Break On Through To The Other Side!: Bitter Sweet Symphony

Tale of three cities

Phnom Penh.Siem Reap.Ho Chi Minh.

Couple on a shoestring budget,left changi on a jet plane to super sunny cambodia on the 31st,met David(an old friend,ex-colleague working for the 'company.') at Pochentong airport.Took us on a tuk tuk ride to sisowath,help us checked to the hotel.Briefed us on what must & what nots in cambodia.his information & advice is so valuable,and without him we wouldn't have gone that far.

Phnom Penh-very hot,dirty,dusty,poverty,rundown buldings,a city probably many would avoid.but i like.we like.one of the most coolest place i've ever been.friendly folks,and even with the language barrier,they are too quick to disarm you with a smile.cheap stuffs-bargain.bargain.bargain @psar ta toumpong,psar thmei and in fact,you can even bargain for tuk tuk fare.went down to check out Toul Sleng,a school converted to a prison,where prisoners who were made up of intellectuals,foreigners,ethnic minorities during the khmer rouge regime were tortured.real spooky place.(i accidentally took a pic with 'something' behind me!)

city is undergoing mass development.still,best thing for sure,i will go back to phnom penh!

Siem Reap-6 hours back aching,butt swelling bus ride from Phnom Penh,but well worth the journey.Siem Reap is home to the amazing & mysterious Angkor wat.there were so many temples and so many things to see & even a day tour is not enough.we went there as early as 5am to catch the sunrise.and not only we witnessed a glowing sunrise,we saw a bright full moon at our backs.POWER!quite a laidback cowboy town,our hotel is quite close to pub street,where the pubs and restaurants are,quite similar to boat quay.perfect place.

Saigon aka Ho Chi Minh City-was an unplanned trip.although on a constraint budget,we gave it a shot.another around 6 hours bus ride,passing paddy fields,saw plenty of cows and motorcycles-carrying-pigs.but once disembarked from bus,how was i shocked to see the 'worst,unforgiving,heaviest traffic i've ever seen!'it's not only pollution,it's an eyesore.really.but then again,i couldn't believe that ho chi minh city is quite advance,quite similar to Kuala Lumpur.so we went down to Chu Chi tunnels,where the guerrilla forces dig tunnels 3 floors underground,we tried the AK47 at the firing range,then we went to the war museum,where all the derelicts of war which include a m14 tank,huey chopper and of course,very informative pictorial history & misery of the vietnam war.checked out ben thanh market,a good place to shop for silk and all those 'makcik -makcik' stuffs.

and now that i'm back,i feel that i'm not the same person anymore.

it's an uncomfortable truth.

for what i've seen,we're so lucky.for what i've learnt,we complained too much.

while their paddy fields are dried up due to the harsh global warming,we conveniently dump every bit of electric-cooked rice down the rubbish chute.

here we often waste our food to the waste bin,there they dig up food out of the waste bin.

even the least fortunate here are fortunate enough,the less fortunate there are struggling still.

in tattered loose filthy clothes,unkempt hair,long dirty fingernails,often barefooted,carrying a crying baby in one arm while the other begging for small change.i saw a limbless guy,crawling on the streets towards me,i can't bear to look.and i saw tuk-tuk drivers rushed to the entrance of the bus door in large groups mocking every single passengers alighting,pushing and pulling in desperation,begging them to take their ride for a mere fee,and only dispersed after being caned by the police.

it's real and it's happening.

it's a competition here,it's a survival out there.

you're so lucky.