Date: 26th June 2009

Nice and warm snuggling down into the hotel’s duvet on a Friday morning with no alarm set. Unfortunately, I forgot to silence my phone and my very caring, dunno-why-this-time-so-semangat-must-share-the-news-with-me boyfriend text me at 8am in the morning just to tell me MJ passed away.

-____-"

Sai! I was on a vacation lah, why couldn’t I sleep till naturally wake up wo!
D*u.

Well, I was quite shock upon receiving that text and hence with my eyes quarterly opened, I reached out for the TV’s remote and channel-surfed to any news channel hoping the news was just a hoax.

Sadly, it was true.

(Even though there’s so many different kind of rumours spreading over the internet and news media stating that MJ either faked his death, or he’s dead years ago.

I guess people just can’t give him some peacefulness.)

I turned my head to the left and saw Mau moved a bit, thinking that maybe she had waken up, then told her, “Hey… Michael Jackson is dead…”

And, she went back sleeping. Same here.

Then I woke up at 9.30am, freshen up and went downstair for breakfast. 

MY Hotel’s cafe. Gotta love the couch.

Coin-operated computer, 10 baht for 15 minutes, I think?

While waiting for Mau,

Pardon the mess on the dressing table.
Obviously not a person with OCD.

I was camwhoring because I had a good hair day, courtesy of Mau’s professional hair dryer which I am so going to buy it for my birthday.

What? I’m on a strict shopping diet now okay!
 

It was so nice to camwhore in our room and Mau looked gorgeous that day, because she put in effort to me-lawa-kan rambutnya.

Camwhore 1,2,3.
Note to self for the gazillion time, SUCK IN YOUR TUMMY! YOU THINK YOU KATE MOSS HIA?

We went to Platinum Mall again.

My lunch and Mau’s brunch.

That’s “Fit Burger” from KFC!

After lunch, we wanted to give MBK another try but…. if it’s not for Watson and Boots, I think we’ll leave that place within 2 minutes. 

 
Went to Central World again~

Love it!

It’s so convenient to get from one place to another in Bangkok. You can either take the skytrain which is amazingly idiot-proof, tuk-tuk if you want some adventure on the road or taxi, if you don’t want to wait and walk.  

Oh oh, I found my favorite store in Central World. Nope, it’s not Zara, or Forever 21 or Isetan… Its….. *drum roll*

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

A book/music/stationery store with lots of things to shop ranging from cheap ball-point pens to my favorite, Crafty DIY tools and materials!

I spent quite some time shopping in it while Mau waited outside and talked to her beau on the phone. Then came the super-lui part. I went to a small corner where they sell small items like paper craft tool and mini diy packets that I wanted to buy for my colleague. The staff came to me and told me that I had to pay there on the spot because they only rent a small corner from B2S.

The stupid thing was… I ran out of Thai baht and.. worse, Singapore dollars. All I had that time was Brunei Dollars. I rushed out to the nearest money changer, which was like 100 steps and one escalator away, and the stupid man told me they don’t accept Brunei dollar.

%^#@%$(&(*^^$#%@^*&^*&!

Hai yer!

Then I rushed to Mau, which I should have do so in the very first place to borrow some cash from her and went back in to B2S and continued shopping. After buying at the small corner, I continued venturing around the store for more stuffs.

Came the annoying part again…

I wanted to pay with my credit card and.. the cashier punched in the wrong amount and swiped my card already. Of course she had to do some amendments abuthen, it took her almost 20 minutes solving the problems. Calling her manager, kept pressing the credit card machine, giving me the sorry look for 1s then the rest of the time making impatient noises. Then customers queuing behind me also kasian. Lucky they directed them to the next line.

Eh, I am innocent one leh. I was the victim too kali ah.

Kasian Mau because she wanted to meet up with her PYs, who coincidentally were at the very same building as us that time.

Finally at around 5pm we managed to meet them up.

The PYs (2008) from all over the ASEAN countries.  

I was like, “Oh… you are so-and-so who did this-and-that”. I had heard so much about them during my trip because the Thai friends we met (Pont, Nut and Top) and Yoyo from Cambodia were all the PYs 2008. *make me wanna join the SSEAYP too lah… but i think no chance liao*

At the Central World Cineplex.

Nah, we didn’t have time to catch a move so we just posed with the Transformer. 

For the very first time in my picture-taking life, 
I do not appear stubby! 

 
Die die must show again!

*must practice more shots like this*

After meeting the PYs, we had to rushed back to our hotel as Mau’s other Thai friends will be picking us up for dinner and more shopping.

Big crowd waiting for something… or someone…

Er… I’m not sure if DBSK did appeared that evening because we didn’t have much time to stay there already. Sorry DBSK fans.

Jan and Ling wanted to bring us to this really nice restaurant in Mehang restaurant, which is located very very near the Suan Lum night market. So yeah, you can guess what’s our itinerary already.

The menu

Lovely ambience

What we ordered.

Okay, personally… I prefer this soup way better than Tom Yam.  After tasting this orangy vegetable Thai soup, I felt that tom yam is overrated. LOL.

Let me google up the name for this. No result.
Nvm, I asked Jan already in her fb.

This is absolutely amazing!
Egg and Peanut, both my favorite!

 
Kangkung Chili?

Okay, I think this is another salad dish.

Now this is good.
Minced prawn on a piece of bread, deep fried and sprinkled with sesame….

Lapar!
               

Let me introduce you to the lovely Jan,

and Ling~

,whom the both of them would love to marry the boss of Charles & Keith and know Brunei very well as they came here quite often.

We wandered around the Suan Lum Night bazaar, and I bought nothing because… I was out of cash but fortunately, this time the money changer more steady, accepted my Brunei Dollars…

So I could have the cash to try…

It felt really ticklish.

And I had a cute Japanese guy sitting beside me. LOL

Dislike the bigger fishies eating my skin because their teeth were bigger in size and hence they bite hard. 

L-R : Jan, Nonnie, Mau & Ling

Will I try it again?

