Getting Around Phnom Penh - Strolling Around Street 240

I read in an article that Street 240 was some of the nice places to shop at, and it just so happens that I researched a couple of stores that I wanted to go to in that area, so here I am!

Turns out, Pass App was really reliable and I think the fare price was practical for that distance too. Keep in mind that the app shows the fare in Cambodian Riel, but you can still pay in US Dollars (which is more commonly used in this country), though be prepared to be given change in the form of Riel. And since all that on-the-spot conversion got me hungry, it was time to stop by for lunch first!

In all honesty, I slightly had to use Google Maps in order to find the exact place where the Artillery was located, since we had to go inside this little alleyway in order to find it nestled just around the corner, but all totally worth it!

You gotta love these street arts!

I'm not much of a vegetarian, but I'm currently in the process of eating less pork in my diet, and their Tofu Sandwich was delish! And I also didn't pass up the chance to have some ice cream on this fine, hot afternoon.

I think this was the Thai Quinoa Crunch??? (mom's order)

Sizzling Tofu (I loved it!!!)

And let's not forget dessert! (Coconut + Choco Chunks = Bounty Island)

Having satisfied our hunger, we set off to find some of the stores I was curious about.

I adored the interior of Mekong Quilts' store when I saw it on Google Maps and I just had to see it for myself, and I also couldn't help but make a purchase too:

Meet, Mr. Pig! (I know, not really an original name so...)

And since my mom still had a little hangover from buying postcards, I suggested stopping by D's Books:

Can you spot my mom?

Gotta save up for my next "pages"!

You could say that the exhaustion of the day started catching with us, so we decided to head back to the hotel by then. Although we did have to make a stop at a Kiwi Mart (convenience store) along the way to buy some much needed water. But we got back just in time to see the sunset from the Sky Bar!

By this point, we were well and truly "Poofed!", so we had room service deliver our dinner (just a couple of clubhouse sandwiches) to our room instead:

Stay tuned for my next post on what's on our 2nd day itinerary in the city of Phnom Penh!

Our First Day in Cambodia: Arrival at Phnom Penh

Upon arrival at the Phnom Penh International Airport, we were then met at the Arrivals Area by Mr. Kim, our designated tour guide for the day. We were then transferred to our car, in which we drove to the nearest restaurant to have breakfast!

Our first meal in the Kingdom of Cambodia!

Being in a plane for most of the night can really affect your sense of things, so at this point I was still taking in my surroundings and before I knew it, we were officially starting our itinerary for the day. First stop, Phsar Thmei, Phnom Penh's Central Market!

Souvenir shopping on the first day was overwhelming for my senses; it was a good thing I already had a list of things to buy, the problem was finding where it was located in a huge place like the Central Market! (and yeah, our guide kinda just gave us basic instructions on where to meet and at what time, so this part of the tour was just done on our own...)

Postcards added to my mom's collection

In the end, our shopping hunt proved to be a success! So vaguely I remember once you enter from the central entrance and head towards the right side of the area, you'll see the artsy finds (like paintings, stained-glass bowls and postcards). The leftmost side was where the food stuff was located, and if you passed through the wet market, you'll find this little treasure trove at the end:

Local goodies! (Palm sugar and jack fruit chips)

Our second stop was Wat Phnom Pagoda, which was a temple built on top of a hill. After climbing a couple set of stairs, you'll be greeted by the serenity of the place. We strolled around the place for a good hour or so taking pictures, and mostly for me to just absorb the fact that I'm really here in this new and mystical place!

Yes, the giant clock works. (Batteries come from China, so says our tour guide)

Turns out, Wat Phnom was our last place for that day and we would be heading to our hotel, Samnang Laor, to rest and maybe catch up on some Zzzs (yeah right)...

Lobby area...

... and that's Mr. Kim at the Reception Area

Loved the floor tiles in the bathroom!

Sky Bar / Restaurant

Indoor swimming pools + jacuzzi

Our hotel room was a lot bigger than I expected (lots of floor space), the hotel restaurant was more like a Sky Bar (which had a nice view of the city), and they also had an indoor pool and jacuzzi! (we tried it out on our last night in Phnom Penh, water smelled kinda weird though...) All these pros had a little con to our seemingly quiet hotel. It was too quiet. Samnang Laor was not located along the busier streets of Phnom Penh! Which means we had to venture out, and I sure as hell wouldn't be spending most of the afternoon stuck in my hotel room. And so here is how we found our way around the city:

Find out next week what other places we discovered as we headed to Street 240!

Travelling in the Time of Corona - To Go or Not to Go?

Although at that certain point in time, the only dilemma we were facing was finding a tour around Cambodia that didn't just offer Siem Reap (and even if they did have a Phnom Penh package, they just didn't combine tours).

Coming to this travel fair should have given us at least a dozen, if not a couple of options...

...but none of them got back to us. And yes, I waited at least a week (or two) before I decided to rethink my options. Insert my mom, who's been going on about this travel agency she'd seen a local celebrity promote, on how they were biking along the Temples of Angkor Wat and it got me into research mode, again.

