Mission (IM)possible I

I've been assigned a daunting task.. and the outcome of this mission totally depends on how the other person performs. It's either mission possible if he thinks that I-M-possible or impossible if he refuses to budge.

Yes the other person is none other than my youngest brother!

Actually I'm a little guilt-ridden, for I was handled this task a long time ago, in fact, about 2 years ago but due to other commitments (which I thought were more pressing at that time), I kept procrastinating and now my brother's bearing the consequences.

Hence, I shall turn back the clock and make the impossible possible! It all boils down to him now.. yessss "no time to lose" and I hope YOU will mark your words and not lose time to DOTA-ing!

Now, get off the comp!

Awwwwwwwwwwwww

This' my 2nd time aww-ing in one morning. First to Jenny Pok, =P and second to my parents.

Ok, for all that parents've done, I'm really glad to know that.. even if the sky falls down on me, they'll be there to support it! =P Sheesh man, now I sound like a dependent kid!

Well well, the recent spate of events has made me feel their love even more so and somehow, I feel a tad remorseful for whatever I've done that caused them to worry. Hence, for them at least, I shall live life with aplomb!

AWwwwwwwww....

<<出人头地>>

These few days.. having nothing to do in the morning except for surfing the internet, occasionally jogging.. while waiting for my dad to wake up so that we can have brunch together, I have been watching this Channel 8 drama serial <<出人头地>>. This serial, starring Zoe Tay, Li Nanxing, Aileen Tan, Edmund Chen, is as old as, to be precise, older than me! OMG. Haha. But still, it's quite a good watch and its theme song's been ringing in my head, especially the following few lines.. which I thought, are very meaningful and apt.

。。。一生要失败几回，
才知道生活的意义。
一生要爱过几回，
才能了解爱的真谛。。。

Woots! Okay, a digression here.. I shall head back to work.

In moderation

If there's one thing I gotta learn to do this holidays, it would be to live in moderation.

I tend to overdo stuff, kinda compulsively, obsessively, like procrastinating, eating, planning, surfing the internet, chatting, watching TV and more and more.

And if you realise, I tend to commit SINS compulsively, obsessively and non of the good things like exercising, reading, studying, doing household chores...

So, if I were able to transfer some energy which I place on the SINS to things that I SHOULD do, probably my life would be more balanced.

Anyway, would you bother yourself with this? http://www.survive2012.com/geryl1.php

I wouldn't.

It's a SUNny DAY!

Yes it's sunny Sunday and it's also Father's Day! It's been a very long while since we last celebrated Father's Day and I reckon it's time we bring back the tradition. Hence, we've kind of planned for some activity tonight.. It'll be dinner after my mum knocks off from work and then a movie! I think the movie that my family last watched together, at a CINEMA, was some Jackie Chan movie back in the 1990s. Haha.

Anyway, going back to work on Friday to relief teach got me to realise how fast time whizzes by. 2 years passed, just like that. It's pretty amazing, seeing how those kids whom I met 2 years ago have grown up. Wow. Relief teaching's fun no doubt, allowing me to interact with kids, drenching myself in their not-so-innocent innocence. Haha sometimes, they ask the weirdest questions la. But still, I can only see myself relief teaching and not teaching as a career.

Saturday, I mean yesterday, was well-spent Paint-A-Homing at Jamiyah Children's Home and catching up with wackomints- we painted the corridors. After yesterday's session, I concluded that painting's indeed therapeutic, without the odour that is. So, after painting, we went for bubble tea and to Astons for dinner. Food there's really not bad and reasonably priced too! =)

It was great and enjoyable catching up with peeps whom I've not met for a very long time. And I realised that I'm starting to engage in conversations revolving around work, future and life. Man and from these conversations, it suddenly dawned upon me how directionless and unprepared I'm for the future.... and then I realised my dreams have diminished along the years, as I grew up.

Where has my motivation gone to? Where're those dreams I had when I was younger?

It's time.. I dreamed big.. again!

Hey hey!

This post's gonna be really random.

It's a point that I missed out while recounting my experiences in Cambodia. On the last day of the recce trip, while waiting for the taxi to arrive to take us to Phnom Penh, I read some magazines, Bee Ngoh's, on "DEATH". All right, it's a morbid topic but it set me thinking. Haha my parents would definitely bash me for doing so 'cause they DON'T believe in worrying about the future, as to them, life's really unpredictable.