Er.. maybe? 

Got back to our hotel at almost 10pm and came the most difficult part of our trip…

P A C K !

(And.. we gave up updating our “account” when we went to Cambodia)

Pack Pack Pack and wonder…..
“When did I buy this? How much was it again? Crap! Can’t fit!”

No lah, I’m just kidding.

FussyKelly had her birthday last Wednesday and since she didn’t request for any particular gift and all she wanted was blessings and prayers, I decided to make her something special.

Epic fail for the very first trial as the batter just wouldn’t solidify.
Hence I turned up the temperature knob and increased the baking time.
And, the batter became a sort-of chocolate cake minus the fluffiness solid brick.

*defeated*

Not believing the fact that I can’t bake, I tried it for the second time in the afternoon again, before Fussy came collect. Well, she said she’s going to put it in the fridge and have it chill first.

I’m guessing it will turned into a chocolate mooncake.

Recipe from here.

Never knew garage sale can be so tough with that many preparation work.

Filtering, cleaning, pricing, tagging, packing, and lastly, try to fit everything in to the boot.

Here’s sort of a sneak peek of what I’ll be selling tomorrow.

Camouflage flats
B$3.00 / pair (tak kan I sell $3 for one side. Hahahhahaa)
Reason for selling – underestimated the size of my feet.

Polka dots pumps.
B$2.00 / pair
Reason for selling – Don’t know, it was given to me but I didn’t like it.

White sneakers with fuchsia shoe laces and 2 glittering purple stars at the side
(detail also the description)
B$2.00 / pair
Reason for selling – Underestimate the size of my feet, again.

Easy knit (some teddy bear + scarf knitting kit)
B$ 4.00 (Original price $5.90 from Hua Ho)
Everything still nicely intact in the box, no missing pieces! Brand new!
Reason for selling – Overambitious… I’m so not a knitting-person.

Wesley Series by Ni Kuang
B$1.00 / book
Reason for selling – I’ve passed the science fiction fanatic phase. And mother complained I have too many books.

For your convenience if you malas to tilt your head.
Oh, I love Blue-blood man!

Gossip Girl Novel – B$5.00

Confessions of a Shopaholic – B$5.00

Why men can only do one thing at a time and why women something something something -B$ 5.00

Reason for selling – Refer above, minus the science-fiction thingie.

Some Guitar chord book (Chinese songs)
B$ 3.00
Reason for selling – 4 words, hangat-hangat tahi ayam. period.

Olympus Film Camera
B$10.00 (Price negotiable, since I don’t think anyone will still want it)
Reason for selling – Bought this when digital camera didn’t exist.

Well, you can buy this for your children’s field trip if you can’t trust them with your precious digital camera, rather than buying those disposable one since you might have child 2,3,4,5 and 6. Good reason ey?

Teddy bear / f (for female, what? wearing skirt wa…)
B$ 3.00
Reason for selling – Given. Am never a teddy-bear kind of girl…

(Never hold it to sleep hence no saliva, dandruff, sweat or tears on it. It’s kept inside a plastic bag)

Shoulder bag (gold color)
B$ 1.00
Reason for selling – Given. Don’t like.

Denim squarish bag
B$ 3.00
Reason for selling – Don’t use it anymore

Uno Hears Playing Card (ada sikit flaw)
B$ 1.00
Reason for selling – err…. malu also. Don’t know how to play.

Straw weaved bag
B$ 3.00
Reason for selling – Never use. Bought it for ASEAN Corner to display last time…

Brown Suede bag
B$ 3.00
Reason for selling – Too small for greedy people like me who want to put everything in my bag

No. 5 messenger bag
B$ 3.00
Reason for selling – I feel I’m too old for this bag aleli.

White clutch? With hibiscus print?
B$ 3.00
Reason for selling – Too old. Don’t know wear what to suit it since I’m a boring.

SOLD.
Had my very first business from MSN, webcam with Tobi. LOL.

Perambahan Brunei – B$ 2.00
Peribahasa Sekolah Rendah – B$ 2.00
Reason for selling – Went for Ckg Mansor’s yellow boot camp and you won’t need this anymore.

Silicone USB Keyboard
B$ 8.00
Reason for selling – Have an identical one

iPur Air Purifier, the solution in the bottle still banyak!
B$ 10.00 (Original price B$ 38.00 from Hua Ho)
Reason for selling – My room too messy, no space for it. Used it when I was staying in UBD. Hence, now no use liao.

STAR BUY!

Adidas White Jacket (wore once only!)
B$ 27.00
Reason for selling – Impulse purchase.

(Not mine lah, this belongs to FussyKelly’s sister)

Okay, that’s about it.. for this post. Not for the garage sale.
What you saw in my blog I think it’s only 1/10 of everything.

Just look at my car boot now..

*Heart Attack*

Thank Buddha tomorrow I will have two kuli helpers if not, how… I ask you.

If you’re interested in any of the items listed above, you can email me for inquiries or… I don’t know, reservation?

email me at, nonnie.king@gmail.com
I know, very predictable email address.

I forgot to mention, I’m not the only one selling stuffs. There will be 3 other friends selling at the same time under one roof so I’m sure you’ll be able to find something.

Yes, I’’m not done with my travelogue so bear with it. I die die want to blog it all out for my own pleasure, and for remembrance. It’s just very easy to “access” because with just a click, I can show my friends the place I mentioned, and the things I’d done. It’s a blog after all.

Just in case you all thought that I went to Cambodia/Thailand again, sorry la.. It’s just my blogging speed at fault.

Date: 25th June 2009

Oh by the way, before you proceed, I must let you all know that the first half of this post contains erm…. disturbing photos. Please scroll down and start reading from the part we arrived Bangkok instead if y’all prefer mindless snippets.

Beauty up on a fine Thursday morning

Classy restaurant of Bougain Villier

Breakfast! Kind of remind me of Crowd Lu’s song again…

Tried out the local tuk-tuk instead this time to go to Toul Sleng Genocide Musuem and Choeung Ek Genocide Centre for USD10, or 20… if not mistaken.

