The beginning in Phnom Penh

So our trip to the land of Cambodia began after a night stay at Concorde Inn, KL. My very first impression of Phnom Penh was through the cabin windows up in the skies. The outskirts of Phnom Penh is a bed of paddy fields, divided by the Mekong River that runs through the horizon and houses parked mostly by the river side. As we flew nearer inland, more developments were visible. Lands are almost completely flat throughout and we could see puddles of flood, here and there. It must have been raining the past few days. Darn…!

Guess what we found tucked in front of our seats in this month’s Travel 360’ issue. How appropriate :D

We made a mistake of not taking pictures of the Phnom Penh airport, for being such a poor country, it was physically much more appealing to the eyes than Brunei’s =\

.The Pavilion.

Our home for a night in Phnom Penh was built in the 1930s for King Sihanouk’s mother Queen Kossamak who wanted to be near Wat Botum. Through a small gate, we were led past a lap pool to a beautiful villa surrounded by cushioned wooden lounge chairs. Nassiba was there to receive us, her French accent made us curious and to our disbelief she’s from Tajistan. She’s now working on a new eco-resort project in Koh Rong, south of Cambodia, building solar panels and all, "making compulsory the use of renewable energy sources, the waste management, the used-water treatment and the offset of greenhouse gases emissions) and forbidding polluting equipments (diesel power generation, cars, motorcycles)". Whilst I was busy checking us in, and sorting out our transport to Siem Reap the next day, the boys found it most vital to find internet access. The need to change their player formation for the Fantasy Football game is far more important than anything else. I tried to understand. . .Huuhuuhuu.

Pavilion lives up to its past lodgers’ description, it is unique and homey. You can really picture this place as your own house.

I’ve always liked to believe, a balcony with a nice view is the perfect ending to a room no matter how big/small.

Our plan was to get Russian Market out of the way today and focus on visiting palaces and monuments tomorrow, but it’s just our luck that tomorrow is the beginning of a very important public holiday and a number of shops are closed as people are busy preparing for it. It is the Ancestor Worship day, the Cambodian P'chum Ben Festival (what i'd like to believe is similar to the Chinese Hungry Ghost Festival), where people pay respects to and remember the people who are roots of their existence. So we took a couple of tuk-tuks down to the river front and explored on foot. By 6pm, the sun has completed its shift.

.Makeshift tuk-tuk drivers.

We stumbled upon Happy Herb Pizza! This place supposedly drizzle happy herbs, or better known as marijuana, on your pizza. They are said to come in dosages of ‘happy’, ‘very happy’ or ‘ecstatic. Sounds interesting but ya, we gave it a miss.

Our first stop: Riverside Bistro
This is a fine establishment dazzled with neon lights shaped in palm trees, seafood, martini glasses and importantly decked with comfortable looking rattan chairs. We gotto eat and this is it! We tried the famous Cambodian Fish Amok and it tasted like otak-otak cooked in green curry. Yums.In the midst of feeding our stomachs and enjoying our 1st taste Angkor Beer, we were repeatedly approached by whiny begs from a tiny lil’girl. We tried hard to ignore her presence but she was so persistent that we eventually caved in, and handed her a dollar (USD). Her eyes instantly lit up with a grin so wide. She quickly folded the dollar, clasped tightly amid her tiny fingers, said thank you, posed for me and skipped happily round the corner of the restaurant. We suspected that must have been her day’s worth, and now to report back to her guardian. But whoever her guardian was obviously didn’t think it was enough, for she reappeared to the scene just as fast as she scurried off. Only when I review the picture I took of her that I really had a good look at her. She’s such a pretty lil’ girl but like all street kids she had dirty patches on her skin, pasty face and look at those worn-out eyes.

It is at this time, I wish there were more people like Savong out there.

Did I mention it rained again!? We weathered the rain and explored the rest of the restaurants and bars down the road, just when I caught sight of a cowboy hat. It’s the same hat Boon saw and wore for a picture in India and Kuching! He did say if he chanced upon the same hat again in Cambodia, he’s gonna buy it! The highlight for him today is ‘finding’ that hat.

Phnom Penh’s night market. Nothing interesting really, except maybe for children – paying to burst a balloon in return for a soft toy.

Foreign Correspondents Club (FCC). Nice 3-storey restaurant/bar with a beautiful view of the rainbow-lit cruise boats in the Tonle Sap river. The patriotic Americans had a discussion cum debate scheduled on the 3rd floor following the McCain-Obama debate. By 9.30pm, people started to amass and the band took charge. I highly recommend this place if you just want to enjoy live band, enjoy the river breeze, a good pizza and your beer.

