Cambodia cont...

There goes my grand plans to blog lots while I was overseas. To be perfectly honest, I was just soooo busy that I really didn't have anytime to. For those that know me, you'll appreciate my busy shedule when I tell you that I spent less than 3 hours (total) shopping while I was in cambodia.

I went to Neak Luong (my birth place) at one point. And yes, I have dual Citizenship. Woo hoo! This makes me feel special :)

Went to Kep and stayed at my Uncle's resort. It's call Veranda Natural Resort. It's very flash, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. You can find it in the lonely planet guide (though this guide is very much due for revision since room quality and prices have gone up by about 10 fold!). We went around Kep for a bit and looked at some of his land (and islands). We went along many dirty roads and hilly country side. It's not surprising then to hear that he drives a Hummer. A vechicle like this is very sensible for the sorta places that he drives to. It's a very silly thing to drive if you're in a Western city where you pretty much only encounter well pathed roads.

One of my 2nd cousin owns an awesome karoke club in Pehnom Penh (XO is the name). Very flash and in a completely different league to the crappy places in NZ. Their sound system is fabulous. Makes you wanna sing and sing cos you actually sound good :) We were in the V.I.P. room in which is very clean and styly and the sorta drinks served are top self quality e.g. Blue Labelled Johny Walker.

We went to Preah Vear in one point to do some more charity stuff. It was so hot! There's no such thing as AirCon in the country - but I survived.

It's quite sad to see the extremes of wealth and poverty. Some times during my trip, I was associating with those that earn $60 a month if they're lucky. At other times I was with those that spoke of private helicopters, 7 star hotels, 1st class travel and buying islands. A very different world to simple New Zealand but in saying all of that, I had a wonderful time. Can't wait to go back!

Pursat… Battambang… Siem Reap and back

So much has happened in the last week it’s insane! I’m been in several temples in which my family has done what Buddhist’s call “merit”. It’s sorta like charty work but not quite. Hmmm… look it up if you must 
I’m meet Danny’s God father (who is now also my God father). He’s pretty cool, a little scary when you first meet him but you soon get over it. He is a monk and has set up the largest (and most well organised) temple in Pursat with the help of funding from many generous individuals that can trust his ability to do good. And he has while maintaining a relatively humble existence. After a few hours of meeting me, he managed to get me some very sound and necessary advice about my life at home – which I really needed to hear. A little concerning that he knew but the advice was very good.
Battambang was great. Meet and hang out with lots and lots of family and also managed some R&R by the hotel pool. Good food, great company; awesome times were had by all.
Siem Reap – “Siem” meaning Thai people and “reap” meaning flattened to the ground. In other words “The Thai’s defeated”. It’s ironic in that the thai’s defeated Angkor Wat and controlled it for about 150yrs from 1794.
I’m back in Phnom Penh again now. Went and bought some fabric and getting a dress made. Lived the city life today and hang out with family again.
I’ve eaten frog now. Tastes like chicken (surprise, surprise).
My mum’s side of the family looks VERY different from my Dad’s.
I’ve discovered that I’m part Laosian.

Phenom Penh - Cambodia

I’ve arrived in Phenom Penh, Cambodia. Final destination was certainly a mission to get to. Chch – Sydney – Brisbane – Bangkok – Phenom Penh. I definitely rate direct flights and will more adequately research the travel options NEXT time. For the longest leg of my journey, I was fortunate enough to sit next to a VERY well fed energetic girl. She was challenging in that she could not comprehend MY seat space. Taking the arm rest as her space is one thing BUT my actually space is sacred. Grrrrr. On top of that she constantly bumped me for at least a good half of the journey. I managed to stay civil though.

My Bangkok to Phenom Penh flight was less dramatic. I just had 2 Thai guys try to make the moves on me but they respected my personal space so I didn’t care too much  They only managed to gather the courage to give me their cards and maintain polite conversation in English. They said some interesting things to Thai but were unaware that I could understand. Sometimes it’s better to just play ignorant.

