Fifi's Chronicles

Travelogue: Cambodia - Phnom Penh Day 1 Part 2

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 10:43:28 GMT

Ok, just for the sake of completing the travelogue for Cambodia, I insist to continue with the second-half of the day we arrived in Phnom Penh. Second half tu kira petang la sundel. Since this was 3 years ago, jangan harap la aku nak ingat berapa harga tiket nak masuk, berapa harga teksi segala nih. Aku buat entry ni pun berpandukan gambar2 je huhuhu. Anyway, that afternoon we were brought to the district of Choeung Ek where the Genocidal Center is. The place is more popularly known as The Killing Fields. Tgk kesan dia sampai berbulan2 aku tak update blog sebab teringatkan kekejaman manusia disana. Manusia ke rejim Polpot tu? Lebih teruk dari binatang kot coz ada org pernah fwd kat aku video rimau yang rasa bersalah membunuh seekor monyet lalu memungut, menjaga & membelai si anak monyet yg baru kehilangan ibunya. See... binatang pun ada rasa belas kasihan.

So masa kitorang pergi tu kebetulan was around Khmer new year. There's this tradition apparently (I don't know if it's related to the Khmer new year or not), that the kids at Choeung Ek would block roads to their village and ask for some small change from the visitors.

Kalau tak bagi? Rasainnnn:

Ko kena serang dengan bedak ley?!

Ada aku kisah? We paid some small Riels to the kids and was saved from the commotion. Tgk mat salleh tu dah jadi mcm hantu tepung gomak kan. Tgk mcm seronok pulak.

But sorrow quickly overcame our laughter as soon as we arrived at the entrance of the center. They've erected a big stupa to commemorate all the victims. The stupa was filled with their bones and bloody personal belongings.

Eeee... susunan gambar mcm gampang.

Tempat ni sure horror la malam2... sah2 ada hantu. Lihat saja mass grave ni... aku bayangkan diorg ni dibunuh persis time babi2 dibunuh dan ditanam dalam lubang yang besar time wabak JE dulu kat Malaysia.

"Mass Grave of More Than 100 Victims Children and Women Whose Majority Were Naked"

Boleh tak aku buat kuiz kat sini soalannya tulang2 ini tulang apakah? Till this day tulang2 manusia ni masih berselerakan bak tulang bangkai. May God bless their souls.

This is the very tree where they swung babies and little children against to save bullets. Ya Allah, dahsyatnya diorg ni mengalahkan syaitan neraka jahanam....nauzubillah.

You can tell how we felt from the expression of our faces as we left the Genocidal Center :(

Ok... enuff sadness. Let's happy2 in Phnom Penh!

Erk... since hari pun dah petang... I sempat snap2 gambar the fugly national stadium je. Rupa macam kapal korek kat Batu Gajah kan?

So weols pun balik hotel untuk beristirehat & have early dinner (jap, aku rasa kitorang makan roti2 je ke apa tah tak ingat pulak... satu hal la plak ko nak cari makanan halal kan). Kat lobi hotel tu pulak ada pool table... so apa lagi... ko pernah tgk org main pool 5 org? Matila kecoh lobi hotel tu kann*matila gambar repeat... ahaks.

Malamnya kita jalan2 kat bandar Phnom Penh... tidak la terlalu sibuk... persis Kuching di waktu malam.

Jalan punya jalan kita jumpa a row of clubs... satu club ni mcm hyper than the rest: Heart of Darkness. Little that we know that Heart of Darkness has long been the most infamous nightclub in Phnom Penh, closed in August 2005 after a patron was shot to death but is now back in business. Some seating is reserved for well-heeled (gangster elite) Phnom Penh local youth, so move if you are asked. While certainly not the safest place in the world, more nights go by without incident than not. A number of expats avoid it now, however. Saturday nights are always packed. Tu dia cilok sikit dari kak wiki.

Malangnya kitorang tak bawak kamera masa tu. No decent pics of the club from the net either. Eventhough the club was among the most popular there, we can't help but feel that the local club-goers were too...how do i say this... "old-fashioned"? I mean they look like they're holding up, menari pun light2 je walaupun lagu meletops... weols apa lagi...

"Step aside ladies and gentlemen!"

Ko mampu rampas stage dari locals yang menari ala2 kadar tu? Spotlight plisss!!!

We were stared at (bukan stare tak puas hati, stare kagum ok... aku tak tau la org lain tapi awek2 Cambodia yg dok jeling2 kat aku..maybe the wish to dance with me tapi apakan daya tgh berkepit dengan BF hazab ops) even when we're chilling out at the sofas drinking cranberry juice. Well... that was a lot of fun ahaks.

*Sigh* Those were the days... ;)

Catch the next episodes (hopefully soon huhuhu).

Selamat Hari Raya Aidiladha!