I enjoyed sight-seeing in Phnom Penh because everything was just so interesting and, like I said earlier.. “out of the box”.

On a busy road with trucks, lorries and cars.. you can also find tuk-tuk, hawker carts, pedicab rickshaw tricycles and… I don’t know, 5 passengers on a motorbike?

To recycle?

There’s one place that we didn’t manage to squeeze in our tight schedule, Steung Meanchey Dump (nickname, Smokey Mountain). I think I will cry if I was there, not because of the smell, but looking at the poor children picking up what we classified as rubbish, but precious in their eyes, walking around barefoot with shattered glass all over the place and trying hard to survive day by day while kids in Brunei are happily eating at McD and pestering their parents for a new mobile phone / PSP.

Berat hati ku ni….

The quiet park located in the middle of the road where all locals gathered during the afternoon for sunset activities.

Street vendor, whom our driver said they were either from Vietnam, Laos or Myanmar because the locals don’t sell food on the street… –_-?

A clinic

Tuk-tuk in Cambodia is different from those in Bangkok. It is more spacious and comfortable because tuk-tuk drivers drive “gently” as compared to those fast and furious tuk-tuk drivers in Bangkok zigzagging through small gaps between car in a fast speed.

Actually, all vehicles in Cambodia are rather slow. We were very surprised that we didn’t see any roundabout of traffic light in a busy junction. The drivers there seemed to develop a system of their own giving way or sudden-braking at times we don’t understand. I guess that’s the reason they drive slow.

Cart, bike and cars in a row.. on a busy road.
Interesting sight for me.

Imagine having a hawker cart in the middle of the road here, or worst… KL, really don’t know early early fly to where liao lor.

Arriving the Toul Sleng Museum.

I’ll just cut and paste the history of Toul Sleng musuem from the wiki page if you’re too lazy to click the link, and please do read if you have no idea what is that place about.

It’s not your average museum displaying artifacts and showing you heritage.

Formerly the Chao Ponhea Yat High School^[1], named after a Royal ancestor of King Norodom Sihanouk, the five buildings of the complex were converted in August 1975, four months after the Khmer Rouge won the civil war^[2], into a prison and interrogation center. The Khmer Rouge renamed the complex "Security Prison 21" (S-21) and construction began to adapt the prison to the inmates: the buildings were enclosed in electrified barbed wire, the classrooms converted into tiny prison and torture chambers, and all windows were covered with iron bars and barbed wire to prevent escapes.

From 1975 to 1979, an estimated 17,000 people were imprisoned at Tuol Sleng (some estimates suggest a number as high as 20,000, though the real number is unknown). At any one time, the prison held between 1,000-1,500 prisoners. They were repeatedly tortured and coerced into naming family members and close associates, who were in turn arrested, tortured and killed. In the early months of S-21′s existence, most of the victims were from the previous Lon Nol regime and included soldiers, government officials, as well as academics, doctors, teachers, students, factory workers, monks, engineers, etc. Later, the party leadership’s paranoia turned on its own ranks and purges throughout the country saw thousands of party activists and their families brought to Tuol Sleng and murdered. ^[1] Those arrested included some of the highest ranking communist politicians such as Khoy Thoun, Vorn Vet and Hu Nim. Although the official reason for their arrest was "espionage," these men may have been viewed by Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot as potential leaders of a coup against him. Prisoners’ families were often brought en masse to be interrogated and later murdered at the Choeung Ek extermination center.

In 1979, the prison was uncovered by the invading Vietnamese army. In 1980, the prison was reopened as a historical museum memorializing the actions of the Khmer Rouge regime. The museum is open to the public, and receives an average of 500 visitors every day

USD2 for the entrance.

A better and shorter introduction.

It felt really peaceful on the morning we visited but thinking of all the things that happened there before just sent me chills down my spine.

For caption, read the sign.

*speechless over the rules*

So ruthless and, this happened in the 20th century!
1975, in a country so near to us!

Along the corridor.

No smiling…
And I bet no one could upon entering the place.

We tumpang listened to the stories that the tour guide was telling.
Look at the intensity on his face, he’s not faking it.

The collapsing ceiling.

Okay, that’s Toul Sleng for now.

If you’re curious to know, no, that place doesn’t stink. However, I did felt like puking and crying… Maybe because the 怨气 of the prisoners was overpowering. Okay, this is me being all superstitious and auntie.

Took a 20 minute tuk-tuk ride to the Killing Field.

There’s no shopping mall in Phnom Penh. Hence the locals only shop at the local markets and shop lots.

A street making tuk-tuk carts.

Look! My collar bone was visible here!
I’m thin! LOL!

Men sitting on the container on the pick-up happily smiling for my camera.

I think… it’s really heavy to push the cart.

The Sexy Lips.

A bicycle full of KANGKUNG!

Arriving the Choeung Ek Genocide Center, place where I saw human skulls… and lots of it for the very first time.

USD2 for the entrance.

The Memorial

With skeletons and skulls in it, organized by age and gender.

Mau taking off her pretty sandals before entering.

I hope those victims’ spirits haunt Pol Pot every night till the day he died and he now has to undergo all the tortures he cleverly “invented” in hell.

Pfftt! Long live KARMA!

“Waiting room for death” ….

Leaving the Killing Field and smiling despite of the heavy heart and trauma reading about the history.

Finally, something familiar

Bluetooth BBQ Restaurant!
Even the logo also copy don’t pray pray.

Driver all cover-up and passengers left exposed.

Double Protection. *look at the her head if you don’t get what I mean*

No idea what was it..

Nah, durians.
(Am glad that I’m not a durian lover..)

Hope I didn’t spoil your appetite.

For you pervs, nah.. high school girls.

The jewelry shop located in between the hotel lobby and our room. Yes, it’s a weird hotel. After checking in, you have to walk out of the building, then take another 10 steps or so to the left and enter the “accommodation building”

Rickshaw, for display purpose only.

A better view on the hotel lobby. Very oriental kan?

