top 10 vietnam and cambodia moments

i love countdowns. actually i just love watching or listening to countdowns. but if i'm the one who'll do it, hindi masyado. but since we lilly-lilly-lilly-lilly-lilly enjoyed our recent trip to vietnam and cambodia, i will be obliging myself to write one para pandagdag sa pang-reminisce namin later in life. what makes it a tougher job for me though is that i have to select just 10 out of the million blog-worthy moments we had.

since nakapag-post na ako about my lost luggage, out na sya isasama sa listahan.

SPOILER ALERT: some items could be a bit private, baka hindi lang masyadong maka-relate yung ibang magbabasa.

so let the countdown begin.

10. water festival tragedy at phnom penh

i ranked this at no. 10 kase eto lang yung hindi fun sa mga entries, i must say. i included it because it is something historic, and it coincided with our trip. while we were informed early on at the tourbus that there is an ongoing festival in phnom penh, we did not make an effort to go out that night as we were dead tired from the 6-hour land travel from vietnam and the half-day killing fields-genocidal prison tour, which was an emotionally-torturing tour, by the way.

we only learned about the phnom penh tragedy the following morning. taselle received a worrisome call from back home and they were apparently tracing our whereabouts after seeing the news on tv.

God bless the families of the ~400 victims, and thank you for guiding us too.

now, on to the fun part...

9. tuktuk and Angkor Wat


ang mga dating nakikita ko lang sa tv, movies and ads, ayun at nasa harapan ko na. oops, hindi yan sina angelica panganiban at boy abunda.

tuktuk is the modified version of our tricycles, common to other neighboring asian countries. kung sa atin eh jeepney ang main mode of transpo, tuktuk naman ang mga hari ng kalsada dun sa kanila. meron din silang mga siklo, pero hindi kami sumakay. para kase syang dambuhalang wheelchair. joke.

from the hotel that we stayed in, kumontrata kami ng dalawang tuktuk for the 5 of us para sa aming Angkor Wat tour. in fairness, mababait yung mga nakuha naming driver. feeling ko naman hindi nila kami tinaga for the amount of 15$ per tuktuk, kase whole day yung tour at sobrang lalayo nung binyahe namin. at binigay nya pa as souvenir yung map na gamit nila.

Angkor Wat, finally. nakita ko na ng personal yung lugar na pinuntahan ni angelina jolie as lara croft sa tomb raider. no wonder she fell in love with the place. we just took the 1-day tour, so we were able to visit only a handful of temples, pero sulit na rin. ang sakit din kase sa paa kakalakad. at kung masakit ang paa, masakit din sa panga kaka-smile sa pictures. maghapon ka ba namang nakangiti e, tingnan ko lang kung hindi ka tubuan ng kulane sa panga.

btw, tuktuk din ang sinakyan namin for the Killing Fields tour.

8. food and shopping


i won't get tired of saying that we were so lucky to have Tin with us in Vietnam. he was the one who prepared our itinerary, and he brought us to places where we could enjoy the best and authentic vietnamese food and the best bargains.

i especially liked the pho and the steak. i liked it a lot that's why i even brought home some instant versions of the pho. and not only that, Tin was very cautious with my constraints with food that he even prepared canned goods for me, which are equally yummy. parang ako lang. Ü

before we left for cambodia, Tin told us that we might not like the food there. surprisingly though, we thought it was good. naging suki nga kami nung katabing kainan dun sa hotel sa phnom penh e.

and who would ever buy an underwear for 320,000? of course, i won't. teka lang, para klaro, in Dongs po yan. pero kahit na, mahal pa rin yun para sa akin lalo na at hindi naman boutique yung binibilhan ko. then comes Tin to the rescue. ang ending, he was able to negotiate the price at *drumroll* 3 underwears for 100,000. san ka pa?

i was also able to buy my new laptop bag, 2 shoulder/body bags, a handbag for my inay (pang-gimik nya, sabi ko. hehe.) and some small abubot bags at the best bargain prices.

i'm sure my ka-trippers enjoyed the shopping spree a lot at ben thanh market and the two saigon squares. eh kung hindi ba naman nag-enjoy, ayun at nagkanda-excess baggage kaya hindi magkamayaw kung paano iuuwi ng pinas.

7. ang jukebox at ang sundance


si taselle. wag ka lang makakabanggit ng isang word na sobrang identified sa isang kanta, at bigla na lang syang kumakanta. parang jukebox na hinuhulugan ng barya. sampolan natin.

pagsakay ng taxi...

abby: "ate, usog naman ng konti. mainit dito e, andito ang sunlight."

taselle: (a la kevyn lettau) "sunlight... oh, sunlight... bring me the love i need to guide me... shine it deep inside me..."

o kaya...