.Street adjacent to FCC.

Our next hop was to Love Orange club, just because it’s round the block from our villa. The security was tight, and everyone was body checked. The moment the music resonated to my ears, I cried dear lord… This place is like a Miri feng-tao joint, stuffy and jam packed with local youngsters borne in the 90s’ (according to Timmy’s observation). We left almost immediately and headed to the Heart of Darkness, the most popular bar/club in Phnom Penh. This bar suited us better; it was tastefully decorated, less rowdy and DJs spun to the likes of Shakira. You’ll find a good mix of Europeans, Japanese, Cambodias, and towering Boyz II Men lookalikes here.
Our final hop was in search for Zeppelin Bar that was said to have the largest collection of classic rock. No one in town seemed to have heard of it let alone know its where abouts, hence we tried out luck at the Memphis Bar. This bar has a small dais to a band that got us singing along to the Summer of 69, Dire Straits, U2's One, Eric hailing to Pink Floyd. Good joint if you don’t like the heavy shuffling and if you have a voice to share with everyone. You can literally take over the mic if they hit your favourite number.

.Midnight rendezvous.

It was a pretty good start in Phnom Penh. As i publish this post, I'm at my 4th night in Siem Reap and i am loving it so much. I have met up with Savong and Loven on our 1st night here. All i can tell you right now is, Savong is not much of what i expected when i saw him for the 1st time, but he far exceeded my initial perception of him. Just simply through a short night of conversation with him, i can feel his passion, his kindness, the bigger dreams he has. My heart ached for him, for i can see he is a very smart man that can probably save the world from poverty and ignorance, had he afford education and have the money to do so.

I will keep posting when i find the time to do so. =)
Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri to all my muslim friends and colleagues!

Dining with Gods and Kings

OMG, i know i said my adios.. but i just have to blog about this. I was reading Loven's blog today and i saw this. A dinner with the gods and kings, a full spread at the world heritage temples in Siem Reap.

He started with "So if you are probably someone who has some scandalously big cash to burn and have a couple of nights in Cambodia, try these out for a change..."

And my eyes just POPPED!

Image from: the spool artist

"Then the intricate set-up is laid: from candle-lit tables, wine bars, Michelin-star chefs at your beck and call and all that jazz... this is a full dinner setting at the Prasat Kravan temple"

Will someone pinch me pls....

Image from: the spool artist
"A courtyard dinner at the Thommanon temple where you are blanketed by the jungle..."

"Rental prices for temples range from $2,500 for smaller, far flung temples while Angkor Wat can cost as much as $20,000 for a 3-hour dinner schedule! And that doesn't even include your dinner yet! Dinners usually start at around $300 per person. For most Cambodians earning an average of $2 a day, dinner alone is equivalent to their life savings. Rental price in Angkor Wat can actually build you a house here..."

For more pictures, see here.

I, without a doubt, do not have scandalous money to burn, but Loven... how can we get to experience a night like that??

Adiós

Royal Palace and National Museum

With less than 1 full day in Phnom Penh, it will be a feat to do anything more than just visit the default should-visit places, which so happened to be walking distance from our hotel. HuuHuuHuu.

Two of Phnom Penh's major tourist attraction:

The Royal Palace, Silver Pagoda and the National Museum


The Royal Palace
Source of pictures: Candy Publications

Location: Between Street 240 & 184
Operating Hours: 7am to 11 am, 2pm to 5pm everyday
Entrance Fee: USD 6.50 / person
Best time for photography: In the early morning when the dawn light illuminates the front of the Palace.

Silver Pagoda
Source of pictures: Candy Publications
Right next to the Royal Palace, separated by a walled walkway.

National Museum

Source of pictures: asia explorers
Location: North of Royal Palace
Operating Hours: 8am to 5pm
Entrance Fee: USD 3 / person
Photography: Photography is limited inside the museum

Next to the National Museum is the Royal University of Fine Arts. It is opposite the 'Art Street'. It is said that one can fine beautiful Cambodia art and cultural artifacts.

