Memoirs of a PLKN trainee

Recently it had been announced by the Malaysian government that the National Service training program (PLKN) for the year 2015 was scrapped off as to save the government's national budget. This brought huge relief to some of the students that had just completed their SPM a couple of months ago as they were exempted from Malaysian version of juniors' military training. Being a former National Service trainee back then in the year 2007, it was quite nostalgic to think back of my past experience living in the jungle on the beach side of Kuala Rompin as part of my national service training.

Kem PLKN Summerset Resort 2007, Siri 4, Kumpulan 1

I wasn't really a socialite that could mingle easily with people back then, especially to new people that I had just met. I was someone who was very cautious in every single decision that I made and introvert as well (though some of my friends that are close to me tell the opposite!). It was quite a challenge for me to mingle around with people that came from different parts of cities in Malaysia. During the day of my arrival my head was shaved to an extent that the length of my hair was less than 0.5 cm. It was quite a traumatic experience for students like us who had just started our long break and we were so keen to keep our fancy hairstyles to ourselves. That partly explains why most of the time we were seen with our blue caps on. 

Majlis Perlantikan Wira&wirawati, the day when the trainees were given their respective ranks & titles in the camp  

Daily routine activities

I still remember the day when I chose to wake up as early as 5 a.m in the morning as I want to escape from queuing in the crowded toilet. Well it can be quite scary to be the first to wake up & went into the toilet alone (we were well briefed by our instructor to avoid from attending the toilet alone especially at night for some unspecified reason) especially when your toilet is located at the farthest side of the camp compound. We started off our daily routine at around 6.30 a.m where we were required to assemble in Padang Kawat. During the assembly you could see pretty well that some of the trainees were still half asleep while standing. Then there was a time when one of the trainee that leads us for "Rukun Negara" had his text gone wrong and all of us were punished immediately on the spot by doing a considerable amount of push-up. Nothing was way tiring than having a morning workout session right after you just woke up. One of the activity that was most energy-consuming was to wear the heavy army boots while running across the beach for an hour where the exhaustion brought us right down to our knees.   

Embracing the sands & dusts!

Up, up and away! - nothing is worse than getting the wheel stucked halfway during Flying fox training

Throughout our training session we were also required to attend classes which were held early in the morning based on 3 separate modules: Kecermelangan diri (character building), Menampilkan yang terbaik dari diri orang lain (roughly translated as encouraging the positive attributes from the others) and Kenegaraan (patrotism spirit). These modules were believed to possess some magical power to change the attitude of a trainee and shaping them into a "better quality person". Some of the activities carried out in the class were indeed good (as most of the activities required a good team work coordinating skill), not to mention that some of the activities were hugely awkward as well (by requiring you to sit face to face with your partner, with your knees touching each others, making a direct eyes contact with each other while having a Q&A session for a period of time). In the end we all were having fun in the class. Thanks to the night shift  & some intense morning exercises, I always found myself to fall asleep unconsciously at the back corner of the classroom.   

Celebrating the birthday of the trainees in the class

Jaga malam

Literally translated as night duty. We were often divided into two distinct groups, where group A will have their shift started from 11 p.m right until 2 a.m where the following group (B) will take over from 2 a.m to 5 a.m in the morning. Our duty was to patrol around the camp compound & to make sure that everyone is asleep & everything goes accordingly. As a smart and cheeky trainee we would just patrol around the first few blocks areas of the buildings for around 30 minutes to an hour. After completely sure that all of the trainers & instructors were already dozed off to their dreamland, we quickly sneaked into a common room (which was used as a guest room) and had our sleeps there and woke up right before 5 a.m. I was often found myself to be doing the shift B work and It was very tiring to stay up awake in the middle of the night. I still remember the time when we were just started doing our first B shift when one of my friend approached me and told me that he saw a mysterious dark figure walking right beside the beach. Well that night his story was really successful in making all of us to stay on guard and completely awakened until the following morning. 

