Day 5 – Angkor Whut?! Part 1 (Lyqa)

This is straight from my journal.

8.15 We left the hotel for Angkor Wat, but we had to buy tickets to Phnom Penh first.

12.45 Back at the hotel to check out

13.00 Lunch at the Neary Khmer Restaurant. Foreigner-price so it was kind of pricey. The restaurant was nice. The food was ok. The spring rolls were awesome. Neary Khmer has the best spring rolls. We also tried Fish Spa. Some of us already experienced this before, but that didn’t matter because all of us still laughed so hard like it was our first time.

15.15 Back at the hotel to wait for the bus. Gio bought us ice cream.

19.30 Got to Phnom Penh from Siem Reap. The 7-hour bus ride was an adventure all to itself because the bus’ airconditioning was broken. After a while, even the fan stopped working and the bus turned into a pressure cooker.

Day 4 – Crossing the Border and Travel to Siem Reap (Lyqa)

We crossed the border to Cambodia riding a SAPACO bus. It was a bit small, but it was ok. The bus got on a ferry to cross the river. Another vehicle was beside us. We barely recognized it because it was so overloaded. You literally cannot see the vehicle behind the luggage tied to it. The immigration process was fine. We got new names as the officer called Ate Mich Mishellah. I was named Anghelikyu, Eunice was E-U-Ya-Yunika.

After crossing, we had lunch at a stopover. The people there were so nice. Two of the managers (we know because they were dressed in civilian clothing instead of the orange uniform) were near our table the whole time waiting on us. They offered us light tea which we had to refuse because of two reasons:

1. Because we didn’t understand whether we had to pay for it

2. Because the missionaries told us to be careful not to drink the water, and even the ice, here.

When the waiter kept on offering drinks to us, the manager scolded him and sent him away while he continued apologizing to us. They were really nice. When Ate left her hat on the table, they went all Angry Birds on us. One of them said a word that sounded like “Boogawk” softly then they all said that louder and louder every time. All the other waiters came to the table and kept saying the same word. It was funny, but then I realized that they must feel the same way when we ask each other, “Babababa?” and elicit the response, “Bababa.”

We got to Phnom Penh and met Tita Elvie and Samnong for the first time. We also met a Filipino family who’s been living here for a long time. The father gave us his number and told us that if we had any problems, we can ask him for help since he is an officer of the Filipino organization here. After getting our baon, which came in the form of big slices of brownies, we went on a van which took us to our bus which took us to Siem Reap. This time, the bus ride was not so nice.

There was this French couple who sat in the row in front of Gio and me. They reclined their seats as far as it would go with no regard in crushing us in the process. The best thing about that trip was finding out the best potato chips in Vietnam… TAISUN POTATO CHIPS CHILLI FLAVOR (Yup. It’s spelled with two “L’s.”

When we got to the bus station, a tuktuk driver, Mr. Boret, came to pick us up. He was holding a sign that said “Tess Bantatug” so it took a bit before we realized that he came for us. He spoke good English and helped us find a hotel. The hotel was pretty cheap. They charged us 39 dollars for one night, two rooms for seven people. The room was so nice. We’ll upload pictures soon.

We went out for dinner at this place called Monoram where we had spring rolls, Khmer-style barbeque, deep-fried pork ribs, and roasted duck. The food was good, but the fellowship was even better. On our way back, we bought ice cream (which was no match for Fruitare strawberry pops) and slept soundly for a few hours dreaming of the next day’s Angkor Wat adventure.

*cue Tomb Raider soundtrack*

It's Friday in Cambodia!

The title speaks for itself. Do you wanna know what happens in Cambodia during Fridays?

Click here

VLog 001: Age Does Matter --Dee

I don't really know how to describe this experience. As some of you might know, this is the second time I have ridden a plane and the first time I have EVER gone out of the country. To be honest, I feel like I'm dreaming, and we've been away for two days only!

But I don't really wanna talk about my feelings. I think a story will be more interesting. :)

So...we were in the immigration section at NAIA. There was a long line of passengers waiting for their turn to go to the window, hand over their departure card and passport, get it stamped, and then board the plane. We decided to come in groups of three and four since there are seven of us. I went with Ate Tess and Ate Mitch; Lyqa, Abby, Nicey, and Gio went together.

When it was our turn, the immigration officer took a while before stamping on our passports. He asked kung anong gagawin namin sa Vietnam, kung ano daw ba kami sa Messiah, etc. Tapos he went and consulted something with the chief immigration officer who was sitting near the entrance near the metal detector/x-ray chorva. After that, he let us in.

Ate Mitch handed our IT receipt to the CIO. He looked at our passports. Then he asked, "May DSWD clearance ba kayo?"

Ate Mitch was like, "Po?" with a confused look on her face, which I had, too.

"Sino bang kasama niyo?" he asked further.

"Sila po," we said, pointing to the other group. Ate Tess stayed behind to wait for them.

"E ano ka ba sa...ano toh, Messiah College?"

"Opo. Ah, staff po ako."

"Sinong kasama niya? Wala kayong magulang na kasama?" His tone was serious and...yung tipong mararamdaman mong may tinutumbok siya. Scary.

"Wala po. Kami lang po nung kapwa ko staff."

"Ah, e hindi pwede yan. Dapat may DSWD Clearance kayo!"

We were getting worried and really confused by that time.

"Bakit po? Para saan po ba yun?" Ate Mitch asked. Kamot-ulo na kami tapos tanaw nang tanaw kay Ate Tess.

"E siya," he said, pointing to me. "Wala siyang kasama e! Dapat may clearance ng DSWD na pwede siyang mag-travel na walang kasamang magulang."

And I was like, "Po?"

"E bakit, ilang taon ka na ba?"

"Twenty po."

The CIO broke out with this bellylaugh and said, "Ano! Akala ko 16 ka lang!"

Yes, Sir. I get that a lot. :))

Gonna Fly Now!

Who says missionaries can't have fun? Wanna see what reaching the top of the Independence Palace felt like?

Click here.

Vlog #3: Day 1 - Lyqa

Sorry for the weird train of thought and the blabbering. I'm just too tired and sleepy. *yawn*

Day 1: AM - Meeting Tita Eva and Vietnam by Day

To fully understand how hard it is to live in a foreign country, one MUST experience sitting next to people who are just about yelling in monosyllabic singsong.

It's just our first day here out in Vietnam and I'm already loving the country. Pero I love Tita Eva more. Super cool!!

Grabe siya!!! She met us at the airport, got us a ride for just 300,000 dong (Yup. That's cheap. We'll expain soon), and went to our hotel early in the morning to join us for breakfast. She interviewed all of us. It was just a short period of time, but I instantly loved her. :)



We went to the Independence Palace to take pictures. It was fun until the weight of my backpack weighed my mood down.

But it was fun nonetheless. Videos of some stuff we did will be posted soon.

My heart was heavy the whole time we were there. Prayer-walking in a foreign country is an altogether different experience. We prayed for the people in power in Vietnam. We also asked God to place Godly people in government positions to open the door completely to the Gospel of Christ. I hope that we keep praying even after we leave.

Other highlights for the day include:

1. Crossing the streets with all those motorcycles.
2. Trying to play one of their native instruments. (I'll be posting a vid about this soon.)
3. My swollen hands. Probably because of an allergic reaction to something.

Keep praying guys. :)