Credit Cards Acceptance

Boon and I have reconfirmed all our hotel bookings and I've checked with our hotels to see what credit cards they accept, just-in-case:

#1: They dont accept the one & only card you have, therefore you will have to make sure you have sufficient cash with you =P

#2: One card bust, you can still use your other card

Phnom Penh

- Hotel Pavilion - accept Visa and Mastercard only (but prefer USD in cash)

Siem Reap

- Molly Malones - accept Visa and Mastercard only

- Hotel Be Angkor - accept Visa, Mastercard and AMEX


Kuala Lumpur

- Concorde Inn - accept Visa, Mastercard and AMEX

- Westin - accept Visa, Mastercard and AMEX

Cambodia eVisa

Note that everyone entering Cambodia will need to apply for Visa, EXCEPT for the following nationals:

VISA EXEMPTION: MALAYSIA, SINGAPORE, LAOS, PHILIPPINES

You can apply on arrival, which is expected to keep you in queue for 15 minutes, but since Cambodia supports eVisa now, i strongly suggest everyone obtain your visa online, and in advance. You really dont want to be in the country facing all sorts of huu-haa, waiting for hours, which can really spoil your trip.

Applying for Cambodia eVisa, is as easy as 1,2,3 provided you have Paypal, Visa or Mastercard.
COST: USD20 + USD5 (processing charge) which is equivalent to roughly BND36 at exchange rate of 1USD = 1.46 BND (Freak!)

Click here for the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (Official e-Visa by Kingdom of Cambodia)

OR

Go to:
http://evisa.mfaic.gov.kh/e-visa/vsindex.aspx

1. Click on the APPLY NOW button

2. Click on the number of people you're applying for.

Note: somehow we had problems putting in an application for two. We keep getting an error, maybe it's because they're upgrading their website?? But it worked when we applied one person at a time.

3. Fill in the details, note that your picture must be LESS THAN 1MB. Be sure to double and triple check the size before you upload it.

4. Next, you will be directed to a page to fill in your Passport Number, Expiry Date, Arrival Airport, Flight Number, Flight Time, Address in Cambodia. Be sure to have your flight details with you, and as for address in Cambodia, we simply keyed in our Hotel Name. No problems with that.

Siemreapers: Our info are -

Arriving at: Phnom Penh International Airport
Flight Number: AK852
Flight Arrival Time: 4.00pm
Address in Cambodia: Hotel Pavilion

5. As you continue, all the information you've entered previously will be summarised in one page for your verification. Make sure you check everything thoroughly before you proceed to payment. Pay particular attention to your Reference Number, which will be used to track your visa status later.

You are advised to print this page for "JUST-IN-CASE" moments.

At the first instance, it will look/read like you can only make payments through Paypal but fret not, when you click continue/next, there are options to make payments in Visa/Mastercard if you dont have a Paypal account.

6. Enter your credit card details, and you should get confirmation of your e-Visa application within 3 days.

We applied for ours on Saturday and got the confirmation on Monday. Not bad!
If you've made payments through Paypal, you will receive an email to confirm that payments have been made through your Paypal Account.

7. Logon to the website again, and click on Check & Change.

8. Key in your reference number, (from the printed summary) and your primary email address to check the status.

9. If Approved, click on the Download e-Visa.

This is how it looks like.
PLEASE READ THE REMINDERS CAREFULLY AND ABIDE BY THEM TO AVOID UNNECESSARY DELAYS WHEN YOU ARRIVE.

**** Note that Airport Tax is as follows:
Domestic: USD 6
International: USD25

This airport tax is applicable upon departure. Please make sure you guys have spare cash!

Savong - Part III

In our last email exchange, Savong has opened up to what he really wanted from us. He had expressed that many students in his school have requested to be computer-literate, however he did not ask for much, he merely wanted the link to the cyber world, i.e. the once-off internet access fee.

On 8/26/08, Lee Ming <bubbles_222@hotmail.com> wrote:

Dear Savong,
I've received your email. As the date gets nearer, we will inform you on the exact date and time and what activities/class we wish to conduct.

As for your request for story/comic books, is English language ok with you? If so, we can purchase some books from Brunei. If it is in another language, can you tell us where in Cambodia can we obtain these books.

I am more than happy to contribute towards obtaining internet access for your school. However, do you have a common computer that can be accessed by everyone in your school? Is $300 in US dollars? Can you provide me with information of your application for internet access, e.g. paperworks.

Looking forward to hear from you.

Best regards,
Lee Ming

_____________________________________________________

Almost immediately, Savong replied to my mail.

From:	savong svay (svaysavong@gmail.com)
Sent:	Tue 8/26/08 12:51 PM
To:	Lee Ming (bubbles_222@hotmail.com)

Dear Lee Ming.

Thank you very much for writing me back.And I am happy to get your email and read it .

