Visiting home

Finally it's been almost a year since I last went home. I'm leaving tomorrow. I'm getting excited/anxious and looking forward to see my family at Phnom Penh airport. I imagine the feeling of stepping out of the plane and smell the air of Srok Khmer. Then you are greeted by family and relatives at the airport...

But first I have to pack which is always a challenge.



Then the flight is soooooo long. I'm taking some sleeping pills this time and hopefully they will help put me to sleep on the plane which will make the trip seem shorter. Can't wait to get home. There is no place like home, right?

Trip to Washington and Montana - updated.

9/21/05 - We arrived in Spokane, Washington, at about 9:30 am. We picked up the rented car and drove straight to Fair Child Air Force Base.

We got into the base and everything went smoothly at the security checkpoint. Six hours later, we finished setting up the computer lab and fixing computer problems. The staff there toured us around the base for a little bit. It looked very nice overall. We were not allowed to go into the actual airport. However, I was able to take some pictures of the older fighting plane models at the park. Fair Child's current main function is to refuel to fighting planes in the air just like we see in those Hollywood's movies :).

Fighter Jet


The bomber


9/22/05. We checked out the hotel around 11 am and headed for Montana. It's a 6 hour drive. The weather was perfect - sunny with mild temperature.



Half an hour later, we got into Idaho and passed this beautiful scenery. It's a huge lake surrounded by mountains called "Coeur d'Alene Lake". It looked more like a sea. We had to pull over and checked it out. A lot of rich people with big houses and boats live by that lake.

Coeur d'Alene Lake, Idaho in Panorama (click on the picture to enlarge).














Then off we continued the trip. We drove along the winding road, up and down the Rocky Mountains all the way. The landscape is amazing. There are mountains covered by green pine trees and water streams along the highway. And they stretch all the way to Montana. It's completely different from the Midwest where the landscape is just flat. I felt like a little creature whenever we drove though those giant rocks. The nature scenery itself just took my breath away. Six hours of driving wasn't that boring after all.







Three hours later we made a stop for lunch and gas in Missoula, Montana. I finally found some good tasty burger with strawberry shake from Fuddruckers.



Then I took turn to drive the rest of the trip to Great Falls.

9/23/05. We checked out the hotel pretty early at 8 am the next morning and headed to Malmstrom Air Force Base. We got work done according to plan and headed back to Spokane at 1 pm. The weather was rainy, cloudy and cold. Luckily it wasn't too bad for driving.

Malmstrom Air Force Base


9/24/05. Checked out the hotel and flew back to Kansas City.

View from the top - Rocky Mountains, Utah.


For more pictures of the trip, click here.

Trip to Washington and Montana

As part of my job, my co-wroker/roommate and I are going to Fairchild Air Force Base, Spokane, Washington and Malmstrom Air Force Base, Great Falls, Montana. We're going there on Wednesday and come back Saturday. Park University has extended campuses there so we're going to setup computer labs and new hardwares for those campuses.

I hope it's going to be an interesting trip and that we have time for some sight seeings. I also hope to get a glimpse or take pictures of the Air Force planes if they allow me to :).

So there will be more updates on the next blog.

My Server

This is my old pc acting as a server. It is Pentium 2, 450Mhz, running on Linux 24/7. Currently it stores pictures for this blog and streams music. It's also handy for my friends and I to use for storing files/testing/learning purposes.

Home-made dried food

Here is some of my favorite food that my mom made and sent to me thru my cousin who just got back from Cambodia. From left to right we have pickles, Prah Hok+Grounded Pork, and dried shredded pork (Sach Chrouk Phat).

This food may not be a big deal if you are in Cambodia but it is valuable when you're away from home and don't get to eat it anytime you want. It tastes soooo good :). Thanks mom! All the food arrived here safely :).

Saturday afternoon

I was studying in Barnes and Nobles bookstore. I decided to take some breaks in between and take a few snap shots of the view outside through the window. (Shopping Center, Zona Rosa)


...And later on it rained like cats and dogs. What a great day to stay indoor and study! :P.


Wireless internet is available but is not free :(. I hope it will be someday. Barnes and Nobles let us read their books for free. So why not wireless internet?