Gong Xi Fatt Choi

We entered the Chinese New Year celebrations straight off our flight from Phnom Penh. Reunion dinner, first day of Chinese New year and then, many subsequent visits with family and friends the rest of the week. This was Sera and Yasmin's first celebration but I think they're still too young to be impressed by it. For Sera, it was fun to dress up in her pink cheong sam and then play the entire day with her cousins and uncles. And for Yasmin, she just went crazy peeling the mandarin oranges all day long.

Sera and uncle Joseph, just one year apart

Yasmin with auntie Rachel (one month younger)

I was determined to get a family photo together, at the end of the day.


Lunch with kor and family

As you can see, impossible to get all 3 kids to smile nicely. At least their shirts matched!

Tuk tuk, temples and funny cows

To be honest, I wasn’t sure how the girls were going to receive Cambodia. I was a little nervous but Sera and Yasmin were great! Ok, Sera asked to go back to Dubai about three times during our travels but Yasmin was our super trooper. She loved every second of our trip and if anything, she suffered Cambodia blues our travels ended.

So we started our journey from Siem Reap to visit the beautiful Angkorian temples, built between 9th and 14th centuries AD. They still remained as mesmerizing as I remembered 8 years ago but the one very, very jarring difference was the onslaught of mass tourism that has unfortunately descended to Siem Reap. I still remember, walking with my travel friend then, how it felt to walk through the ancient temples. I do not lie when I say there were goose-bumps on my skin … it felt almost magical. Alas, this time, it felt different. Too many tourists jostling and behaving like paparazzi at the temples wherever we went. The cruel irony about tourism in Siem Reap is that despite the millions of tourists she receives every year, it remains the poorest province in Cambodia.

When we were temple-d out, we explored Siem Reap. Siem Reap has a beautiful country side and an entire network of floating villages on the Tonle Sap. We visited the not so typical attractions like the War Museum which was essentially a junkyard of old, rusty war artillery. We even visited a crocodile farm, though I was initially against it because I suddenly had frightening images of Yasmin eagerly climbing into to the crocodiles’ den. Johan probably had the same thoughts because he imprisoned her in his arms.

After 4 days in Siem Reap, we drove 3.5 hours to Phnom Penh, the capital city. Phnom Penh is typical of most Asian cities. It is overpopulated, polluted and oh so noisy. But if you’re willing to look beyond the utter mayhem, the city has pockets of charm and uniqueness to it. As planned, we didn’t stay long in the capital but we visited a museum, the Royal Palace and had absolutely delicious Khmer dinner with our friend Krisna and his wife, Srey Houen.

The tuk tuk was an instant hit with the girls

Angkor Wat

Bayon

The girls had a great time exploring

Ta Phrom

The girls would typically sleep in the tuk tuk by day end

This was our favourite hideaway for lunch at Siem Reap, Butterflies Garden.

Sera and Yas would be playing in the garden, running after the butterflies. Sera was just beside herself when one finally landed on her finger (only after the 2nd day).

Peace Cafe, Siem Reap

The girls playing before lunch

And resting after lunch ...


At a local orphanage

Boat ride on Tonle Sap, to the floating village

We had a lovely stay at Indochine Pavillion


Dinner with Krisna and his wife, Srey Houe at the Khmer House, Phnom Penh

Our final 4 days, we snuck into the hillside of Kep. Originally, we had planned to go to the Sihanoukville, where the beaches are. But thankfully, a traveler had advised and strongly suggested that we escaped to the quiet of Kep, where there were beaches and mountains minus the notoriety of beach tourists. Wonderful, we thought. Kep was exactly what she promised and it was exactly what we needed after Phnom Penh. We checked ourselves into; I have to say, one of the most beautiful resorts I’ve ever stayed in. It was called the Veranda Natural resort and true to its name, it was as natural as could be. The resort is built on a hill top in the midst of all the natural vegetation around it. The individual bungalows snaked out of the main building like tree branches, blending with the natural environment. We didn’t stay in the bungalows because again, I wasn’t so sure I wanted to find Yasmin hanging over the balcony and flying down hundreds of feet into the jungle … so we opted for The Cave. Our cave was just what we needed. You walk into your private terrace that is enclosed by lush tropical plants and flowers, you open the door and lo-and-behold, a spacious enclave literally dug out from a mountain. The only difference is that once inside the cave, you experienced all the amenities of a 4 star resort! Ha ha. An absolute hit with the girls, no doubt.

At Kep, we very quickly and easily spent our days in a truly laconic fashion. In our tuk tuk, we visited caves, beaches and the local markets. We also took a boat ride to Rabbit Island, no rabbits there, where Sera and I were lazing in the water for almost 4 hours. Needless to say, we became brown as roasted chestnuts.

We took a short trip to Sihanoukville from Kep. We had lunch at the Independence Hotel and then spend the afternoon at the beach. Sera had so much fun in the water but Yas was very unhappy when Johan carried her in, against her will.

Much happier now ...

Tuk tuk for the day while we explored Kep

Into the bat cave ...

Lunch and then a swim at Kep Lodge


Boat ride to Rabbit Island

Rabbit Island

Yas stayed dry with Krisna on the hammock

After a hard day in the sun, Sera enjoyed her ABC (apple, beetroot, carrot) juice

Last night at Veranda Natural Resort, Kep

Our travel in Cambodia was so satisfying. Yes, it was tricky and tiring at times, but it was so worth it. What made it so meaningful was how my Khmer friend Krisna, whom I met 8 years ago in an orphanage, travelled with us, and bonded readily and easily with the girls. To all our happy memories of Cambodia … aw kohn shruan!

Asleep on our drive back to Phnom Penh

* Unbelievably, I have no photos of the cows that we saw all the time, when in Cambodia. Yasmin loved spotting them and she even composed a song about them. It went something like that. "Funny cow, funny cow ... all that long!" Soon, all of us were singing it with her.