"bilisan na natin, baka abutan na tayo ng rain."

taselle: (a la madonna naman) "rain... feel it on my fingertips... hear it on my window pane..."

yan, ayan si taselle.

speaking of rain, si abby naman, tinuruan si Tin ng sundance para daw hindi matuloy ang ulan. eto yung sayaw na hango dun sa john lloyd-sarah movie na A Very Special Love. panay kase ang ulan sa vietnam pag hapon. in fact, bumaha pa nung bumalik kami galing cambodia.

sa lahat naman ng pwedeng ituro, di ba? hehe.

6. the attack of the look-alikes

you just know that you are not far enough from home if kahit alam mong wala ka sa pilipinas, pero naglipana ang mga mukhang pinoy din sa paligid. bukod sa climate, hindi rin tayo nagkakalayo ng hilatsa ng mukha ng mga taga-karatig-bansa natin.

as in, kasalukuyan kang namamasyal, pero bigla na lang may masasalubong kang familiar faces. pero hindi pwedeng maging sila yun dahil wala nga kami sa pinas. sige, mag-sample tayo.

for sure, hindi siguro si chairman bayani yung sa front desk ng hotel namin. pakakantahin ko sana para makasiguro e. kaya lang hindi sya masyadong marunong mag-english, so hindi nya ako maiintindihan pag sinabi kong, "are you sing for us? very well, mayor?"

at lalong hindi namasukan si jovit bilang attendant sa tourbus. lalo na at kasalukuyan pang namamayagpag ang singing career nya ngayon. hindi nya nakuhang kumanta. si taselle kase yung kanta ng kanta habang nasa byahe, hindi makasingit si jovit.

or, definitely hindi senior officer ng bangko yung naghubad ng blouse dahil sa alinsangan nung tumirik yung tourbus namin. wag na nating pangalan yung ubp officer, baka maka-offend pa ako.

at marami pang ibang karakter mula sa nakaraan at kasalukuyan.

5. the mystery of the missing S


eto naman napansin ko lang. common for both the viets and cambodians yung nahihirapan sila sa 's' sound pag nasa dulo sya ng words.

sabi ni Tin nung magpapapalit sya ng pera namin. "tomorrow, i will go to CHAIN your money." (translation: "tomorrow, i will go to CHANGE your money.")

nung nakita nya yung nabili kong laptop bag at sinabi kong mura ko lang nakuha, sabi nya, "Very NIE!" (translation: "Very NICE!")

minsan naman natanong lang kung saan kakain. "we can eat at <place> because I know Taselle want to eat RIE." (translation: [ay ang haba naman nito. cut natin.] "... RICE.")

si manong tuktuk driver naman during the Angkor Wat tour, tinanong ko. "So where do we go next?"

while holding and pointing at the map, sabi nya, "Ok, so now we go to Bayon temple. There are LOT of TEMPLE in there, you go around, will take you 1 to 2 HOUR, depending on you. You go out here (points at the map) at the TERRAY of the Leper King, I will meet you there. AFTERWARD, we go here (points at the map). Here you can eat your LUNT, and maybe RET for a while." (translation: [i-cut ulit natin.] ... LOTS... TEMPLES... HOURS... TERRACE... AFTERWARDS... LUNCH... REST for a while.")

o sige, isama na natin yung pambubuska ni elmer kay tin.

elmer: "ok, this is how they would sing lady gaga: ~JUT DAN, gonna be ok...~" (aynaku, pag hiningan nyo pa ako ng translation nyan, tutuktukan ko na kayo.) tapos mauuwi naman yun sa no. 2.

4. language barrier moments

the trip made me realize that probably, you don't really need to ace 6 english subjects in grade school, 4 english subjects in high school and another 4 english subjects, at least, in college.

while we pinoys see english as an international language, there are certain places where you won't be able to communicate well as you would in other english-speaking countries. this is why it really would be good if you have a local friend who can communicate for you. especially when shopping. ~waves at Tin.~

when we were in vietnam, i had cough and colds so i decided that i should buy medicines. Tin went with me at the drug store, so it was quite easy. unfortunately though, i misplaced the medicines. sabi tuloy nya sa akin, "you always forget everything. first your luggage, now your medicines." haha.

anyways, so that was the challenge. i should be able to buy me cough medicines while in cambodia, without the help of an interpreter.

first, i went at the hotel lobby. "hi, good evening. is there a drug store near here?" nginitian lang ako ni ate, tapos umiling sya. tapos may hand gestures sya na parang sinasabing, "teka lang, hintayin natin yung kasama ko."

pagdating nung kasama nya, nakapag-communicate naman kami kahit papano. basta ang naintindihan ko, "paglabas mo, kumanan ka. tapos lakad ka ng konti. pagkatapos ng dalawang kanto, may drug store dun." salamat naman at natagpuan ko yung botika.

ang problema na ngayon eh kung papano naman ako bibili. uubo ba ako sa harapan ng saleslady, tapos imu-mwestra ko na umiinom ako ng gamot? pero sinubukan ko pa ring mag-english muna, last option ko na yung version ko ng sign language na yun. "hi, good evening. do you have cough medicines?"

pumalakpak ata ang tenga ko nung sumagot sya. "yes, we do. for what type of cough? do you have phlegm? or dry cough?" hay manang, hulog ka ng langit! hindi mo ako pinahirapan!

at dahil nga nawawala at that time ang aking bagahe, syempre limited lang ang aking saplot na dala so i had to wash. imadyinin nyo ngayon kung papaano ako bumili ng detergent sa kalapit na sari-sari store. your guess is as good as mine. haha.

btw, eto singit na lang na kwento. speaking of paglalaba, muntik pa akong hindi makatuyo ng damit dahil inubusan ako ng hanger! inunahan kase akong maglaba! itago na lang natin sya sa codename na Epalyn. hulaan nyo kung anong nickname nya. (ang mag-react dito, guilty. hahaha!)