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 16:01:01 GMT

Tu diaa... Raya Puasa aku tak sempat wish la kan kat dalam blog ni... mrasa wish Selamat Hari Raya Aidiladha sajok. Setahun 2 kali lah kan raya sebenarnya?*matila Cina2 confuse dengar lagu raya yang ada lirik "setahun...hanya sekali...merayakan hari yang mulia ini" kan.... Jatuhnya raya aji ni pun ari Jumaat... liat sangat nak menapak ke masjid 2 kali kan*matila petir...

Apa pun, aku tetap wish everybody a very blissful Eid Adha! This time I beraya kat KL sajok where my family are as always. Siapa yg balik kg tu takyah la nak bermegah2 riak takbur nahi mungkar kompang2 bagai makan lazat2 la, suasana kampung la k... sebab aku tak heran pun. Hari2 aku balik keje pun balik ke pangkuan keluarga juga makan masakan bonda juga lalala. Yang penting, kita bersama keluarga tercinta di hari-hari perayaan ini kan. Sesiapa yg drive tu hati2 la di jalanraya & siapa2 yg naik bas/kapal terbang tu suruh la drebar/pilot bawak leklok ok.

Bayennnnn!

Mari Berasa Lapar Beramai2

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 03:41:21 GMT

Sementara tgh menunggu feedback dari customer (yang promise nak submit deliverable before tghari pagi tadi) sempatlah kiranya aku update sikit blog ni ala2 nak dekat2 lunch ni kan? Anyway, mencih betul la opis tak bagi masuk flickr. Susah nak upload gambar2 & share dlm ni. Nasib baik leh upload kat webs.com.

Anywayz... nak dekat2 lunch ni perut dah mula berkeroncong especially bila aku dok belek2 gambar2 makanan dlm handphone aku ni. Let's see!

Ni meal aku kat Wendy's masa sessi tengok citer 2012 beramai2 last week kat Berjaya Times Square. Inilah first time aku makan kat Wendy's. Lazart skals! Burger sebesar alam tu namanya 3/4 pounder*matilakimpah. Pastu kat sebelah atas kiri tu stuffed potato with sour cream and chives... then I ordered chillis (ada beef dalam tu). Inilah yg I katakan sebagai tema membuang duit bayar gym sebab bakar kalori 100-200 dlm gym tapi makannya masyaAwlohsekar.... takdemaknenyer ko g gym sundelllll!

Then last Sunday, out of the blue si Paksu pulak ajak I pegi lunch kat Ikea. I kebetulan memang tgh free... so ala2 boleh je la teman si Paksu ni merealisasikan tema "Kali-Pertama-Pergi-Ke-Ikea-Pada-Hari-Ahad-Yang-Penuh-Dengan-Hadek2-Berangan-Nak-Deko-Rumah-Macam-Eric-Leong" itu. Rasainnn kau cari parking di hari Ahad kannn... makan kat Ikea pun nak kena berdiri tepi meja org & pressure diorg supaya cepat makan and cepat blah sebab tempat nan ado.

So... nak dijadikan cerita, inilah meal ktorg haritu:

Sausage seswatuh. Honestly masa Paksu dah potong sikit baru teringat nak amik gambar ok bukan nak main2 dengan makanan. Choiii!

Haaa ni swedish meatball I. Meatballs & sausages make a good combination. I love how the Swedish think!

And finally... dessert yang tak boleh miss... Daim cake! So heavenly yummy. Omg...perut aku sakit ni lapar.

Memandangkan ada org lain yang juga menggunakan taktik yang sama mcm aku (read: tunggu tepi meja sampai kita abis makan), kitorang pun blah la masuk Ikea sebab Paksu nak "round-round" katenyer.

Last2 yang beli barangnya siapa? Akuuuu jugak yang tak dapat tahan godaan syaitonnnnn. Hasilnya?:

Tada! Office aku dah tak plain lagi :)

1. Desk pad
2. Pillow
3. Tempat letak stationaries
4. Convenient box yang replace kotak kertas A4 aku

Yang penting... semuanya matching dengan tali pinggang aku! Sker lah! Hiks! Ok member dah ajak nak makan kari kepala ikan kat Bangsar tuh! Harap2 tak sesak la sebab populasi2 KL dh ramai balik kampung!

Toodles!

The Things We Do To/For Our Friends

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 08:22:34 GMT

Disclaimer: Before you read this please KNOW that nothing had happened that triggered me to write this piece. It's just a thought ok :)

Yeah I have 600+ friends in Facebook (and counting) but I can say I only know less than half of them. The rest (and yes they hail from all over the world) is mainly for pointless passing-time games in Facebook and I had them carefully categorized/managed. But really, is there such thing as having too many friends? I'd go crazy if asked to "categorize" my friends in real life. When I say "categorize" it means in order of "groups" of "cliques", not likeness or preference coz I love them all (yourself included ;)) ever so dearly. E.g (in no particular order): BFFs, guys from the office A, guys from the office B, guys from sports A, guys from sports B, guys from hobby A, guys from hobby B, guys from state A, guys from state B and yada yada yada bla bla bla you should get it by now.

