The Sreisaat Adventures in Cambodia

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Sticky Post: Live Webcam in Cambodia!
2012-04-25 08:06:00
CambodiaMapsWebcam has  just installed a webcam over the weekend and  it is still in beta-stage.  The time stamp is the current time in Phnom Penh and the above image refreshes every 12 seconds. However, due to frequent power cuts in Phnom Penh coupled with ISP connections dropping regularly, try re-loading or refreshing the page later if the image doesn?t change within one minute. Sorry folks, this is not a live sex cam ? absolutely NOTHING of that sort will be broadcast here. This was put up mostly to serve as a ?traffic webcam?. It?s already picked up by a lot of live webcam sites but there are still  lot of code-tweaking and camera adjustments need to be done here and there. But just so you see how it is in my part of the world, I?m putting it out here. We are still tryingto figure out how to get a better image quality and how to put this live webcam on my sidebar, so please bear with us for a while.
More About: Post , Transportation , Cambodia , Live

Wordless Wednesday 105: Two-toned rose
2011-10-19 08:49:00
Picked this up from my veranda garden just this morning.  Beautiful, isn't it? Best of all, it grows in my garden!
More About: Cambodia , Rose

Free popcorns
2011-10-10 10:27:00
... and a movie poster of The Sorcerer and the White Snake... but only for the female movie-goers. It's part of Legend Cinema's Ladies' Night promotion for the previoulsy-mentioned movie. Photo Credit: Legend Cinema Fan Page If you are a fan of Jet Li and his movies, then this is for you. The movie is an adaptation of a classic Chinese fable, a tragic love story between a demon and a mortal. Jet Li steps away from his Hollywood roles and went back to his roots to play a role he's been known for before his entry to Hollywood - that of a monk with super-dooper kung fu skills and powers. In this movie, he played the role of head monk-cum-powerful sorcerer of the Fahai monastery whose sole purpose is to exorcise all forms of demons plying his town. I watched the movie last week, and I tell you, it was a non-stop action and a spectacular visual feast for the eyes, albeit the scenes done mostly in CGI. The actors are quite pleasing to the eyes as well - especially Eva Huang. She ...
More About: Free

Photo Hunt #66: Waiting game
2011-10-08 13:02:00
This little bugger, Joe, loves to play all the time, especially with my husband. He loves chasing and retrieving the ball. At around 5pm, almost everyday, when Joe hears the sound of our car, he immediately fetches his ball from where he left it last.  Anybody wants to play ball with me? Photo taken by my younger brother, and originally posted in My Dogspot. Then and positions himself by the door, and lay there, with the ball in front of him, patiently waiting for my husband to come in.
More About: Pets , Cambodia , Game

English. Johnny English.
2011-10-08 06:58:00
Back into blogging groove again but my laptop is still in limbo. This is why I haven't been posting lately. Today I log in to my blogger account and see some drafts ... oh, where do I begin now? I've been watching movies lately, thanks to the generosity of the Legend Cinema. I particularly enjoyed the last two movies I watched - Johnny English and The Sorcerer and the White Snake. Two different movie genres, proof that LC is bringing to Cambodia different kinds of movies that cater to the interests of the movie-going public. Johnny English  Reborn is the second Johnny English-movie starred by no less than the funny man himself, Rowan Atkinson . The plot is not much to talk about. The movie opens with Johnny English training with monks in a temple perched on top of what-could-be the Himalayan mountains. In self-imposed exile in a remote area surrounded by the Himalayan mountain range,  Johnny is honing his "kung fu" skills and inner self under the guidance of the old...
More About: What

Photo Hunt #65: Greasy's the word!
2011-09-10 13:41:00
The first thing that comes to my mind when I hear the word "greasy" is food. So I'm borrowing a photo from my food blog and post it here as my entry for this week's Photo Hunt. With my husband's four-day a week work schedule, we enjoy long weekends. That means, anything goes... especially when it comes to our meals. Which means, we can gorge on greasy food, like this one: With plenty of leftover rice, I made fried rice with bacon bits and Hungarian sausages. A lot of people raise their eyebrows or turn their nose up at the sight of greasy food. Yes, they are greasy and may be unhealthy, but, by golly -- they?re tasty, flavourful and oh-so-satisfying. Besides, I feel that it won?t hurt a bit if we indulge in greasy food from time to time.
More About: Food , Word