At the airport I kept a look out for my brother (Danny) who was scheduled to arrive from Singapore approx 10 minutes before me. Mum has already been in Cambodia for weeks and I assumed was waiting outside the arrival gate. Once I sorted out my Visa, surely enough, there he was. To my surprise though, I saw a few other people standing next to him in the security area (We still needed to clear customs). Amongst the group were 3 officers, Danny and a woman wearing a glowing dress and designer sunglasses – my mother!!! Connections ay?

My luggage was no where to be found. Nooooooooo! I made my report claim. Not really much else I could do, besides, I’m on holiday!!! I’m here and well - especially after being well fed and having a much needed nap. It’s quite cool that I can fluently speak Cambodian too. The airport just called and they’ve located my suitcase. It’s in Bangkok and will arrive this evening. Yaaaaay!

At the start of a new adventure...

I'm currently in the transit lounge at Sydney Airport on my way to Cambodia.

"Definitely Maybe" was the feature movie on the chch-syd flight. I'm so glad that I didn't get around to seeing it in the cinema. It was a great movie and just the chicken soup for the love bug that I needed. If you haven't already seen it, you should. It tells of a great story of life and all the wonderful love (and lost) that we encounter. That sometimes, it's not the person that we love that's wrong but the timing or vice versa. Also goes to show that you simply can't force it (Love/Life). It has inspired me to live life to the full, to travel to my heart's content and to pursue my dreams. You might not get the same message that I did but it's a good movie anyway.

So, transitting through Sydney was an experience this time around. I got stopped at Security! Me, what has the world come to? I've done lots of traveling and I've always been able to walk straight pass due to my innocent/ clean-cut appearance. How could anything dangerous come from me? I think I hide the rebellious side to me pretty well. hehehe. Their reasoning? "You look very young to be traveling alone, may I have your passport?" How silly! Sure enough, she was surprised to see how old I saw, HECK, I still get shock by my age. lol. I looked downstairs at them later on to find who their next suspect was - a dude with dreads. Hehehe, that's more like the prejudice that I'm use to seeing ;)

I'm excited about my adventure to Cambodia. I've never been there before. I am well equipt with insect repellent, sunscreen, Summer clothes and of course -the Lonely planet guide to Cambodia. My suitcase it fulled with NZ apples and a few other essential goodies (e.g. Chocolate) that I'm sure the locals (and myself) will appreciate.

For Abbey

1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags five people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read the player’s blog.
4. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

WHAT WERE YOU DOING 5 YEARS AGO:
1. Studying Anatomy at Otago University
2. Going to Christian groups as a buddhist
3. Attempting to put my physical appearance at lowest priority
4. Rediscovering myself
5. Having accomodation issues - growing as a person

FIVE THINGS ON YOUR TO-DO LIST TODAY?
1. Sit my OSCE (exam)
2. Hang out with Yasmin
3. Visit Suss
4. revise CV
5. wash my car

FIVE SNACKS YOU ENJOY?:
1. Chicken salad (as a meal or snack, i'm not fussed)
2. Chocolate
3. Wedges - I make the best wedges :)
4. Potato chips - mainly the healtheries ready salted variety
5. Fruit -esp in salad form

FIVE THINGS YOU WOULD DO IF YOU WERE A BILLIONAIRE:
1. Travel - I'd spend a significant period of my life doing this. There's just so much to learn and see!
2. Finish off my medical degree and do my elective in reasonable luxury :)
3. Give to charity after decent researching and contemplating
4. Take some Business and investment papers, then invest
5. Give to my family - no hurry, they're not desperate at the mo

FIVE OF YOUR BAD HABITS?:
1. Speaking before thinking
2. Trying to squeeze too much into a day
3. Daydreaming
4. Being impatient
5. Being impulsive (though this can often be a good thing too)

FIVE PLACES WHERE YOU'VE LIVED:
1. Clydesdale St, Christchurch
2. Carrington Hall, Dunedin
3. Elder St, Dunedin
4. York Place, Dunedin
5. Queen St, Nelson

FIVE JOBS YOU'VE HAD:
1. Paper run
2. Berry picking
3. Waitressing
4. Waitressing
5. Waitressing

TAG YOU'RE IT!:
Nam
Pierre
Emma
Lydia
No 5th person cos all other bloggers I have on my list have been tagged