My point here is not to say that I'm too popular or shouting "LEAVE ME ALONE!" but rather pondering on how much time, energy and effort to maintain all these while losing some of our own life & quality time with family for friendship. Is it worth it? Is it acknowledged or even appreciated? It is understood that friendship IS part of life but how many % of your life do you want to dedicate to friendship? How often do you feel yourself being just a supporting role in someone else's drama?

Back to categorization, I may have a typical week of meeting 3 groups of friends depending on who's planning what in their "drama script" but on a typical week where there's nobody else's drama, my drama would consist of me going to the gym 2 or 3 times that week to prance like a crazy pony in BodyJam, MTVJam, HipHop classes or just plain treadmill/workout; 2 times volleyball and possibly badminton and bowling and going to the movies on every other week. This comfortable cycle of mine is often broken when I had to play the supporting role of a friend's drama which I really try so hard not to say no to (hence fulfillingfifi).

On a non-typical week where I have friends from faraway coming over for example, they will get priority over closer friends because I obviously see them less often. On an emotionally-non-typical day/week for friends in need (read: single, perhaps lonely friends that are in emotional distress for whatever reason OR anything at all) will get top priority for my support in any circumstances.

And then there's the issue of internal and external problems within/throughout the circle of friends. If for whatever reason there is an internal "problem" within a group of friends where A and B cannot see each other eye to eye, the real victims are really those who are not having anything to do with the conflict! Try being as neutral as Switzerland and not taking any sides! I've been in this situation for a few times and it is tearing me apart emotionally & physically. I'm considering external "problems" as groups of friends that cannot be mixed in any occasion due to past problems or the dislike of person A from group X with person B from group Y.

So really what is the whole point of this long winding entry? Friendship is really not an easy thing to maintain. Sometimes we have to realize that we are the director and sometimes just the supporting role in any drama. There should be an unspoken balance and understanding of these roles so that you don't frustrate yourself too much, too pressured to satisfy everyone in your life or putting too much pressure on others. We may or may not be conscious of all these hence we do not know what kind of pressure we put on our friends as the cost of running our life as usual.

Just a ranting I managed to squeeze in on a rather busy day ;)

Bangkit Dari Tidur

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:21:51 GMT

Bak Sleeping Beauty yang tidur sekian lama... akhirnya bangun juga pabila dikejutkan putera idaman.

Motif berangan? *Snap-snap! Bangun lagi!!!*

Atas permintaan ramai, kugagahi juga jari-jemari ini untuk menghapdet blog yang dah jadi mcm sarang babi ni. Tak lupa juga atas desakan kawan baik I yang dah nak pindah keluar dari company sekarang ni yang baru terjumpa blog I ini... thanks for dropping by ya... u know who u are! Congrats and good luck k! :)

<Selingan, ada SMS masuk>
Lenny: Arini ada ketam!
Me: Huhu, hari ni I pasrah sajok dengan jusmate sebab pagi tadi dah bantai nasi lemak... uols go ahead ya huhu!
<Tamat selingan>

Tu dia seruan lunch katenyer. Padahal tak minat ketam pun sbb malas nak kokak2 kopek2 segala. Sedangkan udang pun aku makan yg senang kopek/dah sedia kopek je. Kalau soft-shell crab tu lain la... makan je ngan kulit2nya.

Anywayz... a lot has happened during my long "sleep". Got loads to tell besides the occasional movie-goings, volleyballing, gymming, birthdays, day-to-day work in the office, puasa, raya etc etc yada yada yada... some highlights worth-mentioning in a nutshell between April and now are:

Trip to Mount Kinabalu - Successfully climbed to the top albeit almost gave up. Also did white water rafting at Sungai Padas.
White Water Rafting trips to Sungai Selangor and Sungai Sedim - bestnya rafting. Enjoyed the adventure and especially the nature.
My new job - yes, i changed my job (albeit in the same organization, but for the better alhamdulillah) yet again.
Yogyakarta trip - a week of cultural immersion in the heart and soul of Java, melting pot of culture and history when we visited the temples Borobudur & Prambanan and volcano (kaki gunung je), shopping etc.
Lina Harun and son.
Having 15Mbps Internet at home!

all of which I pledge to myself to mention in separate entries even if it would take aeons to do so*matila travelogue Cambodia.

K lah catcha guys laytah!

If You Think Hating History Is Cool, Think Again!

