Cambodian Noodles

Foods are one of God’s greatest masterpieces; he was rite on point. Food isn’t just something you eat to survive and stay full, food is an unique art which satisfies us in a very indescribable way. A lot of adjectives were invented, but still, no word has come close to describe the word “Food”. It is to me, a very important source, it makes me feel very good after having eaten it. And I dun think it’s only me, everyone in the world must’ve felt the same. It does not like fills up your tummy, but also your expectations. But of course, it can sometime makes people hate it, when it tastes very bad and when it gets way too addictive. 

Noodles, same as rice and bread, is one of the most eaten food in the world. It can be eaten everywhere and anytime and almost anywhere around the world. It is not just widely known and eaten by Asians, but it is also well liked and eaten by Europeans and Americans. Actually, most of the world’s best noodles serving restaurants are from somewhere else rather than Asia. I do not mean that there is no good noodles serving restaurant here in Asia, but it seems like the countries apart from Asia think of noodles as more of a big deal than us. They do not eat as much or as often as we Asians do, but I bet they think of noodles as a homemade which has nothing special, but just a bowl of it definitely can make anyone’s day. It is considered as one of the main food, but to people, noodles somehow looks and feels slightly more special than rice or bread. 

Noodles are made from unleavened dough, and the shape and size will be decided after that. There is no specific shape or size of noodles, it depends on the cultures of that area or place or city or country. But whatever it is, we all do like it so much, that’s all that matter, isn’t it? We just have to thank the great Chinese for the making of noodles some 4000 years ago. Noodles have a rich 4000 years old history of their own, even older than Angkor Wat. Over the years, different types of noodles has been created and developed, from the famous Ramen of Korea to the famous Udon of Japan and many more varieties mostly in Southeast Asia. 

We do not eat noodles as often as rice here in Cambodia, but most of the adults here have noodles soup almost every morning. There are more noodles serving breakfast place than rice serving ones. Noodles have been here for a long time that are noodle serving restaurants hanging their old fotos, some are as old as nearly three decades. They might as well be not as delicious or tasteful as having rice with many many side dishes, but noodles are those very few foods I would not mind if I happened to have to eat it everyday. You just cannot get sick of it! 

We can get noodles almost everywhere, you can get it while on a trip to whatever province in Cambodia there is, you can find in almost all the streets corners and main streets here in Phnom Penh. It doesn't really matter where they serve it, whether it’s on a streets or in luxury restaurants, people will find it and they will eat it. It’s something everyone can get go and grab and desit, there is no complications to it.

Am I confident about the Education System here? Part 2

Education, to me, means LIFE. Hehehe, it might be too early to start with the heavy topic rite away. But, it is true, so let’s start.

Education = LIFE

It is as simple as that. No twists or turns. If you follow the traffic lights, there will be no traffic.

What I mean by LIFE is everything one will be doing, having, owning, taking, or whatever verb+ing there is to describe everything we do in LIFE. LIFE is a long journey, it is an unpredictable timeframe (people say God decide when and where and how God wants or needs to end our timeframe), for us to do everything we want and need. That’s why most of us always say that we each have one LIFE, live happy and well.

BUT… That happiness and wellness does not come from messing everything in LIFE or do everything we want but not need, if we do so, then it shall be pronounce as a wrong thing. Now that’s when EDUCATION comes in the topic, education is one of very few sources of power we need in order to build and organize and manage the only and one LIFE we all have. Education does not just exist in books we learn from at school, what we learn at school is just one byte of the millions of megabytes of files we have to transfer to our brains in order to know how LIFE works and work with it. Education means knowledge too, and knowledge can be found everywhere, anytime, anyhow. When a newborn sees the parents, to know and to later recognize them, that’s pure knowledge.

This article was written with the same approach as the A Cup of Joe article. So that we’ll know what has changed these recent years. When I wrote the first part, to be very very honest, our education system was pretty bad and very loose. But it has changed a lot since then, after the retest of the 12th grade exam, everything has become normal. The questions I asked myself back then, I am be able to answer it by myself now.

Is it fair to have the Grade 12 Exam repeated only because the majority have failed?

It is never fair to do so, but we had no choice but to do it. The idea of doing so is bad, but idea of what are we doing it for is good. So I do agree with the government for making it happened.

What about the past years?

