When Life Brings You Adulthood

So, this is it. I’m finally an adult. I graduated and get a job. I am on my own. I got to make decision that counts and affects other people more than just myself. I am now in an adulthood which I always wished for when I was a teenager. Now that I am in it, I am no longer excited.

No offense, it is great to be an adult. I earn my own income. I can travel with almost zero parental control. I get to buy stuffs for myself without hearing my dad’s complaint. These are the things that I wished for when I was an adult. But as you may know, thing doesn’t always go as what we wanted or planned, right?

I now earn my own revenue, yet I have no time to spend it. Sitting down peacefully with a rush, grab a drink, and listening to music at pub has become a mission almost impossible for me. I can now go shopping, yet shopping can only be done on lunch break in a hurry. When it comes to travel, I can do it with ease, yet I’m stuck with work. I no longer have Saturday as my weekend day off. I no longer go to school where all kind of fun is.

I miss old days. I miss going to KTV or shopping with my friends after class. I miss being all messed up and crazy when final exam approach. I just miss going to school and just study without having to concern about anything else. But you know what; this is an important stage of life everyone has to deal with. Despite missing my teenager hood miserably, I am trying to adjust to this new style of living.

To those who are reading, you might be frustrated like me or maybe excited and enjoying it. If those symptoms I described happen to you, don’t be panic. That’s just normal things all adults everywhere are dealing with.

Last but not least, let me just say to myself and newbie to adulthood out there: “Welcome to Adulthood!!!”

It Is No Longer A Hidden Ancient City

Some people might think traveling abroad is amazing. I am not against the idea since I am an abroad-traveler myself. However, there are few places in my own country where I believe worth going, and they are just as amazing or even more brilliant. One of those places I admired so much is Siem Reap City.

Most people might started the description with the label of Angkor Wat or Angkor City; conversely, I do it differently by mentioning the whole Siem Reap City because I want to prove that even though Angkor Wat is magnificent, the city is also priceless in itself regarding many things it has to offer in which Angkor Wat is one of them.

During water festival this year, I and my family decided to make our journey to Siem Reap. I, first, wanted to experience water festival celebration there. Unfortunately, it was cancelled since the whole nation is morning for the death of King Father. I didn't cancel my trip though. Our plan was to stay there for two nights and three days. We drove our own car which allowed as to have a little bit more space of freedom without concerning to find public transportation when we got there. Another reason that drove me to bring my own car was a superb ancient bridge locates in Chi Kreng Commune, Siem Reap Province. It is generally called Kampong Kdei bridge, but its name I saw on site was Preah Tis Bridge. You will find it along the way just 60 km before you reach Siem Reap City. I experienced traveling by bus, but they didn't stop at that location. Therefore, bringing my own car gave me an opportunity stop at the bridge and take a closer look.

The bridge was built in 12th century by the greatest king in Angkor era, Jayavarman VII. The bridge was considered as very old yet it's still standing firmly and currently opened for a smaller vehicles to travel on. Under the bridge, you will handsomely standing pillars each of which separated by arches. The shape of those arches were similar to those you can found in Angkor Wat and other temples, but they are splendidly different from those you can find in ancient European architectures.

Banteay Kdei Bridge

Once arrived the Siem Reap City, I couldn't wait any longer to get to see one of the world famous wonders everyone wishes to see, the Angkor Wat. Though I didn't go in the first, just drove pass by made me excited already. To be honest, I've been to the temple many times, yet I am excited every single time I return. So, on the first day I visited Banteay Kdei temple, Srah Srang, Ta Prom temple, Elephant Terrace, and Bakheng Mountain. So many places in one afternoon huh? Trust me, It was worth every single minute.

Entrance of Banteay Kdei Temple

Banteay Kdei Temple at First Sight

Srah Srang

Ta Prom Temple

Ta Prom Temple (featured in Tomb Raider)

Elephant Terrace

Elephant and Lotus Flower (At Elephant Terrace)

At the end of the first day, I ended up having dinner at Pub Street and touring a little at night market. Even though I already knew that there are tons of foreigner visiting the city, I was still thrown off once I entered Pub Street. It was like a mini abroad in my own home if you know what I mean. Most of the restaurant, pub, and bar there have their menu in English!!!! When I said English with exclamation point, it meant no those menus were solely in English and not a single word in Khmer. In a positive side, I thought it's great that businesses there are flexible according to type of customers they serve which are mainly tourists. At the minus side, I still believed that it wouldn't hurt making a bilingual menu for both locals and non-locals.

