Siem Reap, Cambodia 2010

Old Market


Old Market


Cycled to the temples. Cheapest form of transport and needless to say, the most tiring. But definitely the most exciting way to get there.




Oil for motorcycles


Hi cutie.


Angkor Wat










One of the gallery walls in Angkor Wat








Reading on the steps of one of the ancient libraries




Climbing up for a better view of the sunset


The crowd anticipating the sunset


Angkor Thom









Floating Villages on Tonle Sap Lake


In a floating orphanage


We bought chocolate for the kids


Kompong Phluk, 1 1/2 hours away by boat.






Wondering where your dried shrimps come from?


Folding the mats, in case it rains at night


1 USD buys 20 drinks. We bought 20 drinks for the kids. Free drinks = chaos


Get in line or there's none for you.




Fishing baskets




Fancy a haircut?


Schoolchildren hard at work


Volleyball with the locals












Observing from above


Off to visit the mangroves. Everybody is in Angkor beer singlets!






Our little cheeky boatboy










On the way back to Siem Reap. Lazing on the front deck






Siem Reap nightlife


Interesting matchboxes


I like the scribbled floor


Lots of bbq eateries


Ta Phrom temple, where the film Tomb Raider was shot.























Quad biking






Orphanage. A little volunteer teaching the rest of the class.


Goodbye, Siem Reap! Love you long time!

Leaving on a jet plane

Ill be off to Singapore tomorrow!

I'm currently packing my bag. I've realised that whether I'm travelling for one week, two weeks or a month, I'll pack about the same amount of clothes/stuff: 1 pair of high heels, 1 pair of sandals, 1 runners, make up pouch, 1 formal dress, 4-5 casual dresses, 2 casual tops, 2 tops for sports, 3 pairs of shorts, 1-2 pairs of pjs, 1 belt, 1 scarf, 2 jackets (one for the plane and a light cardigan), 1 pair of sunnies, 1 bikini, undergarments, 1 journal, 1 bible, 1 book to read, 1 laptop, 1 ipod and lots of cables - for phones, camera, laptop.

How do you define yourself?

A friend posted that question to me tonight.

I paused for a while and answered, "I don't know." I felt foolish. Its like not being able to give an answer when asked to list three strong qualities of yourself at a job interview. It shows that you are unsure of yourself, that you aren't confident and that you came unprepared.

I told him that I honestly cannot give him an answer. If I was asked that question a year ago, I would have given him a totally different answer. I would probably describe my passions, my strengths and weaknesses. That I love travelling. I love new ideas. I like writing but I don't do it very well. That I live off passion. I'm stubborn. I can be quite ill-disciplined. I'm very curious about life - about why people do the things they do and why do people say the things they say. And the list can go on. But ask me today, and I tell you that I now know much less of myself than I did before. I became uncertain about the things I thought I was sure of. My perceptions of myself and my view of life have been teared apart. I now question what I thought was fundamental in relationships. What I thought was important to me now lies at the bottom of my priority list.

Perhaps, that's why I haven't really been blogging. I have hundreds of drafts. I type half an entry and then I save it. Simply because, I dont know whether I believe in what I write anymore.

I guess I'm in the process of redefining who I am. It came unexpectedly but in a way, I'm glad it did. Because, knowing that I don't know anything has humbled me.

I finally did it

Cars and I don't gel very well. I don't pay too much attention to them. I've mistaken a BMW for a Honda or a BMW for a Merc many a time. They all look the same to me, so long as its approximately the same colour (all dark colour cars look the same). Two weeks ago, I told a couple of people that K recently acquired a blue Honda Prelude. It turned out to be a blue Skyline. At least I got the colour right. A couple of times, I've walked up to a car, yanked on the door knob and asked myself, "why can't I open the door?!?" only to realise a few seconds too late that I'm trying to open the door of the wrong car.

So, the inevitable occured today.

