Home Sweet Home

Hi Guys,
I am Back Home.
Sorry for having neglected you for so long, the reason is I wasn't sure what to do when I reached Phnom Penh that I just wasted a lot of time staying in the hotel room watching TV and catching up on some local news (Malaysian News) on RTM 1. Yes, Cambodia has RTM1 aired.
Anyway, let's go back to HCM City (Saigon). I must admit that of all the cities I visited so far, HCM rates at the bottom of my list, not because it has not much to offer but because I was already travel weary after almost 2 months away from home. The city is too big to see in 2 or 3 days but having been in Vietnam for more than 2 weeks I have a pretty good idea what Vietnam generally is today. I did not visit the VC tunnels but with so much publicity through TV and the print media I don't need to experience it first hand.
District 1 in HCM is where most of the travel agencies are located and you see tourists from all over the world. I saw a couple of Malaysians and even met a middle aged couple and their daughter from Penang busy bargaining with a street peddler over some stuff. En Shamsuddin (60) , formerly of Penang Sports Club, his wife Puan Zainab and daughter Fariza, a MAS ground staff on their final shopping before flying back to Malaysia. We do get many Malaysians now travelling to destinations where MAS and Air Asia Fly. Many Muslims travelling to non Muslim countries complain of the difficulty of finding halal food, but then, that in itself is an adventure - coping with adverse situations. At the 'Highlands Coffee' outlet I saw 'Nasi Goreng' and Malaysian Red Curry Biskit on the Menu - halal or not is anybody's guess.
I toured HCM on a motorbike with my guide - a Vietnamese who once worked in Klang for 3 yrs. - Le Van Chinh. He now works in a restaurat in Dist. 1 and speaks quite good Malay. People like him made my stay and movements easier. In HCM peddlers along the streets harass you wherever you go and that can be a real nuisance. On top of that you have the street children, beggars, shoeshine boys and a host of pimps trying to entice you - not a friendly place for the weak. There are many parks and gardens that are well tended with manicured plants that I enjoyed where I went for brisk walks on several occasions. All over Vietnam you see lots of manicured plants in big pots done in the same style as bonsai ,the difference being, these plants are much larger to be termed bonsai. They are seen adorning frontage of buildings and streets and parks - something we should emulate.
I left HCM on Tuesday 22nd by bus and reached Phnom Penh around 3 pm. We also had to cross the Mekong river on a ferry before reaching PP. I checked into a guesthouse by the riverside where a lot of construction was going on to cope with the increase of tourists. However, you see a lot of people just idling because of lack of employment. Besides motorbikes and taxis for transport there are some 3,000 tuk-tuks available in P. Penh, but only about 5% are seen moving along the roads. Petrol price is the highest in ASEAN at 5,700 riels (about) RM4.50 per liter, so most tuk-tuk just can't afford to move around looking for passengers and instead stay stationary and wait for passengers. I am told that most Cambodians earn less than USD 50/- per month. However you see a lot of Luxury cars and SUVs on the roads in the city.
Throughout the day you see young children, men and women going through the piles of rubbish all over the city streets collecting whatever is recyclable. It is indeed a depressing sight. Just about everybody is trying to sell you something or other, children with trays of cigarettes, travel guide books, women with babies sleeping on the streets stretching their hands for handouts and the handicapped , if you are seen giving to one the others are sure to follow you, so how do you deal with such situations. You tell me.
I also had the good fortune to witness election preparations before I left P.P. In a show of strength, the political parties go on a motorised procession that stretches for many kilometers with thousands of motorcycles, cars and lorries waving party flags and shouting slogans and banging drums as they pass. It is like a festival.
I visited the 'Killing Fields' and the Genocide Museum , The 'Russian Market' and the Royal Palace, and the Old Market over 2 days while in PP. I was tempted to go to Seam Reip again but having to lug the bicycle again I decided against it. I visited Seam Reip last year.
On the morning before I left P. Penh I was cycling around taking photographs of some of the sights when I bumped into some cyclists in cycling gear and on their training rounds. After the introductions, I regret for not meeting them earlier. They were 2 Cambodian national cyclists and their coach . We had breakfast together and exchanged news on cycling and of course they were surprised to know what I had done. They revealed to me that as a national cyclist one receives an allowance of USD30/-per month, and as assistant national coach he is paid USD200/-per month. Unbelievable, isn't it. To supplement their income they act as cycling guide for about 20 days in a year. With that they earn another USD250/-. I don't know how much our national cyclists are paid, but I am sure it is adequate. I spent the rest of the day with them until it was time to leave for the airport. As a parting gesture the 2 cycliss received my official Beijing Marathon t shirts which I was only too happy to part with, thus reducing some weight of my baggage. For the excess baggage (bicycle) I had to fork out USD 40/-.
Well, now that I am back home, it doesn't mean that I will stop blogging . I shall continue sharing with you whatever activities I undertake after some rest. I shall also share with you more insights into my experiences throughout my journey the last 2 months.
I am truly sorry to hear of my Thai friend Somchai who lost his camera and the bad experience he had in Vietnam. So, I consider myself lucky because even after 2 months in 4 different countries I only have pleasant experiences to share with you. One reason , perhaps is because of my advanced age and the other because I travelled alone. When abroad luck also plays a part.
Thanks 'Bandit' Puteri Kamaliah, Jimbo, Dr.Amir Lee, Kama, Ann, Hassan, Sook Ying and Jason, Kishab, my friends at Warung Rus esp. Datuk Johan, Cikgu Mat, Din, YB Edward, Stanley, JJ , Datuk Jaafar, Lee B. Leong and others who have been keeping track of my movements and the support and encouragements and to Tey I am happy that you have got the Visa to China .I'll see you when you come back.. It is still possible that I continue my cycling to China from Hanoi some time in the future - after the olympics.
I have registered for the S'pore Marathon in early December and I need to go into the preparation soon. There are many other things that I'd like to do in the near future but I need to make a thorough research to ensure any undertaking ends in success.
Well guys, call me if you like, we can meet up some time. Regards and take care.
Adnan