For Night Market, I thought it was better than the one in Phnom Penh. It had more goods to offer. However, I wished to see more originality of Khmer identity. What do I mean by that? Don't get me wrong. I was happy to see such growth, but the Night Market just reminded me a lot of walking streets in Thailand. I accept the fact that Thailand and Cambodia have many things in common, but I truly believe that those common things are not identical. What I saw at the Night Market were closer to Thai style and turned away a bit from Khmer style, i.e. the massage. Well, so the Night Market was the end of my first day in Siem Reap City.

The next morning, I woke up early to see an amazing sunrise at Angkor Wat. It was spectacular. That day, I spent a whole morning just to walk around Angkor Wat. Every detail were just perfectly built until I almost couldn't believe that it was man-made. After Angkor Wat, I went to three more temple namely Bayon, Phimeanakas, and Preah Khan. It was indescribably interesting comparing similarities and differences among those temples.

Sunrise at Angkor Wat

Bayond Temple

Phimeanakas Temple

Toward Entrance of Preah Khan Temple

Preah Khan Temple

First Sight of Preah Khan Temple (It was built by Jayavarman VII for worship his father death; however, the temple is the also a city where people lived by their different ranks. In the temple you can find Brahmanism and Buddhism clearly embedded by seeing Linga, Yoni, and Stupa built next to each other.)

Evening that day, I visited Preah Ang Jek Preah Ang Jorm. Since it was full moon, the second day of water festival, there were many people there paying respect. There were not many tourists at that place. However, I thought it is worth observing how Buddhist influence remains really strong in Cambodians' belief.

Preah Ang Jek Preah Ang Jom

So, that was how I spent my two-night trip in Siem Reap. Although it was crowded, I still found it more calm than Phnom Penh. The traffic was better. Of course, there were traffic jams, but when I said better I meant there were less traffic accident. People were seem to be really respect each other. The environment there was also less tense. Overall, I simply love the city not only because it is rich in ancient infrastructures, but also because it provides a uniquely different environment compared to the capital.

Singapore's Turn

I think my embarkment in Southeast Asia is getting close to success. Three more countries to go, and I will make it to every country in this region. My first experience of going abroad was Thailand, followed by Malaysia, Lao PDR, the Philippines, and the most recent one, Singapore.

Some people, at least some of those in where I am living, might think that traveling abroad is something considered to be costly and not easy to do. I, too, used to think that way. However, my perception have changed when I travel more and more. Regarding traveling, sometimes you don't have to be too serious about it. Instead of saying "I'm thinking of going to.....", you can just go. I don't deny the fact that traveling can be really pricey  now and then. However, you can always make an effort to minimize the cost.

Well, my trip to Singapore recently is all about budget traveling. I was told by many people that everything in Singapore is very expensive. Of course, I believed that because I also did some internet search myself. However, I decided to go and made my experiment on my budget traveling skill.

I was hosted by a Singaporean friend. I don't mind being hosted by friends. Some people might think it is not polite or appropriate to stay at other people' houses. It might be true from time to time, but for me, this is not the case. If you friend welcome you, why not? Also, I was told by my friend that travelers can actually find a budget hotel or hostel in some unpopular area in Singapore. It range from 20 to 30 dollar a night for hotel and much less than that for hostel. Moreover, in term of food, it definitely much more cheaper than the accommodation. I didn't go for fast food. Cheap fast food is not the case in Singapore. I went for local Chinese-Singaporean food. They were tasty, and the prices were reasonable. I liked them a lot.

Now, here come the sightseeing part. There are places which demand you to pay for tickets; however, some places are free for you to check out!!! My selection was mixed. I paid for few places which I think deserved to be visited. On my first day, I arrived Changi International Airport at 11:30am. I was picked up by a friend. That day we went local food court. After that, I went to Singapore theater to take a look. Then, I continued to the Merlion park. Merlion is a symbol of Singapore. Never miss that place if you ever go to this country, and it's free!!! I later walked pass by the luxurious Fullerton Hotel which used to be a post office during British colonization. I pretty much wandered around that area and ended up in Marina Bay Sands shopping mall. I stopped there for a drink, then continued to Garden by the Bay which was closed to Marina Bay Sands, one of the famous skyscraper in Singapore. In my point of view, Garden by the Bay was not that impressive. I feel that it was lack of nature to be really called a garden. After Garden by the Bay, I went up to Marina Bay Sky park. I paid 20 dollar for the ticket, but I think it was worth paying for. Up there, I was able to see the amazing view of the surrounding area. I went up there when it was already dark. The view was stunning.

