cambodia part 2 - siem reap angkor wat

going to Cambodia for the Angkor Wat was something i should have done a long time ago. it's a beautiful place and i can barely imagine how it would have been like during the time when it was built.
the entire place was covered with forestation after the demise of the Angkor Empire. the decaying ruins which were abandoned for three centuries was rediscovered by a French naturalist Henri Mouhot in 1861.lots of the beautiful carvings were destroyed by elements and war. the statues were stolen by theives who resold them in the black market. but who's to say whether they are right or wrong? during times of hunger, what would you have done for your family? you never know.
wouldn't recommend anyone to do this without any travel insurance though. heh.they were not joking about the 'climbing at your own RISK" part. not for the acrophobias.my legs grew twice as big after one day's work in angkor wat.. climb climb climb climb climb......the sunset is the the most beautiful time of the day, but it also marks the end of the day...always remember to make full use of time and ask what have you done today to make a difference in your(orsomeone else's) life...

cambodia part 1 - phnom penh and Pol Pot's regime

day one was spent visiting all the aftermaths of the Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge regime. went to the killing fields where it was the mass grave of god-knows-how-many innocent Khmers, during its rule of the country from 1975 to 1979. and this is recent history we're talking about here.it has now become a tranquil surrounding (albeit filled with lots of mozzies) and yet it never fails to send a chill down your spine. the feeling's just weird, it's like you don't find any reason to even smile (or laugh) when at this place.the executed were buried in mass graves. In order to save ammunition, the executions were often carried out using hammers, axe handles, spades or sharpened bamboo sticks.next up was the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, also called S-21 prison. it was in here, peasants were kept as prisoners and were tortured, most of the times to death.could still see the blood stains on the floors of the prison. mug shots of thousands of Khmers each tells a different story.for those who survived S-21, it's amazing how they did it. i'm sure it was sheer determination to stay alive to see their loved ones that helped pull them through.

many thanks to Silk-air

our Silk-air flight was unable to land on Siem Reap on Wednesday night due to bad weather so the flight diverted to Phnom Penh instead. which was really the best thing for us since our original plan was to take a bus to Phnom from Siem and back again (because ours was round trip ticket SIN to REAP).

initially we were told that they will fly us to Siem on a later flight when the weather gets better..but thank god (or not) the weather didnt get better.. so the airline had no choice but to arrange for one night's stay in Phnom.

as a result: one FREE night in a 5 star hotel with fancy shower (with water squirting out in 360 degrees...) and an all expense paid buffet dinner! we ordered wine... beer.. juice.. like NON stop.. muahhaa yes.. ugly Singaporean but so what?! - i'm sure the airline bought insurance.. LIKE US TOO! yes!! heng i last minute remember to buy travel insurance so this means that i can easily make a claim for flight delay!! muahaha.

this trip is super TAN DIO..

above all.. we also met some really nice and kind people along the way who helped us alot at a very reasonable charge. all the tuk tuk drivers/guide we engaged were really helpful and sincere, which makes me feel really blessed.

more updates and photos when i come back! meanwhile i am really enjoying Cambodia! (in Siem Reap now btw... 6 hours bus ride to get here from Phnom, but it's really worth it!)

goodbyes from everyone, including Lehman Bros

some shocking news before i leave for Cambodia tomorrow...

the President of BB sent out a firm-wide message last night in New York time. basically in the video he was telling us how Lehman Bros are officially game over, (never mind that Lehman Bros contribute to some one billion dollars in revenue to our company each year)... how screwed up the economy will become in the near foreseable future.. but don't worry too much because we've been through many financial crisis so we can also pull this off if we stay together...

IF we stay together.. that's the keyword here.

then at 11am.. my colleague JY packed up his bags and said Goodbye because he has decided to resign.

then at 6pm (end of the day) .. HR told one of my other colleague RS to pack up... didn't give him a chance to say his goodbyes and gave him the SACK.

hmm... interesting. anyways going to Cambodia tomorrow!!!

it's a story about A and B

i made an observation and it started quite some time ago...

i think A likes B at work. but B doesnt know it.

the interesting part about this story is.. A and B are both females!

hmm..........dont get me wrong, i have nothing against gay or even corporate gay.

anyways... important thing about what i want to say is... i dont dare to tell anyone about it.. because i think it's way too scandalous.. too 8gua!!! but yet i have this burning desire to tell someone!!!

ROARRRR

power of google

recently i found a long lost friend via google! we lost contact for some 7 years?? recently she came to my mind again - so i tried searching through the internet for her information.. and actually found her photo on a school's website in the United States.

i emailed the school and it turned out that my friend IS the owner of that school. :)

formidable.. and i'm happy.

my Korean Coachee-nim

met up for a dinner with Coach Park last night. we bought her a meal at Kuishin Bo and also a box of mooncake to celebrate the mooncake festival. so happy to see her again after so many years. she is definitely someone whom i will not forget for a long long time.Park is a Korean coach we hired to teach at the National Team some 10 years back. (the "Aunty" look she has now is because she is already happily married with two kids.) she used to be really strict and fierce on her trainees! and it was something Singaporean athletes were not familiar with.

she was the first and only person who ever caned me in public in my life! yes CANE - that was how fierce she was. whenever we went overseas for competitions i had to sleep in the same room as her because i was the youngest in the team - i always felt it was so unfair - but in fact, the best room to be in is in her room. :) because that's when she taught me discipline, respect for seniors and principles of life. i still remember being the very Korean style of training, she used capital punishment on us. it doesn't help for someone who has a whole lot of attitude like me - always talking back to her - always got punished.. but these just made me stronger. last time i always think she is wayyy too long winded and too harsh on me, but as i grow up, i really appreciate her teachings.

thankyou Coach!

my 10th national gold medal

i recently bought a set of Adidas Taekwondo uniform which is retailing at $256.00 in local stores. it is made of dri-fit material and feels almost weightless! i was so out of touch with TKD - i never knew about this new invention until i saw PL and Polo wearing it. and immediately i was like.. shit! i got to have that man!! (thats so me) it was my first time wearing it on Sunday - my competition day. man, i tell you, this is the speedo suit of Taekwondo! muahaha.i fought in two matches on Sunday, i have never fought such a relaxing match before! mostly because my opponents sort of gave up on trying which was a pity really. my second opponent tried harder than the first which was really good. both matches i won by Tehnical Knock Out so the matches ended pre-maturely.to be honest, as much as i was relieved to have won, i didn't feel very happy after this competition - i feel that even though i gained much recognition from the rest of the TKD members (like players and coaches from other clubs and schools) due to my consistent performances all these years - i was never able to gain recognition from the Federation. due to politics? - partly. due to a flaw in my attitude as an athlete? - partly. due to the timing of events? - partly. well basically i'd just say it's unfortunate! *big sigh*

i cannot deny the fact that i was a little disappointed that the special Best Player award did not go to me, even though it was my 10th gold medal in the Nationals.

in any case, it was a really nice gathering with the "old folks"lanet, mich and i trying to act nerd by wearing our belts super high up.here are the group of kakis i train with during these few weeks of buildup to the competition:

my coach for this competition and also my long time childhood friend - Bygon!mel who did a fantastic job despite being off competition for 5 years!PL, we've fought with each other in competitions on a few occasions and decided that it's time we so "seperate ways" - we registered for a different weight category and both of us clinched gold :)if you have noticed from the photo, all of us are wearing Adidas uniforms...

golden rule in TKD#1 - don't care can fight or cannot, wear everything Adidas first!!

golden rule in TKD#2 - don't know how to fight nevermind, must know how to SIAM!

yes - and that is the reason how i retain my success all these years. hahaha.