And so I asked Lao Lao how she'ld live the last 3 weeks of her life... She said she'ld meet up with friends and loved ones for the very last time and do the things that she's not done before. Hmm..

Anyway, I've not found an answer to that question and I refuse to answer that, at least for now. All I know is that I should live life with no regrets.

Is there ever something as a "perfect" answer to any questions in life? And what's the point of wasting time thinking of something that's so intangible?

Hmmmm...

Perhaps I've been too long away from Singapore, from media sources, to feel the effects of the catastrophes which took place some time ago. I only learnt about them when I checked my emails and realised that I've received some, asking for donations to help those affected by the cataclysm.

And so I thought, we'll be spend about SGD8000 refurbishing a school in dec, would this amount of money be better spent helping the victims of the calamity? Well, if I were to question further, it'ld definitely be an endless debate.

Anyway, I realised that I learn most about Singapore when I'm out of the country, that is, when I'm able to view Singapore from an outsider's perspectives. Only then will I be able to make comparisons, observe Singaporean mannerism and thoughts and really appreciate what I have back at home. Now that I'm back home, I think I'm slowing, subtly integrating back into society.. turning back into my old self.. the way I behaved, the way I thought..

Ok, snap! It's good that I realised it now and so there's still time for remedy. Haha. Yup. Let me not waste the good time I spent in Cambodia, the things I've learnt.

If there's only one thing to do right now, it'ld be... to progress!! =)

Welcome to Cambodia! Part 2..

The Recce Trip (5th June to 8th June)

Before I relate my experience proper, here's a glimpse of us, Lao Lao after 4 days in Cambodia and me, after 3 weeks in Cambodia:


Prey Veng Province, Love Cambodia
5th June
Lao Lao arrived in Siem Reap not long after my team left for Singapore and so, I didn't spend much time waiting for her. Upon her arrival, we headed down to a guesthouse for breakfast and then made our way to meet Bee Ngoh, our YEP trip contact in Cambodia, in Prey Veng province. I hope Lao Lao has had a good experience in Cambodia, being there for the very first time!

We reached Bee Ngoh's place, which's also a NGO called "Love Cambodia", at around 2.30pm. After which, we rested, discussed some stuff, watched "Cinderella Man" and had dinner together with some Singaporeans who are currently doing missionary work in Cambodia. I've learnt a lot more about Cambodia from the chat over dinner. Amazing stuff man!

They took their leave at around 8pm and we continued watching the movie. It was a pretty cool movie, rather thought-provoking as well. After the movie and bathing, we started chatting about stuff of Cambodia- its situation, development, about social work, community service till midnight. The conversation was information overload but it was definitely mind-nourishing for I learnt a lot more about Cambodia than I ever did before the 2 trips to Cambodia. =)

6th June
After a typical Khmer breakfast of French baguette (due to the colonisation by the French in the 1800s) with spread, we embarked on our recce trip and visited 4 villages. That's when I learnt about a burglary which took place the night before, the burglar stole 1,000,000 riels = USD250 but I wasn't sure if he was arrested in the end. Due to this incident, we decided to give that village a miss and proceeded to Prey Kla, some 15 minutes away from Prey Veng town.

The roads were extremely bumpy, making the ride unsuitable for people with motion-sickness. Upon reaching the village, we met up with the community based officials (CBOs)- people who monitor and plan the development of the village, to work something out. In the end, both Lao Lao and I were rather certain that this was the village we would want to work on as there's really a need to refurbish the school and that accommodation for a team would not be a problem in the village.
The floors of the school Our accommodation

Next up, we visited Kampong Ongquinh- a place in need of toilets BUT security there IS a serious problem and that the water in that village's arsenic- a potential threat to the health of the members. Hence, we decided that we weren't in favour of working on this village. The last village in consideration was Village Slang, the one which I went to previously. There was not much that we could do there, besides building toilets and so we decided that we shall work on Prey Kla first and may consider other villages in the future.

After the recce and some intense discussion and agreements for the trip in december, we retired for the day. I turned in really early at night as I was rather brain fried from the activities in the day. Haha.