There have not been anything such as retesting that I’ve ever heard of, so it was my first experience. If we’re talking about whether it’s fair for the students who have taken the test the year before the test and the year after the test, then it could never have been fair. Why, you ask? because where are the second chances? If the students who took the re-test had a second chance, why not the ones before and the ones after?

Is it going to be the same next year and the year after?

The next year I was talking about was 2015, and there were no retest. As I said, everything has changed. The retest was held to indirectly give the students a second chance, but what actually was the intention was to flip the education system around, and to do so, the government could not afford anything else but to hold a retest and after that, start to strengthen and tighten the education system. We can’t really blame them for the fairness and the unfairness. They had no choice.

Has our Education system been this twisted?

It was badly twisted, but now, it has been niiicely twisted back to its normal form.

Many of those who passed their Grade 12 Exam earlier might have become teachers, Government Officials and employees in other services and companies. How would their productivity be?

Like I said, it will never be fair. We have to move on, and not live in the past. If we mind the past too much, who’s gonna care about the present or even the future? Which comes to the point that we have to think about what’s ahead, the past will stay past, what matters more is what’s in front. What’d you say? Let’s move forward, shall we?

I want to trust and have confidence in our Education System and believe that it is only going to become better. However, a part of me is very hesitant. Am I wrong?

I am not wrong, I was right about what I said and expected. I’m not worried about my further education anymore, I do trust and believe with my full heart.

A Cup of Joe Part 2

The first “A Cup of Joe” article was uploaded more than one and a half year ago. Back then, I did not really have that much history with Joe yet. Coffee, to me, did not give me any positive impact at all. To me, I have always somehow think of it as something very unhealthy and addictive; more like a drug than just A Cup of Joe. Time, once again, flew past me like the speed of light. It felt like the first part of this article was written and uploaded yesterday, and now I’m writing the second part. Now, coffee has become a very impactful part of my daily life and the life itself.

Many people think the ones drinking coffee are the ones who are very dependent, that they can’t survive without drinking coffee, well those people are wrong. I’ve understood that people who drinks many cups of Joe everyday for work, are the ones who are working the chicken outta themselves. They dun get gud sleep, most of them all-nighters, they ain’t got time to waste. To those people, a day with 24 hours is never close enough to be being enough. If you ask them if they could, would they add more hours into a day - the answer is simple, it’s a resounding YES! I’m not saying that I’m already one of them, what I’m saying is that I think I’m turning into one of them or I would love to be one of them.

There is no sweetness or yummyness to coffee, it’s just plainly black bitter water concentrated out from some beans, nothing special at all. It’s not like coke and all, where you get addicted to the sweetness and the gas. The only thing about coffee that has been attracting most of the population to drink it, is its taste, those tiny beans are just amazeball. If you get the rite bean, you get the rite coffee. And that’s about it for the explanation of how coffee is like, very simple? That’s why people like it very much, its attitude, taste, and smell. You can’t really put an age limit on drinking coffee, if you consume the rite amount, it’s okay for everyone. As students, we all have long tight day, all coffee does is that it pushes me to go forward, to end the day as properly and niiicely as possible.

The coffee I usually drink are either Cappuccino or Americano or Mocha, honestly, they do not look appetizing at all. It has been evolving, unknowingly. From the light and sweet Mocha to the slightly sweet but very deep-flavored Cappuccino to the bittersweet classic Americano, there’s Expresso left to go, but I guess I’ll pause it here for now. I talked about Starbucks last time, that they might come to me for the “coffee for kids” idea, they were not here in Cambodia yet. But now they are, although they have not contact me yet, but I bet they are playing it safe and slow, the tactic works everytime, hhehehehe. 

P.S You will only understand the line above if you have read the first part of A Cup of Joe, if you have not read it yet, please go right away.

Shuttlecock aka Sey in Phnom Penh

The first version of the JianZi dates back to the 2nd century BC in China. Jian Zi had become famous in Asia only when The International Shuttlecock Federation was founded in 1999. Known as Sey in Khmer, according to an interview, had been widely played right after the Khmer Rouge. 

Again, I’d like to say that the Riverside is an amazeball place, there are so many things you get to see there; IF you can see LIFE. Shuttlecock or Jian Zi or Sey, is not a widely fancied sport in Cambodia. There are no organizations or federations helping this sport to develop, and it seems like we know very little about it. To the people here, it’s just not as interesting as soccer or basketball is. 

