Kampong Speu Trip

Today I made my first trip to one of the provinces outside of Phnom Penh. It is not that far as it only took about one and a half hour to arrive there. I was accompanied by Sokkhoeun, the office translator and Hai the driver. The trip to Kampong Speu was uneventful. It was the usual scenery of a countryside which mainly consists of cows, goats and paddy fields.

The picture above was taken when we had finished observing the workshop conducted by local disabled people organization to increase the awareness regarding the importance of voting among the disabled people in cambodia. The workshop also help to disseminate information of electoral procedures. Overall, i deemed the workshop was a success which makes me happy to be part of the program which sponsoring this workshop!!

3rd Week in Phnom Penh - Approaching Elections

It is almost my 3rd week in Phnom Penh. Besides the good things I mentioned earlier in my previous postings (wedding + riding a motorbike + good food) there were negative sides also.
I have my first car accident in Phnom Penh in my first week here when the car driven by my cambodian friend's father was hit from behind. Luckily it is minor and nobody were injured except some minor shocks and dents to the car.

This weekend - I have my first major food poisoning. Although i suspect it is more on drink poisoning as I did not have lunch yesterday. Only a mix mango smoothies at one of the cafe at Monivong Boulevard before going back to my friends' apartment to start preparing for dinner.
Due to the food poisoning - i am having a slight fever though and maybe making me a bit maudlin.

At the moment I am thinking that my weekend is not filled to the rafters yet. Just a bit shopping, relaxing etc but not on serious sightseeing. My plan would be to go to the Royal Palace and maybe to Kandal. I am debating though whether i should go and see the killing fields etc.
People will say it is a good place to go and look and ponder on the atrocities that mankind could commit. However I am not that brave or strong spirited to go to a place like that. I am a believer of ghosts, spirits and souls. I am not sure it is wise for me to go to a place which have so many gruesome deaths. Time will tell whether I would gain enough courage to do so. Or maybe it is not about courage but more on the wisdom to make a sound decision.

As for today - I was speaking to a tuk tuk driver who goes by the name of Polo. He helped me communicating with the tailor that I had made my shirt today. While waiting for the shirt to finish, I spoke to him for a while. It was interesting to listen to what some people on the street has to say on the upcoming elections. While some intellectuals or educated cambodian are very vocal on their opinions regarding the elections - parties and even whether it is free and transparent - Polo was telling me that he would go and vote. However he would not tell people which party he supports and he also thinks that other people should not be too eager to declare their affiliations. He also thinks that people should respect other people's decision and not to impose their views on others. I found that his thinking is very liberating. I hope other cambodians would think the same way he does.

Anyway - thats all for the 3rd week updates from Phnom Penh!!!

Baby Shower

I attended my first baby shower in my life in Phnom Penh. The guest of honour was Thay Bone, one of the staff at UNDP. The female staff of the election team (UNDP project which concerns directly with the election) attended the baby shower.

Alison arranged the venue (her place which have fantastic balcony) and the refreshments and Sarah organized the games. I certainly had a great time and won a bottle of jelly beans at one of the games. It was certainly a great opportunity to meet and mingle with some of the staffs at a more informal settings.

Overall, it was a great experience!!

Phnom Penh Adventure

I have been in Phnom Penh for more than a week to start my 3 month short stint of summer job with an international organization involving with the recent upcoming election. So far despite the
short time, I have attended a Cambodian wedding, countless rides on tuk tuks and even become a
passenger on a motorcycle with one of good Cambodian friend, Richie. Although initially I thought it would be very scary, but Richie's driving is prety good and I really enjoy the short ride.

However the Phnom Penh is quite scary. A lot of cars, tuk tuks and motorcycles that do not follow the law. It takes some time to get used to it. It was less scary nowadays but sometimes my heartbeat will rise a bit.