Meet Yoyo, the cute CYP who had veneer elongating her front teeth. Er, according to Yoyo, it’s the latest “in” thing for Cambodia girls because it’s cuter that way.

Er… okay.

They pulled a “Bollywood” with the door connecting the restaurant and lobby and I wanted to join in too!

Then we headed few streets down for lunch. This time it’s “Malaysia Restaurant”!

They have really straight forward names in Cambodia.

”Halal Restaurant” for a restaurant selling halal food.
”Malaysia Restaurant” for a restaurant Malaysia food I guess.
And, the jewelry shop next to our hotel is called “Sit Down Jewelry”.

Mee Bandung, so so only…

Chicken rice…

The rice is just plain white rice and its nothing like Thien Thien’s.
A plate of very dry chicken rice.

Street vendor selling books…

and books only…

along the Sisowath Quay.

Dropping Yoyo off to her uni, RUPP, Royal University of Phnom Penh.

Phnom Penh Internation Airport shows Cartoon Network, and not the usual BBC or CNN! I like!

Our luggage for 2 days 2 nights.
Obviously, we did not buy anything and hence our luggage was still amazingly light.

Shooting AirAsia advertisement.

Airport tax… MAHAL!

Camwhored while waiting to board.

Those passengers you saw sitting behind us were the less lucky one who had their flight to KL delayed.

Filling up the arrival form, again.

HERE WE COME AGAIN, BANGKOK!

Hmm… I don’t know… but, massage sea food doesn’t sound to appealing to me.

His.

I hope you’re as dirty-minded as us because we kept chuckling after seeing the funny knitted cover for the gear stick, with two furry balls especially.

Waiting to check in MY Hotel!
I love that hotel. Cheap and nice.
800 baht per night (inclusive of VAT and whatsoever tax), so much cheaper than Bougain Villier, which was USD59 per night. Cut throat!

Thais offered Garlic to the deities.

Our room!

Nicely air-conditioned  (unlike Bougain Villier, which we felt nothing at all but angin dari kipas), nice floorings and, saw that? The sink is not inside the bathroom, but outside!

Mau didn’t like it that way but I like.
I don’t know, it just felt nice being able to brush teeth, remove make up and wash face when you can still have your eyes glued to the TV. I thought it’s very convenient.

Camwhored first.

Our beds, separated for the very first time for our entire trip.

Dropped our luggage and went straight to Central World!
Our favorite shopping center.

It was the most happening shopping mall because they had a lot of events and functions every night.. well, maybe on the two nights we went because I don’t know about other time.

In Chatuchak – we felt very rich but everything looks straight from the factory and you got a feeling that 3 months later, what you bought will be seen in local pasar malam.

In Siam Paragon – it’s everything we wanted but couldn’t afford. Bye Chanel, it was nice meeting you.

In Central World – Forever 21, Zara, Isetan. Affordable and chic!

<3

Sausage with glutinous rice for appetizer.

Where we had our dinner.

It was really fun just sitting down, watching passersby enjoying the cool breeze. It was the moment we fell in love with the city too. 

What not to like about Bangkok?
Food is cheap, clothing and accessories are cheap and trendy and it’s safe!

Anyway, we sat there because we were waiting for Pont to pick us up. Fashionably late as usual.

He brought us to this 24 hours dimsum / bak kut teh restaurant. Can you imagine how Mau felt with all the babi-ness surrounding her?

Yea, she ate nothing but some sweet bun (confirmed safe to consume) that night.

while Pont and I ate our heart out.

The dimsums were so different from Brunei’s!

Smaller and cheaper of course.

You saw,
Corn siew mai
Tofu mai
Mini size lo mai kai
Red snapper mai
Salmon mai, and lastly..
siew mai!

One plate is about 20 or 30 baht I can’t remember.

Posing shamelessly in the restaurant with Pont the Casanova.

Then, we’re back to our hotel and while I showered, Mau tried to leech wifi from Mr. DLink again.

Hahahahahhaa. 

Good night everyone.        

Desperate / jobless / disgusting / bu-yao-lian people…. is all around.
*proceed with Ignore button*

Photo taken on 26th July 2009.
It felt nice doing nothing but hang-out and talked non-stop with the Besties on a Sunday afternoon all the way from Universal cafe to Ideal. 

Option 1 – Boat.
But the water was too shallow at that time so the boat services was put on pause too.

Option 2 – Flight.
The cute hotel staff checked the flight schedule and the price for us and we responded with a sour face.

USD95, one way. For a domestic flight that takes less than an hour.

We wouldn’t mind if we’ll be staying in Siam Reap for few days, but.. it’s a one-day trip! Such a waste right? Yes, it saves us a lot of time but rationally, it’s just not worth to spend so much money for a one-day trip.

Option 3 – Bus.

USD6 one way. Cheapest of all.
But it takes 6 hours per trip, 12 hours on the road just for a round trip.
Meaning, we won’t have much time going about in Angkor. So, what’s the point?

. . . . . . . .  =(

We were so disappointed with the options, feeling sad over it and thinking if we want to spend so much just for Angkor, the friendly hotel staff gave us option 4.

Option 4 – Private taxi.

The condition of the car is way better those you flag on the street, you get to go and stop at whatever place you want and it takes 4 hours for one way.

Price, USD 90 one way.

Without any option, we chose the semi-luxurious way.
Hire the private taxi. But at the price half of the quickest way, by plane.

Here, let me analyse.

Yes, it’s an hour to travel by plane. But don’t forget about the check-in time! You’ll have to spend an hour waiting in the not-so-interesting airport waiting to board. And it will be like 2 hours for one way, and not 1 hour as you thought. And also, the taxi fare to travel to the airport.

It’s USD180 for a round trip but that’s the price of hiring the whole cab to yourself. There’s the two of us to split the fare and that makes USD 90 per person. Not bad right? (It will be even cheaper if you have like 4 or 5 person sharing it. The hotel staff told us that she used this method too bringing the whole family and it’s very cheap and fun comparing to others) You get to enjoy the scenery of all the kampungs and the life styles of the locals and it is very different from the city.