The sports has gotten more development these recent years, there was a community formed where the players get to hangout with each other, trying to promote the sport. To play Sey, the players have to form a circle, consisting around 6-8 players. Each player has his own style of play, freestyle techniques, they all look very professional. 

Of course they are seniors and juniors and the newbies, one of the most respected seniors has been playing the Shuttlecock game right after the Khmer Rouge era ended. He plays very calm, he looks at the game properly, sometimes, when the timing is way above perfect, you don’t really need to hit that hard. 

It looks fun to me, but also very very hard to be mastered. You see how they kick it? I’m at loss of words to describe, all I can say is that they have to get the perfect timing and power to keep the flow going, and that is not an easy task. One more thing, I bet they are as patient as a predator waiting for its prey, silent but accurate, no space for mistakes. 

Riverside is the ice cream, and the Shuttlecock game has been the spices that are added into, it has not just made Riverside a better place, it has also made its own signature towards the locals and the expats. The Shuttlecock game has made such an impact that the Ministry of Tourism has decided to paint a proper lane and columns where the game can be properly played. Though this does not guarantee that there will be more people interested in this sport or that its popularity will rise, but it will definitely give the expats at the Riverside a good dose of excitement.

Above all, I personally think there should be organizations helping the sports to develop faster than it is now. There should be a national tournaments, I bet there are more Shuttlecock players in Cambodia than just the ones in Riverside. Schools should start teaching kids the Shuttlecock game, it does not really matter whether the sport was originated in Cambodia or not, but the Shuttlecock game is one of the few sports Khmers started playing, it should be taken care of properly. 

Gold doesn't need to be preserved niiicely or properly…..it shines wherever it is. Shuttlecock isn’t, let us do what is needed to be done and make it shine brighter.

Phnom Penh Cyclos

Cyclo was invented in Cambodia by an unknown Frenchman in 1936. Few years after the invention, Cyclo became the trend of transportation and was even exported to Vietnam. It has been around for quite some time, the only time where Cyclo did not exist was during the Khmer Rouge. The 1999 Research based on numbers of Cyclo in Cambodia stated that there were more than 9000 Cyclos, but the latest 2008 Research stated that there were less than 3000 Cyclos left, and as of now, we do not know the exact number, but I bet it has once again, massively gone down. It is said by the citizens that Cyclos are too old for them, that Cyclos aren't modern enough and definitely not as convenient as Tuktuks or Motordubs. There is one kool fact most of us probably have not heard of, Cyclos drivers are actually farmers, after harvesting their crops, they will work as a Cyclo driver as a part time job.

Courtesy for the above: Youtube

I felt very bad when I heard the Cyclo drivers themselves said that Cyclos might get extinct, and it will be incredibly hard to bring them back up. So now that we still have some left, there should be more and more organizations coming in to lend these Cyclo drivers a hand and get them out of the near-extinct zone. I honestly do remember a lot of memories from my childhood, I can’t say it was awesomeee and very niiice, what I can say is that there were many things happening around me. As I grow older, these tiny pieces of memories somehow has turned from nothing to something pretty special to me; I’m sure it has happened to all of us. Who knew riding a Cyclo with my grandma to Central Market will be special when it was done? Those things were just things we do in our daily lives and suddenly we don't get to do it anymore, that’s when you’ll realize that what you were doing was special. It can be seen in two different angles, the first one is that us humans would not realize anything at all when we still have or own it, but the moment when it’s gone, that’s when we’ll start our tantrums and regrets and sorrys. The second one is that us humans would still not appreciate things, but in a good way, and the moment we start appreciating and realizing what’s actually happened and what we have in hand now, it will definitely lead to a happy ending.

Hongyy’s Business/Organization Mode On

There are quite a few organizations which helps and encourages Cyclo drivers, but I think we can do more for them. They have been serving us for nearly a century, despite whatever happened during throughout the years, they and we have still kept it alive. But now that it is said to be extinct pretty soon, we better move quick and start doing what they deserve for all the hardworks they’ve done for us. I’m not bragging or saying that I’m kindhearted or whatsoever, but I’ve always liked the idea of sharing and giving back. In this case, in order to give back, all we have to do is to encourage farmers or people from the provinces to become Cyclo drivers. It does not pay as much as Tuktuks, but Cyclos have more history and culture behind, it’s something which the tourists will definitely know that it’s from Cambodia.