Have tried some different types of cuisine. Khmer, Thai, Middle Eastern, Indian and even Pakistani. My favourite Khmer food would the fish amok. It is a bit similar to the Malaysian cooking of 'masak lemak cili api'. Fish cook with coconut gravy and small chillis. It was very delicious. There is a Malaysian restaurant at Street 114 name Mamak's corner. Went there during the weekend to eat nasi campur. I wanted to eat the nasi lemak but apparently nasi lemak is only served during the breakfast hour. Above is my picture in front of the Malaysian restaurant.

My transition to Phnon Penh is not that easy. The street scares me. The roads are dusty, Too many dogs on the street. Maybe I am just a scaredy cat. However the work makes up for it. It
is very challenging and I enjoy it very much. The people are quite cool too. So maybe this stint would not be that bad after I get used to the conditions here.

ASEAN night

Recently on 24th May, the university organized ASEAN night. Students from ASEAN member countries and Japanese students set up food booths and performed on stage. While there are a lot of traditional performances, there some hilarious acts especially from the Japanese students as they were wearing a lot of cute costumes such as high school uniforms, doraemon costume and even the yankee ( http://smt.blogs.com/mari_diary/2005/07/yankee_is_a_bad.html) style wigs.

I have put a link that explains the term yankee so hopefully there would be no misunderstanding.

During the ASEAN night too, i helped out with the fund raising effort for Myanmar cyclone victims which was organized by my classmates and I. We gave out coconut and durian flavoured candies as well as dodol (Malaysian traditional sweets) to those who are kind enough to donate. Anyway, entirely enjoyable ASEAN night for me.

Please enjoy looking at the pics

Tokamachi Kimono Matsuri (Festival) Visit

Went to the Tokamachi Kimono Festival today with quite a number of IUJ students and some of the locals. Had lots of fun watching kimono shows as well observing the normal streets in Tokamachi being turned into a streetshow. Also have a lot of other activities such as vintage car shows, modern and traditional dances, carnival like games and street food stalls. Too bad not many choices available for Halal food except for the tempura and fries.

Overall, had a lot of fun despite the scorching sun. Spring here is very hot!! I hate to think what would the summer be like.

Sakura in Kyoto - Chasing Sakura!!!

After the Kawaguchiko visit - watching the Fuji mountain - we immediately went to Kyoto.

Definitely would not recommend the midnight bus especially the standard bus. Lets just say that it is a standard "Japanese' bus. It is small and does not cater for the bigger sizes : )

Nevertheless, it was a good experience. I am suprise a lot of the people - young people - dress up to board the bus. Make ups, high heels and for the guys only loosening the tie. If its me - the ties would definitely tuck away in a bag or somewhere similar. In Kyoto - the sakura has just begun blossoming but managed to get some good pictures especially the really pink colour ones.

One the first day - we went to Kiyomizu Dera for half a day. The reason for this is due to the numerous arrays of shops lining up the street to Kiyomizu Dera. We only spent half an hour at the temple with the remaining time set for shopping!!!

The result - the parting of some serious money by my sister : ) and yours truly. As we were too tired to continue the exploration - we went back to the hotel to check in and rest a bit before walking to nearby shops for more shopping and dinner.

I am unable to download the pics at the moment - Will do so asap : )

April 13th - Trip to Kanazawa

On April 13th, 2008, 70 students and UMEX members (Local Association) went to Kanazawa to enjoy the sakuras as well as the panoramic view of the kenrokuen.

We stayed there only for a bit more than 2 hours. However the trip there took 4 hours by bus - ONE WAY!!! Nevertheless, with the entertaining antics by fellow 'graduate' students as well providing yours truly to practise my broken and limited japanese - the trip of 8 hours to and fro was worth it. Especially when you consider the awesome pictures we took. The picture of the sea was taken on our way back to Urasa - so it is no longer in Kanazawa

If anyone visiting Tokyo for a short time, thus limiting the chances to go to Kyoto - do give Kanazawa a try as it is being promoted as the 2nd Kyoto. In my opinion, Kyoto is still the best - however, Kanazawa certainly provide a good alternative if you are short on time.