Motorcycle Mavericks (Part 3)

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Our man in Cambodia sent me these pictures a few days ago. Tuan Sinos wants to share the joy of his new arrival with all ...

Soooooo ... presenting his recently acquired lean, mean Honda VTX1300C bike ( 1300 cc) !!!!

He went for a test ride to Battambang, the 2nd biggest city in Cambodia, about 280 KM from Siem Reap. Here are some of the scenes ...

Fierce looking, man!

Tengok pun takut sedikit lah!

And they're off ......

I'm sure our motorcycle fans and speed fiends will have lots of comments ...
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"Expressions" Series

These candid shots of facial expressions were taken by my shutterbug daughter ... /WJ


Bartholomew Sinos (Form 5 Arts 2, 1976)

Chen Liang Fang (Form 5 Sc, 1976)

Harry Goh Eng Kiat (Form 5 Sc, 1976)

James Kuo Hang Ung (Form 5 Sc, 1976)

Jensen Ng Koon Teck (Form 5 Arts 1, 1976)



Nicholas Lau Lee Yau (Form 5 Arts 1, 1976)



Norbert Liew


Robert Chin (Form 5 Arts 2, 1976)

OK, OK, if you insist, Nick ! Here's mine ... /WJ

Photos taken by Jemima Yong (jemimayong@hotmail.com) during Siem Reap trip of Aug/Sep 2009.

Reunion at Siem Reap (Day 4)

Many of our friends left Siem Reap in the early morning of 2nd Sept, but some of us (JY, JK + families, CLF) had evening flights, so could squeeze in a few more sightseeing visits around town. We decided on Artisans d'Angkor, the Old Market (a repeat visit) and then the Royal gardens. NL joined us for the Artisans visit, before leaving to catch his flight back.

Using a trio of tuk tuks, we started off ...

First we visited the Artisan d'Angkor workshop where poor, young people, usually from rural areas, are given the opportunity to develop skills in traditionals arts, like silk painting, wood carving, sculpture, etc.

Next it was back to the Old Market (see photos from previous day), before we headed to the Royal Gardens ...

Here we are at the special lounge at SR airport, waiting for our flight back. Wah, isn't Tuan Sinos looking real handsome !

All good things must come to an end eventually. And so it was with our Siem Reap trip. It will certainly be one holiday most of us won't easily forget.

Reunion at Siem Reap (Day 3)

The third day (1st Sept) was planned as a "free and easy" day and so different people decided on different activities.

Some went for massages, facials, manicures, pedicures and other bodily renovations. This was at a shop run by Mrs Sinos. Can you spot who was having what style of pampering?

Others went shopping at the Old Market and Centre Market ...

We all met up for lunch at an outlet at the Centre Market called "Hong Kong Cafe", which served the unique combination of Chicken Rice and Fortune Telling :-)

In the afternoon, all of us went to the Angkor National Museum.

Later some went for further massages before we had our "Farewell Siem Reap" dinner with Sinos at Arun Restaurant.

Members of the group began leaving at different times on the next day. It had been a short but really enjoyable and meaningful trip.

xx

Reunion at Siem Reap (Day 2)

Our second day started at 8am, right after breakfast. A mini-bus with English-speaking guide was waiting to bring us to visit the various temples of Siem Reap - including Angkor Thom, the Bayon and Elephant Terrace, and of course Angkor Wat.

The first few shots are of Angkor Thom, which is one of the largest of the Khmer cities. It was founded by king Jayavarman VII. The first sight that greeted us was the magnificent South gate, with two rows of Buddhist statues lining the road towards the gate.

We also stopped at other places with interesting stone elephants.

Seems that some guardian lions may even bite if one is not careful ...

All of us were also at those famous locations that you often see in magazines or movies, the one with the huge tree roots draped over old ruins ... one of these locations was also where the Angelina Jolie movie "Laura Croft: Tomb Raider" was filmed.

At noon, we stopped for lunch at the Angkor Cafe, which was just across the road from the Angkor Wat.

After a nice lunch, we finally went into one of the wonders of the world, the Angkor Wat.

Here are a couple of photos of our group against that world-famous backdrop.

In the evening, we were invited to a celebration party on the occasion of Malaysia's Hari Kebangsaan, or National Day, (31st Aug) together with the small Malaysian community who were working in Siem Reap.

Most of the photos in this posting were taken by our friend, Chen Liang Fang, who is an ardent and very proficient photographer.

Reunion at Siem Reap (Day 1)

The day finally arrived. Some of the guys (a few with spouses and children) began coming into Siem Reap from Sat 29th August, while my family & I took the Silkair flight from Singapore at 1030 this morning, together with James Kuo & family, and Chen Liang Fang. We landed just before noon.

What a welcome! Our friend Sinos was there on the airport tarmac, greeting us the moment we stepped off the plane. And when we had passed Immigration and Customs, there was a banner greeting us with the most familiar logo of St Joe.

Here are some shots taken at the airport when the different groups arrived...

A mini-bus brought us to the Borei Angkor hotel, just 20 minutes away.

After checking into the hotel and meeting the rest of the guys, we went for a nice Cambodia local lunch.

Here are some of the photos taken at our lunch at Bantaey Srey Restaurant.

After lunch, it was off for a tour of the Lake Tonlé Sap (the Great Lake), the largest freshwater lake in south-east Asia. The Tonlé Sap is unusual for two reasons: 1) its flow changes direction twice a year, and 2) the portion that forms the lake expands and shrinks dramatically with the seasons. From November to May, Cambodia's dry season, the Tonlé Sap drains into the Mekong River at Phnom Penh. However, when the year's heavy rains begin in June, the Tonlé Sap backs up to form an enormous lake. So for most of the year the lake is fairly small, around one meter deep and 2,700 sq km in size. During the monsoon season however, the Tonlé Sap river, which connects the lake with the Mekong river, reverses its flow. Water is pushed up from the Mekong into the lake, increasing its area to 16,000 square km and its depth to up to nine meters, flooding nearby fields and forests. This floodplain provides a perfect breeding ground for fish.

The Lake Tonle Sap outing was an interesting and also quite a moving experience. We saw how the people lived in floating villages on the banks of the lake.

The level of poverty was heart-breaking. As our boat made its way on the lake, smaller "sampans" with one or two people (often young children) would come up alongside our boat, and the kids would jump over or paddle over in a small basin boat & start selling souvenirs to us. Naturally, many of our group put a few dollars in their palms, often even without taking their ware.

We also saw "sunken" forests, ie. trees which were submerged in the high water level of the lake.
In the evening we went for dinner plus traditional Apsara show. "Apsaras" are the legendary Angkor angels. The dancng ladies were beautiful and graceful, and the performance was very colourful.

After the show, we went back to the hotel and went to the music lounge on the top floor of the hotel. There we found the St Joe banner strung up above the bar.

What an incredibly packed first day ! It felt that we had done so many things already.
Our host did a fantastic organizing job. A million thanks to Tuan Sinos !
xxx