21 to 22 may 2008, jiji (集集)

camera set on timer. hee...

ran over

honey bees for you?

impact of the earthquake - a damaged temple

on our way to Sun Moon Lake, we made a stopover at Jiji, a small village that is abt 1.5 hours train ride away from Taichung. checked into a 民宿 for about NT1000/night (approx SGD 50) for a triple room. after a good rest, we set off in the early morning to cycle around the village.

here, one can still see the damage of the 921 earthquake (also known as the Chi-chi or Jiji earthquake) that occurred on 21 September 1999 in central Taiwan at 1:47 am and measured 7.6 on the Richter scale.

19 to 21 may 2008, taipei

sk won a piece of candy at the end of this game. hee...

huge watermelons

at a night market (饶河夜市) : me, Anny, Brian, Cher and jza theme restaurant at 西门町 - one sits on a toilet bowl and eat from a "toilet bowl".

CKS memorial

parliament house

龙山寺

waiting for a city bus at taipei airport

we were glad to see that sk's grandmother was recovering when we returned home.

took some time to rest and catch up with family and friends. indulged in weekly mahjong games and the comfort of having no rush to do anything.

after about 1 month, we, together with jz, bought 2 weeks return plane tickets to taiwan.
on our first night in taipei, Anny and Cher brought us to a good place to have "甜不辣". it's a very special dish with bean curd skins, rice cake with some kind of red sweet soup.

after the meal, we met Brian at Cher's place and we talked till late before we get to bed. the next morning, Anny and Cher brought us to a good place for a simple but tasty breakfast... fried pan cakes and soya bean milk at a small eatery. in taiwan, everywhere is good food and friendly people.

22 to 24 apr 2008, ho chi minh city

feels good to be back in a familiar place again. we went back to the same guesthouse bcos of the aircon and satellite TV. the owner is a nice man too. sadly, he has a son who is autistic and he desperately wants his son to receive medical treatment in singapore. i got him the address to consult a representative from a Singapore hospital but they told him that his son is too old for medical treatment. a school would be a better option. i hope he can find help really soon. his great love for his son can be felt when he told me that he is willing to sell his house for his son to get better. sigh...

we had a good time "rotting" in HCMC. i made a pair of spectacles which was ready in a few hours and it cost only 10 euros.

20 to 22 apr 2008, dalat

ran over

students

nice cool weather at dalat. didnt do much here... just walk around the long Xuan Huong river and the market area.

sk phoned back home and realised that his grandma was quite ill so we cancelled our bus tickets to Hoi An and return to HCMC to fly back home instead.

17 to 20 apr 2008, ho chi minh city

tapioca was the main staple during those days. our guide showed us how to cook and eat a tapioca. they were starchy and tasty.

one of the taller tunnels

steps to the long tunnel

our guide demonstrated how this piece of wood (with sharp rusty nails) will fly onto anyone who opens the door

booby traps

no problem entering but navigating underground was tough work. we ended up sweating doing squat walks through a few metres...

Cu-chi tunnel model - how the vietnamese fought the war against the U.S.

the process of making a beautiful art work

a chinese 妈祖 temple, similar to the Thian Hock temple in Singapore

we were finally back in vietnam again, where we first started our "long way out".

the traffic in Ho chi minh city (aka HCMC) is crazy. to cross the road, one has to walk carefully and just walk. though the motorbikes travel in all directions, they will slow down and bike around u.

we joined a half day tour to Cu Chi Tunnel on one day and met abt 300 singaporeans there. they were there on a company trip. how coincident.

overall, we had a good time in HCMC. the people there were nice and friendly like the cambodians.

14 to 17 apr 2008, phnom penh

waiting for our turn to get on the car-ferry to vietnam

singapore flag

clothes left by the dead

Cheung Ek killing field - the truck stopped here with victims transported from Tuol Seng prison and other places. they were to be exterminated here.

a cubicle cell

Tuol Seng Museum

had a very bad sore throat. then from flu, came cough, then fever and diarrhoea. tried to follow sk not to take pills. it took a long time to recover but i did recover eventually.

came to phnom penh to see the Tuol Seng Musuem and Cheung Ek killing field. the former was previously a prison to hold prisoners during Khmer Rouge. the latter was the place where the prisoners were sent to for execution. there were probably a thousands skulls kept in the memorial tower. most have fractured skulls and bullet wounds. cycling in phnom penh was easier than siem reap. roads were smooth. while cycling, some kids on the street threw water bombs at us. it was their new year and it is the time where they throw water and powder on each other to clean them of their sins.

there is a cheap chinese restaurant 东北菜馆 near our guesthouse and we patronised them everyday. one plate of stir fry vegetable cost only usd 1. according to the young lady boss, she had put on 25kg after moving to phnom penh.