In conclusion, I think the Cyclo drivers have been giving as a lot indirectly, while us, on the other hand, has not done much in return for them. This article was also written to thanks all the hardworking Cyclo drivers out there, for the effort, for all the great meanings they have given to our culture. I wish there would be more and more organizations to come and help the Cyclo drivers, because you never know, they could be extinct faster than you expect.

This article was supposed to end like the above, but not after I’ve just experienced riding a Cyclo just few hours ago. It was pretty fun, I felt what I’ve never felt for many years, the Cyclo does not even fit me anymore, time sure went like a rocket. I was surprised by myself, that now my guts are stronger and stronger, I did what I would not do if I were the Hongyy I was years ago.

Cheers to 2015

Having written 33 articles up until 2015 was something I did not expect or even dreamt of when I started the blog, it is also one of the few achievement I’ve accomplished so far in my life as well, but it will only be better and better. The journey has been very exciting so far, I get to travel around Cambodia, especially Phnom Penh, I’ve been to more than 25 special locations and have written about and taken fotos of all the places I’ve been to. There’s a looooong way to go, who knows what the future holds, but as far as I’m concerned, the future will hold something positive. The work has not been easy, every single article matter, and that’s why there’s the need of focus and effort towards each and every one of them, doesn’t matter whether it’s short or long or a destination or just an idea that was written into an article. The blog and website has not just been a part of my life, it has grown with me, it has experienced everything I have experienced, it showcases everything about me, it is me.

The Phnom Penh Russian Market AKA Toul Tom Poung Market

It’s only been a year or so, but it feels like a long lost memory which was just found recently. I had written some articles before the Tuol Tom Poung article, but the ttp article was the first ever proper article, with proper locations and fotos; to get back reading it again and summarizing it, was an unexpected thing to happen. This article has given me many first-time experiences, it was my first time writing a proper article for my blog, it was my first time going to a market to work, not to shop, it was my first time taking professional fotos I can say, ehehhehe, the experience was incredibly fun and weird. The experience turned out to be the start of something big. I never thought the blog would go on this long and well, never thought I’d have a website, never in a million years, but it did happen, and I’m very happy.

Koh Rong Samloem


The first few articles mostly contains my first time experience, this time, it was my first ever trip to Koh Rong Sanloem, without my parents, but with my teachers. Surprisingly, it happened when I was 14, and I can’t thank my parents enough, for the fact that they trusted both me and my teachers of going on this trip, I was grateful. The location? Well, Koh Rohng Sanloem was amazeball, the landscape, the beach, the peacefulness and silence, the ocean, they were the ones that made the trip, very very very niiice. I canonball-ed, I ate a lot, I swam, I dove, I did the hair flipping thingy - you see mermaids do, I snorkeled, I saw jellyfish, and last but not least, my rented GoPro broke. It surely was just in Sihanouk Ville, but the 240 km distance made it felt like I were to go on a trip to a foreign country, I really dunno why, I was a quarter nervous, a quarter happy, a quarter curious, and another quarter not believing that the trip was on the process; I was possessed, I blanked out. It was more adventurous than anything I’ve done my whole life, there were few first time challenges I had to face, that was probably the reason why I enjoyed it so much.

The Phnom Penh Central Market AKA Psa Thmey

There were many people getting in and out the market, I was still nervous since The Central Market AKA Psa Thmey was just my second market destination when I went there for the first time. It was a hard market to approach, there were crowds and the vendors were very busy with their businesses, I sort of freaked out, there were sweat on my hands, I was indeed too nervous to have taken any fotos at all. But the fotos have gotten better everytime I go there, it’s a fotos paradise, just like what they say, “Market is the only place which changes its environment, every single moment and every single day.”.Central Market and I have become closer every time I visit it, some of the vendors have literally remembered my face, they know that their products and food will be photographed the moment they see me, that’s how close we’ve become. This might sound very funny, but it’s actually something I keep doing and like doing, there’s this sugarcane shop I go to every time I go to Central Market, I would be photographed as standing near the shop while holding my sugarcane juice. Each fotos that was taken so far has been marking my evolution, it feels like Central Market is a part of my growth, the market didn’t change at all, but it was I who changed.