Today, A accompanied me to buy some fruits and vegetables. I happily picked out my fruits and vegetables for the next week, crossed the road and proceeded back to his car (or so I thought). I then yanked the door open and was about to slide my body inside and plonk myself on the seat, when just in the nick of time, at the corner of my eye, I noticed a man recoiling in horror, with his eyes bulging out, jaw dropped and hands up in the air, like a man at war caught by surprise by his enemy.

Then there was that two second freeze, where I stared at him and he stared at me while I trying to process all that information in my brain, "Why is there a strange man in my seat? Why does he look so shocked? O o..is this the right car? Oh no, I almost sat in a strange man's lap."

I quickly slammed the door shut, did a quick apologetic wave and ran in front. To say I was slightly embarassed was an understatement.

A who then noticed what happened, started laughing and said, "You were about to make a stranger's dream come true."

I glared at him and said, "Don't bring it up."

To which he replied, "It will be tonight's topic of conversation with the boys."

Crue Coffee Lounge, South Yarra

Hello! First, a short note to say that I'm doing well. A couple of people have asked me where have I been and why have I been sounding so crestfallen as of late. I'm here to say that I'm back and well =) I've learnt so much about myself and life in the past few weeks that I can't wait to share it all on my blog. But till I find the right words to say, I'll leave you guys with some yummy-licious pictures.

Last Saturday, Ivy invited me out for brunch with her hubby and the Sohs. They decided to venture out to this new joint, Crue Coffee Lounge which lies on the other side of town. The cafe is well-known for its good coffees. So we were there to test out this theory and also indulge ourselves in their extensive menu.


Spiced fried eggs with chorizo sausages and rocket leaves on flat bread. Absolutely delicious. A fresh change from the usual poach eggs that I usually have. And you can't go wrong with chorizon sausages.


Ives ordered a rhubarb and cream with bananas on bread. (I think there were bananas although I can't spot them in this picture)


Nasi goreng. They have taken nasi goreng to a different level (!). It won't be everybody's cup of tea especially when you have tried the real thing and you would know they have butchered the original recipe and put a western spin to it. But hey, to each his own. The nasi goreng tasted a little sweet and it was fried with bacon (hello? bacon! nasi goreng being a malay dish is suppose to be halal. but who can argue with bacon. yum yum)



They reserved a cozy corner for us. It's always good to make a booking, especially on a busy Saturday morning.





Overall verdict? You'll definitely see me there again! Lovely ambience. With my knowledge on coffee (almost zilch), I can't say too much about the coffees except to give you the standard answer, "its good". But based on all these numerous reviews floating around the world wide web, its safe to say that the coffee its excellent as many are claiming that its one of the best coffees they have tasted in Melbourne. With regards to the food, oh yumm!!! And, apparently, they change the menu quite frequently. Excellent, I always love a good surprise =)

Do pamper yourself at Crue Coffee Lounge, South Yarra.

194 Toorak Road, South Yarra
Melbourne, Australia
03 9827 5058

Perfunctory

I have been contemplating shutting down my blog for a while. I have lost the ability to express how I feel on this blog. Everything has boiled down to a string of meaningless entries – pictures, what I have been doing and a couple of videos. And my entries are few and far in between. It’s not who I am. In fact, I now don’t know who I am. All I know is that I haven’t been happy for a while. And the state I was in was unhealthy. If there’s anything I learn from the past few months, is firstly to always trust your gut instincts. If something doesn’t feel right, it is not right.

Secondly, always remember that you are worthy because you are a child of God. So many words and accusations have been thrown my way – I’m insecure, emotionless, cold, unaffectionate, standoff-ish. I know that the daggers have been thrown without spite or ill intentions but it was out of frustration. But harm has been done. It affected my self-esteem and my sense of self-worth.

Anyway, the point of it all this is to say that I’m in a better place. I hold no grudges. If anything, I now understand myself a little better. I know that tomorrow will be better than today and today is better than yesterday. And that means, I’ll be back to my cheery self. If I could have turned back time, I would have done some things differently. But we make our choices and live with the consequences. Carpe diem.

I'll end this entry with a video. MUST WATCH!

I gotta feelin' that today is gonna be a good day....