Care Package

Couple of familiar faces and familiar snacks passing through Hong Kong.

August: Week in review

It has been a very interesting last couple of days. My 6 months of unemployment sadly comes to an end with my first week at work. It's nice to have a little routine back in my life and the difficulties of waking up each day slowly returns. Starting a new job is always the most tedious period. Learning about the different functions that each person contributes and the interaction they will eventually have with your role. Making first impressions and gauging personality types and of course just remembering people's names. I'm terrible with people's names and the problem with starting a new job is that you meet so many people in a short period of time. Thankfully I've been given a seating chart with all the names. Then there's the hassle of setting up email/access accounts and just getting used to the system. At the end of the first week I still don't have a computer. An IT professional without a PC, I'm good, but I'm not that good.

Work aside, I have finally opened a Hong Kong bank account and applied for my HKID. Still, there's so many outstanding things that I need to sign up for. This week also marks my very first live performance in Hong Kong, The Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Surprisingly entertaining gig and almost every single expat in Hong Kong made the journey out to Asia World Expo to see them live.

In other parts of the world, the UK has been hit by a ravaging gang of morons wrecking havoc through London 'burbs. Quite a surreal feeling hearing about areas in London and seeing images on the news. Meanwhile in the United States, America has had its Credit Rating downgraded to AA+, first time since 1941. This has rocked economic confidence which has reflected in the global markets. Quite an interesting start to the new role with a broker.

"Where I go I just don't know, I got to got to gotta take it slow" - Red Hot Chilli Peppers

Sponsored!

One way to validate a Hong Kong Visa. Exit and re-enter the country via Macau.

"Next!" I step up to the counter and carefully slide my navy blue passport book under the Perspex window. The silver emboss of the Australian Coat of Arms catches the fluorescent light in the hall. Taking the passport the immigration officer flips to the front page and stares at my photo. She looks up and scans my face. She flicks to my Employment Visa. Again, she looks up at me, this time comparing the photo to what stands before her. I flash a smile. She smiles. Stamp. Stamp. Stamp. My passport is returned and chime "Mh goi".

And that folks, will be the last time I'll line up in the "Other Passports" line when entering Hong Kong. I'm officially a Hong Kong Sponsored resident. First day of work tomorrow, can't wait!

Cambodian Consumption

We would ultimately get sick of eating Cambodian food. This was probably due to not having local intel of where and what to eat. That being said we indulged in our fair share of Cambodian delicacies.

Khmer Dipping sauces

Forgot the name of this lamb dish?

Amok Curry

Fresh Food Markets

Street Side Roast Beef with suspect fresh Vegetables

Khmer Curry

Beef Lok Lak with Fries

Banana Pancakes

Cambodian Baguette

Rice Noodle Soup

Complimentary Casino Congee

Local Brew

Last stop: Phnom Penh

We were all slightly dubious about the estimated travel time between Siem Reap and Phnom. 'Around 6 hours' we were told. Around? Was this determined by the traffic? Dependent on the weather? None of the above, it was invariably down to the number of people climbing on and off along the way.

To our surprise the bus we had boarded was rammed with Cambodians and not the expected clientele of backpackers and tourists. Every now and then the bus would pull to the side and grind to a halt. Somebody might get on, somebody might get off. This explains why we were only given an "approximate" trip time. The drive itself was very enjoyable - the scenery was exceptional and I thoroughly enjoyed the ride through the countryside. Our bus finally arrived in Phnom Penh at 9 pm on Friday 5th.

Earlier that morning I had learnt that my Hong Kong Visa had finally been approved! As expected, this news disappointed me as I was secretly hoping that I could spend more time travelling abroad. I needed to be back in Hong Kong on the Monday to start work on the Tuesday. With a definite end point to this trip I braced myself for my final weekend on the road. Also after 2 weeks of glorious weather ominous clouds rolled into Phnom Penh and the heavens opened. Symbolic perhaps?

Phnom Penh Itinerary

Spent one evening around Sisowath Quay aka 'The riverside'. Plenty of pubs and restaurants although it didn't strike me as anything terribly exciting, again definitely geared towards tourists. While wandering the streets we saw a pretty brutal fight involving a couple of Antipodeans. For our only full day in Phnom Penh we hired Cheng a Taxi Driver for 40 USD who would drive us around to the various sites in town.

Tuol Sleng, the Genocide museum.

Choeung Ek, the Killing Fields.

Psah Thmay, Central Markets.

The National Museum of Cambodia and the Royal Palace as well as a sneaky meal of KFC

(The food is starting to get repetitive).

For an additional 20 USD Cheng was kind enough to entertain us in the evening. We were treated to a nice local restaurant, as well as a live Variety Show, complete with Cambodian Boy Bands and on stage dramas with transvestite lead actors and Platinum the local club scene. The end of the night we gave him an extra 10 USD so that he could find a place to stay the night instead of heading back to his village.

We left Cambodia the following morning with majority of the party heading back to Kuala Lumpur. It was at KL where I left them and headed back to Hong Kong. What an extremely fast two weeks. Hong Kong. Go!

1USD is all you need

We arrived in Cambodia with low expectations and a tight budget. Poipet had been a pleasant surprise and we were still charged with enthusiasm when we eventually arrived in Siem Reap later that afternoon.

Here we met up with one of my friend's Brothers who would join us for the remainder of our trip. The three days were spent at the Frangipani Villa Hotel in Siem Reap, a very comfortable hotel for those on a budget. My only complaint was the angle of the shower head fixture and the lack of an elevator (In any case I probably needed the steps given the amount of food consumed since leaving Hong Kong). For the remainder of the first day we hired the services of Ken, a Tuk Tuk driver who brought us to the various markets and was responsible for one of the entertaining Karaoke sessions in my life.