Sounds like a good deal now isn’t it?

The taxi picked us up at 6am, hence we had to wake up at like…. 5.15 ~ 5.30am. So early can die.

But once Mau drew the curtain, we were shocked to see how bright it was outside!

This,

was 6.15am….

Okay, we left our room at 6am but I wanted to have a quick breakfast first because I’m a breakfast-person while Mau is not. That’s why she called me si-Makan. Everyday must breakfast.

Breakfast @ Bougain Villier

My… kind of heavy breakfast.

What? I’m a hardcore Chinese who grew up in Seria with cheap Kolomee and fried kueh tiaw readily available at 4am! I love heavy breakfast!

Concentrating on my food.

And the little bottle on the right of the photo, that’s natural yoghurt.. which I initially thought it was milk until I used the spoon and scooped it. Yes I know, I wasn’t suppose to leave the spoon standing like that, macam offering to the ghost.

I miss my hair band….
My cute flower hair band which I left in the taxi….
Sobs.

 
Anyway, back to the road trip.

It was really interesting for me as I’m someone easily amused and very sakai (pasal never travel out from ASEAN). I kept taking pictures about things that amused me while Mau just….. snoozed dozed off.

For a 4 hours road trip, she slept for 3 hours.. minimum.

So you can guess how bored I was having no one to talk to, wondering how sweet is Mau’s dream because even a sudden bump / emergency break / taxi driver talking out loud on the phone / constant car-honking wouldn’t wake her up.

But it’s okay.

I could camwhore, alone (in Bobby’s shades because I broke mine just one day before leaving Brunei).

And, I had my sakai-ness with me.

Like, sakai-ing over… 

Wow! Man on Pick-up’s roof top sitting like a Buddha.

 
Oh, school kids on their way to … wherever they’re going, walking on barefoot or selipar jepun.

Is that woman wearing her pjs out shopping for groceries?

Satin Pink.

 
Wow! One motorbike pulling off a cart with like… more than 10 people on it!
Picture 1.

The Cambodians really fully utilize their vehicles. I had not came across any empty cars or carts because they were all stocked up to the max.

Take No.2 (above picture) for example.

A normal van, with 6 people on the top. And inside the car, there’re more at the back. Jam-packed until they couldn’t get the door close!

*enlarge pupils + jaw drop*

Of course, there were also serene scenery that makes potential wallpaper if equipped with a good camera.

The road was quite narrow and there were bullock carts, horse carts, tractors, motor cyclists, buses, lorries, even some unknown military vehicle that looked like a tanker to me on the road. Whenever drivers wish to overtake, they will keep honking until they successfully overtake.

One word, majal.  
 

Passed by one of the kampung.
Yes. In Cambodia, they use the word “Kampung” too for village!

The lorry had a puncture.

It looked so scary to me! Can you see how high up the goods were piled? Those were fertilizers / rice / I don’t know and not cotton wool okay! Even if it’s cotton wool, it is still very dangerous isn’t it?

Crazy sh*t!

And on the left in the above picture, you can see a tractor slowly pulling some materials with a man sitting on it too. Now imagine, how slow was it going and how long we had to wait in order to overtake the crazy lorry?

Not one tractor, but two!

 
Horse-carts.
They had bells on them so it rang beautifully when the horses were on the road.

If you can survive Brunei – KK road trip, Phnom Penh to Siam Reap will be a piece of cake for you. It was quite smooth as the road was way less bumpier and there’s a lot of things to see from the window. Need I say more?

Hospital…

The white house with partial blue paint and red roof top is the hospital.
Surprise?

Like I said, it feels very 1970s in Cambodia (for certain areas).

4 hours later…

We finally reached Angkor!

Our Passes.

with ugly mug shot-ish photos (taken with a webcam) on it.

We were so hyped seeing this.. Yes, we fall for gimmicks easily.

but… sigh.
=(

Introducing you our driver and the humble modified Camry who brought us all the way.

Notice something?
The car does not have any license plate on it.
And no, I did not strike it out with a pen tool.

Most cars we saw in Cambodia do not have license plates!

Angkor Wat is HUGE!

I felt I was dreaming when I saw the magnificent Angkor Wat right before my eyes. My birthday wish came true finally! Even until today, thinking of it still gets my adrenaline going.

An obligatory photo at the main entrance.

 
(If you’re not interested in Angkor Wat, the upcoming photos will probably make you yawn)

As you can see, the path on the right looked perfect whereas those on the left was quite bumpy. Clearly, the path on the right had been restored. 

The people under the mission of preserving, restoring and saving the monument.

Another one.

The lady was so well-dressed that for a moment, I thought she was just having her lunch break out from a fashion boutique.

 
Note: SUCK IN TUMMY NO MATTER WHEN AND WHERE!

The ceilings. And… hmm.. why the eyes on the granny on the bottom right looked so weird… I only noticed a lot of weirdness in this batch of photos when I was editing them.

Built 1000 years ago

Locals around the area asking if you need a “tour guide” to explain. 

The 7-headed naga (creeps me out)

 
It was written in the Lonely Planet that we shouldn’t be wearing shorts and there’s sarongs for rent if dressed inappropriately. We were so prepared to take out our wallets and pay and the rental fee but no one approached us and we saw a lot of other people wearing shorts as well. Guess it doesn’t matter anymore.

Detail.

Apsara.

 
Along the hallway.

Wrong way to use the QuikPod.
No, you can’t see anything from down there you perv.

One of the gates.

 
We thought “that’s it” when we’re at the outer wall and saw another walkway at the back of it.

That, baru tah is the temple.
We ain’t see nothing yet.

 
Statue, with it’s head still attached.

Time to reapply sunscreen lotion.

Headless naga.

Any pictures taken in Angkor Wat automatically turn into B&W.

Devatas, or Apsaras.. I can’t tell the difference.

The rules.

I noticed the locals had a different praying style from me.

