Siem Reap : Angkor Wat

Day 2 of Siem Reap.  Rick and me decided to get up early to catch the sunrise at Angkor Wat and also to purchase the passes to the ruins for a whooping USD 40 for 3 days pass.  We got up at about 430 am and left the place by about 5 am.  It was already crowded with people by the time we reached there.  Everything was really organized when it came to paying and obtaining the pass.  We just had to stand in front of a webcam .. get our pictures taken and they will print out the pass for us which is laminated.  

It was very cloudy that day ...... so we were not able to take the sunrise pictures.  But being there in the morning basking in the glorious sight kinda made up for it .... but of course we were not gonna do it again getting up so early in the morning ....

Even so early in the morning ... Angkor Wat was already crowded with people.  Some where setting up their tripods getting ready to take the sunrise pictures.





See how steep these stairs are !!!!  Anyway later I did climb up those stairs but not this morning.  The stairs were made so steep so that people were to go up the stairs in their hands and feet ...bowing down before the deity as they ascend and descend.
I kinda got lost in Angkor Wat ... it was a glorious sight but we had to go back for breakfast and pick up the rest of the clan ... 
Our driver for the whole trip
Breakfast for me was omelette and bread :)
The guest house owner's daughter.

Hi I am narcoleptic

Just got back from the library.  I was falling asleep while reading.  Even my friends noticed that I always fall asleep while I am trying to concentrate on my studies ..... so here is the problem .... Hi I am narcoleptic.   Narcoleptic = excessive daytime sleepiness ... more info here.

I am planning to get a sleep study done later to see if I have any obstructive sleep apnoea which can cause daytime somnolence.  In the meantime .. Hi I am narcoleptic.  ZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.... 

Trains and Perfect Strangers

Perfect Strangers - Emma Bunton

She was a girl
Caught in a circle
Waiting for something
Playing for time
Day after day
Everything's perfect
Perfectly normal
In her life

On the wrong train
In the rush hour
Busy dreaming nothing
Then everything changed

She saw his face
They fell in love with the danger
Remember the place
That was the day we were perfect strangers
Remember the day we were perfect strangers

He left on time
But he's always rushing
He's getting him somewhere
Nowhere fast
No one to leave
No one to get over
But there's something missing
In his life

On the right train
The girl with no name
Looks up for a moment
And everything change

He saw her face
They fell in love with the danger
Remember the place
That was the day we were perfect strangers
Remember the day we were perfect strangers

On the wrong train
In the rush hour
Busy dreaming nothing
Then everything changed

I saw your face
We fell in love with the danger
Remember the place
That was the day we were perfect strangers
Remember the day (I saw your face)
That was the day we were perfect strangers
Yeah, remember the day (that was the day we were perfect strangers)
Remember the day (remember the day we were perfect strangers)

This is a song by Emma Bunton ...... perfect strangers .... I think I must start taking the commuter train to work so that I can feast my eyes and fall in love .... love at first sight ..... oppss I must be day dreaming ..... time to get to the library .... will be on call in ICU tomorrow before Merdeka !!!!

Keyboard Shield for my MacBook

My white macbook gets stained very easily at the palm rest area.  So I stumbled upon this Keyboard shield which covers not just the keyboard but also the palm rest area ..... I hoping to get a translucent one .... wonder how long it will remain in pristine condition.



Applying the Keyboard Shield is easy.
Voila !!! You wont even know it is there .... of course until it gets dirty :)

Siem Reap : Apsara Dance

After Tonle Sap ... we head over to Amazon Angkor Restaurant .... nothing barbaric about it ... just a restaurant which catered to tourist ... a buffet dinner with a life performance of the Siem Reap Traditional Dance called the Apsara Dance.






I could not stop taking pictures of the dancers .... they were so feminine ... so graceful .... hmmm maybe I should just get a Cambodian wife and she can dance for me :)

Fiber, lens and botak

This is my lastest craving ... Nasi Kerabu It is rice with lots of vegetable. Nowadays I tell the aunty not to put the salted egg. I just eat it plain with the rice and the raw vegetable. So far the only healthy food I can find at my hospital. At least no problem when I do my "business" in the morning ;)

I also started wearing contact lens again ..... thinking that it will reduce eye strain when I am studying in the lib and also hopefully some ah moi will look at me twice .... but it was good to chuck the glasses aside once in a while. I am using Acuvue Clear monthly disposable lens.

I also decided to cut my hair even shorter ..... my barber told me if I wanted it any shorter, then I might else be shaved bald .... hehe....but it was nice ... no need to comb my hair when I get up in the morning. Can also save money on shampoo ... maybe I should just gel it up.

Siem Reap : Tonle Sap Lake

Next we headed up to Tonle Sap which literally mean Great Lake.  It is the largest fresh water lake in South East Asia. ..... more info here. 

Once we arrived ... we got on a boat to tour the lake .... and the boat ride cost about 40 USD !!!


Life goes on as usual at the lake .... here you can see people washing their utensils in the muddy lake water.
Lazing around for the afternoon
During the boat ride ... there were people on their boats coming along side the our boat to sell stuffs like soft drinks, souvenirs, etc.


One of the sweet looking girls who wanted to sell us some soft drinks ... how can we resist ....

Since it was monsoon month in Cambodia ... it was very cloudy.  We actually came to Tonle Sap to watch the sunset but it was too cloudy.  

Rick and me .... both avid photographers .... hehe....and since we are both so busy taking pictures of things, landscapes and other people ... it was one of the rare occasions where we had our pictures taken :)


This was how the sky looked like when we arrived at this floating restaurant and fish and crocodile farm..... 