Tomorrow's a big day
2011-09-09 17:29:00
... for Legend Cinema. You see these invitations? They were handed to me personally. Woo-hooo! Legend Cinema has invited me on their Grand Opening tomorrow. The invitations came with the program schedule. For sure there will be lots of people attending - the media, bloggers, and LC's friends and special guests. Earlier this year, the news of a real movie-house opening in the city sent excitement all over the Penh. No less than the Cambodia n Minister of Culture and Fine Arts will grace the occasion to be held at the 3rd floor of CityMall where the Legend Cinema is located. There will be speeches and then the ribbon cutting, of course. I hope I get to take good photos of that. A luncheon for the guests will follow, and - wait for it - as the highlight of tomorrow's affair, there will be a special screening of the movie, Avatar, in 3D!!! Thank you, Legend Cinema. It is with great pleasure that I am accepting the invitation :) Special thanks also to the marketing team headed by Soch...
More About: What , Phnom Penh

Photo Hunt #64: This is so WRONG
2011-09-03 08:18:00
Dog?s can be pretty stubborn sometimes. Here?s Joe caught red-handed with a piece of our dinner in his mouth. A standoff ensued between him and my husband, naturally. For about 15minutes, they stare at each other like that. Joe simply wouldn?t let go of that pork chop. Love the obstinate look on Joe?s face while R is giving him a ?lecture?. Joe eventually gave in. After a tiny pool of drool formed on the floor, he finally gave up and dropped the slab of meat on R?s waiting hand. Ahhh,  all part of growing up, I guess. Hope he learned his lesson though and won?t turn his attention to that shoe in front of him. N.B: Originally posted in Max and Joe?s blog, My Dogspot.
More About: Photo , Pets , Cambodia , Wrong , Phnom Penh

Win free fab goodies!
2011-08-29 13:04:00
Hey, guys!I've been meaning to post this earlier but a lot of things happened along the way... but anyway... Yes, you read that badge right!  Lots of goodies will be given away - no, not by me, but by my friend Girl on a Thrift-hunt. What, you're not convinced? Well, have a good look at these goodies and tell me you aren't interested: Now let me help you out. These goodies are custom-made items designed by the Girl on a Thrift-hunt herself. The lucky winner will receive - get ready for this -  (1)  large custom made ?Be Happy? canvass shopping bag ? just perfect for those thrift shopping trips!(1) custom made ?Be Happy? mini coin purse;(1) custom made ?Be Happy? Throw Pillow Case;(1) custom made Be Happy Round Mousepad(2) custom made ?Be Happy? heart fridge magnets This giveaway contest is also open to international participants - so what are you waiting for? As long as you have a valid mailing address, you are in. All you have to do is check out Girl on a T...
More About: Free

2011 IAWRT International Awards for Excellence in Documentary Making
2011-08-25 03:38:00
I have an exciting news for all the female directors and journalists all over the world, especially here in Cambodia. The International Association of Women in Radio and Television (IAWRT) - of which I am a member of - is extending invitations to the 2011 IAWRT International Awards for Excellence in Documentary Making. The IAWRT Awards celebrate outstanding documentaries made by women and are open to all female producers, directors and journalists working with radio, television and film documentaries anywhere in the world. Documentaries must be about women who are making a difference to their own lives or to the lives of other women. Entries must be between 20 - 90 minutes long for Film and 15 ? 60 minutes for Radio and have been broadcast, or shown at a competitive festival from October 2009 ? September 2011.  This competition is open to all female directors and journalists worldwide. I'm helping spread this information, so if you know someone, or someone you know ...
More About: Networking , Work

