F.R.I.E.N.D.S

c'mon jump on the bandwagon and create your visual DNA!

all it took was one spark and fellow bloggers have taken the test!

Ms Lak

Hayden

KayBoChaCha

Tee

J-mee

Mum's The Word

mummy dearest ... happy mothers' day!

shall spare you the wrath of the video that van made ... we shall not upload it to youtube :)

anyway, your darlings wouldn't dare ... we love you! *muacks*

:: all the mummies ::

A Picture Paints A Thousand Words

taking a leaf out of j-mee's blog ... this is my visual DNA

predictable? perhaps

Cambodia : Camwhoring!!! (updated)

Okay, I'm not done yet. I can't help but upload our camwhoring moments as well. And I have just added some of Lak's pics.

I could have taken more pictures but because I ran out of batteries at one point and also on memory space (logistics error) I had no choice but to ration my picture-taking moments :(

So anyway, I proudly present the camsluts Lee & Lak!

:: flushed from afternoon beer ::

:: My Vanna White moment ::

:: ooh la la, i'm so sexy MUAHAHAHA ::

:: pump it baby! ::

:: ms lak running amok ::

:: our friendly tuk-tuk chauffer for 3 days - Mr LayChet! ::

:: smelly armpits? NOT!!! we were trying to emulate the missing elephant ::

Ink Me

During our trip, Lak & I were discussing the subject of tattoos. Lak is tempted to get a second inking and her puppy VW might be getting one too. I have been contemplating getting one for the past ... hmm, 7 years? It was between a four-leaf clover or a cluster of stars.

Funnily, Xiaxue and her gang of gal pals went to get a star tattoo each at the neck, near their right ear recently.

And by coincidence, I came across this picture on The Sartorialist, a gal with something similar to what I had in mind. But not at the neck area though.



Whaddya think? Tell me your thoughts!

Alternatively, I was suggesting to Lak that since us three were tennis mates, we should all get tattoos of tennis racquets together ... hahaha. Hmm, that didn't go down too well I think.

Cambodia : Culinary Delights

Apart from brekkie at the hotel served in the comfort of our room (like breakfast in bed), all our meals were taken along Pub Street, near the Old Market. We had to try a lil of everything. Khmer, Indian, French, Italian ...

:: Dinner at Kamasutra - Indian fine dining.

The curries and garlic naan were savoury and very very good. ::

:: Lunch at Le Bistrot De Paris.

The quiche lorraine was the best I had ever tasted.

Piping hot, fresh from the oven with a light and fluffy crust. Yummylicious!

The beef in red wine sauce with potatoes on the side was pretty good too. ::

:: Khmer cuisine on the last night at the Cambodian Kitchen Restaurant. We ordered way too much for just 2 people. But what the heck, it was our last night in Siem Reap.

Had to try the Amok Fish which was a Khmer specialty. Turned out to be fish gone amok. Hmm, not quite to our taste. The rest of the dishes were so-so, to me, Khmer cooking is a cross between our local tze-char + Thai cuisine. ::

:: And ooh, dessert was a flaming banana + coconut ice-cream soaked in rum.

See the flames above? Like a flaming Lamborghini huh? ::

Cambodia : Children

Nope, I did not do an Angelina Jolie i.e. adopt a kid.

Kids in Cambodia really tug at one's heart-strings. They crowd round tourists, with pleas to buy their goods, asking for candy, even requesting for a pen in order to go to school ... Sure, one can help one kid, maybe 10 kids, but at every turn and at every corner, there are countless kids peddling their wares. Just how many can one help?

I did realise something though. Cambodian kids love to count. Like Count Dracula. For example, while trying to sell postcards, they love to flip and count the number of postcards that one can buy for US$1. Very cute and very charming. Especially the little girls.

Talk about emotional blackmail too. In one instance, Lak and I were making our way to see Sras Srang when we were bombarded by a bunch of kids who were so sweet as to give us a rattan bangle each as a token of 'friendship' even though we declined profusely. Thereafter, they asked us to patronize their drinks stall when we were done with sightseeing. How not to refuse? Especially with one of them calling out my name as we were making our way back.

I only managed to capture one shot of this lil girl looking very serene and sweet sitting outside Banteay Srei.