This was how the sky looked like when we left ... thank God that we managed to get back to dry land before the rain hit hard.
Angry looking clouds !

These were out seats .... so imagine when we are riding on rough waters

Crocodiles at the farm



Phew reaching dry land

Made it !!! This was the car we took for our daily trips to the temple and other interesting places ....

Next will be the Cambodian traditional dance :)

I hope you dance - Lee Ann Womack

Title: Lee Ann Womack - I Hope You Dance lyrics

Artist: Lee Ann Womack


I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat
But always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed
I hope you still feel small
When you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Living might mean taking chances
But they're worth taking
Lovin' might be a mistake
But it's worth making
Don't let some hell bent heart
Leave you bitter
When you come close to selling out
Reconsider
Give the heavens above
More than just a passing glance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
(Time is a real and constant motion always)
I hope you dance
(Rolling us along)
I hope you dance
(Tell me who)
I hope you dance
(Wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
(Where those years have gone)

I hope you still feel small
When you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
Dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance
(Time is a real and constant motion always)
I hope you dance
(Rolling us along)
I hope you dance
(Tell me who)
(Wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
I hope you dance
(Where those years have gone)

(Tell me who)
I hope you dance
(Wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
(Where those years have gone)

Was listening to this song when I was driving to the hospital for my medical follow up .... it took 1 and half hours to reach due to the jam. And it is during this time ... I will be thinking about alot of things ... talking to God .... I was feeling down again. Thinking about Nov .... missing my sister's wedding. Thinking about "what if" I dont make it again. I have gone through the exams thinking that I will pass....but yet. What about this time. I am doing all I can... and this will be the last time and I will move on with my life regardless of the outcome.

It was at this moment when I was thinking and sighing ... this song was playing .... it was like God whispering to me .... "Son ... will you dance ? Will you still keep a soft and willing heart before Me regardless of what had happened to you? Will you still rejoice if the outcome is not what you had expected ? Will you dance just because I love you ?"

To tell you the truth ... I wanted to get out of the car and dance right there in the midst of the jam..... the song brought a smile to my face. And yes everything will be fine ...... it will be fine

*thanks to my dear brother who compiled this CD for me which I had the pleasure of listening to.

Today is mom's birthday

Today is my mom's 64th birthday. We managed to celebrate her birthday at the Mizi Shabu Shabu Japanese Steamboat in Puchong last Saturday on August 11th as I was on call on August 12th Sunday.

I took some pictures at the steamboat which I will post later.

Sorry for the lack of updates recently ... I still have tons of pictures of Siem Reap to process.... I still have not fully recovered .... still coughing ... sputum is yellow again....been feverish. There are 2 things on my mind currently :

1. My exams in November and the preparations
2. I will not be able to attend my sister's wedding which is in Nov as my exams will still be going on......

More sacrifices ......

Tomorrow I will be going for my medical checkup .... hopefully everything will be fine.

Update some pictures from mom's bday dinner

Each of us have our individual heating pot

The end result :)

Carrie Underwood - So small

Carrie Underwood - So small


Yeah, Yeah

What you got if you ain't got love
The kind that you just want to give away
It's ok to open up
Go ahead and let the light shine through
I know it's hard on a rainy day
You wanna shut the world out and just be left alone
But don't run out on your faith

Cause sometimes that mountain you've been climbing
Is just a grain of sand
And what you've been out there searching for forever
Is in your hands
And when you figure out love is all that matters after all
It sure makes everything else seem
So small

It's so easy to get lost inside
A problem that seems so big at the time
It's like a river that's so wide it swallows you whole
While you're sitting around thinking about what you can't change

And worrying about all the wrong things
Time's flying by, moving so fast
You better make it count cause you can't get it back
Sometimes that mountain you've been climbing
Is just a grain of sand
And what you've been out there searching for forever
Is in your hands
Oh, and when you figure out love is all that matters after all
It sure makes everything else seem
So small, yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah

Sometimes that mountain you've been climbing
Is just a grain of sand
And what you've out there searching for forever
Is in your hands
And then you figure out love is all that matters after all
It sure makes everything else
Oh, it sure makes everything else seem
So small

Yeah, yeah

A new single from Carrie Underwood....... "so small" but it spoke volumes to me.

Siem Reap : Old Market

After visiting the crafts workshop, we head over to the Old Market area to get some souvenirs. It was fulls of life and colors and of course I could not stop taking photos ... :)




Full of rich colours .....





The inner wet market ... full of life and yummy delicacies and fresh vegetables.





Erm BBQ spiders anyone ??? I did not try it though it was tempting ... no one in the group was willing to give it a shot ...hehe



Crabs anyone ??



Next we finally found a souvenir shop which we could bargain and get a reasonable price.





I bought my cap here for 2 USD ... as I forget to bring mine along. Who can resist 2 beautiful girls who kept saying .. Sir we give you discount .. we give good "plice" ... well I could not resist their charm so I ended up buying the cap and later one I bought magnet souvenirs for my fridge at home.





Saw this kid running around and I had to take a picture ... he was not afraid of strangers.



Grilled Bananas anyone ? I tried some and it was yummy ... no tummy upset. They were selling for about 0.25 USD I think..





Yummy pancakes





Grilled corn .... with a warm friendly face :)



Motorbikes everywhere !!!! and NO HELMETS !!!! But according to my tour guide ... accident rate is low as people do drive slowly and give in to one another ..





Next will be heading over to Tonle Sap Lake ... more photos later

Tonight we will be celebrating mom's birthday which is on August 15th... but we will be celebrating earlier. I will be on call tomorrow .. :(

*** Trying something new ... pictures are hosted by Photobucket as it is easier to upload multiple pictures at a time .... will see how it goes :)