Missing Kampuchea.

I had a nice weekend and I really want to blog about it but I’m just feeling so drained and exhausted from that bloody time of the month. The weather is certainly not helping, it’s so hot everyday! Seems like air-conditioners are going to be permanent fixtures in our lives. I can feel sweat trickling down my back and and chest as I’m typing this -_-

Anyway, here are some pictures of me in Cambodia circa 2006 to torture myself because I really, really, really need a vacation now :(

Courtyard of Angkor (I think..)

Our guide had very good timing, he always managed to avoid the crowds so we almost always got to enjoy the temples all to ourselves.

Backyard of Angkor (man, I don’t remember anymore).

Somewhere where they filmed Tomb Raider.

Angkor Wat (this one I remember lah)

Can’t wait to go back for a 2nd visit.

The mind-blowing Wat Rong Khun, white temple of Northern Thailand.

Browsing through my photo albums, looking for something to blog about, I stumbled upon pictures of me in Chiang Rai, Thailand. It’s been so long I really don’t remember the order of my trip anymore but the thing that was most memorable to me was visiting the Wat Rong Khun (White Temple). I knew the Thais are incredibly amazing when it comes to building temples but I was completely blown away by the magnificent White Temple.

Been in construction since 1997, it’s not a very old temple considering the average age of temples in Thailand probably runs in the upper hundreds of years. But it is very different from the regular temple that you can find in Thailand that it’s completely white and covered in mirrored tiles. The temple literally blinded my eyes for a second.

The weather was brilliant when I was there, the skies blue and the sun shone like it was determined to give everyone skin cancer. For some reason, I felt that the whiteness of the temple helped to reflect more heat onto its surroundings because while on temple ground, I felt like I was going to keel over and die. So please do bring ample supply of drinking water and wear loads, and loads of sunblock.

To visit the main hall of Wat Rong Khun, you’d have to cross a bridge, which is built over the “pit of hell”.

The details of the bridge.

When you look over, you could see a lot of hands reaching out of the pit, perhaps trying to grab you to join them :P It’s a little freakish.

Pit of hell under the bridge.

In fact, the people banished to hell were so pissed off by their fates, that one actually gave the world the finger, manicured nails and all.

Flipping the bird.

As the temple is still under construction, the main temple hall is quite underwhelming. Nothing compared to the exterior of the temple. Pictures were not allowed, so I don’t have any of the temple’s interior.

No idea when the construction is going to finish, it’s been more than 10 years after all. The thing is, the construction is entirely dependent on donations, so perhaps that’s the reason why it has taken so long.

Imagine these covered in mirrored tiles.

I’d love to go back there again with the bf cause it’s immensely beautiful. Apparently, it’s even more beautiful when seen in the moonlight!

My favourite cendol in the world.

I love cendol more than ais kacang. Whenever I go to Malacca, there’s one place that I definitely won’t miss, because it has the most awesomesauce cendol in the whole wide world.

The place is called Jonker88.

First of all, my apologies for my dreadful style of blogging – completely devoid of charisma and my usual banter sort off. I have successfully exhausted all creativity and energy into work. So I’m just going to be simple, succinct and straightforward.

Jonker88 is awesomesauce to the max.

# Jonker88.

It’s the home to a quaint stall that sells all kinds of ice shaving goodies and of course the ultimate cendol.

# The menu.

The stall is operated by a middle-aged lady and boy is she fast. I never really had to queue for more than a minute even at its busiest time.

# The proprietor and her assistant.

The cendols they sell are a class of its own. The gula melaka (palm sugar) they use is thick, sticky and very fragrant. The way it becomes chewy upon contact with the ice shaving is unlike anything I’ve tasted in my life. Other cendols that use watered down palm sugar just pale in comparison to Jonker88’s cendol.

I mean, just check out this beauty!

# Sticky, gooey gula melaka drizzled all over the coconut-cream soaked ice-shavings with bouncy cendol and red beans buried underneath.

The atmosphere of the place is also something worth noting. Housed in an old Baba Nyonya house converted into a restaurant cum art gallery, eating there is like travelling back in time.

# The beautiful converted Baba Nyonya traditional house.

It remains to be seen whether I’ll find any other cendol that could match the one from Jonker88. I really don’t care, I hope it sticks around forever.

# Nom nom nom.

Jonker88 also has another stall that sells delicious looking assortment of laksa noodles. I’ve never tried it, but I heard they are pretty good too.

Jonker Dessert 88
88, Jalan Hang Jebat,
75200 Melaka