 6am and went for a walk by the riverfront. It was a beautiful day, not hot. What can I say – since we had time, we walked over to The Fountaine again!!! Then we went back to the hotel. Buffet breakfast was included in the room rates and the breakfast spread was pretty good.

Then, we got on a tuk-tuk to go to the airport. That was it. I was so, so, so sad to leave. It was not that I was sad that the holiday had ended. It was that I was leaving Laos. I had really come to absolutely fall in love with the country.

I still do not know what about Laos had charmed me so much. What spell did Laos cast upon me? Maybe one day, I will find out. Meanwhile, I am looking at the next earliest opportunity I can get to make a getaway to Vientiene again.

To Laos.

3rd Week Into The Kingdom...

I’m not so sure what to make of Cambodia, even though I had been here for three weeks now. Admittedly, whatever I think of Cambodia now may well change in September once my love joins me. When you are not exactly pining for someone, you tend to make more positive observations!

Having lived here before some seven or eight years ago (had it really been THAT long?), I can’t help but wonder – what happened to the old charms of this place? Phnom Penh, in particular. Of course, it is also a little biased now to compare because my memory of Phnom Penh is so vague, some of the charms I remember might most likely be a figment of my imagination! One thing that hadn’t changed though – is that love-hate relationship I have with the country and her people. Most certainly, some things never changed!

You’ve got to love that beautiful sunrise at the Mekong River… when the sun is just creaking its way up the horizon. The cool, quiet time of dawn where traffic is at a minimum and you were just thinking to yourself “what a lovely morning!” and that peace and tranquility is quite shattered by a burst of exhaust fumes and the whirling of dusts that blew right into your eye because some 4WD would like to make a statement with his or her driving. Welcome to Cambodia.

I do love Phnom Penh when it is at its quietest. Like during the General Elections weekend where curfew was imposed and people stayed indoors, constructions came to a halt and all businesses were either closed or operated at a minimal level. It was indeed a lovely time to stroll on the streets, take a lazy walk down one of the beautiful tree-lined roads. But I hate Phnom Penh on any given days now as it is congested with disorganized traffic and unplanned development. The Kingdom of Cambodia, the City of Chaos. I do, do believe that Vietnam, though congested, is better planned but most Cambodians will disagree with you, including some “oh-I-know-Asia-so-well” barangs (the khmer slang for Westerner). You have crazy drivers and equally maniacal motorbike riders who do not seem to know what are traffic rules and road safety, let alone road etiquettes! But of course, who can blame them? After all, you can ride a bike when you are 13 (was it 12 or 13 years old?) and it only takes you eight hours of driving lessons around Phnom Penh to get your license. No tests, no exams. From lesson straight to license. How fabulously crazy? Only in Phnom Penh.

The people of Cambodia, the Cambodians…. Very interesting people these ones. Well, to think of it, when are people not interesting? The human race is generally interesting. Whether they be good, bad or plain evil. When I was here long time ago, you just gotta love them for their innocence. Of course, they were just picking up the pieces of their lives and trying very hard to get past the 1975 – 1979 genocide. Of course, everyone wanted to carve a piece of gold out of you, but I wouldn’t call the Cambodians cunning, nor sly. Not like their Vietnamese neighbours or the Chinese (and I am Chinese). They were generally a ‘softer’ breed, if you could call it that. These days, with the rapid development and the returnees coming back in throngs, you do find that they are starting to be cunning after all. To be fair again, which human race doesn’t learn to be sly with development? Everyone wants a piece of the pie.
I love my Cambodian staff for their sincerity and their outright honesty. I remember a first conversation I had with one of them.
“Are you smart, Udom?”
“Thank you.”
“No, Udom, I asked if you think you are smart.”
“Yes, I think I am smart, that’s why I said Thank You.”
It was a bizarre conversation albeit a refreshing one. You just had to laugh at their blunt wit. In the face of authority, they do clam up. But when you treat them with patience and kindness as well as generous doses of sincerity, they reciprocate. Yelling doesn’t work with them. It makes them climb back into their shell. But a very quiet threat of firing them from their jobs would get them working round-the-clock to impress you. Yes, they are smart. At the same time, you feel like whipping them on their behinds because they are just…. S-L-O-W. And I don’t mean mentally. I just mean it is that whole laid-back attitude and because everyone in Cambodia is just slower than the average people of developing nations, one just has to learn to slow down in synch with them. In the face of looming deadlines, you’re like “Ok guys! Let’s do it! Go! Go! Go!” and then it’s like………. nothing happens till two days later. This is when one really needs to summon all the patience in the world… I had almost forgotten how everything in Cambodia is in slow motion.