If you can purchase comic and story book here It will be good. And when you are here I will take you to books shop.

Yes,I have a simple computer at school and it can connect internet. Main thing is: If I have budget $300 dollars I can go to internet company to connect it. So I hope that you will donate this finance for connection internet at the school I hope.When I already connected it I will copy bill to you.

How do you think what I said?

Hoping to hear from you

Savong

_____________________________________________________

The amazing thing about this entire exchange with Savong is - what is initially a simple offer from us that is travelling to Cambodia, has in turn touched a few hearts.

On the 26th of August, i received a message from Jennifer C. She expressed that she wanted to contribute to Savong's school and after explaining to her what we're planning to do, she immediately transferred the money to me.

I think it takes a big step to be able to:

- No.1: willing to help, ask and find out how you can help
- No.2: put trust in the integrity of the person who set up this opportunity
- No.3: entrust your money to this person

So Jenn, you may be thankful to me for creating this opportunity for you, but i am in return thankful to you for putting your trust in me.

On the 2nd of September, another friend Han Peng told me he is very supportive of this idea of ours and he will try his very best to raise some funds for Savong. His tactic is for them to sacrifice a night out and donate the money they could have spent on coffee or other entertainment. Good luck Han Peng and thank you so much for the cheer!

After all these feedback from friends, it got us thinking. Maybe, just maybe we can offer more than just internet access. Maybe, we can get them a few computers as well! This gesture from you guys have pushed us to do more. We will target and find ways to raise more money.

If any of you feel you want to contribute in any ways, even in the most minute offering, make the first move to email me. I think eventually the person to thank is Savong, it takes more than anything to ASK for help, seizing that chance for all his students. He is a great example of someone with the audacity to dream, and will do anything for his dreams to come true.

.Image obtained and modified from Harley Angels.


Here's a story from Duncan Stuart when he first met Savong in 2004.

Again out of a visit to Angkor Wat. In my own case I met a young teacher Svay Savong who is committed to teaching languages in order that students get employment opportunities in Siem Reap. When I met him in 2004, he was teaching classes in a small room, really a lean-to, on the side of his father's house near the Killing Fields Monastery half way between Siem Reap and Angkor Wat. Much as I was amazed by Angkor Wat, upon my return home the subject on my lips was Savong's School.

Savong grew up in the poverty years immediately after Pol Pot, when Cambodia languished; cut off from the West. He has seen how language skills are a key to giving young people employment opportunities, but he also knows that local schools don't offer adequate language education in English, Japanese or Thai. In fact many teachers have left the state school system in order to operate as tutors - taking their teaching salary from the standard $50 per month to something much higher. Relatively speaking, only the wealthy families can afford their $25 month tuition charges. Certainly, very few in the countryside can afford this, so that is why Savong had plans to build a school in a rural area 25 minutes East of Siem Reap.

In March 2005, having kept in constant email contact with myself and a group of other supporters Yoshikazu Tsuji and Makoto Kimura in Japan, and Malcolm, in San Francisco, Savong announced that land had been located. The project had the green light.

Over the next 7 months Savong taught by day and then travelled each night to the building site where his three classroom school was being constructed. By October it was completed and opened, and now 350 children attend - some each day, others on some days only as they still go to a local state school not far away. This is additional education, and I'm amazed at how eager they are to do this. (I reflect on my own desultory efforts as a 14 year old in French classes, and how I used to wish I was anywhere else.)

The school has five teachers now, ongoing commitments for salaries, running costs, books, petrol for the noisy Chinese generator - not to mention upcoming projects - rooms and offices upstairs (the stairs are built) and, in time, three computers in order to teach computer literacy. Savong has built up a good team of teachers, and his long-term goal is to make the school more self-sufficient funding-wise. To do this he is working crazy hours, co-managing a guest house in Siem Reap www.angkorvilla.com and from here he is inviting a steady stream of young tourists to visit the school, teach a few lessons (the kids love it) and to experience a bit of the reality of Cambodia. Many are blown away by the experience. The hope is to build a wider support base for the school. D&D Angkor Villa also contributes some of its profits back to the school.

All these efforts are drops in a much bigger bucket of course. But for the tourist to Cambodia the opportunities do exist for an experience that goes well beyond mere tourism. We all hope that a journey will be somehow life-changing (why else do we travel?) but for the luckier travellers the experience goes beyond that of reflection (gee, thatch huts, no electricity, I'm glad I don't live like that...) to something more useful and profound.