The Independence Monument

I have the opportunity and the responsibility to say and speak for the nation I was born and raised in, it was a pleasure to have written this article. The reason why I decided to finally write an article about the Independence Monument, is an actually simple reason, I wanted to share to the world one of our most emotional, epic, crucial moment in the history of Cambodia; the hard fought debate in getting the full rights for Cambodia, King Sihanouk who went through everything to achieve what is said to be his greatest ever achievement. It was written to notify and tell everyone that today is the day where we have won it all back, the day where freedom was retrieved, the day started enjoy living our lives by ourselves, not under any control. I think I’m slowly becoming a patriot, hopefully someday, I’ll be able to return my country the favor. As my Khmer spirit has shone these recent years, I’ve always been trying to do MORE for the country.

The Phnom Penh Wat Phnom

Wat Phnom was not something you could miss, if you are here in Phnom Penh, there is just no way you could’ve miss this, it’s either you have seen but have not been there or you have seen and you have been, that’s it, no other choices. As a travel blogger that is currently based in Cambodia, I too, could not have missed this one-derful destination, Wat Phnom is also said to be just right at the centre of the capital itself, if you’re going out to the provinces, you’ll probably pass Wat Phnom, so the possibility of missing it is very very rare. It is also a place with rich history behind its wall, you don’t really see any ancient stuffs, but believe me, you have no idea how old the place actually is. The incense sticks make it look like a pagoda, the flower and benches make it look like a park, and the stupa which is said to contain the ashes of King Sisowath make it look like a cemetery.

The Phnom Penh Royal Palace

It’s where the King lives, his big big, his pagoda, his house, they are all there. And we have the opportunity to get in and take fotos and experience what the Kings of our nation has been experiencing ever since the establishment of the palace. It had been abandoned, it went through a lot of historical events and wars, it has welcomed and at the same time said goodbye to many Kings, it’s a magical place to visit. The paintings and decorations were untouched since ever since it was built, buildings and statues that somehow has survived wars. It was also a paradise of fotos, I got some amazeball abstracts from the buildings, they are of course ancient and out of trend, but they were also CLASSICS, and like everyone say, old is gold, but classic is golder.

Pchum Ben, Heaven and Me

There is no way I would deny the idea of writing about sharing and loving and caring, it was not I who arranged this event of sharing, but I had a chance to experience the feeling of giving it back. Pchum Ben was not specifically created as an event for sharing and donating, but after some generation, it has somehow positively changed to sharing. It’s a festival where you share food and drinks and clothes and a small amount of money to the people that need it more than we do, sharing was never meant to be giving a large amount of money or helping a lot, sharing will only be more and more meaningful when you GIVE even when you are not wealthy. Those people that were given a great feast by us, will not be successful in the future nor will become rich, the sharing we did was only meant to make those people happy, that’s all. Everything matters, big things sure matters more, but it’s always the small things which matters the most. RESPECT THE SMALL THINGS!

The Phnom Penh Toul Sleng Genocide Museum AKA S21


I had chills when I entered the museum, I was born in Phnom Penh, but I had not been to this museum before. The skulls and the old black and white fotos made the whole place pretty scary at first, but I was okay and even got sucked in by the fotos themselves. They were not like the happy selfies nor the group fotos nor any of that kind, they were fotos which expressed thousands and thousands of emotions, the cruelty that they had to experience back then; as if the fotos has exact statistics about how painful it was to live at the point of time; just like they say, fotos tell it all, the faces tell it all. I went there because of the history it has, but that’s not it, I realized something else the moment I stepped out of the museum. I realized that HERE WE ARE, not everyone survived the war, but spirits are high up in the sky, it seems like God has somehow made us humans, no fear of anything at all, and even if we do fall, we will not back up, we will definitely stand back up on our feets and move on.

The Phnom Penh Riverside


There is only one way to describe what Riverside is, it will always be described as a place which is full of life, it contains many kinds of lives. There are the ones who are lost, the ones enjoying, the ones fighting so hard to survive, the ones living just for the sake of living, you get the mixed feeling out of it. The liveliness of the block has also made it one of the most visited destinations in Cambodia, the diversity you get to experience there is humongous, you’ll meet different people from different countries with different cultures and lifestyles, which leads to the point where Riverside is also a place where people unite; no matter what they have done, whoever they are, wherever they come from, we will all be here together. Riverside is a very kool place as well, in my opinion, I would love to have some sort of connection towards it someday, maybe a coffee shop or a small house there? maybe?