What about the other general masses? There are the nice ones and then there are the hooligans. And then there are also the returnees. I had the honour of hitching a ride with a motordop (Cambodian mode of cheap public transportation) guy who spoke brilliant English and who had the kindness to tell me to be aware and alert when I am walking out on the streets alone, especially at the slump area just outside of my apartment block. He even told me if I were alone, it would be wiser and better to take an alternative route though it might be a longer walk. I was utterly grateful. Not because he gave me a piece of advise which I don’t already know but because he showed kindness. A girl, alone in a foreign country the likes of Cambodia can be rather daunting. Of course, I asked if he had a mobile phone in which I could contact him by and his answer to me was “No, I’m very poor. But I am always at Himawari Hotel.” And you know how much he charged me for the ride? All of 2,000 riels.
There was also this one other tuk-tuk (another mode of public transportation in Cambodia – one class above the motordop) driver who really thought that I had the word “stupid foreigner” engraved across my forehead. The one time I took a ride from him, I had no idea how short the distance was and I thought I had earned a bargain when I managed to negotiate the ride from USD3 to USD1. Of course, once bitten, twice shy. This little Khmer driver had the audacity to call out to me one day when he saw me walking my usual route and said “Take my tuk-tuk! You remember? Only USD1. Very cheap!” I snorted at him. Cheap indeed huh, you conniving little bastard! Though I didn’t say it out loud.

What about the returnees? Frankly, so far, my experiences or rather, my observation of the returnees hasn’t been all that positive. I think they are far too much of a show-off. It’s like “I am one class above the local Cambodians” kind of showy. They speak with a very effortful accent, be it American or French or whatever and if they are able to speak another language (French being the most popular), they love to flaunt it whenever possible. Especially when they know there’s a girl like me standing within earshot. For those who speak with the American accent, they like to do that whole Kanye West or P.Diddy shit. I’m like “Oh, puh-lease! You’re no black bad-ass hip-hop rapper! You’re a freakin’ scrawny Cambodian! So dontcha come wassup dawg to me cos I’m gonna whup your ass so hard you’d be cryin’ bitch!”

But up to this point, after 3 weeks of observing people, and forgive me, but I do know 3 weeks is too short a time to get the right picture… but after 3 weeks, I find that the middle-class to upper-middle class actually have no class at all. Whether they be men or women. For example, they would rock on into the gym with their Nike outfits and Adidas shoes and heavily adorning their bling-blings (yes, who wears blings to the gym??!) and they would hog a machine, taking their own sweet time with it and talking at the top of their voices like they owned the gym without a care of disrupting other people’s work-out. Or at the shopping centres or supermarkets, they would hog the aisle and they would be oblivious to the fact that you just said “excuse me” and in the event that they do, they stare at you like you’re some moronic fool disrupting their grocery shopping. Maybe “oblivious to the rest of the world” is more a phrase I should be using on them. But really, I find the ladies especially, totally classless despite their branded attire and fine jewelries. And what’s with the heavy dose of perfume that smells like my toilet wash?? For some reason, they are very annoying.

I hate Cambodia for all the poverty that one can still see in every nook and corner. It makes me feel helpless and I don’t know what to do. But I’m happy with the fact that some of the NGOs are making headway with the work that they are doing – especially people like FRIENDS who work on keeping kids off the streets by providing them with vocational training, etc, etc. I do so want to get involved with the NGO work, once I am more settled. And also make more frequent visits to the orphanages. No, I’m no Angelina Jolie. I just want to be part of the efforts on helping kids help themselves. Though, I think, the NGOs still have a very, very long way to go. It might have to do with all that governmental red tape.