Random blahs
2011-08-20 17:07:00
Last Tuesday, my brother came to my house to ?deliver? the pasalubong my other brother brought back from his recent holiday in the Philippines. As you can see, they?re mostly junk food.  My Aunt and my brother?s girlfriend (who was asking  me for advice about Online Universities in the Philippines for her sister) sent us a bagful of junk foods, much to our delight. Three of us divided the loot amongst ourselves, and these were my share :) I love the mini-bukayo (candied coconut), yema, barquiron (barquillos with polvoron) and instant pancit canton noodles the most. And, oh, the pack of otap, too. Otap is an oval-shaped kind of puff pastry with a ?crumpled? sugary, surface and is favourite of mine since I was younger. Anyways, so I was giving advice on online courses, especially on the online degree programs in communication in my old university. I was told that the gf?s sister was  interested in development communication but the father was very adamant that she en...
More About: Family , Random

Photo Hunt #63: Drinks, anyone?
2011-08-20 10:44:00
I'm back at Photo Hunt. Again.It's been awhile and so much has happened since I last posted my PH entry. I have lots of photos queued up waiting for me to post them to PH and so I'm here again. This week's theme is "drinks". Dear me, I hope I did justice on the theme. Here goes: I love the translated names! They're amusing and entertaining and I couldn't help myself but order a drink out of curiousity. The above menu was from a Chinese-Khmer restaurant (I already forgot the name) near Hun Sen Park in Phnom Penh 's Sihanouk Boulevard. Reading the whole entire menu before ordering is my favourite activity as I am always on the lookout for things like this. Translations can be really funny and laughing is really good for our health, too.  From the choices above, what do you fancy? :) I was intrigued by the Fresh Phoenix's Pear Juice but it was not available; so, I opted for the Cool Watermelon Juice instead.
More About: Drinks , Cambodia

Prehistoric animals/dinosaurs on Cambodian stamps
2011-08-16 10:16:00
These are definitive stamps issued in January 2000 by the Cambodia n Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications. A simple cover using the Prehistoric animals stamps that I sent to a stamp/cover-collector from Slovakia. I have to admit that I was really surprised to see these stamps on display at the Post Office's philately department. Something I didn't expect to be associated with Cambodia nor issued in Cambodia. I don't even know if dinosaurs have lived in Cambodia but this is proving to be popular to collectors! These prehistoric animals featured above are, clockwise from top left to bottom: diplodocus, stegosaurus, and euplocephalus. I love that the skeletons were also included in the design which make them even more interesting. I posted this in my virtual stamp album blog just last Sunday and already I've received several requests for covers using these stamps. Well, all I can say is that they have to be patient as, the last time I checked, these stamps are out of stock...
More About: Animals , Stamps

The rise of the Legend (Cinema) in Phnom Penh
2011-08-13 13:01:00
A month or so ago, we were all were greeted by this exciting news; it spread like wildfire in Phnom Penh . My husband and I agreed we will go see a movie there when the Harry Potter 7 is screened. But when the newly opened Legend Cinema announced they were holding an early screening of the movie (The Rise of the Planet of the Apes) for the media last week, I could not resist the urge and immediately signed in. For an expat who is a self-confessed movie junkie like me,  I really miss watching movies on the big screen! When I received the invite for bloggers junket, I was very excited. To me, it was a milestone of sorts because aside from it being the first time I would get to watch a movie in Cambodia in my ten years of living here, it's the first time that a company has included bloggers in their events. But I could be wrong. Anyways, beyond the free movie ticket, I was very curious and so looking forward to my first cinema experience in the Penh! Came Tuesday morning ... and...
More About: What

Just sharing the excitement?
2011-08-07 13:21:00
I was able to figure out on my own what?s wrong with the template and corrected the errors.  I should give myself credit for being persistent because I finally was able to make this template work! So now, as you can see, I?m using this template (pic, below right). I told you, I don?t give up that easily especially when I?ve set my eyes on something that catches my fancy. You see, the problem was with the sidebar? it won?t go to the side, instead, it stayed in the footer. I had a feeling that the solution lies on the size of the width as my pictures were bigger than what?s specified in the template codes so I asked the template author whether I should re-size the blog post width and sidebar as well as the pictures. But he didn?t agree with me; he said that ?even increasing the blog post width, it's vain cos any problem in template excep you want to increase a big size? [sic]. Of course, I believed him  because, after all he was the genius who converted this template fro...