The students from Sophia university I think.
All Japanese and some of them were quite cute. *wink*

I have no idea how the fire look… dislocated.

3-in-1

Headless, or bodiless…

Headless statue again. Fine opportunity to have a little fun out of it.

I’m guessing… the heads of those statues were either vandalized or stolen and sold to antique collectors. I don’t know about you but, I will think that there’s spirit living inside the heads and I am so not going to keep it at home.

I like this photo.

At the East gate

The tower

Out for lunch break

I guess they donated quite a lot to get their names carved.

 
Compensation?

 
Two boys doing a kampung-Ayer stunt in the pool of Angkor Wat.

I wanted to capture the moment and once they saw me taking pictures, they immediately came out from the water, equipped themselves with the pity look and

“Miss, one dollar please… one dollar.. miss… one dollar…”

-_________________-“

What the…

Our driver didn’t talk much to us. Can say… not at all actually.
After Angkor Wat, we just told him we wanted to eat and without a second word, he drove us to this “street” of restaurants.

We chose this, with no reason.

 
Menu

Mau’s choice, Amok Fish.

We heard from the Sg guy that everyone has their own recipe for Amok fish. I guess it’s like curry or soto.. every family has their own secret ingredients.

Shitty picture…. but nice food inside.

 
I ordered the Khmer Prahluk Ling.. which I totally regretted.

It looked okay, but… it was damn salty! The long beans and kangkung served were raw and.. I’m so not used to eating raw veggies unless it’s cabbage and lettuce.

Kick till ah.. this meal.

Mau showing her two-toned skin.

Don’t bother putting on any makeup ladies, or gentlemen… It will melt right after you stepped down the car and all you need is sunscreen lotion and an umbrella or cap.

Paiseh ah.. really very slow eh I blog.
Sampai people thought I went to Cambodia/Thailand for the second time. LOL
Where got so rich….

Hot Air Baloon, USD35 per person for I forgot how many minutes in the air.

Anyway, we didn’t get to ride on it because it is only available in the morning. So remember that people, if you want to have a ride on it.

To Angkor Thom

Mau said she was going to upload this photo and tag our blogger friends in Brunei.

So dulan…

Odd one out…
I think that’s a newly restored one.

Cough. Yes, what you are thinking now was what I thought when I saw it too.

My boyfriend, because we have the same eyes.

Entrance of Bayon

The ruins

Note no.4.
I was telling Mau, “Who the heck want to bring stones or fragments home? Ada hantu kali ah….”

As a Buddhist, of course I went down and prayed.
The old granny on my right gave me some josticks and asked for a dollar.

I’m not quite used to it actually.

Because in most temple, its up to us whether we want to tian-you-qian or not one mah.. this one like, kena forced.

Ma-lau.

Okay, here comes the interesting part..

Our driver stopped by a petrol station.

He went down the car… but instead of opening the fuel cap thingie which is usually on the left or right on the rear part of the car, he opened his car boot.

like this fellow here…

The petrol station attendant then took out a funny looking piston….

and filled it in!

So so so weird kan!

And Mau found out what was it about.
Click here to know more.

“Pepsi” for you?

The locals love to go to the park (which is located in the middle of the road, no kidding!) and dance, play badminton, fly kite and do tai-chi!

Back in the hotel and Mau was hooked by the internet again.

Pablo recommended some halal restaurants for us to try out..

The name of the halal restaurant is, “HALAL RESTAURANT”

LOL

It’s not very posh but it did gave us a very different feel.

We ordered,

Must-try teh tarik

Sour spicy soup

Mixed vegetables

Ginger beef, with lots and lots of ginger, onion, carrot and turnip!

We tried our best to finish the dish but.. the veggies were just too much.
See!

Horlick… I think?

Back to the hotel.

Mau going online still and I put on a soothing facial mask and watched Dsiney Channel again..                             

Okay, finally finish!
Day 6 – I promise I will blog all in one go.

Short Note:

What? My result too good liao is it? That you must bring home and lie to your mother? Sien till… Cilaka one.

WHO THE HECK TOOK MY RESULT SLIP!!!

Sorry, no pictures of Angkor Wat yet because…. banyak!
So I’m just going to share whatever I feel like blogging ya.

I’m so so so happy that I discovered that Eslite do deliver their books internationally and man, they work fast! And super cheap!

I watch 型男大主厨 and 阿基师 is like an idol to me! He’s humorous and super lihai when it comes to cooking la. So I wanted to buy his books desperately. Auntie much I know.

Due to the current pandemic, I am so not going down to Miri to shop for books and furthermore, I’m not even sure if they have it there. So I tried to search online, my first stop was YesAsia… They have the books there but it costs like USD22 for each books! Mahal mahal!

Then I came across Eslite bookstore, the largest bookstore chains in Taiwan! (I wanna go Taiwan and spend hours and hours there!) So so so cheap! I bought all 3 books and they cost less than BND60 (shipping included). And that’s not all, I ordered it on Sunday night, then on Tuesday.. TNT called me and confirmed with me my IC number and told me the package is coming. Then on Saturday morning, it arrived my doorstep!

This is like the fastest online shopping ever okay.

Buy Amazon, I don’t need you anymore.. I have Eslite already.
Oh ya, sorry if you can’t read Chinese. Your lost.

My new bank bag with a cute Minnie rubber strip.

My hair has reached the annoying length..
kiaw-lai-kiaw-qu… kanasai.

And, my mum hates the cream color flower hair clip. Like 戴孝 wo…

Incase you all had forgotten his face.

Eseh, sexy red lips.

(Eh… do you think that I’m embarrassing him in public?)

Suicidal guide

Monday, 13th July 2009

L-R: Pancake, Atul, Maurina and Tina

We were all very excited about HM’s titah and went out from the cafe just to stay in the car and listen to the news on radio.

Near my house.

Steamboat on 14th July with the Besties.

15th July 2009

The silly guy came down and gave me a surprise visit after reading my text “Sigh.. so sien, nothing to look forward today” and felt all guilty.