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 02:48:11 GMT

Ramai orang tak suka mata pelajaran sejarah masa kat sekolah dulu, malah berbangga2 pula bila fail subjek sejarah. I on the other hand have always been fascinated by history. Masa kecik2 dulu, baca buku2 teks sejarah arwah atuk aku (dulunya che'gu besar di kg bapak ku) kat kampung tu akan membuatkan aku berangan berada dalam filem P. Ramlee, pakai baju melayu lama, tanjak dan kris, masuk istana mengadap sultan, dayang2 menari di taman istana, todak melanggar Singapura or kalau sejarah peradaban dunia, berangan kita berada di zaman Rome dengan mitos dewa-dewinya, zaman Cleopatra dengan piramid2 dan firaunnya, zaman kegemilangan Babylon dengan Hanging Gardennya, malah sejarah Islam pun tak kurang menariknya. I like to be immersed in these stories of the past... but now it should have a higher purpose: to look back, learn from mistakes and move forward.

This is what our ex-PM said in his blog regarding the same matter and I quote:

"When in 1957 we became independent the population was only five million. Even after 1963 when Sabah and Sarawak joined the Peninsula to form Malaysia the population was only slightly more than six million. Today Malaysia's population is 27 million. Obviously most Malaysians were born after 1957-1963. Meaning to say they had not known anything but being free, being independent, being ruled by their fellow countrymen.

History is not a compulsory subject in our schools. If at all history is taught it is sketchy, not really giving a clear picture of what it was like to be ruled by foreigners, by the British, the Japanese and in some cases the Thais. I am not trying to say that those who lived under colonial rule are more appreciative of independence, although that is basically true. But what we should all be concerned with is that we appreciate our independence and our freedom more, whatever may be our political leanings.

Is it wrong for us to look back on the past? Some think it is irrelevant. That was before, this is now. Don't tell us all those stories about the struggles of people gone by. We have always been independent. All our life we have been independent. But I think we should know where we came from. Otherwise we would not know which way we should go. We may think we are going forward when in fact we are going backward, back to where we started. We would not be making progress.

I am pleading for the teaching of history. George Santayana, an American philosopher once said; "Those who forget the lessons of history will be condemned to repeat their mistakes over and over again", or words to that effect.

How do we know we are not repeating our mistakes now if we do not know of our mistakes in the past.

We need to know.

We need to know how we came to be colonized.

We need to know how we barely managed to escape from being a Communist state.

We need to know how our Rulers were forced to surrender their states to the British. We need to know how the British were forced to rescind the MacMichael treaties. And so on, and so forth.

Somewhere along we would recognize the mistakes we had made. And knowing them we would be better able to avoid making them again. Our country would continue to grow and prosper.

The independent generations have enjoyed the independent country they inherited. Surely they would want their children and grandchildren to inherit the same. And this they can ensure by knowing the history of this beloved country and the mistakes of the past."

He couldn't have said that better and I couldn't agree more.

Aku tergerak nak buat entry ni sebab as I was about to do the next entry on our trip to Cambodia, I did some reading on Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge (yeah yeah I'm too free at the office). It's good to learn stuffs when we're on a vacation, not just splurge on shopping or lazing around in spas. Jauh perjalanan, luas pemandangan.

Anyway, it was shocking to know that Cambodia have in fact achieved independence 4 years earlier than Malaysia and yet they have plunged into near stone-age era in the 70s with almost 2 million innocent citizens killed. Their communist ideology at that time was "Year Zero", meaning literally starting over from zero::They believed the uneducated peasants working in the countrysides are the real working class men , they would be obedient and could not read or write let alone have revolutionary ideas and they should work hard together to share the Agrarian wealth self-sufficiently (meaning to say nak jadi negara yang 100% komunis asas tani & mengamalkan dasar tutup pintu), no businesses, no tradings etc. As for the others, as their proverb put it, "To keep you is no benefit, to destroy you is no loss." So all educated, working class and professional citizens (and their families as well for fear of having the smart genes can you believe that?) were executed brutally. Bullets were to be saved, babies and small children were swung against tree trunks, men and women beaten to death with iron bars and hoes.

How it is that humans are able to do these is beyond my comprehension.

When I look back at Tun's entry, I wonder what would happen if we did not manage to escape fom being a Communist state.

Now that's a scary thought.

Syukur, alhamdulillah.