The Phnom Penh Tonle Sap and the River Cruise


This article almost got mashed up with the Riverside article, I felt very bad because I sort of underestimated the topic itself. I’ve somehow come up with something very rare to be thought of as the topic is only about an area in Phnom Penh which has a lot of river cruises, but the idea has somehow also made the topic sound very interesting and historical as well. The idea is that the River Cruise must have been around for a very long time, and let’s think of it as a person, an old man that has been seeing all the events that has happened so far, and still will continue with the surveillance until whenever the riverline itself vanishes. The actions we have done so far have been watched closely by the old man, it’s like he’s been there sitting in his backyard and reading his newspapers. Everything has a connection to one another, we just have to not stop finding and we’ll find one.

The National Museum of Cambodia

Basically, the point of coming to a museum is to absorb the history of your country, of what has happened in the recent decades and even from many many centuries ago; people say histories are just boring stories, but history to me, is something pretty amazeball. They are not just events or wars or celebrations, history records the memories of all of us. I was here on my fifth grade field trip, I did not feel anything special about the museum at all. I came back two years or more, not as a student, but as a traveler who blogs; I felt very proud. I was by my own, taking fotos, taking notes that are only available in the museum itself, and of course, sketched a map of the entire museum with my supernatural sketching skills, heheheh, it was pretty bad. It was a hard time asking the guards whether I could take the fotos or not, I succeed in some parts and but didn't in many more parts, I did not expect anything to happen at all. Eventually, the article  and the fotos were all done niiicely and well.

The Cheng Meng Festival, the Heavenly Spirits and Me

As I’m half Chinese - half Khmer, I do have to sometimes blend both cultures into each other, and YEAHH, I celebrate a lot of festivals. Cheng Meng Festival is similar to the Khmer Pchum Ben, it was originated from the fact that people started to share what they have got to someone else who needs it more than them. On the day, you visit the tomb of your ancestors or parents or relatives, you offer food and prayers to them, and it is believed that they will protect our family for the whole year; you also get to offer the food to the neighborhood where the tomb is, and in my case, the tomb is located in a deserted area in a province, this year we got to offer lunch to the hardworking farmers that had just finished their harvesting, the food was not grand but enough and most importantly, we were all happy.

It had to be revisited, there ain't choices to choose from, the trip was meant to happen, it was just the matter of sooner or later. Koh Rong, where everyone goes, was as always, flooded with people, but on the other hand, Koh Rong Samloem, is a bit further and wilder; the destination was chosen. I was once again grateful that my parents understood why I had to go there again, this time, I went with a lot of friends. Last time around, I did not get to sleep in the island itself, but this time we did, and wasn't just a normal night where you sleep cozily, it was somewhat of a challenge. I enjoyed everything about the trip, it was more of an adventure than a trip, as for my age, these things that I was experiencing was wilder than it could ever be. The people there were all niiice, the way you wake up and see the sea right away was something amazeball, the food was obviously good as well, every aspect of the trip treated me pretty well. There’s more of this to come. Keep calm and just wait!

Bangkok has Pratunam has Food has Hongyy

My parents secretly planned this trip, I was told only one week before the trip. We took a long exhausting bus all the way to Thailand, the stop was at Pratunam, Bangkok - the place did not disappoint me at all, all of the sudden, I realized that the long exhausting bus was very worth it, I was already feeling great even though I have not eaten anything for the past 12 hours, that’s how worth it Pratunam looked to me. Pratunam was a place filled with foods and lights and people and vendors and vehicles, so so busy, it goes on as late as 3 in the morning, and when it hits 5, it starts all over again. A place like this is very hard to find, it's one of its kind, you have no other choice but to love it - the atmosphere is EPIC, the foods there broke my expectations bar, everything I wanted from Thailand was fulfilled.

Phnom Penh Souvenirs

Phnom Penh has a very cultural side to it, I’ve seen it often enough to gather an album of fotos of the souvenirs we have in Phnom Penh. These sculptures and statues and paintings and lightings are something we don’t really care about, we means the citizens of each country, it might be because we’re too used to our tradition and culture, and that these things might be a bit less exciting to us; but to the tourists, it’s something that has a history behind. Souvenirs mark their memories in that country they have visited.