Took out the Ikea box filled with all the cards he made and gifts and read through the journal. Sigh, I realised I’ve changed quite a lot eh. Less patient, less romantic and grumpier.. Still, we had a lot of laughter reading all those stupid words we wrote and what we’ve been through. Arguing over the chronologies of happenings and rolling my eyes away, acting all innocent when he found out all his “masterpieces” are all wrecked up because of my carelessness.  

Hehe.

Woke up quite early that day just to pack (light) for Cambodia. Yeah, we’re so tired because we got back to our hotel at 1+am and couldn’t even bother with our luggage.

After packing, Mau realized she didn’t bring her padlock along for the weekend bag and so we went to 7/11 for that. 

Small alley along the way to 7/11 in Petchburi.

My eyes nearly popped out when I saw how close the drivers manage to park their cars so bloody near to the wall! No wonder cars in Bangkok banyak scratches.

My breakfast for only 40Baht!
Pork rice, nice nice. If got potato inside lagi chun.

 
The hotel we’re going to stay after coming back from Cambodia.
My Hotel is just next to Best Bangkok House. It’s new, modern and… CHEAP!

Mau taking candid shot of me eating.

Mau’s camera rule no.1 – Only I get to camwhore with my camera, yang lain semua candid so I can be the prettiest.

Hahahhaaahahahah! So funnily mean. 

Mau, effortlessly pretty with eyes double (maybe triple) size of mine.

 
Checking out Best Bangkok Hotel.
I don’t miss that place, at all!

Btw, remind me to suck in all the time to avoid picture as shown above with a very relaxing, bulging tummy saying hello to the world.

Dropped off our heavy luggage to My Hotel.

How nice kan? We only checked in like 3 days later and they allowed us to tumpang our luggage there in their store. I like I like.

While on our way to the airport,

the taxi driver suddenly pulled over on the highway, telling us ”Sorry, drink water many. Heh Heh” and went for a pillar-piss. o_O!

Smokey eyes courtesy of Miss Mau.

 
Can anyone tell me where to buy Q10 drink in Brunei, or Miri?
It tasted quite good and… good for skin bah.

Lunching here.
A place with no free wifi.
:S

Since we couldn’t leech wifi from any spot in the airport, we went to a CC instead. Mahal eh! Like 50 baht for 20 mins, I think?

Mau the internet addict in action.

while I just camwhored out of boredom.

 
Mau: That’s why everyone should use MAC! No Windows error!

When I saw the error message, I had the urge to look for a mouse and click “OK”!

 
Oh oh! We bought our super chio “My mask is cooler than yours!” masks in the airport too!

Whenever I wore that mask, I will have strangers coming up to me asking me where did I get my mask? I know, you also want one kan?

Mau was like the center of attraction when she wore them! Everyone was just staring and whispering when they saw her. In Phnom Penh, people even blew her kisses!

And… I miss the headband I was wearing in the above photo. It’s my favorite and I left it in the taxi in Phnom Penh…. *sad*

 
First thing I reached out in the aircraft.

Wanted to order nasi lemak but they only had pop-mee.

….. RM6 for this. So sad eh.

An hour later…

Phnom Penh International Airport!
My first impression was, “Wah… like Brunei airport hor?”

First camwhore picture in Cambodia (toilet)

 
The PP International Airport is rather amusing. I mean, weird in an interesting way.

Take a look for yourself.

Does it look like an airport to you?

Another one,
Looks more like a park or resort right?

(Now this looks more like Brunei)

I tell you, the moment I stepped out of the airport, I found myself wow-ing, ooh-ing and Mau!See this!–ing sakai-ly constantly.  

Super sua-ku (kampong girl).

Taxi drivers waiting for business.

According to our taxi driver,

(woooooooooooo… left-hand drive! Sorry, sakai again)

we’re his very first customers for the day. The business was rather bad as it’s not the peak period or something.

Huh? Just few hours we’re at one of the busiest cities in the world with lots of skyscrapers and neon lights, and next, we felt like we lived in the 70s.

Look at the shop lots.

and the road….

It does give you a retro feel right?

And most of the motor cyclists I saw were not wearing helmets!

even the tourists…

Having more than 1 passenger behind the bike is a common thing in Cambodia. The maximum I saw was 5. And only the driver wears helmet. Don’t ask me why, maybe that’s the culture I guess?

Yoyo booked us Bougain Villier Hotel, a very nice place at Sisowath Quay.

It’s very oriental and the scent was overpowering that the moment Maurina stepped in, she already rasa paning.

If any of you are interested, here’s the contact. 

Our room.

which gave us a feeling that we’re on our honeymoon trip.

Spacious bathroom

Huge mirror just opposite the bed, which is bad for fengshui because it will suck your soul in it.

Newly weds trying out the bed!

It rhymes! Hahahhahaa.

 
After settling down, we went out for a stroll.
But first thing first….

How to jalan if no money?

The colors of the bank is very Stan-Chart kan?

Temple near our hotel.

Camwhoreeeeeeee~

Okay, I just realized I wore the mask upside down for the above picture.
So embarrassing.

As I said, Cambodia is a very interesting place… Everything is so “Out of the Box”! 

Example…

A coffin shop out of no where, just along the busy street of Sisowath Quay with a lot of tourists passing by.

Did you see the small teley behind the man (stop looking at the Khmer guy’s nipple or rib cage please)? When we passed by the coffin shop again, we saw kids resting their arms on the coffins and watching Tom and Jerry on the teley. What a scene really!

Tonle Sap – The unusual lake.

Unusual because :

1) its flow changes direction twice a year, and
2) the portion that forms the lake expands and shrinks dramatically with the seasons

And that’s the reason why we couldn’t go to Siam Reap by boat at the time…
 

Kids playing around…

No! I’m not a pedo and that kid WAS wearing his underwear while changing.

The wall was quite steep and yet the kids managed to run away effortlessly. 

Kids in Cambodia were all not shy and very outspoken…
Why I said that? I’ll tell you why later.