Travelogue: Cambodia - Phnom Penh Day 1 Part 1

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 10:14:17 GMT

Selepas 3 hari weols berada di tanah asal kerajaan silam Angkor, it's time to say goodbye to the temples uols... so selepas say goodbye & sesi foto beramai2 bersama crew2 Golden Banana yang mesra alam itiew weols pun bergegas ke stesen bas untuk ke Phnom Penh, ibu negara Cambodia:

Journey to Phnom Penh

Perjalanan dari Siem Reap ke Phnom Penh mengambil masa selama 5 jam lebih kurang kalau tak silap I. Jangan main-main, weols naik limousine tau pegi Phnom Penh:

Siap ada pramugari lagi and food provided katanya (muka ketat perasan chantek! tgk la tu... feeling2 tourist guide bagai walhal speaking sepatah haram aku tak paham). Foodnya I tak selera sebab kuih bulan berinti cik bab rasanya. Mrasa minum air sajork huhuhu. Halfway along the way weols berenti kat one of the hotels for toilet break. Jaja sempat beli pelam yang murah and sangat best... and across the road ada stesen minyak Sokimex...kimek sangat bunyinya kan?

Beginilah keadaan perjalanan selama 5 jam yang mandom itiew. Panas dan kering dan kontang temanyer dari kawasan perkampungan all the way to pinggiran Sungai Mekong berhampiran Phnom Penh.

Sampai je kat stesen bas, kitorang jumpa dengan pak supir yang telah diuruskan dari Siem Reap lagi oleh pihak Golden Banana. Tak ingat pulak apa namanya, tapi agak lurus bendul la supir kitorang ni. Awal-awal lagi dah kena buli cari hotel untuk kitorang... biasalah kitorang, nak murah tapi grand... ado?! Ingat nak stay kat hotel2 atau inn ala homestay jugak macam di Siem Reap tapi yang ada pun ala2 scary uols...

Last2, sesuai dengan status ratu weols ni, weols pun jumpa la hotel Her Royal Highness ni. Not exactly what we want but decent enough to stay in la. Yang penting hotel weols ada meja snooker/pool kat lobby Ko ado?

Yang penting ada notis ni kat check in counter... ko ado?:

*Matila tak paham

Percaya tak? Tanpa mengenal erti penat lelah weols dengan gigih nya freshen up sekejap and keluar balik untuk meronda-ronda di sekitar Phnom Penh... maklum la 2 hari 1 malam je kat Phnom Penep ni. So sebelum itiew, weols telah berjaya jumpa sebuah restoran bertema masakan Indonesia di pinggir waterfront Sungai Mekong itiew... sempat weols melegakan dahaga bila pekena ABC lepas makan nasi goreng. Alamak terliur pulak... don't worry ditanggung halal katenyer. Ops.

Lepas sessi mentekadarah itiew, weols pun terus la bergegas ke tempat pembunuhan beramai-ramai rejim Polpot yang terkenal dengan nama "The Killing Fields" di awal tahun 80an dulu. Tapi sebab tu dah petang, mrasa bersambung di part 2 of the first day in Phnom Penh katenyer hiks.

Travelogue: Cambodia - Siem Reap Day 3 Part 2

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 09:43:10 GMT

Setelah berpenat-lelah menongkah arus dan liku-liku perjalanan dari tasik Tonle Sap, kami gerak pula ke pusat kraftangan dan pembuatan sutera Khmer (orang2 Kemboja dipanggil Khmer by the way)... kalau tak silap nama tempat tu:

Artisans Angkor

Kat sini dia buat macam gallery la untuk barang-barang kraftangan Angkor termasuk kain2 sutera yang berwarna-warni. Cantik dan halus buatannya tapi sebab ini dah dikira semacam pusat kraftangan, so harga-harganya adalah agak mahal gitu. Galerinya cantik sekali & weols juga berpeluang tengok pembuatan kain sutera... yup, daripada tempat ulat-ulat sutera diternak sampailah suteranya ditenun & terus kena display kat gallery/import ke luar negeri.

Inilah galerinya

.
Ulat-ulat sutera diternak sampai kimpah jadi kepompong, dituai dan dikeringkan sebelum diproses

Selepas diproses dan ditenun jadi kain terus dipamerkan digaleri buat tatapan diva-diva yang tak membeli pun sebenarnya ops

Mini Angkor

Hari pun dah nak dekat-dekat senja gitu. So lepas pekena ice cream magnum kat Pekan Siem Reap kitorang terus pulak ke mini Angkor yang menempatkan replika Angkor Wat temple2 di sekelilingnya dalam saiz yang boleh menjadikan kitorang jadi rasaksa dalam citer Ultraman:

Pakcik baju putih tu la yang telah bersusah-payah mengukir & membuat semua ini... cayorklaa pokcik

By this time perut dah main rebana ubi...so untuk menyelam sambil minum air (makan sambil fulfilling the theme of the day which is cultural ) kitorang ingat nak cari restoran yang ada cultural show. Skali jumpa la satu hotel ke restoran ke apa tah tak ingat, memang terer la supir ktorang... agak grand jugak la siap ada buffet bagai which was quite cheap. So kitorang yang busuk2 ni of course la tak menyempat2 nak balik hotel dulu terus redah je sebab dah lapar sangat.