The Theater

Merlion Park

The Fullerton Hotel (Former Post Office)

Garden by the Bay

View from Marina Bay Sky Park

Singapore Flyer

On my second day, I took the cable car to Sentosa island and Mount Feber. The ticket was 30 bucks. I tried to walk around the island, but I couldn't cover the whole island. When I gave up walking under a very hot weather, my friend told me I just covered 1/8 of Sentosa island. I was like: oh well! >.< I decided not to visit the famous Universal Studio because the price and limited time. After Sentosa, I went for Ben&Jerry (for those who don't know, it's an ice-cream brand) at Vivo City, the most famous shopping mall .in Singapore. Later in the evening, I met up with a Cambodian friend and had dinner at China town.

The Cable Car

View from the Cable Car

Sentasa Beach

View of Sentosa Island from Mount Feber

China Town

The last day came, and I occupied my whole day at Singapore Botanic Garden. It was one of my most favorite places in Singapore so far. Also, it was free. To a developed country like Singapore, it was incredible to actually feel connected with nature at that garden. Also, I visited the National Orchid Garden located in Botanic Garden. I had to pay 5 bucks for that one; however, it was beautiful. I spent my last night in Singapore with my friend at New Asia bar, located at the 70th floor of Swissotel, to take the last glace of the city view. My friend told me that the bar is usually crowded. On the other hand, it was just enough people and enough volume of music since we went there on Monday night. it was just the right amount of everything I like.

Overall, my time in Singapore was amazing. The most important thing was that I didn't spend that much, and I called it a budget travel. In term of transportation, MRT is very convenient and not expensive at all. What's more, there were public buses everywhere and at any time. Singapore is famous for its public transportation because it is used by the majority of Singaporean population.

Crossed Vietnam to the Philippines

I admit that life is very unexpected. I’ve always wanted to go to the Philippines, but I didn’t expect to go there this soon, but I did. Once again my college offered me an opportunity of participating in the Eleventh ASEFUAN Academic Conference and Annual General Meeting which took place at Ateneo University of Manila, the Philippines. I got sponsored by my college; however, I had to pay for the air ticket. To fly out directly from Phnom Penh to Manila is very pricey. Therefore, I decided to fly out from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam instead because it was cheaper, and I took bus from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh.

The length of the whole trip was five days, and I made it to two countries during those five days! On the first day, I left early in the morning and arrived Ho Chi Minh City around 3pm. It was my first time traveling abroad being completely alone. I felt terrified and fascinated at the same time. I decided to walk from the bus stop to find the hotel which I already booked. It was my first time in HCM. I knew nothing about that place. I got the map of the direction to my hotel printed out. It took me almost an hour to find my hotel because I took the wrong road twice! On the other hand, I was happy that I found it. My hotel was nice and the staffs were very friendly. I was very exhausted but couldn’t waste my time by just staying in the hotel room and not going anywhere since I only had one night there before I flew out to Manila. I spent about two hours walking around the city to check out few nearby places. I went to the Opera House, the Cathedral, Ben Thanh market, few shopping malls, and ended up had dinner in a nice restaurant. Some people might think that traveling alone doesn’t sound like fun. However, I think I had so much doing that all by myself. I felt like I had my time out to relax and was just be by myself with no interference. 

Opera House

The Cathedral

Ben Thanh Market

Opera House at night

The next morning, I checked out my hotel at noon and went straight to the airport. The airport was obviously bigger than the airport at home. However, it was a bit quiet. It took me two hours and a half to fly from Ho Chi Minh to Manila. I arrived Manila at 7 in the evening. It was raining due to the rainy season there and also the typhoon. My hotel was already booked by the conference organizers. I stayed at Astoria Plaza in Ortigas, business district in Manila. There were a lot of skyscrapers in that area. Astoria was a really nice hotel. My room was on the 19th floor. I could see the whole view of the surrounding area from the big windows in my room. There were separate living room and a kitchen in my room as well. I had to say it was my first time staying in a nice hotel suite like this.