Still searching?
2011-08-05 08:01:00
? it is clearly becoming a very long and frustrating search for the right template. It?s been weeks since I started revamping my blog and, up to now, no template has ever stepped up to the plate. Chos! My search has led me to this one particular template (see previous posts). I was taken by its simplicity and elegance but, lo and behold, it didn?t work. No matter how many times the template author kindly assisted me, the template won?t just work :( What I want for a blog template is simple ? a clean,  uncluttered template, preferably white.  I?m going for the minimalist, no-fuss look.  Any leads where I could get this kind of template? I?d appreciate any help. Please bear with me for awhile, friends. You?ll still see me posting here, albeit the temporary template.  Meanwhile, I have to go now give another template I bookmarked last night a check up. Must. Find. The. Bugs.
More About: Searching

Not meant to be
2011-07-26 18:07:00
  This template, I mean: Too bad the template author didn?t reply back. I was taken by the simplicity and elegance of the template design and would have offered to donate some moolah to his paypal account for his  assistance but I haven?t heard from him since I sent him what became my last email  this past Saturday. I?ve been putting off this for too long now it?s time to finally settle on a template (albeit temporarily) and resume blogging before my friends stopped coming here anymore. I guess some things are just not meant to be. If the template author comes back and reads this, I want him to know that I am still open for talks.

Burning the midnight oil
2011-07-22 19:21:00
? trouble-shooting the error in my new template. As you can see the sidebar is not where it is supposed to be. I have tried the best I could ? with my limited know-how ? but all failure. As my last resort I emailed the guy behind dhetemplates, where I took this template from, and he responded promptly and very nicely. Since 7pm, we were exchanging emails. I told him the problem and replied back on solutions. He was very kind to answer all my questions and offer solutions but up to now, past 12am, we still could not figure it out. As you can see, this template called Beauty and Clean, is a beautiful Wordpress theme that the genius behind dhetemplates converted to Blogger.  Here?s a screenshot of the template: It is clean, simple, and easy on the eyes so now you understand why I won?t give this template up that easily. No guts, no glory. ngyahahaha. So since it is already past bedtime, we both agreed to continue trouble-shooting tomorrow. Very nice kid, you are. Teri...
More About: Burning

Working on my template
2011-07-18 17:51:00
Move along... nothing to see here. As you can see, the blog is still under construction. Come back next time. Hopefully everything will be up and running by then.
More About: Template

Great news to movie buffs!
2011-07-11 07:24:00
And it?s spreading like a wildfire in the Penh. Finally, a real movie theater in the city! I heard from the grapevine that the Legend Cinema is already up and running since last week. This is exciting news! Finally we can now enjoy watching Hollywood movies on a giant screen :) Add to that,  there is no more need to go to Bangkok or anywhere to watch movies because we can do that right here in Phnom Penh ? yeheyyyyyyy!! I haven?t been to the cinema yet (it?s located inside the CityMall) but expat friends who?ve  already been there  (and watched Transformers, the maiden show) said that it?s like any other cinemas you find in America and they all agree that the experience is awesome! The screen-size is decent enough and the sound is fab.  The seats were pretty awesome, too, friends told me. They have the ordinary, VIP and family options? isn?t it neat? I just blogged about how I missed watching movies in the big screens and, oh joy, my wish wa...
More About: News , Movie , Cambodia , Great

