VISITING KANDAL MARKET IN THE MORNING - PART 1

If you want to see the real local people and how the live their lives, the best way is to visit the wet market in the morning. People go to the morning market in their everyday attires and the women do not put too much make up so they look less fake.

I was here in Kandal Market twice on the 15th and 16th August 2019 - to look around on the first day, and to buy some fruits to bring back home on the second day. I just found out it is actually prohibited to bring in fruits into the country via the airport but I have been doing that all this while.

The market was actually very near to the hotel I was staying so I happily walked there, and the roads were not still filled with many vehicles.

I was there at about 8:00 a.m. and the market was flocked with people. I wonder whether all these people were housewives who do not have to go to work at all.

How I wish I could get all the fresh vegetables, fruits, fish and other aquatic lives in the market at home.

The place was huge. It was something common to get lost in the lively morning market and not able yo find the entrance I first came in. So I just went with the flow and enjoyed myself at the morning market.

TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 2 . . .

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MY PHNOM PENH GASTRONOMIC ADVENTURE - HAVING REAL FOOD AT "HALAL RESTAURANT"

14th AUGUST 2019 ~ My quest for real halal food in Phnom Penh was successful when I found this halal restaurant which bore the name "HALAL RESTAURANT" ☺in the middle of the city.

I arrived quite late, after 9.00 p.m., but there were still many people inside the place and it was still bustling with activities.

I decided just to have the ordinary fried rice and omelette filled with chicken strips. The fried rice cost me 10 000 Rielm equaled to RM10 which was much cheaper than the "roti canai" (flat bread) I had the day before.

There were these two Malaysians who came to the restaurant and there was no vacant table so I offered them to sit with me. We quickly struck a conversation over dinner and they are from Pasir Putih, Kelantan. They even paid for my dinner that evening, which was actually quite embarrassing to a certain extend, when someone you got to know for less than half an hour gave you a treat. Thank you Tuan Haji Zamani and Kak Wan for the kind gesture and may Allah repay your kindness one day. We exchanged phone numbers before we left and I hope they would come to Johor Bahru one day so I could reciprocate.

I was happy not only I got to eat a proper dinner, but I also had made new friends.

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TUOL SLENG GENOCIDE MUSEUM - PART 2

14th SEPTEMBER 2019 ~ The school which was turned in a concentration camp consisted of a few blocks. On the ground floor of Block B, collection of photos were put on display in one gallery. 

the victims' clothes

After the war was over, families and relatives came here to search for the missing loved ones. The only clue they could get was the photos of the people who were once imprisoned and died at this place. If they could find at least the photo of the missing person, they should be considered lucky because at least they knew what had happened to him/her. Some just disappeared and could not be traced.

To see the faces of these people who had become the victims of political war -- men and women, young and old, even children and teenagers, was indeed heartbreaking.

There were also these small cubicles built inside the classrooms where the prisoners were kept.

In block C, on the upper levels, there were more cubicles but they were built using wood, unlike the ones in Block B where bricks were used.

I did not know why there were not many people who came to this section. Honestly speaking, to be alone inside this creepy cubicles was not a pleasant experience.

I spent quite some time at Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. I was among the last to leave the place before it was closed but at this time when I am typing the story, the sorrow still lingers. I just wonder how could people move on with their lives from a terrible past.

The lesson learned:
Always be thankful of the life we have.
Say "NO" to evil people with evil hearts.

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