The months of September and October will be busy months of traveling. Anticipating the peak of the monsoon season, I’ve intentionally set August for spending more time at home and working on my blogs. My travel spree in September will start with a week long visit to Cebu, Bohol, and Ozamis City then it’s a three-week series of trips in Luzon. I’m still brewing my masterplanned backpacking itinerary.
Here is my itinerary journal during my recent trip to Thailand and Cambodia. From Manila, I flew into Bangkok, Thailand first and then traveled over land to Siem Reap,Cambodia by bus via the Aranyaphratet-Poipet Border Gate. I got to visit a lot of the major sights and will be posting more of a general journal rather than a detailed day-to-day itinerary (like my Hong Kong and Macau Tour last year) since my visit was primarily a business trip and I wasn’t in control of my time. I would’ve loved to visit places outside Bangkok and Siem Reap but I guess that would just be reserved for my future visits to Thailand and Cambodia.
Monks in formation during an opening presentation for a corporate gala dinner at the East Gate of Angkor Wat
My trip to Thailand and Cambodia is finally over and I’m now back at home skimming through the photos and reminiscing wonderful experiences I’ve had during my stay there. My purpose of travel was primarily for work, hired by a friend as an assistant photographer for a big corporate event in Siem Reap, Cambodia. I only had limited time to see the different sights as a DIY tourist so I won’t be doing a comprehensive guide like my Hong Kong and Macau Tour. Rest Assured, I have a lot of useful info to share about traveling in Thailand and Cambodia that will slowly fill this blog in the coming weeks.
Locals buying fresh flowers for the Khmer New Year in Siem Reap, Cambodia
I’ve had my first DSLR, a Nikon D40, for over a year now or approximately 50,000 shutters clicks ago. Last January, it accidentally suffered a 3 foot drop from the table. It’s still working, much to my relief, but the traumatic incident caused a minimal blur in all the photos. The damage isn’t so bad if I was only using the photos for blogging (and I can always cover it up a bit after editing) but it bothers me since I wouldn’t want to be compromised by defects in my camera. So I’m in this dilemma on what to do …
Unfortunately, the in-store warranty has expired so the first thing I did was to have it checked out in a camera repair shop. I waited for weeks but every time I revisit the shop, they tell me that there are lot of repairs on queue and they haven’t taken a look at my camera yet. Most of the time, I wasn’t in the mood of going out of the house (even blogging) since I didn’t have my camera with me and felt a bit depressed. During my Dumaguete-Siquijor trip, I had to borrow Vince’s camera just to have something to work with.
Now for my favorite part of our whole Hong Kong and Macau Tour! I actually like to explore historical places better than going through themed attractions. I feel more at home walking through old streets and districts. We woke up very early that morning to catch the ferry to Macau at 7:15am in Hong Kong’s Macau Ferry Terminal. The travel time took around one hour … I slept through the whole ride. We were already in Macau when I woke up :)
The Symphony of Lights Show was one of my top things to see in Hong Kong. Actually, just seeing the Hong Kong skyline was already an exciting thing for me. The Symphony of Lights show is a synchronized display of lights and laser accompanied by symphony music, featuring 44 buildings on both sides of the Victoria Harbor of Hong Kong. The show lasts for 14 minutes and starts 8pm daily.
After out tour of Hong Kong’s Victoria Peak, we proceeded to our next destination, the famed Ocean Park of Hong Kong. I was so looking forward to this place since the only other theme parks I’ve visited so far was Disneyland Hong Kong, which I’m not the biggest fan of, and Enchanted Kingdom, which pales in comparison to a theme park this size.
After arriving at Starferry Pier in Central Hong Kong, it took us a while to get to the lower terminus of “The Peak Tram.” It’s quite far and you’d have to take a few turns. Luckily there were a lot of Filipinos in the area, who were very helpful in pointing us to the right direction. Central Hong Kong during Sunday looks more like Hong Kong’s “Little Philippines.” In the areas that we walked passed, it seemed 50% of the people there were Pinoys (or looked like they were from the Philippines at least).
It’s a new year and it’s time to look back at experiences and events during the past year. Here are the places that I’ve travelled to and major events in Iloilo that I’ve got the chance to witness in 2009.
It’s day 2 of our Hong Kong and Macau Tour, we planned to visit many of Hong Kong’s top tourist spots. First up was the classic Star Ferry Ride across Victoria Harbor from Tsim Sha Tsui to Central in Hong Kong Island.
Ambot-ah is a blog about my life as a travel blogger, nurse, and freelance photographer. After my college graduation, I decided to make a living out of blogging and live out my many passions. Join me on my travels around the Philippines and South East Asia. Read my helpful backpacking journals, budget travel trips, do-it-yourself itineraries, blogging pursuits (making money online), and photography tips. 