Day 3 and 4 were spent visiting Prey Veng town, the market, the orphanage, watching sunset, eating, playing mind-boogling games, discussing about our trip and so on.. On Day 4, I attended Sunday service- my very first in Cambodia- but it was conducted in Khmer and so I spent half the time listening to the translation, by a Cambodian friend, and trying to figure out the gist of the preaching. Haha. It was still fun though! =)

The OrphanageSunset
Duck foetus- which Lao Lao claimed is very delicious, I ate 2 spoonfuls and concluded... it wasn't as scary as I thought haha.. At the garden outside Bee Ngoh's house

The trip was enjoyable overall... except for...

MOSQUITOES!! The most bothersome things at night. Seriously. I woke up at least 5 times to apply insect repellant onto my skin but it failed to keep the mosquitoes away!! This left me with:


And Lao Lao:

Now that I've recounted my experiences in Cambodia, I've gained so much, intangibly, from this trip that I don't know how or where to start gathering and documenting them.

But firstly, I have to thank God for blessing us with a smooth trip and for all the enlightenment and wisdom bestowed. I hope that HE will always be there to guide us and to grant us with the courage and strength to overcome any obstacles that we may face along the way. Thank you Lord Jesus, Amen! =)

Welcome to Cambodia!

Suor-sdei! I'm back from Cambodia. This' my second trip to Cambodia and I must say that I've gained new perspectives and have enjoyed myself tremendously, in fact, more than I did last year. I'm really glad I've kind of fulfilled my purpose of going for expedition the second time. Besides expedition, I also extended my trip to recce for the CSC YEP trip in december.

Life's really different now that I'm back. Everything here's so much more fast paced, efficient that I'm having a little difficulty adjusting back to reality and feeling a tad angsty trying to catch up with what I've missed out on ahaha. Nevertheless, I thank God for his blessings and I must that I'm really fortunate to be born and breed here. Alright, here's my resolution and a change I must make: to stop being an emo-Nemo and to appreciate all the little things in life. I've learnt that life's really too short to be wasted feeling unhappy and grouchy. =) Haha, I hereby hope for a better age!

Sooo... Here, presenting to you...*drum rolls* my visit to Cambodia in 2 parts- Eusoff Expedition and the Recce Trip! I spent a good whole 3 weeks there, from 20th May to 8th June, enduring insect bites, unbearable heat midst the good stuff like nice people, good food, slow pace of life and so on. Shan't divulge any further, read on to find out more! =)

Eusoff Expedition

Day 0, Phnom Penh
We touched down in Phnom Penh at around 8pm, had dinner and checked into a guesthouse for the night.

There're certainly some signs of development in the city, with new building springing up at every corner, KFC, Swensens, a new mega shopping mall amongst some to name. In a way, it's good that Cambodia's developing but it's rather sad that it's slowly losing its original flavour to commercialisation. It's inevitable I guess, I hope the development'll be for the betterment of the Cambodians.

Day 1 to 5, Village Slang in Prey Veng Province
Village Slang's some 15 mins' ride away from Kampong Cham, the village we visited the previous year, and is a "new" village, in the sense that it hasn't received any help from YEP before. Hence, my group's the "pioneer" batch. This time round, we were there to build toilets and dig wells for the family.

We spent day 1 to 3 learning to build toilets and dig well and I had my first time experience mixing cement, laying bricks, digging soil, operating the power generator for digging the well, connecting/changing drilling bits.. Definitely hard core labouring and not as simple as it seems. Though we did provide some assistance in these construction, I think we were more of a hindrance than a help, but we sure did provide the villagers with entertainment while struggling and fumbling with the equipment. =)

Of course, our time wasn't just spent on construction, we also had some free time to wander around the village, visiting the vast paddy fields, admiring the blue skies with fluffy clouds and the best of it- playing with the kids. It's pretty amazing, like how we couldn't understand the Khmer language but still were able to communicate with them, inevitably with laughter and some embarrassment. One of their favourite activities, I realised, is scaring us- the city dwellers- with living creatures that they can dig out from nowhere, crabs ah, frogs ah, dragonflies ah. They love throwing/sticking these stuff on your skin and watch you scream! I wasn't a bit traumatised but played along with them still. Haha.


In between, I went to the market too, when my group was on duty, and never once got bored. The trip out was always refreshing. On one, we even stopped by to play a game of Chaol Chhoung (don't know if it's the correct name)- a popular Khmer ball game.