League of Mona Lisa

August was when ideas kept popping out of my head, and I think I did a pretty job conveying out whatever was in my brain into articles. The first was The League of Mona Lisa. This article was written keeping in mind all the hardworking ladies and mothers out there. It was and still is a tribute towards whatever they have done or doing for us, so that we’ll have whatever we have today and just the fact that they have given birth to all of us. It is impossible to differentiate between the ladies and mothers that are having a good time and the ones that are not doing well with their businesses, so it was fair to talk about them all, because at any cost, I personally think that they have worked really really hard. I’m not saying that makeups are bad, I’m just saying that the ones who does not wear makeups or try to look good and luxurious, are to me, a person or people who I respect more.

Khmer and United


As I’m writing this, it is already 2016, we are officially a member of the ASEAN community, our country will hopefully grow better and stronger. We might not all have the authentic Khmer blood, I’m half Chinese - half Khmer, but if you ask yourself again and again, does it really matter? the answer will be a NO, why does the bloodline and race have to matter? We live in one country, it should be that we will do anything to improve our country, why do so, you ask? because when you commit a crime or do bad things, it affects the country - vice-versa, if you do good, that one but of goodness will help. The article was written to show people that we can be one, and tell the people that says that it’s impossible, that it’s actually POSSIBLE; to show people that whether he or she is a food vendor or a government official or a waiter or unemployed, no matter what one’s job is, do not discriminate, let’s unite instead, shall we? it’s about time.

We make Trash.


The obvious question was raised, who makes all these trash? who actually? Everyone knows it’s all made from us, there is no one in this world who doesn't make trash, we all make trash the moment we get out of the womb. Making trash is in human nature, even nature makes trash. Making trash is not something bad WHEN you do it within a limit, but when you don’t have a limit, when you do whatever you want and make trash anytime and anywhere, that's when it is totally a wrong thing to do.

Phnom Penh Delicacies


It has gotten its name, the Bizarre Snacks. It honestly is bizarre if you do not know how to EAT IT. Yes, these are actual insects being seasoned and deep-fried and eaten by the locals. BUT, there are only some brave expats who have the guts to do it. It’s one of Cambodia’s well known snacks, not just among the youth, but also a hit among the elders who have been eating them since the origin of the Khmer empire. It is rare as well. You may only find them at the Riverside of Phnom Penh and the Pub Street of Siem Reap. Just look around at those places where they are available, it’s not luxurious, not grand, but something unique and out of the universe. This is how I think of it whenever I have some. Crispy, chewy, seasoned, pretty good you know…

The Phnom Penh Wat Ounalom


This is the pagoda in which all the famous monks and Khmer Literature professors throughout the country, all of the well-known scholars who have been helping the country to improve were all studying here; we can say it’s the “Harvard or Yale of Cambodia”. Pagodas have always been impactful to our nation. It is not only just a place where you go to offer prayers, it was and still is used as a school where you learn how to become a monk and the Sanskrit poems. Wat Ounalom is also one of the very few buildings that are left after many hectic events that has happened to Cambodia, we can it “the building that saw it all”.

Phnom Penh Tuktuks


We all know that the moment an expat lands on our ground, the first Khmer he or she interact with will probably be the TukTuk drivers. They are the first person the expats has to trust, because the TukTuk drivers will be the ones taking them to wherever they want. If both the expats and the driver has some chemistry, the driver might even be the expats’ tour guide, he’ll recommend the restaurants, landmarks and attractions. There are the good ones and the tricky ones out there, we just cannot separate them at all, all we can do is to be aware and avoid the tricky ones. The tricky ones are the ones who sometimes makes the expats think bad of the TukTuk drivers, but they are not that cruel, those trickiness and selfishness that they expose to you, aren’t that bad after all. If you think of it in a positive angle, then you’ll see them as people who are fighting to make a living, maybe a bit overboard. Their personalities and how they talk will give the expats a glimpse of how Khmers are, so, they indeed have an important role to play - to make sure our first impression to the expats, is good.

Siem Reap | EPIC!