Day 2 was spent exploring the Angkor National Park (20USD) the main attractions being Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom and Ta Prohm. It was a long day spent wiping the sweat from our brows and constantly searching for shade from the sun. Consequently we retired early after a quick beer on Pub Street and a well deserved Cambodian massage.

We arose relatively early on Day 3 and headed to the Cambodian Land Mine Museum. Two days was more than enough in Siem Reap. I especially enjoyed the Tuk Tuk rides along the picturesque banks of the Siem Reap River and the lush gardens surrounding the city. Still, it feels like the city of Siem Reap is driven by tourism, everything here costs one USD dollar. I wonder if it will develop into an Egypt-esque setup where tourists reign supreme and the locals struggle - forced to the harass and swindle the tourists just to get by.

To get to our next destination our budget afforded us only one option. A public bus. For 8USD we climbed into the coach that promised to have us at the Cambodian Capital in 'around six hours'.

Border town

The mid-90s Toyota Camry tears along the highway leaving nothing by a faint trail of dust in its wake. We sit, slouched and broken from sheer fatigue on what appears to be a seat that has been well used. Thankfully there's air-con. A muffled drone fills the car, a combination of the car's engine and the hum of our car moving at 100 kilometers per hour. Occasionally a car will overtake us but for the majority of the drive we pass countless trucks and motorbikes. We alternate between broken sleep and the clichéd gaze out of the car window. There's very little conversation, the Taxi driver is focused on the road and we each sit with headphones in our own head space. The music of Julia and Angus Stone keeps me entertained, I can only guess what the other two are listening to - Adele, Chris Brown, JJ Lin, who knows...

Our adventure into the Kingdom of Cambodia started a day earlier on the morning of Tuesday the 2nd of August when we casually checked out of our Bangkok apartments. Determined to get to Cambodia by road we unanimously voted against the ridiculously early 7:30am coach and agreed on a 2500 Baht private Taxi. Private taxi meant we decided to depart Bangkok at the more accommodating time of 2:00 pm. The drive from Bangkok to the Thai border town of Aranya Prapet took a little over three hours and was comfortable and I can say that I slept through most of the journey. We were abruptly awoken by the driver who informed us this is as far as he could take us. We had arrived at the Thai border town of Aranya Prapet. Almost instantly the taxi was surrounded by locals in green shirts each bidding for us to use their service, we hadn't even left the car but they could smell a tourist a mile away. The service of course was to help us cross the Thai/Cambodian border. In return for a small fee, they would fill out the necessary paperwork and show us where to get the Cambodia Entry Visa. Despite their pitches and desperate protests we decided to sort the Cambodian Visa out for ourselves and headed towards Cambodia.

Leaving Thailand was easy enough, pass through immigration, get your exit stamp and literally walk out of Thailand. The Cambodian Visa was slightly trickier, the Visa issuing office was separate to the entry point. Which means you buy the Visa (20 USD) take or provide a photo, wait for the Visa to be issued and finally walk to the Immigration check point. The confusion was quickly sorted by following the large number of backpacking tourists that were doing exactly the same thing.

So there we found ourselves in the dusty Cambodian border town of Poipet. The change in scenery was a welcome sight. The main road was all dirt, there were people were pulling carts of loaded with fresh produce, traffic was continuous, both leaving Cambodia and leaving Thailand. There were beggars about and almost every foreigner was being approached by some local trying to sell something and every corner had a casino. It was raw and and very confrontational. The steady stream of tourists were all heading onwards to Siem Reap we wanted to be different, we wanted to stay the night here in Poipet. Since we had not arranged accommodation we wandered around town and inquired about walk-in rates at the various Casinos. We eventually decided to stay at Grand Diamond City. At 1000 Baht a night with a complimentary 500 Baht Casino Chip it was a no-brainer (we would later spend a lot more than 1500 Baht at this Casino).

Poipet is a strange town. It has a hauntingly, transient feel and yet there's a certain charm. During the day it's all hustle and bustle, there's always a backpacker on the main road, there's always a haze of dust at least 1 metre high and there's always noise. Yet, once night falls, the town shuts up and only local street boys roam the streets with the occasional street food vendor.

Our first night in Cambodia and for dinner we had the tasty Khymer BBQ. After which we met some local street boys would acted as tour guides and Foreign Exchange merchants who kindly took us out to some local party on the back of their bikes. As with most of the trip so far in involved a bottle of liquor and some soda water. We ended up at the Casino later that night and gambled the night away.

The following morning still half asleep we head to the Poipet Bus Depot to start the journey towards Siem Reap. The thought of catching a bus with backpackers for the next 3 hours does not appeal to us so again we opt for a taxi. After purchasing the 40 USD taxi voucher a driver approaches and motions for us to follow him to his car, a mid 90s Toyota Camry.

"Do you know mister, of this place?" - Julia & Angus Stone

Please do not disturb!

Way back in 2005 Bangkok revealed to me the insanely hedonistic and almost contradictory spiritual side of Thailand. This year in 2011 Bangkok presented a completely different experience. There were no bustling markets, no seedy tourist trips, no pseudo-ladies, no Pad Thai, no boutique-filled malls and no blue skies. Due to the unaccommodating weather majority of our time was spent lounging about our Sukhumvit serviced apartments (4000 B/Night) occasionally leaving the comfort of our lodgings for some nearby street food. It's a different experience when you have no intention to sightsee.

It was a short two days in Bangkok but still managed to eat plenty of food, check out some new bars, take an excellent photo (MeltMe), listen to live Thai music and most importantly catch up with old mates from Highschool and London.

"I know you!" - Me