My suite at Astoria

View from my window

I expected to walk around my area to explore the city. Unfortunately, during my first night there, I couldn’t go anywhere because it didn’t stop raining. The conference lasted for the whole next two days. Beside the conference time, it kept raining. Obviously, I didn’t get a chance to go anywhere at all because I had to come back home immediately after the conference ended due to my tight schedule at school.The only chance I could see the city was when I was on the bus from my hotel to the university. However, I still enjoyed my time there. The conference was really interesting, and I learned a lot from it. My time in Manila was such an amazing experience. I got to know a lot of new people from different backgrounds. Besides making friends, those people gave many useful advices for me to reach for other opportunities. One thing I noticed about my participation in this conference was that I and the other Cambodian girl were the only two people in the conference who were not the alumni members. After joining this conference, I want to be one of them. I acknowledged that I can become a member of the alumni, ASEFUAN, if I participate in ASEF University program conducted annually by Asia-Europe Foundation. I am planning to apply next year and hopefully I will get selected.

I definitely want to go back to Manila, but not in rainy season!!!

At the conference

Photo exhibition

Theme of the exhibition

Participants of 11th ASEFUAN Academic Conference and Annual General Meeting.

Chiang Mai Bound

I was not a big fan of Thailand, yet I am missing it now. I miss one of Thailand's northern provinces namely Chiang Mai. I've been traveling up and down Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand, for the past five years for personal reason. I've never enjoyed it; therefore, I made an assumption that I don't like this country. I was wrong.

I got to spend time in Chiang Mai for almost five months for my exchange program. During those five months period. I went to school at Payab University and stayed at Alpha Women Dormitory which was closed by the campus. It was my first time living a campus life. I didn't like it at first because I am a type of person who needs high privacy. At Alpha, I shared a room with a Thai girl. She was really nice and kind to me. It was just my habit that I don't like to share my room with anyone, but I tried to deal with it because that's life. In life, you don't get what you want all the time. You need to adjust to people and environment around you. So yeah! Having roommate was alright for me. On the other hand, the only thing at the dorm that almost made me cry on my first day there and lasted for almost a month was COLD SHOWER!!! Readers might make your first judgement that I am a spoiled person, but actually I am not. I am very sensitive to cold shower. I've been taking warm shower for many years. Cold shower made me sick in Chiang Mai. Plus, my first month there was January, one of the coldest month in Chiang Mai. For me as an Asian, 15 or 16 degree Celsius was considered as cold. Now you get my feeling. Cold weather and cold shower resulted in my migraine and a flu. Fortunately, after a while, I started to get used to it; so it became normal.

Front door

From behind the dorm

My room (the pink bed was mine)

Now, let's talk about where I went to school. Like mentioned above, I went to Payab University. It was  a Christian based university with a Chapel in it. Comparing to the college that I went to at home, Payab was way bigger. I loved everything about this school. Lots of trees, ponds, big building, nice canteen, huge library, and bank on campus were just such a satisfaction. There was one thing though that I didn't like. It was uniform. I normally like to wear comfortable clothes when I go to school, and uniform was not considered as comfy for me at all. The campus was about 1.5 kilometers away from my dorm. Sometimes I walked to school, and sometimes I took Skyblue. Skyblue is a type of car with white body, blue roof, and no wall. It was a service provided by the college to regularly pick up students from the dorm or around the campus. After two months being there, my friend gave me a bike. So, I occasionally bike to school as well.

The Chapel

The Library

Skyblue

My bike (I wish I could bring it back home with me)

Before I got there, I expected to study with Thai students, but I was wrong. The exchange program accepted students from abroad, especially from the US. That made my class consisted of many Americans, two other Cambodians, one Gambian, and one Japanese. It was fun having such diversities in classes.

I, my friends, and professors

Besides nice school and new friends, Chiang Mai was lovely. I liked it a lot. People were so nice. The city was not too crowded and very charming. There were many interesting place to visit both inside and outside the city. Almost every weekend, I and my friends went to old town for eating and shopping. There was usually Sunday walking street there. Old town was the part of old Chiang Mai city which located inside the old city wall. Also, we sometimes went to movies or pubs. Moreover, I went to other places including Chiang Mai Zoo and Bau Tong sticky waterfall.

In front of Tae Pae Gate (one side of old wall)

The photo said it all ;)

My experiences in Chiang Mai was amazing. It was not only the place, but also people that I met which made my time there so wonderful. I have learned a lot of things while I was there. The most important thing that I learned was that home is always the best place of all. I used to wish to go away from home to escape all problems I was facing. However, when I was away, I just wanted to come back, and none of those problems mattered anymore.