Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Time to Kick Back

It's been a hectic year so far and a well deserved break was in order. First stop on the list - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Adjusting to the fast pace of the big smoke took a couple days but it was worth it. KL is a fast developing capital and moves at an equal pace. The city is a melting pot of different cultures and religions making for interesting days filled with visits to shrines, temples and mosques, all equally as beautiful. The downtown Petronas towers were amazing and a contrast to the surrounding areas.
Petronas Towers
Do-it-yourself satay

Next stop was Brunei. We arrived in the quiet capital, Bandar Seri Begawan on the 20th. The city was gorgeous and incredibly quiet compared to the often chaotic Phnom Penh. We spent the days relaxing and visiting some of the amazing mosques in town. We also took a trip down to Kampong Ayer, the largest water village in the world and down the river further to see the proboscis monkeys. The city was very chilled and the people were incredibly friendly, as they seem to be in this part of the world. Today it took us four buses and a boat to get to the closest border town, Miri, in Sarawak. Exhausted, we've left the exploring for the coming days. Christmas in Borneo is sounding perfect to me!

Brunei's mosques

Kampong Ayer
Bako National Park, Sarawak

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

November - The Month of Festivities

Mid November saw an influx of visitors to Phnom Penh for Bon Om Tuk, the annual Water Festival and Independence Day celebrations. The festivities kicked off on the 9th with an impressive parade through town to mark 55 years of independence from the French. It was more of a showcase presented by the Government to highlight their so called 'achievements' over the years. Each Government Ministry was represented and regardless of intent it was still impressive.

From the 11th - 13th Phnom Penh was buzzing with some 2 million visitors from provincial areas coming to celebrate the Water Festival and changing of the tides. This is perhaps the biggest celebration in the Khmer calender and one that shouldn't be missed. There were impressive long boat races running continually for 3 days down the Tonle Sap. The riverbanks were packed with people. Once evening came it was time to relax and check out the illuminated floating barges, complete with fireworks.