You have to love Cambodia for the little conveniences. You get food delivered right to your doorstep – and a wide variety of choices at that. You can get your fruits delivered to you fresh every week or your meats, or vegetables. In other words, you don’t have to go out. It’s like online shopping, but this is done through the phone. You can eat at your favourite restaurant and keep the tab running for 2 months if you’re out of cash. You can get a manicurist to come to your house because it is raining and you do not wish to be out. You can get the guard to carry your groceries to your fifth floor apartment. You can get your shoe polished while you sipped coffee at a little al fresco café (though I don’t approve of the idea of a little 5-year old kid shining anybody’s shoes to earn a few pennies). You can keep a running tab at your regular DVD shop too! Oh – and if you do not want to push your trolley while grocery shopping, you can even get the security guards to do that for you. How much you tip them thereafter, is up to you. The general attitude is that the better tipper you are, the better the service at your next visit!

I also love Cambodia for the incessantly wide choices of F&B outlets. There are the budget places that dishes out great comfort food to the luxury fine-dining at the King’s residence places to the champagne brunches et al. The best part is – if we’re talking about Russian food, it is authentically Russian. If we’re talking about Lebanese food, it is authentically Lebanese. So on and so forth. They’ve even got directories and directories featuring all these food outlets! No other places I have been to offers such a tremendously diverse choice with so plentiful options for each choice in such a small place! I have my list of favourite budget places, mid-budget places and high-end places. Sure. Comparatively, it is pretty cheap to eat at the high-end places. I mean, free flow Moet Chandonne for champagne buffet at USD38 per person? Where else can you find that? And you can free flow from 11am till 5pm. Which by then, you probably find yourself either crawling out the door or just simply passed out cold at the table itself. On the hindsight of it, I hate seeing the street kids of the slump areas picking leftover garbage as food. It makes me feel really guilty. Helpless. It makes me very aware of myself. I am able to keep my tummy full and I am able to make a choice of what I want to eat, where I want to eat and what price I want to pay for that day. But they don’t have a choice. And this happens to be their land, their country. I guess above all, this is also a journey of humility.

For whatever reasons, I intend to be here for a long, long time. It is still an exciting time to be here, despite however disorganized the development might be. It is nevertheless, developing. Maybe, in time….given a longer assimilation with the locals and the culture, I would embrace this love-hate relationship I have for this land of stark contrast and learn to let live. And maybe in time too, the disparity between the haves and the have-nots might not be so wide a gap. Viva la Cambodia!

Cambodia … A Land Of Contrasts and I am in Between

My apartment has a fabulously grand view of the Mekong River & Buddhist temples at the back windows. But the entrance windows face the slumps where the poorest, dirtiest Cambodians reside in Phnom Penh.

Street kids beg for food in front of lavishly expensive restaurants.

The kids pick on leftover grubs off the filthy roads as the well-to-dos cut into their medium-rare steak with polished silverwares.

The grand Sorya shopping centre with the multi-storey car parks and branded goods is situated next to a street, bee-lined with petty traders trying to hawk their wares.

Imported brands sold expensively occupying the same shelf-space as the locally produced cheap brands.

Luxury vehicles with tinted windows and gold-platted door handles drive alongside dilapidated motorbikes that are stained with grease and dirt.

Little traders are selling watered-down gasoline in recycled Coke & Pepsi bottles right next to Caltex pump stations.

Beautiful serviced apartments complete with security guards and parking attendance stand erect next to tiny make-shift shacks with no proper toilets.

Perfectly coiffed and smartly dressed well-to-dos walk next to scruffily dirty masses on the roads with tattered clothes.

Grand villas with manicured lawns and large swimming pools stand next to two-dollars-a-shag shacks with mamasans peeping out the windows.

The street kids are laughing gleefully, playing in the flood waters while the well-to-dos sulk like sourpusses in their wet boots.

In the land of such stark contrasts, I find myself always hovering in between.

Missing You

When you had spent almost half your waking hours together,
being apart can be like a long sleep.
When you are so used to someone taking care of you,
being apart is like losing a limb or two.

When you have had a bad day and come back to a warm hug everyday,
being apart makes you feel like nobody cares.
When you are so used to being thrown into a sea of laughter,
being apart could even fade the smiles.

When you are so used to doing simple things like grocery shopping together,
being apart could get you lost in the supermarket aisles.
When you hear each other's calming voice everyday,
being apart could drive you wildly deaf.

I am missing you today.
I missed you yesterday.
I will miss you again tomorrow.
And everyday after that,
It makes me cry in sorrow.