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.

Two sides to Yasmin

Will the real Yasmin, please stand up! When I see this photo of her in this dress, I have to laugh because Yasmin in a pink, floral number ... who am I kidding?


This is definitely more like Yasmin ... with as big a mouth to match Mick Jagger's. 'wink'

Public transport

Last Thursday, on a whim, we decided to try the Dubai Metro. It had officially launched last year, on the very auspicious day of 09.09.09. So anyway, we figured it would be a thrill for the girls, and it was. Since we're not near the metro station, we actually had to drive there, park the car and hop on a shuttle bus (the nearest station for us, Ibn Battuta Station, isn't operating yet) to the next station and finally we were on our way to where else but another mall.

The Metro was clean, fast and comfortable ... everything that should be expected, especially on a new train. In fact, it was so enjoyable that I even considered using it more often, err, for 7 minute journey to our destination. Ha ha.

The girls in their very flowery coordinated dresses. What was I thinking? Ha ha

At Ibn Battuta mall ... about to board the bus

On the Metro

'Bird-to-buy'

I open the door and there is Yasmin, excitedly running to me, saying something that sounded like 'bird-to-buy'??? She hastily grabs my hand, nudges me toward the carpet and proudly points to her latest Lego creation. Ahhh, she had built the now (in)famous Burj Dubai, in our very own living room. Okay, so grandma taught her to say 'Burj Dubai' (almost) but to Yasmin, it's a tall Lego tower she gets to build up. Here are three mini models of her 'bird-to-buy'.

Model 1

Model 2

Model 3

Model 3 collapses ... opps!

All about Yassy

The many faces of our little Yasmin. And I'm not sure how it happened, but her name has lent itself to many, crazy variations - Yas, Yassy, Yassy-buzzy, Yasmini, Yasmini-kepinitje (that's from Sera), mostly courtesy of Johan who is absolutely terrible at rhyming. ha ha.

In Sera's boots

Wearing her socks ... and white headband courtesy of grandma

I have to say, she is loveliest, in the morning

Sitting sweetly (a rarity) while we shop

Waiting for our lunch to arrive

She loves to dig into my wardrobe and pull out whatever she can get her hands on. This time, my favourite shawl.

Trying a cartwheel

Away to Fujeirah

Another weekend, another adventure. This weekend, we drove north-east to Fujeirah, into the coastal town of Dibba. It is wonderful that only two hours out of hustle and bustle of Dubai, we get to experience a totally different landscape that satisfies all our needs - the mountains, the ocean and, uninterrupted clear blue skies and fresh, fresh air.

Our hotel, like all the other ones along the coast, was nestled between the sea coast and the mountain. Sera is always thrilled when we tell her we're taking a road trip. In the car, she will readily take on the role as our personal guide to comment on everything and anything. Ha ha. I'm sure it is not difficult to imagine. But I'm secretly pleased to see traits of mine and Johan's love of travel in her.

We arrived just in time to spend some good time at the pool before dinner. The cool weather, only meant the cold water in the pool. Arghhh. Sera jumped in fearlessly but the rest of us stayed dry, as long as possible. Yasmin, the more adventurous one, hates cold water. Exactly like Johan. She goes almost hysterical when she touches cold water. So she snuggled close to grandma all the time, on the deck chair, preferring to keep dry and warm.

The next day, after breakfast, we played at the beach and enjoyed the sunny weather. The girls and I strolled along the beach, picked up shells, saved a baby sea cucumber and buried a dead baby crab. What an exciting morning! Johan, Sera and I went on our first (and probably last) pedalo ride. Sera and I let Johan do all the pedalling, while we sat back and relaxed out in the sea. ha ha. Again, Yasmin stayed away from the cold water and stayed with grandma, burying each other with sand. We finally drove back in the afternoon, tired, contented and smelling of the sea and chlorine. Nice.

Weekends always go by so fast ... especially ones like this.

The girls exploring the hotel

The first ride down the slide. We screamed all the way down. ha ha

She went down by herself, over and over and over ....

Johan and Yasmin snuggling up and keeping warm

Playing on the beach the next morning

Sera 'saving' the sea cucumber

Yasmin was very contented playing with the sand all morning