Apsara Dance Buffet

Disinilah sejarah tercipta yang a few of us dah termakan cik babs yang terselit sebagai cebisan-cebisan kecil dalam omelette. Matilaaa aku habiskan a few pieces... ewwww terus teringat babi ternakan floating village pagi tadi. Uwekkk. But apart from that, the food was pleasant accompanied by the Khmer classical dance show. Alaaa dance ni adalah tarian tradisional Khmer yang ala-ala Mak Yong gitu. Kak Wiki dari tadi asik senyap je tak bersuara... cuba gossip2 sikit kat I pasal dance ni pls?

Kak Wiki kata orang selalu sebut Khmer classical dance ni as Apsara dance tapi tu salah uols... Apsara is modern... Khmer classical ni golongan-golongan bangsawan, puteri2 dan dayang2 diraja Khmer je yang perform masa zaman kolonisasi Peranchis di Kemboja dulu tapi sekarang org biasa pun dah boleh perform. Seperti kebanyakan tarian-tarian lain di Asia, tarian2 diorang ni pun ada cerita dan dramanya tersendiri yang kami pun tak paham apatah lagi semasa sedang khusyuk concentrate mentekedarah kan.

Tu dia telur-telur dadar yang ada cebisan2 sayur itu pun sebenarnya ada cik bab katanyer chef... dah tanya server tu mula2 kata tak ada... bila dah telan sekeping dua baru la head chef tu bagitau. Ko tengok Nazham mengunyah kesedapan... ew. Sebenarnya nak tunjuk ambience restoran je hiks. And of course the divine dancers that looked so veri der celestial with the costumes and head dress segala. Memang kelasss.

Ok uols... tu sajork buat hari iniew yg sangat cultural. Esok harinya kami bergerak pula ke Phnom Penh, ibu negara Kemboja, menggunakan bas express. 5 jam jugak la journey dia... but will story-mory again later.

Bersambung...

Travelogue: Cambodia - Siem Reap Day 3 Part 1

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 09:16:54 GMT

Hi uols... sampailah kita di hari yang ketiga pengembaraan weols di Siem Reap. Having had enough of temples and ancient history (rasanya kalau nampak lagi satu temple je lagi muntah darah kot), today weols ventured more into the cultural side of Siem Reap & the locals around the Tonle Sap basin.

Tasik Tonle Sap

Inilah dia pinggiran Tasik Tonle Sap diambil dari dalam flight AirAsia weols tempoh hari

A little bit of intro dulu mengapa tasik ini adalah begitu signifikan sekali untuk dilawati (selain daripada banyak kali disebut2 dalam kelas geografi Cikgu Rosnah) is the fact that this is South East Asia's largest fresh water lake, one of it's kind in the world. Tadi kak wiki ada bisik2 sikit kat I so I cerita balik kat uols la ok.

Tonle Sap ni adalah kombinasi sistem tasik dan sungai yang menjadi nadi kehidupan kepada sebahagian besar negara Kemboja. Boleh dikatakan kalau tak ada tasik ni, tak wujud lah negara Kemboja ni & orangnya mungkin mati kebuloq sajork la. Kenapa di awal rancangan tadi I kata dia "one of it's kind in the world"? Ada 2 sebab utama:

1) Arus tasik ini bertukar 2 kali setahun
2) Basah keringnya tasik ini adalah sangat dramastic (dramatic + drastic gitu). Nov-May adalah kering kontang (unfortunately kitorang pegi ni masa bulan 4... I'll tell you why it's unfortunate later), air surut mengalir keluar ke Sungai Mekong ke arah Phnom Penh and saiz tasik cuma 2700 km persegi sajork pada waktu ini. When it's not Nov-May the lake swells menjadi tasik yang gargantuan sebab the flow reverses its direction + hujan lagi... tup2 jadi 16000 km persegi! That's 8x bigger! Amazing sangat kan?

Ok, oleh sebab keistimewaan inilah tasik ini terkenal sebagai kawasan perikanan air tawar serta pertanian yang sangat subur dan besar. Sistem reversal arus ini seolah2 satu injap keselamatan semulajadi untuk mengelakkan banjir besar di bahagian hilir sungai Mekong. Sistem yang sama juga membekalkan 50% aliran kepada Delta Mekong di Vietnam! Ha kau... betapa signifikannya tasik ni sampai dirasai di negara jiran katenyer...

So apa yang dapat dilihat di sekitar Tonle Sap? Mari kita sama2 saksikan pengembaraan weols:

Floating Village of Kompong Phluk and Flooded Forrest

A pic says a thousand words, 4 pics? Matila exponent.

