As the sun sets in the US, rises in Cambodia

For a typical morning at around 7 am, the sun is up high and shining over Phnom Penh. The flickering lights are going through the windows and lighting up the house.

Everybody is already up by then. You can hear the noises from our neighbours because we live next to each other in a flat. You can smell and hear the breakfast is being cooked in the house. I can picture my parents are having breakfast at a round wooden table at the back of our house. They normally eat hot rice soup (Bor Bor Sor) with some dried fish and salty eggs and a little bit of this and that. Dad drinks hot coffee with it while mom just drinks water. Sometimes the breakfast is followed by some delicious desserts that my sister buys from the market nearby.

I can virtually smell the breakfast from here while describing it :).

Car demolition

I attended this event called "Demolition" where they drive cars to crash each other in a muddy field. The goal of the game is simple: try to smash your opponents' cars until they're totally wrecked. The last 3 cars that survive at the end of the game are the winners. A lot of people find this game fascinating. For me it's OK but I got to see it once at least.

My piano pieces

Below are the 2 classical pieces that I recorded myself playing on the piano. I've been spending a lot of times practising these 2. Hope you enjoy.

To download, right click on the link and select "Save As...".
Invention No. 13 - Bach
Prelude No 1 in C# minor- Rachmaninoff

Some old poems

They say a picture worths a thousand words. But when things cannot be expressed in pictures, we can try to put words together to create a picture. Below are the poems I wrote a few years ago.

My Mother (September 14th 1999)

This is a poem for my mother
whose heart is always warm and tender,
who still has the beautiful outlook and sweet smile
although you are in your late fifty.

This is for your hard work and striving
to raise us five and earn a living
For your deep love and caring
and being the best mother a woman should be.

And this is for your strengths and energy
though you now usually forget things you have done
but still managing household
and cooking us good food.

My appreciation for your strong determination
to achieve your goal as a midwife
at the age when many women were housewives.

For your patience and forgiveness
during those times I behaved badly toward you
instead of trying to listen and understand you.

Your soft and gentle hands
holding me when I was scared
and encouraging me to go on.

You taught me how to grow,
showed me everything that I should know
which has made me who I am today.

I am proud of you and thank you, mother
for everything that you have done to me
and I am not ashamed to say, though I rarely say to you,
I LOVE YOU!

Thanks to the Internet (March 2001)

Everyday I come back from class
I rush in my room fast
Drop my heavy backpack
Stretch my back.

I turn the computer on
MSN messenger I sign on
Check if my friends are on-line
Any E-mails that are mine.

I’ll be happy
If I got E-mails from friends or family
Then I will chat with my friends
who can be thousand miles across oceans or lands.

Tom says: Hi What you been up to?
Tra says: Nothing much, same old and you?

Short or long conversation
Make us feel close for our relation
No matter what the distance,
Especially when I feel isolation.

One fishing evening

Last night my friend and I went fishing at the lake. We fished from the dock of another friend's house. He caught a big catfish. Look how happy he was! That was one heck of a catfish, about 2 Kilograms. We later on barbequed all the fish we caught including this one of course :). That was the first time I ever tasted a fresh cooked fish right from the lake. Very tasty indeed.

This curious dog with lion-style hair cut was trying to fish with us.

It's summer! It's barbeque time!

Some chicken drum sticks and ribs with rice and cold beers hmmmm... These bbqs were prepared by chef Tom :) and turned out pretty good.

My camera

Canon A520, my tool for getting pictures for this blog.

Bee and Flower

Learning to edit pictures. Natural vs. Monocrome (edited) background to make the focused objects, which remain the same natural color, stand out more.

4th of July, American Independence Day

4th of July party hosted at an American family house by the lake.

Some guests arrive from the boats.

Wide view of the lake. Thanks for panorama option in this camera.
It's nice to have a boat.

American-style Barbeque.

Happy kids. Ahhh hot dogs and burgers...

...and of course, fireworks.