Gold Rush in my blog
2011-07-09 11:44:00
I was checking out my page rank earlier today and was very happy to find out that this blog?s rank is back again after two years or so. Even though it is a rank lower than this blog had previously, I?m still grateful for its return. Thanks to Manong Gugel. While I was looking at the analytics, I was surprised to see a surge in my traffic coming from searches for gold coins or IRA gold. While it is a welcome traffic (keep it coming, guys! heheeh) I?m not sure if they find any gold or posts on 401k gold here. Why the sudden search for gold, I wonder?  Perhaps it?s my post years ago about how my landlord and his wife were presented with gold as an engagement gift to their daughter on her engagement day. I didn?t see the gold though, sorry but I?m thinking had I been a gold investor I?d probably give them advise about a gold IRA transfer. In Cambodia, people prefers to invest more on gold. I learned from my landlord that after the Khmer Rouge was ousted in the country in 1...
More About: Gold , Blog , Rush

Photo Hunt 062: The game of love
2011-06-25 08:44:00
    Not many of you know that I?m into postcards and stamps collection. This week, my take on the theme is related to my hobby. This se-tenant pair belongs to the USPS Love series, the King and Queen of Hearts, issued in 2009 and a clever tribute to the world?s most favourite ?game?.  Do you know what is it? It?s the game of love, of course! :) The artist, Jeanne Greco, said that she used the 18th century French playing cards as a reference and created her own interpretation on a computer. She retained the traditional colour of playing cards ? a white or cream background ? with only basic colours as accents. Lovely, design, isn?t it? If only my stamps weren?t covered by the postmarks!  But here, I?m posting a mint copy for your viewing pleasure. The mint version (unused) looks more attractive than the used version but I like my stamps  with cancelation marks. This however had very heavy marks on them it marred the face value of the stamps :( ...
More About: Photo , Game , The Game

Still testing the templates
2011-06-23 10:02:00
My eyes are going to fall off any minute now. I?ve been tweaking codes since this morning but this is proving to be a more challenging task than I previously thought. I have two templates installed in dummy blogs but I can?t seem to get things right. Hmm, what to do? These are my choice templates for this blog, tell me what you think:   This is actually a premium template for WordPress but some genius hacked and converted it into a Blogger template. I looooove this template, but a good friend is already using this so?. hmmm?    This one I am currently using in my postcards blog but I can easily use another colour and make changes to fit my preference. What I love about this is that it?s simple, clean, easy on the eyes, and easily customizable unlike the one above. Even though I am drawn towards the first template, I think I?m going to go for this one, for now. What do you think? I?ll give it a rest for now? In other news, my childhood BFF (that?s best...
More About: Templates , Testing

Another change in the offing?
2011-06-22 07:50:00
? again.  Change in template, that?s what I mean. Blogger strikes again ? lost all of my side bar links. I wasn?t even finished my Postcards Crossing blog and here, the bug hit me anew. Why this thing happens, I definitely have  no idea. Blogger, please stop doing this to me. I?m tired looking for templates again and tweaking codes again. Good thing I have two templates I bookmarked from my previous template hunt so I?m going to try them today. So if you see my blog in a state of disarray (again), that means I?m tweaking codes again (again). Anyways, my childhood BFF is crazy over ice hockey ? and I?m sure you know what happened after the Stanley Cup finals? the NHL season just ended with the Boston Bruins winning this year?s Stanley Cup ending their 39-year championship drought and fans of the losing team, Vancouver Canucks, went on a riot. Talking about fanaticism?  As early as now though, with the 2011-2012 NHL season?s opening in October, ticketamerica.com alrea...

Photo Hunt 061: Raising public Awareness, khmer-style
2011-06-18 09:46:00
  I was in Kratie long ago, stopping there to spend the night, on my way to Laos. The bus stopped at the provincial centre, also called Kratie, and the sign below caught my attention as it stands out prominently in the town's main street.                       I learned from the bus conductor that it was put up by the local commune office in Kratie town to call the entire community's attention and action to clean their surroundings, especially the river. Overall, the billboard is very informative and the design looks vintage from yesteryears ? like the 1950s bright colours and graphics where everyone looks spic and span. Don?t you think so? The main illustration in the signboard shows people cleaning up. On the upper right side  box, it shows a person throwing a (plastic) bagful of garbage into the river. Underneath that is another person throwing plastic from the window of a moving bu...
More About: Photo , Environment , Travels , Public , Cambodia