Ha kauuu segala mak nenek mode of transportation kitorang pakai... dari van ke motosikal sarkis (4 orang adults naik satu motosikal boleh???) sampai la mendayung sampan... ingat tak di awal rancangan tadi I kata unfortunate sangat because weols pegi bulan 4? Ha ni la salah satu sebabnya... perjalanan yang sangat hazab. Disebabkan kitorang pegi masa musim panas dan kering, disamping cuaca yang sangat ala2 padang mahsyar, tasik telah menjadi kecik... jadi what could be a swift boat ride in the wet season, weols terpaksa naik van sampai ke kampung air (yang kering pada masa ni) menggunakan van dan motosikal before finally taking a boat ride to the middle of Tonle Sap. Akibatnya, tengok la van weols yang stuck kat lopak tu... nasib baik lepas jugak akhirnya and we came to the point where any vehicles larger than a motobike tak boleh masuk dah... hence mintak tolong orang kampung bawak kitorang ke tempat naik boat. Tgk la "penumpang2" motosikal itiew... dressing ala2 superstar tapi peluk abang busuk katenyer ewwww....

Kalau nak tau, tempat motosikal kitorang tu berhenti is where the water should be in the wet season... tengok gambar the same exact spot at Kompong Phluk in the wet season (thanks Kak Wiki):

And the last picture of the 4some up there, kalau uols tengok pokok2 kat tepi tu... pada musim lembap, akan dinaiki air siap ada kesan water level lagi kat dahan pokok2 tu. So kalaulah kitorang pegi masa wet season, kemungkinan besar boat ride ini akan menjadi lebih menarik lagi sebab kita melalui pokok2 yang tenggelam or what the locals call it, "The Flooded Forrest". Ini tidak, air sungai yang kitorang naik menghala ke Tonle Sap tu adalah sangat cetek sampai akak tu terpaksa mendayung sampai ke muara at times. Kesian dia.

Akhirnya kita sampai ke salah satu floating village yang tak terkesan secara fizikal oleh musim kemarau ni. Secara ekonominya, keadaan agak mandom sebab ikan2 semua dah mudik ke hilir Sungai Mekong so diorang ni dok rilek2 kat rumah je la main air macam budak2 yang naik periuk belanga tu ha.

Senangkan ternak babi? Kat mana2 pun boleh... ewww. Rasa gross skejap.

By now mesti korang wondering what did we have for lunch? On the way back to Siem Reap dah sah-sah la perjalanannya agak jauh dan berliku-liku. Nasib baik ada bawak bekalan makanan dari Malaysia dalam beg berupa sardin-sardin & roti.. itu lah lunch weols masa tu kat dalam van... ala2 konsep diet terpaksa gituh. Huhuhu. Tu la best sangat rasanya backpacking dengan group ni....anything goes, takde banyak songel & still in style katenyer... aww I miss doing this with uols so muchhh. Anyway, I rasa ini dah cukup panjang untuk 1 entry... so the next one will be about what we did on the same day in the afternoon and evening.

Agak pengsan jugak la kan?

Hiks.

Bersambung...

Travelogue: Cambodia - Siem Reap Day 2 Part 2

Sat, 18 Apr 2009 10:30:36 GMT

Ya anak2, kita sambung pengembaraan kita di kerajaan silam Angkor pada petang hari yang kedua dengan:

Banteay Kdei

Kalau ikut orang Sarawak, bantey ni maksudnya bantai/pukul... tapi kat sini ia adalah sebuah temple katenyer. Nok wiki, komen sikit plisss?:

"Banteay Kdei is a temple at Angkor, Cambodia. It is located southeast of Ta Prohm and east of Angkor Thom. Built in the late 12th to early 13th centuries CE during the reign of Jayavarman VII, it is a Buddhist temple in the Bayon style, similar in plan to Ta Prohm and Preah Khan, but less complex and smaller. Its structures are contained within two successive enclosure walls, and consist of two concentric galleries from which emerge towers, preceded to the east by a cloister. This monastic complex is currently dilapidated due to faulty construction and poor quality sandstone. Banteay Kdei has been occupied by monks at various intervals over the centuries, but the inscription stone has never been discovered so it is unknown to whom the temple is dedicated."

Maknanya kuil ni adalah kuil misteri sebab tak ada orang tau ia didedikasikan untuk siapa & apa sejarahnya. So kenapa kitorang pegi jugak? Sebab pak supir dah bawak & tempat ni pun vogue jugak untuk ambik gambar. Liat aja gambar cowok yang berbaju merah jambu itu... ganteng skali kan?

