Sunset over the Gulf of Thailand
Kep, Kingdom of Cambodia

Ang nag-aapoy na Haring Araw, ito ang napili kong litrato na sa tingin ko ay angkop sa tema natin ngayong linggo. Kuha ito sa bayan ng Kep kung saan ako ay naka-base sa loob ng apat na buwan noong taong 2007. Ang Kep ay napapaligiran ng Gulf of Thailand, at sa aking opinyon, ito ay may pinakamagandang sunset sa buong Cambodia. Kung inyong pagmamasdang mabuti, naglalagablab pa rin ang araw sa kabila ng unti-unting pagdilim ng kalangitan, na para bang pinaglalabanan ang pagsaklob ng dilim sa sanlibutan.

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No, he's not really drunk.
He borrowed the whiskey bottle from another table and gamely posed for this shot :)
He is Long Dimanche, our Coordinator in the Prey Veng Pilot Project site. Being the head of the team on this part of Cambodia, he does all the preparations making sure everything is ready when I arrive to conduct workshops and meetings. After days of working in and with the community, we, locals and ex-pat staff alike, share what the locals call a solidarity dinner. Everyone gets cleaned up, all dust washed away, puts on new clothes, and wear our best smiles looking forward to a fun night. Dinner is usually accompanied by loads of karaoke singing (all Khmer songs), dancing, and drinks.

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This is how the people of Thailand say "welcome". And like our very own mabuhay, it also connotes a host of other meanings mostly for wishing people well.

So by now you have an idea that I am in Bangkok for some business matters. I'll be in PP soon. To those who come and visit this blog from time to time, please excuse me for not being able to post or visit your blogs regularly. I have so many things on my mind and a lot more to do that blogging has to take a backseat for now. But I do promise to resume blogging when I have completed my tasks.

See you soon and kap kuhn kah (thank you):)

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Hi, I am back for this week's Photo Hunt. I was absent from my blogging duties and I want to start making up now...

It is not so difficult to find pictures for this week's theme. Walking around the the streets of Phnom Penh (and China) is like walking around a treasureland of posters and signs where the message being relayed is far from being funny but ended up with a funny message anyway. Here's some.

Let's start from my own inbox:

I do not mind the mistakes in the content, but I DO mind the salutation...

At a hotel in Kampong Thom province:


Along the highway...


Here's one from China...


Here's one poster that I think is nicely done. The message being relayed is a serious one, and it is presented straight-to-the-point to the readers. Even the non-Khmers can the tell the issue right away...


For more funny/creative signs, just head over to the Photo Hunters HQ.

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Hello everybody!

Thanks for dropping by even if I have no updates.
I slipped out of Cambodia and in to the Philippines quietly. I am here for matters concerning my health. I do not wish to divulge details about it as I do not want to dampen everyone's mood but let me just say that after some tests, there is no immediate cause for concern, thank God.

From my end, I am enjoying my time here at home in Roxas City, eating home-cooked meals that I sorely missed. A close friend based in Norway commented on my non-existent gimik schedule as biglang natahimik, as opposed to my being a curacha when I was in Phnom Penh where I was almost always out of town doing something in the community.

I must admit though that after a couple of days here in Roxas, I kind of miss Cambodia already. I miss my husband (he still has work - school holiday is two months away), and thanks to modern technology, we exchanged sms and talk through YM almost every night. I still have to stay for more tests but for now, I'll just sit back, relax and enjoy the vacation while it lasts. I am spending time with my parents (who are looking older everytime I come home) and my siblings and their brood - a nephew and nieces - who (except for my nephew) I haven't seen since they were born.

I have been enjoying my holiday and soon it will be over, but let me just show you where I've been spending most of my time:

In one of our family outings, we went to this not so known beach resort in Barangay Basio, in Ivisan town, about 36kms away from the capital city of Roxas. It was such a surprise to see white sand and clear waters comparable to Boracay without going out of Capiz at all! I was even more surprised that only a handful of visitors go there... mabuti nga iyon, we had the beach all to ourselves lang.

Let the pictures speak for itself:







Beautiful, isn't it?
It is still pristine, untouched by the claws of commercialism. I would definitely come back to Basiao with my husband next time.

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For overseas workers like me, we always get homesick. Almost always, a phone call to our loved ones helps to counter this problem, but the crippling rate of overseas call is preventing most of us to get in touch as often as we want to. Calling long distance through land-phone amounts to sky-high phone bills prompting most of us to go for calling cards instead because it is cheaper. Here at therich.com, they are providing an extensive selection of cheap prepaid phone cards and international calling cards touted as one of the best in the market today. With just a few clicks of the mouse, one can search through therich.com’s site for the best and cheapest rate phone card for long distance calls in many destinations worldwide.

One of the better advantages of therich.com’s service is that purchasing phone cards online is as simple and as easy as counting 1-2-3. Just choose the destination and the card with the lowest rates, check out, get the PIN for the phone card and access numbers online, and start calling. Best way to search is to go to their top selling pre-paid cards and new phone cards section and you can already see the rates and number of minutes available.

Now you don’t have to rush and limit your conversation on the phone with your family members because with therich.com, you can talk as much as you want to without worrying about how much the call would cost you. Try the phone cards at therich.com now. Thanks to therich.com, you can still keep in touch with your family regularly without losing a limb.

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It's been a crazy 48 hours and I am still reeling from it all. After receiving an unexpected news I hopped onto a plane to Manila, and now, I am in Roxas City where I am awaiting for developments.

I would like to apologise for not posting my Litratong Pinoy entry. I thought I could still squeeze it in earlier but the flash disk where I stored my photo got infected by virus. I will make it up next week. Pramis.

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This is my Wordless Wednesday entry for the Tuesday-Wednesday edition. To join us, go to the Wordless Wednesday HQ.

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