Their answer? You don’t just to go out to see the world – you meet it.

So Pros & Cons time: My main Con at that time was what if Access Travels proved to be too expensive out of reach for my budget? It was overwhelming enough to see that it was mostly our local celebrities who promoted them, so can an ordinary person like me really afford their services??? Well I'd have to inquire to find out.

The Pros was that it was smooth transacting with them. Like, I just sent this itinerary from another travel agency, (who also didn't get back to me) Access said it was possible, we got down to business, and the rest was history. So everything was all laid down and set for our February trip (I contacted them last November 2019), but then fast forward to just a few weeks before our departure, another dilemma arose...

Just like that, flights from China, Hong Kong, Macau were being cancelled. A co-worker of mine didn't even get to enjoy her vacation to Taiwan after they made a travel ban there too, just a week before her intended departure. So now all I had to do was hope against hope.

Turns out we made it! There's still quite a number of people in the airport though who still prefer to wear face masks, which is a good thing in itself 'cuz one can never be too careful... 

Find out more next week how our first day in the city of Phnom Penh went! See yah!

I’m Feeling… Loved: A Book Review of "How to Fall in Love" by Cecelia Ahern

A few years ago, I remember having read two of Cecelia Ahern’s books – “Thanks for the Memories” (of which I ironically have no memory of how it ended), and “The Book of Tomorrow” (that left me a bit disturbed with how the story went) – both of which have left me with a wistful, albeit mostly whimsical, feeling. So you couldn’t expect me to feel any different about my 3^rd read of an Ahern book once I got started on my TBR List, but boy, how wrong I was…

A seemingly lovely cover that wasn’t just about falling in love with the concept of love

She has just two weeks. Two weeks to teach him how to fall in love – with his own life.

Adam Basil and Christine Rose are thrown together late one night, when Christine is crossing the Halfpenny Bridge in Dublin. Adam is there, poised, threatening to jump. Adam is desperate – but Christine makes a crazy deal with him. His 35th birthday is looming and she bets him she can show him that life is worth living before then.

Despite her determination, Christine knows what a dangerous promise she’s made. Against the ticking of the clock, the two of them embark on wild escapades, grand romantic gestures and some unlikely late-night outings. Slowly, Christine thinks Adam is starting to fall back in love with his life.

But has she done enough to change his mind for good? And is that all that’s starting to happen?

The synopsis seems simple enough, Christine (our heroine) manages to convince Adam (our supposed hero) to not jump from a bridge by promising to give him a reason “live” before his 35^th birthday. So here was where I thought it would start getting cheezy with the romance and stuff because I actually thought Christine would make Adam fall in love with her and everything will be all right with his world. Turns out there’s more to it than love saving the day.

In the end, I think it was a good decision that Adam decided to seek a professional since, as good as Christine was, her only form of reliance came from her self-help books. Though I also thought Christine should have had her own form of guidance by the end of the book; no matter how lovely her family was, she could still burnout, ya know?

How to Fall in Love isn’t just about the concept of romantic love, it’s about falling in love with LIFE and finding the beauty in the moments that we experience each day. It’s a book that makes you aware of a person’s mental health and the struggles he may be going through in his every day life just to wake up to see the next sunrise.

Hearing with your Heart - A Movie Review of Isa Pa With Feelings

I've scheduled this review a week after this movie will hopefully still be in the cinemas, though I've already watched it during the first weekend it was released.

As you may have noticed, my movie reviews (as well as book reviews) have been far and in between, with the latter being mostly featured on my Goodreads account. (Let's be friends! https://www.goodreads.com/justbea) But back to the main purpose of this post (which I have been bribed with gelato by my mom to produce) is a review of a local (albeit suitable for international) film.

The story mainly features Mara (Maine Mendoza), an aspiring architect who later meets and bonds with her neighbor, Gali (Carlo Aquino), who also happens to be her sign language teacher.

Without giving much of the story (for those who have yet to see the film), Gali is shown having dance rehearsals with Mara, despite the fact that he is deaf. Mara herself, is at a crossroads on her career path and may or may not be using Gali as a distraction. Feelings abound and the line between hearing using your senses or listening to your heart becomes blurry.

Deafening in its silence, this movie is wonderfully played out in both Mara and Gali's perspective in some aspects of the film. Though it plainly shows how Mara can easily acclimate in Gali's group of friends, contrary to the fact that Gali felt like "a fish in an aquarium" when introduced to Mara's crowd.

The only thing I was hoping for this film to develop were the main characters' futures. What does Mara decide to do with herself at the end of the film? What made Gali want to strive for a scholarship abroad other than his personal passion? I mean, we don't even see his side of the family, could they have played a bigger role in the development of his beliefs?

Just things like that, so if you happen to watch the movie, tell me what you think. Maybe I'm just nitpicky and some things are best left unheard unsaid.