Sra Srang & Preah Khan

Lepas puas bergambar di Banteay Kdei, kami gerak pula ke Srah Srang... Srah Srang ni boleh dikatakan tasik buatan manusia jugak la... ahli kajiselidik masih kurang pasti motifnya bertemakan agama ke, pertanian , pertahanan ke atau nilai estetik semata2 (dijadikan "moat" untuk menampakkan reflection kota temple dkt air) atau kesemuanya sekali. Dekat Angkor Thom ni ada banyak tasik2 ni atau "baray" as the locals call it. Srah Srang yg kitorang pergi ni letaknya cuma sebatang rokok je berjalan ke arah timur Banteay Kdei. Kak Wiki kata:

"Srah Srang is a baray at Angkor, Cambodia, located south of the East Baray and east of Banteay Kdei. It was constructed in the mid-10th century, and modified in the 12th or 13th century. The landing stage at the west end of the baray, opposite the entrance to Banteay Kdei, is a popular site for viewing the sunrise."

Dekat2 Srah Srang ni ada la stall2 jual2 souvenir & some fruits for refreshment. Sempat jugak la beli a few T-shirt and refreshment. T-shirt yang dibeli tu sangat sedap kainnya dan tahan dipakai sampai ke hari ini. Nampak budak2 comel ni kat stall tu la. Ntah apalah nasib budak2 ni sekarang kan? Kesian...

I suka temple Preah Khan ni sebab ianya misteri dan lain dari yang lain. Terus tertanya-tanya, mcmmana org Khmer dulu2 ni terinspirasi nak buat Roman columns ni...seriously I ingat pillar2 mcm ni hanya dibina di Rome atau Greece je pada waktu dan masa tersebut. Or mungkinkah diorang import kontraktor dari sana (best in Florence and Sicily, some say Cannes*matila Phua Chu Kang).

Miss Wiki wat say u?:

"Preah Khan is a temple at Angkor, Cambodia, built in the 12th century for King Jayavarman VII. It is located northeast of Angkor Thom and just west of the Jayatataka baray, with which it was associated. It was the centre of a substantial organisation, with almost 100,000 officials and servants. The temple is flat in design, with a basic plan of successive rectangular galleries around a Buddhist sanctuary complicated by Hindu satellite temples and numerous later additions. Like the nearby Ta Prohm, Preah Khan has been left largely unrestored, with numerous trees and other vegetation growing among the ruins."

Apa-apa je la miss wiki oii... bangunan berpillar tu sebenarnya cuma salah satu bangunan drpd kompleks yang besar ini, org skrg panggil ala2 annexe la atau satelite building gituh. Cuma org sampai ke hari ni tak tahu ianya untuk apa dan apakah motif bangunan 2 tingkat itu. One of the attractions kat main building is ada satu ruang tu, diorang buat proportion & ukurannya sangat perfect sampaikan kalau kita tepuk tangan akan bergema walaupun bilik tu kecik sajork. Impressed tahap dewa sangat... tak percaya? Tengok la gambar kitorang pose2 dewa Hindu lapan tangan tu... sampai gitu skali kan? Over sangat.

Ok... now we come to the mother of all reasons why we did this trip. Of course, it's the mother of all freakin' temples, the pyramids of the east:

Angkor Wat

Ha yang ni i tak boleh bagi kak wiki bersuara, nanti berjela jadinya. Ok. Angkor Wat ni adalah sebuah kompleks kuil yang telah dibina untuk Raja Suryavarman II dalam kurun ke-12 sebagai kuil negara dan ibukotanya. Sebagai sebuah kuil yang paling dijaga & dipulihara disitu, ia adalah satu-satunya kuil yang masih mempunyai kepentingan keagamaan sampai ke hari ini sejak zaman dahulu lagi - pertamanya agama Hindu (untuk dewa Vishnu) dan kemudiannya untuk agama Buddha. In fact masa kitorang pergi tu pun memang tgh Khmer New Year, so ramai orang tempatan berduyun-duyun datang ke kuil ni untuk sembahyang raya gituh. Khabarnya kuil ini dibina untuk mereplikasi Gunung Meru, tempat tinggal dewa-dewi dalam mitologi Hindu.

Kuil ni telah menjadi suatu testimoni terhadap senibina silam Khmer. Didalamnya ada banyak ukiran-ukiran yang sangat halus pada dinding-dindingnya. Nak panjat tangga tu pun wa pikir 2 kali. Kalau jatuh confirm mampus... kalau tgk gambar nampak cam senang nak panjat kan? Tanggapan itu meleset belaka kalau uols pegi sana... tengok la org yg naik tu, tertiarap-tiarap je rupanya. Ia juga merupakan simbol negara Kemboja sepertimana yang kita dapat lihat dalam benderanya dan sudah semestinya kebanggaan mereka.

Pada petangnya kitorang ingat nak naik hot air balloon tapi tak jadi. Aku pun tak ingat kenapa... it's either because we're running out sunlight, the queue was long or maybe the ride's fee was exhorbitant. Either way, memang puas ati la dapat jalan-jalan kat Angkor Wat ni. Perasaan gayat ku pendam jua untuk sampai ke puncak!

Ikuti sambungan pengembaraan ini di episod yang akan datang di masa dan waktu yang sama esok! Daaaa!