The Big Divide

Having spent the Last four days of this trip in Cambodia, whiLst my mind is stiLL fresh with what I have seen and that the emotions are stiLL pretty much stiLL Lingering, I suppose I wiLL just jot down some of the amazing stuff I have seen, if I can.

They caLL Cambodia the Land of Wonders, and it sure Lives to its name. From the minute I Landed in Siem Reap untiL the moment I crossed the border from Phnom Penh into Vietnam, nothing has faiLed to impress me.

The ancient tempLes at Angkor Wat, with its rich history preserved, brings one back in time, yet coming back to reaLity, you see that tourism has, in fact, been the main cuLprit in the acceLeration of ruining the remains of these wonderfuL man-made structures.

Tourism has no doubt been the primary source of income for many of the businesses in Cambodia, however, through it, many Cambodian peopLe have been infLuenced by the money-factor so much so that even the purest of a young chiLd's mind has been poLLuted to the fact that money is the reason they Live for.

There are chiLdren every you go in the tempLe ruins wanting to seLL souvenirs and books at obscene prices, and they sure have a way in how they speak. Two-year oLd, five and oLder ones .. its amazing how many Languages they have Learnt to communicate with the many nationaLities that visits their homeLand. We sure have met quite a number of chiLdren with very good command of EngLish, and other Languages incLuding Mandarin, Japanese and even Spanish.

On our finaL day in Siem Reap, waking up at the wee hours of four o'cLock to cycLe aLL the way from our hoteL to the tempLe ruins to catch the beautifuL sunrise, is to be the best decision we have made as we cycLed in totaL darkness aLong the roads, onLy to be Led occasionaLLy by passing vehicLes. ALong the way, staring at the vast sky fuLL of shining stars made the experience unforgetabLe.

At 5-ish, we got to our destination, I forgot the name of the ancient King's private swimming pooL which is an enormous reservoir and there we caught our sunrise in the greatest possibLe way we couLd. And there, we had fun with the chiLdren seLLing hot coffee and souvenirs. No, we did not buy any, but the few of them sure had given us Lots of fun there. And the chiLdren themseLves are as happy as they can be despite the poor saLes.

This is one sunrise I wiLL never forget.

TaLking about Cambodian chiLdren, one thing that I have been pretty much curious is that chiLdren have no say about what they want to do. If a chiLd is born a farmer's son, he wiLL be a farmer, and if a chiLd is born a fruit seLLer's daughter, she wiLL be assisting in the famiLy business. But is this what they want to do? Or is it what they have to do ..

Coming back in time to the present, it is New Year's Eve in Ho Chi Minh, whiLe I am to Log off soon inside this internet cafe, the note is to be continued as and when I can ...

.. tiL then, have a happy new year!


You can see more pictures of the trip from Facebook.

Eve of X'mas

Its here.

Do enjoy ur individuaL ceLebrations. For those who are not, fret not, for Santa CLaus is watching out for you.

Dun forget to hang the stocking by your window ...

Merry Christmas, one and aLL!

Late Night Drama

I am now fucking awake having been invoLved in a "get-the-car-back" incident.

Just an hour ago, my Dad woke us aLL up as our famiLy car went missing in the middLe of the night. The key was nowhere to be seen. Since aLL members of the famiLy are in except for one, there can onLy be one cuLprit - my younger brother.

Being the usuaL bLack sheep of the famiLy, this was just one of the stunts he had performed throughout the years. And we aLmost got the poLice invoLved this time.

After being abLe to contact him and his good friend with persistent caLLs and having sent sms-es that probabLy scared the shit of them, we managed to meet up at nearby. As I expected, there was damage to the front bumper, the driver was the friend, they drank, and they are not Licensed.

Infringements of three traffic ruLes (unathorised driving of car, drink-driving, driving without License) and two house ruLes (unauthorised driving for outsiders, freaking inconvenience caused). What the fuck are these bastards thinking?

The friend has been toLd off by me, and has agreed to pay for the damages. I rejected the apoLogies and Lame excuse though. The bLack sheep, as he is, shaLL sLeep in the Living room tonight.

And for me .. I shouLdnt even be awake. After so many years of discipLine and guidance, sometimes a Leopard can never change its spots.

I give up.

The immediate question now is how I shouLd turn in with high bLood? Maybe some games wiLL heLp. Off for some CaLL of Duty onLine to kiLL some anger .. out.

To See

I bumped into Larry, one of my grassroots Leaders, at the coffeeshop yesterday. As he was to be fLying off that evening with his famiLy, we had a smaLL taLk and he shared about the goodness of home stays in Europe.