3. ang hiwaga sa likod ng WC


at dahil lahat kami ay observant, napansin na namin on our second day sa vietnam na pag kailangan mong mag-restroom, isa lang ang hahanapin mong signage: WC.

para namang nag-usap ang dalawang bansa, kase pagdating namin ng cambodia, WC din ang signages na gamit nila.

nung sa vietnam pa lang, na-curious na kami syempre, kaya tinanong namin si Tin kung anong ibig sabihin ng WC. baka 'kako it's an acronym for the local translation ng comfort room, or restroom. kaso mukhang hindi rin alam ng bata, kaya tinatawanan nya lang kami.

dahil hindi na-satisfy ang aming curiosity, gumawa na lang kami ng ibang meaning ng WC. Wiwi Center. bagay naman di ba? ang mahirap lang, kung gusto mong jumebs, hindi pwede dun. pang-wiwi lang kase. hehe.

ang pinakatumatak na kwento ng WC sa isip ko sa kahabaan ng bakasyon namin eh nung papunta na kami sa last na temple na bibisitahin namin sa Angkor Wat. sa sobrang haba kase ng lakarin, parang sobrang nakakauhaw. kaya ayun, kailangan din naming uminom para mag-replenish ng fluids.

nagulat na lang ako nung narinig ko si abby na kausap yung tuktuk driver nila. sabi nya:

"where is the nearest WC here?"

muntik na akong mapahagalpak ng tawa, sabay baling kay abby ng, "WC talaga, ate?" hahaha.

eh dahil hindi marunong mag-english yung driver nila, nginitian lang sila hanggang sa lumapit na yung driver namin. nasabi namin sa kanya na "we want to use the restroom before we go inside (the temple)."

sabi ni kuya, "the what?"

kaya inulit ko, "the restroom."

tapos sabi nya, "oh, the toilet? come on, we'll bring you there."

ayun naman pala. alam naman pala nila yung "toilet." buti na lang talaga.

by the way, mga ka-trippers. tatapusin ko na dito ang hiwaga ng WC. it actually stands for Water Closet pala. ang sosyal nila di ba. sa atin, yung maliit na espasyong yun, Room na ang tawag natin, samantalang sila, Closet lang. hehehe. now, that's trivia for you.

2. the never-ending elmer vs. tin saga


naaliw kami sa dalawang tour guides namin sa vietnam. they argue on almost everything, although we know asaran lang talaga.

sasabihin ni tin: "techcombank is the best bank." at sasagot si elmer ng: "of course not. just next to hsbc."

o kaya sasabihin ni elmer: "tin, you are so fat!" "no, you are fatter than me!" sagot naman ng isa.

elmer: "let's just change their money there near ben thanh."

tin: "no. i know of a money changer where the exchange rate is higher."

lahat halos, pinagtatalunan. kung maglalakad ba o sasakay, kung kakain na o hindi pa, kung saan kakain, at marami pang iba.

idagdag na rin natin yung kapag kinokorek ni elmer yung mga pronunciation ni tin, gaya nito:

elmer: "tin, can you hold my bag first?"

tin: "i'm not your MED!"

elmer: "maid!"

1. "kiss-kiss-kiss! love-love-love! we love spain!"

this one, i really, really won't forget. part yan ng cheer nina elmer sa isang activity nila sa office. ang kwento, they were divided into groups, and each group is assigned to represent a country.

so sa group nila, spain ang naka-assign. next, kailangan nilang mag-cheer para sa country na yun.

ang linyang yan ang finale ng cheer nila, and dahil iba yung accent ng mga tao dun, hindi nila ma-pronounce ng tama ang spain. SPEN ang lumalabas.

ang clincher, syempre since kaya namang i-pronounce ni elmer ng tama, sinisigaw nya talaga ang "spain!" kaso dahil sya lang ang mag-isang gumagawa nun, may guilty feeling daw sya na sya ang mali. hahaha.

dapat ivi-video ni taselle si elmer while doing this e, kaya lang nakalimutan na kase nangarag ang lola ko sa excess baggage. Ü eh ang hirap ikwento ng steps, at feeling ko hindi sya ma-a-appreciate kung kwento lang.



so there you have it. marami pang fun moments pero nakakapagod ding magbilang. besides, nanunuod ako ng tv. kailangan kong mag-concentrate.

'til our next adventure!