CAMBODIA aka KUMPUCHA 11 apr 2005 - 1 may 2005 yay! im finally blogging abt my cambodia trip! i wanted to mail a postcard back, but the posting system didnt seem reliable.. so the idea was abolished... basically lots had happened in the trip.. but no worries.. im back in a piece! haha.. it was really experiential and it definitely is an eye-opener for me! events such as... - waking up in 530 in the morning and realise that the sky is already as bright as 730 in spore and people haf started their transactions and bargainings ringing in the atmosphere. - glenn n i took the tuk tuk (which is juz a motorbike) and we were amazed the first time we rode it and it cld fit 3! but trust me, ive seen more than 4 on the motorbike when we were in Cambodia! oh.. n we almost got into an accident.. the driver immediately stepped on his brake and screeched, then the engine cldnt start! - the mekong river which is a freshwater river has dolphins staying in it! i caught a few glimpse of it, and they look so adorable! i was excited! the time spent waiting for the dolphins was marvellous... the serenity so beautiful and calming! - travelling on a pick up with 22 person and their backpacks excluding the driver and a translator, on bumpy roads and irritating people is definitely something that u might not even get to experience! oh.. n my cap flew away! the night travelling part is the best! the stars filled the sky with the moonlight shining at us! this is something that i think i'll never get to experience again! i love the ride from Kratie to Banlung! i'll miss the times when my butt is hardly on the seat, and half the time im squatting while danial was kneeling to me, when dowell was hugging tightly to Sum, when Julius is knocking off on top of the compartment of the pick-up, when norisa, amelia, chris and liz was singing, and farhan complaining that only 1/3 of his ass is on the seat.. something that i definitely wanna keep in my memories! - visiting villages and waterfalls which are magnificent! especially the "dangerous" one as one of the IYDP student's fren got sucked in it! getting down to the waterfall was already like rock climbing.. and in order to get from the front to the end of the waterfall, u haf to move like a spiderman.. with all fours checking out different rocks to step on! but the sight of it was BEAUTIFUL! - swimming in a lake.. not juz any lake, but the Yak Lom Lake.. i want to swim in the Yak Lom Lake, the Yak Lom Lake, the Yak Lom Lake... later, like the 2nd last day in Banlung, den i realise that the Yak Lom Lake is actually part of a Volcano... so i cld be a boiled goose anytime! and the bees there are fierce sial! i got stung 3 times! - falling off the pick up like a jackfruit (quote unqoute farhannah) and landed with a Panda! - passing through this village where kids threw water on us, as it was some festival.. it was the 3rd day of Khmer New Year.. - rode a bike myself.. but still unclear bout the gear thingy.. but nevermind.. cos i've rode the bike! - getting involve in a motorbike accident n i was the pillon (no worries.. i only had a lil scratch).. Dowell was being nice and wanted to send us to the market. Chris took Amelia and Norisa while i was with Dowell.. we left our hse, n passed the wooden planks which were covering the drain.. we had to go on a higher speed in order to go pass the wooden thing.. but the bike did not turn juz in time, so it went over to the lane for bikes of another directions... although there wasnt any markings, the people there had mutual understanding that that;s how the traffic works! ok.. so den, we bike almost crashed into another bike coming towards us.. dowell had scratches on his hands and arms and knee... OUCH! and i, i had a lil scratch on my feet... *gasp* - waking up early in the morning before 6 to go to the market for breakfast- chicken rice, laksa lookalike stuff, mutton curry, porridge with fried bee hoon.... and never fail to get Cafe tenako tekok everyday! -highlighted my hair! for US$2! and manicure was US$0.25.. in spore, when the highlight ur hair, they use aluminium foil.. here, they use blag trash bags and fold that section and secure it with bobby pins and when they remove the trash bag, they only wash that section of the hair! - celebrating bday overseas is totally different from celebrating it at home or locally... and my fellow group mates as well as teachers were so sweet... they bought 19 small cup cakes and on top of each, there were candles! aww... - going out for a drink at the end of each day aft translating for the whole day... oh.. and rice wine which was later known as wice rine.. hee... it's really strong apparantly.. i could feel my cheeks burning aft they refilled the thingy with 3 cups of water.. - one of the nights, we had debrief on the run way of Banlung Airport.. it was fantastic.. the stars and all.. lotsa uninvited guests thou.. the kids.... lotsa them... n we had our dinner on the run way.. as soon as the kids FINALLY left, we had to leave too,, but it's really amazing. - ANGKOR WAT! the most amazing architecutre i've ever seen.... simply wonderful.. it's one of the major temples around.. and there are other which is smaller in size, but still MAGNIFICENT! and theres this temple- Ta Prohm.. the monuments had trees growing on them.. and the roots are GIGANTIC.. and im not exaggerating a single bit. - visiting the rubbish dump where the rubbish of the Phnom Penh people are being discarded! and people actually do live there. they collect the unwanted materials for a living and they even have food stall there! and the rubbish dump measures 5km x 7km - spent the most amazing 2 nights in Phnom Pehn in Royal Highness Hotel... had great chats with my bung som lan- the most precious thing that ive gained from this trip.. hope that we can all return to Banlung together!