Oh ya, not only the kids are outspoken, the taxi/tuk-tuk/motorbike drivers too!

From the moment we stepped out of our hotel, we’ll get approached constantly, “Tuk Tuk miss?”
”Taxi miss?”
”City tour?”
”Killing field?”
”Oh miss… I see you two times already. Tuk tuk?”
(Because they recognized Mau from her sexy mask)
”Hehehhehee. Sexy” (Then pointed at Mau’s mask and blew kisses)

When they saw us coming down from a taxi, the tuk-tuk drivers will asked..
“Miss, why you take taxi? Why you no take tuk-tuk?”

Persistent much.

I realized Cambodians love to relax themselves in the evening.
Walking around, dating, dancing, play badminton… beside the roads!

Okay, here’s the story…

Oh wait. Before I proceed, let me share with you something interesting in Phnom Penh.

In Bangkok, the street vendors sell all sort of stuffs. Snacks, noodles, fashion items, bags, lingerie and so on.. In Phnom Penh, they sell ……….

…. wait for it

…….. wait for it

BOOKS!!!

 
Yes! Books!
No coconut, no ice creams, no fishballs… BOOKS only!

Lonely Planets and paperback novels!

o_O!

So here’s the story. I’ll be going to HCM in December so I felt like buying a copy of Lonely Planet lor… I passed by quite a few stores but lazy to stop and buy because.. aku takut persistency durang…

Then came two boys, carrying a plastic basket around their shoulders with books inside.

The first boy approached me. “Miss, you want to buy books?”

I took a look in his basket and didn’t see any Lonely Planet..
Hence I told him “No”.

Then the second boy came over and asked the same thing… I saw the book I want and asked him how much was the book.

Boy: 5 dollars.
Me: 5 dollars? I saw the lady at the street there selling for only 4 dollars!
Boy: That 1 dollar I earn miss. I need money too.
Me: (You gotta love his honesty! And he spoke really good English.. even better than my students okay!) Okay, I’ll buy it. Do you go to school? (I was concerned with Child labour and stuffs)
Boy: Yes I go to school in the morning, I sell books at night.
Me: *still very impressed by his English*

The happy boy who earned $1 from me.

Then the nightmare came….

The younger boy who asked me earlier was really unhappy with the fact that I bought from his friend instead of him because he asked me first and came bombarded me with questions!

Young Boy: WHY YOU BUY FROM HIM! I ASK YOU IF YOU WANT BOOK, YOU SAY NO! THEN YOU BUY FROM HIM! WHY YOU BUY FROM HIM!
Me: Because I don’t see the book I want from you.
Young Boy: YOU CAN ASK! I GO FIND! EH EH! WHY YOU BUY THE BOOK FROM HIM! WHY YOU DON’T BUY FROM ME! I ASK YOU FIRST!

And he kept running in front of me and stopped me from walking. Wah lao eh….
Kick till.

He chased me for 9 streets okay.
Bah.. I exaggerated a bit, only 3 streets lah.. until we stepped in a restaurant baru he jalan.

Heng ah.

Lesson learned.
Never buy anything from children.

By the way, it was stated in the travel guide too. If you really want to help the children, keep them safe and away from the streets so that they won’t be exposed to risk. Do not buy things from them as it will only keep them roaming around. Just that, I only read about it like…. 1 day later.

Regret eh!

Remember ah! If you’re going to Cambodia. Do not buy anything from the children.

The restaurant we dined in, which Hou Jiet suggested.

 
Oh ya, met a Singaporean guy in Tonle Sap waterfront and hahahahhaaa… he thought I was a Singaporean too!

How cool is that.
Well, Chinese in Brunei speaks Singlish too bah. Same slang.

Mau’s super healthy salad

My very average spaghetti bolognaise.

Mahal eh if you dine in those touristy restaurants! It’s all in USD and.. the food is very very average. Nothing authentic about it. Thanks to Pablo who recommended Mau a number of halal restaurant then we baru we tasted some halal and not-your-average food.

Our hotel lobby, the apartment side.

Can you see the door in the middle of the picture? To go to our room, we had to get through the door and walked up the stairs.

 
Thank goodness we only stayed at the second floor!

The security was quite tight there as the staffs screened all the guest before letting them in. Like, if someone is visiting you, you have to let them know first. And when your guest arrived, they will called your room and ask if it’s okay to let your guest in now.

There isn’t much happening night life in Phnom Penh so by 8.30pm… we’re already back to our hotel (after buying mineral water from a local store and there’s no where else to shop – Night market only available during the weekends), and slept before 11pm.

Oh ya, Mau left the key of her padlock in Bangkok and thanks to the cute bell boy, who had made several trips up and down, managed to pry open the zip of the luggage.

Day 5 – ANGKOR WAT!!!!!

Apparently, there are a lot of people who don’t take signage seriously. Or they tend to think that, “Nevermind laaa.. surely someone will clean up. So what if I litter? No big deal.”

And we, the proud students of SSS who had learned so much about the responsibilities of being citizens of Negara Brunei Darussalam, worked hand-in-hand last Sunday together with UBD/ITB students to clean up Jerudong beach!

We found glass bottles, car tyres, styrofoam packets, plastic spoons and forks lying around the area and it was quite dangerous to walk around bare-foot because you might get cut by those objects anytime.

For those litterbugs out there, have you ever thought that the rubbish you left behind might put someone else’s life at risk? Sure, you don’t care because it has nothing to do with you. But what if that person is someone you love and care? Would you feel the same now? Worse, his/her injuries is caused by your ignorance. Hah. How about that?

Maybe our efforts wouldn’t last long because ignorant and/or irresponsible people will continue to litter our beautiful piece of land but at least we tried and it did feel good doing so.

Love your country.
Do something for your country even if you feel it’s minimal. 

Related post:
Seri Siap Siaga cleans up at Jerudong Beach – by Reeda
Jerudong Beach clean-up – by Cikgu Mansor.

p/s: Quite busy at the moment. Pardon me for not blogging often.