Messy Monday?
2011-06-14 08:53:00
? and Tuesday, too! Not many of you here know how much of a postcard-and-stamp junkie and a huge fan of snail-mails I am. Nothing beats the feeling of writing down greetings or thoughts on a piece of paper (or postcard), sending them, and receiving something in return. I love sniffing the stationary (just I like what I do with the pages of books) and looking at the unique stamp designs, too. It?s a hobby that began with pen pal writing when I was in grade school that went on till I was in uni. Letters and postcards came few when I was uni but I kept it going. It only stopped when I graduated and started working. As some of you have known, I resumed collecting postcards and stamps after quitting my job in 2008. I did it so as to drive boredom and homesickness away while I was adjusting to the abrupt change ? from a working expat into a home-maker living in Cambodia. It?s been three years since I started with Postcrossing and I am really having fun, learning about countries...
More About: Monday

Photo-hunt 060: Triangle
2011-06-11 11:37:00
This is one of my favourite government buildings in Phnom Penh . It is located  just across the Vietnamese Memorial Park on the junction between Sothearos Boulevard and Street 240. Notice the triangle with elaborate details on it. That and the spire grabs your attention right away. It?s been said that the best time to take picture of this building is in the afternoon after 3pm. The facade is illuminated by the sun and the building glows radiantly. I have always thought that this building the former Ministry of Foreign Affairs office and had wrongly labeled the previous photos I took as such. When we passed there today, I asked my husband to pull over so I could clearly see the sign ? and indeed, I was wrong. This is the Council of Ministers building and one of the iconic landmarks in Phnom Penh. This was built by Cambodia ?s most prominent architect Vann Molyvann. He was  educated in France and among the brightest young architects in 1950s. He was nominated as the chie...
More About: Photo , Sights

Fill-in-the-blanks friday: Vacation
2011-06-10 12:41:00
After another long hiatus, I find myself returning to blogging here at Sreisaat Adventures. Again. I may be absent here for awhile but I am active in my other blogs. (see side links).  A fellow blogger who?s been checking this blog from time to time lamented my lack of posts and so I am taking the cudgels of blogging again so as not to disappoint her. lol. But honestly, it?s just what I needed to snap me out of this funk. As a comeback entry, I am joining for the first time the Fill in the Blank Friday meme. The host, Lauren @ Little Thinsg We Do, will provide unfinished sentences every Friday, and all you have to do is fill in the blanks. How fun is that? For more information about this Friday meme,, click the logo below. So here goes my answers: 1.  This weekend I?m looking forward to staying in and my husband and I will have our weekend DVD marathon again. Lots of movies lined up for this week :) 2. My last vacation was our wedding anniversary trip to Kep last yea...
More About: Meme , Vacation

Wordless Wednesday 0104: Tralach (wintermelon)
2011-05-04 12:35:00
It?s been awhile since I last blogged about life in Cambodia ? I had several in my drafts folder but, for the life of me, I could not seem to finish even one post. I?m soooo lazy these days? plus, I started working on a new project recently, so I?m posting pictures instead. Saw this huge pile of wintermelons in one of the small markets in Kampong Chhnang province while waiting for our boat that would take us to one of our beneficiary area.
More About: Food

Photo Hunt 059: Granny Squares
2011-04-30 09:11:00
Several months ago when I had lots of free time in my hands, I picked up crocheting again to drive homesickness and boredom away. I started making doilies, flowers, and scrunchies and other other stuffs. When I acquired a short-term consultancy work and got busy again, all of these stuffs were stashed in a box, including these unfinished granny squares: I was too ambitious, I guess. I thought I could crochet enough granny squares and sew them all together to make it into a sofa cover within six months that I wasn?t doing anything. I was hoping I could send this to my mother as a present but back pains stopped me from finishing my project. I don't know long it will take me to finally complete this project but I?m trying to crochet at least 10 squares in a week. Let?s see what happens in the coming months.
More About: Photo