The title fits perfectly, Siem Reap was EPIC! The obvious fact why Siem Reap was fun, was Angkor Wat and the Pub Street. These two places were grand, there were a lot of happy people roaming/eating/drinking/singing/dancing/photographing/sightseeing/tanning/fanning, the atmosphere was just simply amazeball. Siem Reap has been growing pretty fast these few years, Khmers have found ways to make the city better and better every single year. Big national events and celebrations are now held there every year, attracting more expats and locals than ever before. If you are old and going to Siem Reap, it will provide you Angkor Wat where you get to absorb many of the historical sites available; if you are young and wild and free, the Pub Street would not just make your day, it will make your night and even make your midnight. As for Angkor Wat, magnificent, creative and historical. As for the Pub Street, fun, wild and free. Where else would you go when you can find all you want in Siem Reap?

Pub Street | Siem Reap

The Pub and the Street that has been attracting more and more locals and expats every year, changes and more changes have been made to make sure the Pub Street looks amazing enough to continue its run to be the most visited site in Siem Reap. The age does not really matter in this case, we all know that people of all age celebrate and have fun, it’s just that some like it more than the others. I just can’t thanks my parents enough for their open-minded decision to let me travel. Being able to travel around was not in my mind at all when I was younger, but it has become a reality really good one. I have never in my life liked parties or crowded events before, the Pub Street was the first ever crowded/noisy/epic place I’ve ever liked. You just cannot describe the atmosphere, Whoosh, all I can say is that it was great, an awesomeee experience. The food, the people, the vendors and their shops, the expats and the locals, the traditional Khmer music and the electronic music blended as if they were in a blending machine, me and my pizza. Ask me, do you want to go their again? Well, I’m definitely into it, I will go again, sooner or later.

Angkor Wat


Even if I say the trip to Angkor Wat was awful, most of the people would not believe me. People will start saying, “Well, it’s Angkor Wat, what are you gonna with that? It’s Angkor Wat.”. It might sound like I made this up for the sake of the article, but I really do like historical site. I know I sound like an old man, but I do feel connected to the past. When I see Apsaras, I see how people lived back then; when I see the Gods, I see how religious people were; when I see the sculptured walls, I see how life was like during the Khmer Empire. Angkor Wat was built in perfection, the designs and the meaning behind it, the sculptures and statues, even the gateways and the doorways were built precisely. Though it is not in a good shape, but the world cannot afford to see Angkor Wat collapse and get destroyed, that's why backups were sent to refurbish the entire site, and make it look as perfect as it was when it was built.

The Water Festival, Cambodia


It does not have any similar meaning as celebrating for Christmas, it does not include eating well or family reunion or presents and gifts. But for me, Water Festival is one of the few festivals we have here that I really wholeheartedly celebrate, and it means a lot to me. I was once again disappointed when they announced that the Water Festival or the boat racing competition of 2015 won’t be held in Phnom Penh. It has always been a fun memory to me, a great experience, and also one of the rarest moments I’ve ever had. It’s a competition, a very competitive one indeed. People are always there shouting, chanting, eating, drinking; the atmosphere was grander than the Pub Street, to be honest. And this year, to honor the festival, I’ve gotten the chance to write an article about. Sharing both the joyful and the sad moments I experienced during the amazeball Water Festival.

Orussey Market


They can it the market that has it all, it really does. From one generation to another one, most of the shops in Orussey Market has not been moved. All that has changed are the vendors, the products and goods stay the same. Some have been here for more than a decade, I do not have a clue what they have went through during those time, but at the end of the day, you have to respect them. It’s sad to see some of them working to live and some others living to work, but it’s life you know, these kind of thoughts does not haunt them anymore. Let all the sad parts go, and bring in some good thoughts. They have gotten a lot of good food, by food I meant by everything that can be eaten. They have gotten the classic Chinese and Vietnamese noodles, the glass noodles, the old man porridge, and some insane local foods that you probably will find only here.

Christmas in Phnom Penh


In a positive angle, we can see that our country is developing faster and faster everyday, the fact that we have accepted and celebrated festivals from other country, that means we are opening up bytes by bytes to others. And now that we are a part of ASEAN, we have to be more open-minded, because we will be accepting more and more cultures and traditions into our country. Same for the other ASEAN members, they all have to start doing so, then it will be a real community, where there is no racism or any kind of act related to discrimination happening. The community was created for a reason, let’s all do it right!