Day 6 & 7, Phnom Penh
We decided to take a break from village life and set off for Phnom Penh really early in the morning at 8am. Phnom Penh's some 3 hours away from the village but we arrived in the afternoon as we pitstopped for breakfast and snacks.

After checking into the guesthouse, a newly built one with lots of dust though, we had lunch at a nearby chinese restaurant and then made our way to Tuol Sleang genocide musuem. As some of us have been there before and agreed that one disturbing experience's enough, we decided to roam around Phnom Penh instead and headed down to the Olympic Market- a wholesale market. The walk there was exhilarating, having to beat the sun, the cars, the crowd and everything else to get there. As we were pretty exhausted, from the heat, we took a tuk-tuk back to meet up with the team.

And so it started. The passing around of gastric flu. Many of us fell sick later in the day, having diarrhea and fever. Nonetheless, we were still hyped up for dinner at Friends' Cafe and some chilling out at night. But frankly speaking, I felt that the city life, with the pollution, was making me sicker. I couldn't wish for more to be back in the village.

Anyway, despite our illness, we visited the Killing Fields and Russian Market the next day before heading back to Village Slang. Surprisingly, most of us were looking forward to going back to the village.

(P.S. As my batteries died on me, I couldn't take anymore photos! =( )

Day 8 to 12, Village Slang
I was really happy to be back in the village. The air there was much fresher, the host family took really good care of us. Their hospitality really touched me. Here's the story, knowing that most of us were down, they cooked porridge for the team the next day, washed the toilets when dirtied.

Anyway, while the team was away in Phnom Penh, the workers continued toiling under the hot sun and finished digging all the wells and building all the toilets scheduled to be completed in just 2 days!! Haha. This only proved that we were more of a hindrance than help to them. =P Hence, with no more construction, we carried out some activities with the kids as planned. We taught them nursery rhymes with actions(- it was pure fun as the kids would just follow all the actions and it was really funny to see everyone fumbling and trying to keep up with the song at the same time), had Food Festival where I cooked sweet and sour pork(- which was superb, according to my friends hurhurhur), Sports Day, Origami session and a short English lesson.

In between, my spirits were slightly dampened by the release of results but I decided not to brood over spilt milk and got over it pretty quickly. =P The last few days were rather slack and that was when we felt that time was creeping.. literally.. but I kind of enjoyed that pace of life, not having to rush, to think of what to do next.

The trip climaxed on the last day when the villagers prepared a sumptuous meal for us! =) They cooked an entire duck in curry, served with rice noodles and bread. I bet I ate lots of duck innards, very delicious no doubt. Glutinous rice cake, banana cooked in sago and glutinous rice balls in sago soup were then served as desserts. After dinner, they set up a dance floor, blasted music from a stereo and taught us Khmer dance- their very own disco, right at our doorsteps. Haha. We were rather exhausted by then, but we relented and continued dancing as we felt obligated to join them. It was fun and one kind of an experience no doubt. The night ended with the entire team joining in for a last dance.

We left the village for Siem Reap very early the next morning. Some of us were teary-eyed and the hosts cried when we departed. The villagers, the place have certainly left an indelible mark in my mind.
My all-time favourite, the host's daughter, super cute!
A close-up

Day 13 to 16, Siem Reap
The days at Siem Reap were spent chilling out as I've been to many places the last time. While others were at Angkor Wat, beating the sun and scaling the temples, I was having a great time chilling out at the various cafes and restaurants, shopping at the markets, massaging. Nothing exciting happened, just lots of time to spare there and take things slow. I'ld say Siem Reap's a much nicer place to hang out compared to Phnom Penh, the place is relatively cleaner.

However, something kind of disappointed me on the day of departure. My friend left his digicam at the guesthouse that we stayed in and was pretty certain that he last saw it on the bed. However, the staff who checked the rooms before we paid for our accommodation denied that he saw the digicam and was adamant that the digicam was not in the room. He refused to let us check the room, claiming that they've searched the place thoroughly, despite getting a local, our driver cum tour guide- Tola, to speak to them. Tola was pretty sure that they've kept the digicam. Well, a lesson learnt from this episode- never to be careless and forgetful. As for my friend, he was rather sad that he had lost.. not his digicam, but rather, beautiful memories of the trip.

And so while the trip ended for some.. it's the beginning of a whole new experience for me as I waited for Lao Lao to arrive.. Hehe