Cambodia : Countless Temples (Day 3)

On our 3rd and final day, we braved the dusty roads and embarked on an hour long tuk-tuk ride to Banteay Srei, some 30km away from the city.

It was a welcome change to the greyish temples that we had seen so far as Banteay Srei was built using rose-pink sandstone and its carvings were by far the most elaborate and intricate.

A quick trivia, Banteay Srei means 'Citadel of the Women' and therefore it might have been built by women as the carvings were too fine for a man's hands.

:: of all Wats, Banteay Srei has the most intricate carvings in situ ::

:: Ms Lak emulating the lady at the temple hehe ::

Then, we headed back to the Grand Circuit to Ta Som and East Mebon to view its 5 brick sanctuary towers.

Our next stop was Neak Pean, which literally means 'entwined serpents'. In the olden days, parts of Neak Pean were submerged in pools of water, creating an island in the middle to house the sanctuary tower. By sheer imagination of the pools of water, Neak Pean would have been a very pretty sight.

Our final visit for the day was Preah Khan. This was very much like a maze with lots of rubble lying around + it is one of the larger temples.

While the experience at Angkor Wat was sacred, interesting and enriching, at the end of the third day, we are kinda tired and bored of Wats - overdose!!! The main attractions for me were really Bayon and Banteay Srei.

All in all, with Wat-seeing, spa-ing (we went twice!), having time to laze by the pool, some shopping, good food + cheap beer ... it was an excellent trip!

For those keen on Siem Reap, I would recommend a 4 days 3 nights stay as opposed to a 3 days 2 nights itinerary. Not a good idea to cram Wat-seeing into 2 full days. Best to break it up into half days as it is really quite tiring and it can get boring after a while. Plus the extra day would allow slots for spa sessions and for some R&R.

Cambodia : Countless Temples (Day 2)

After catching sunrise at Angkor Wat, which was non too spectacular due to cloudy skies again, we headed north to Angkor Thom, a fortified enclosure consisting of another cluster of temples.

Our first visit was to Bayon, a temple comprising huge intimidating heads staring down at visitors. Nevertheless, it was a sight to behold as the structure was simply majestic.

We spent a significant amount of time at Bayon, partly due to the rain, we had to seek shelter in different nooks and crannies of the temple while trying to decipher the bas-reliefs carved on the walls enclosing the temple. Kinda like playing 'Where's Wally?' as the figures were quite hard to make out due to erosion. The rain also made trekking up and down the uneven and steep steps a tricky affair.

Our second stops were an aggregation of Baphuon, Terrace of the Elephants, Terrace of The Leper King and Phimenakas. Nothing too exciting.

The third stop was what we were waiting for - Ta Prohm, which houses the famous Tomb Raider tree. Ta Prohm was an enchanting experience, with kapok trees with its huge buttress roots encroaching on the monuments like monsters. We have never seen tree roots that huge! I quote from Lonely Planet (by the way, one can find cheong versions of various editions of the Lonely Planet for just US$1 in Siem Reap! I got mine (original, I think) at just US$3) which I thought was wonderfully put :

"Ta Prohm reminds us of the awesome fecundity and power of the jungle. There is a poetic cycle to this venerable ruin, with humans first conquering nature to rapidly create, and nature once again conquering humans to slowly destroy."

The fourth and last stops were to Banteay Kdei (another temple) and Sras Srang (a pool of water which was a relief under the scorching afternoon sun).

Cambodia : Countless Temples (Day 1)

Temple-hopping across 3 days! Whoopee!

Our first stop was the mother of all Wats - Angkor Wat. But first, we had to secure our 3-day pass.

:: Angkor Wat at daybreak / sunrise ::

:: *gulp* - the steep ascent. The descent was worse! Definitely not for those afraid of heights!!! ::

While waiting for sunset (which unfortunately did not happen due to the cloudy skies), we camwhored and oogled at Jap tourists for an hour or so, while spotting some serious fashion disasters.

For some lighthearted humour, here is Ms Lak in various poses : As Xena, Ms Hiao Zha Bor, the Apsara Molester (and we were wondering why the bust areas were all blackened as compared to other body parts hehe) and as the Ghost Buster!