Great food, exceLLent hospitaLity are just two of the many Larry had been impressed in his Last visit at London.

His memorabLe experience couLd very much aLLow myseLf to visuaLise my traveLing pLans for 2010. CoupLed with the introduction of this pLace on TV right now, I wouLd most probabLy be gearing up for an exciting trip to ... New ZeaLand!

I can't wait to carry that out, but before that, my Cambodia-Vietnam trip wouLd be happening in a week.

FinaLLy.

If I Have A Choice

I wouLd run away from everything, find that LittLe isLand with beaches and waters so cLear, they make you think of nothing more than the present.

But do I have a choice? Nope, not at the moment. And that is why I stiLL have to get dressed in shirt and pants, enter the same damned office day in day out facing the same shit.

If onLy peopLe are Less competitive and ambitious .. workpLace wiLL definiteLy be a good pLace to be in. Whatever it is, do not incLude me in that equation for "I come in peace .."

.. my Long-awaited reward of a perfect getaway is so near, I can feeL it now. But then, it wouLd be a brief fareweLL to the fun-Loving temp who shouLd most probabLy be gone when I'm back after the cross-over to the new year.

I Love temps and interns .. they make Life much more interesting!  =)

The P-Factor

Even in a seemingLy innocent workpLace Like mine, you cannot escape what we caLL the P-factor.

As much as I do not wish to get invoLved, somehow or rather, I am dragged into it and become part of it.

This is the reaL worLd .. and sometimes, we do not have a choice.

ReaL. FugLy worLd.

Raindrops Keep FaLLing on my Head

Its been showering since Late afternoon, so much so that when I Left my office at 6-ish, the drizzLe was stiLL on.

I Love the rain though the majority might think otherwise. I cant expLain why but on this day I decided to waLk home in the Light rain.

Rain soothes one's inner souL after another taxing day in the office ..

SimpLy therapeutic.

The Sunday FootbaLL Affair

8.00 a.m - PubLic Service 7-a-side Soccer Tournament @ St WiLfred's with company, PeopLe's Association.

3.00 p.m - ESPZEN Soccer League

Hibernians vs Greats ..

PLaying with these ang-mohs aLways drains more than usuaL, and this time round Greats scored a convincing 4-0 win over the Irish expats.

Once again I missed a goLden opportunity to be on the scoresheet.

5.30 p.m - The Jumpshots

One of the Jump shots as taken with a very nice sky in the background.












6.00 p.m - Dinner

WeLL deserved dinner @ AMK Broadway food centre to repLenish the carbohydrates burnt from the game, or games rather in my own context.

LoveLy day spent in the company of my beLoved footbaLL.

WhiLe on our way home on Cong's Lorry, with Derek, Yongren and myseLf at the rear, I appreciate Yongren asking me how my Life is going, what I am doing week in and out.

I thought, and answered, work, footbaLL, work, footbaLL. And then he asked, is it time for us to move to the next phrase of our Lives? ObviousLy, it can onLy be ... dating.

WeLL, I agree. But, in contrast with Derek and Yongren, with a working environment and LifestyLe such as mine, the chances of meeting potentiaL partners are cLose to zero.

Latest Update :

Gen-X 1
Gen-Y 2

Does anyone know what the heLL hydrophiLic is?

When Gen-X Meets Gen-Y

You reaLise that somehow in the very wide base of the EngLish Language, there are idioms and words that appear to be a LittLe "chim" to yourseLf.

A good exampLe, 'buLL in a China shop' ... seriousLy I have never heard of this my whoLe Life untiL that day, my good Gen-Y temp in the office shot it at me via MSN messenger.

FeLt so insuLted.

LuckiLy, somehow she does not know the word 'versatiLe' either.

And so the game is stiLL on at 1-1 ...

JingLe ALL The Way

Despite a surprisingLy tougher time at work (its the season greetings), I shouLd have easiLy succumbed to severe fatigue, but no, that din happen.

I thought about it, and try to find the reasons for that. And I concLuded the foLLowing:

1. A positive mindset is aLL one need to stay on top.

2. Hanging around with the younger peeps keeps one refreshed!

3. Listening to the X'mas songs at supermarts and shopping maLLs make one feeL good.

I can sense it nearing, and coming.

... Santa CLaus sure is coming to town.

TaLking about No. 2, workpLace sees new additions with a young gaL, Shuxuan, and another guy, Jiahao, both of whom are waiting for their O' LeveLs. And I thought my sis at home was the nearest I can get to bridge the generation gap. Here comes two 17 yos to make my December an enjoyabLe one at work!

When I was just a LittLe Boy ...