Tempur Tanpa Senjata (TTS), a self-defense training that was said to be used by the military as well

The precious little cookies

Living in a place located quite remotely in the forest, cookies were equally important as much as paper money did. Real world paper money was important but it had only limited use, where usually it was used in trading with some chicken burgers or chips from a small hut in our camp site. Never in my life have I ever valued cookies as much as I did inside the camp. I discovered something funny where friendship could be bought with cookies as well! Cookies were our snacks and energy source whenever we finished some of the intense training in the camp, like marching practice, early morning workout etc. 

In picture: anxiously waiting for our turn for "monkey bar" session

swing like nobody's business!

Wirajaya

On the last few weeks before our training officially ended, we were required to participate in an event which was to test our skills & knowledge on everything that we had learned from the training. It was much like an evaluation session for our performance where we were to compete against each other in a team (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta). Our mission was simple, we had to make our way to the designated destination shown in the map with the aid of a compass. We then appointed a leader who we believed that was good in map reading. Well to keep it short things didn't work well, we found ourselves constantly circling around the same place in the jungle over and over again. The pouring rain didn't help with our condition either. We covered ourselves from the rain by using the multi-purpose "Pocho" as raincoat (where it can be used as a tent as well). It was during this chaotic moment that we found out the other team was already catching up from behind. In the end we did still manage to get to our destination after getting lost inside the jungle for a period of time.

Luckily for us the rain was already stopped once we set up our tents beside the beach. We used all the provided materials (some military-grade candle look-alike incinerator, canned sardine, small packet of rice, small packet of cooking oil) to cook some simple dishes. I did still remember that funny moment when my friend's cooking apparatus was caught on fire after some nasty cooking skill. It was during this "cooking class" that made our bonding even stronger to each other. We were told to dig a hole of our own for nature's call which was an instruction that I was strongly against with. I simply couldn't imagine that funny moment if one of our member didn't notice of the "booby trap" and fall right underneath it. Luckily for us we were told to pack up and return to our main camp after spending few hours beside the beach.       

The tired & restless looks after running through the jungle in Wirajaya

The end of the training

One of my friend was so annoyed with the fact that he had to spend his 3 precious months in the camp which he regarded as no difference than a detention center and he decided to hang a big calender on his wall so that he could count how many days was left before he could leave the place. Well he did put up a big cross sign for each passing day in the calender but only after a few weeks later he decided to give it up. To this day that moment never fail to crack me away from laughing. I personally felt the tense and pressure too when I was doing my training there. One of the moments that I could never forget was to have a wet sponge soaked with detergents pressed against my face by the instructor when I was asleep during a talk. Some of other funnier "punishment" was to drag your bed and place it right on the assembly field while others were watching (as a punishment for not keeping your bed tidy). Never could I forget the moment when I just had my bath and was suddenly instructed to quickly turn myself to the pedestrian walkway. With a half naked body me and my friends were told that we had disobeyed a rule where we were not being cooperative with one another and showed no team spirit. The result of that? We found ourselves rolling on the dirt filled with thrash and other nasty things later on. 

After all the challenges and hurdles we did still manage to enjoy our time together. One of my friend once told me that the thing you will miss about PLKN wasn't of the training there, but the experience of mixing with a varieties of friends that came from different background from the different parts of the country and all the time that you had been spending doing all the things together. I guess what he said is true after all.          

All the sweet people that came from different part of the country, pic taken during the last night in the camp

One of our last moment captured together (Bravo Company), I was the one sitting on the first row, far right

Fin.

PS: I had personally created a PLKN facebook group for the ex-trainees & trainers so that we could somehow be connected again with each other, please follow the link below if you're interested :) 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/64965427184/?fref=ts

Kenangan Waktu Senja

* Sedar tak sedar sudah 1 tahun setengah aku meninggalkan alam perkuliahan aku di UMP. Sudah hampir 7 bulan lamanya sejak hari terakhir aku bergelar graduan dari universiti yang berazam untuk menjadi IPT peneraju dalam bidang kejuruteraan & teknologi di Malaysia. Walaupun sudah agak sekian lama aku meninggalkan universiti ini, tapi terus terang hatiku tetap lagi menyimpan 1001 memori indah pada universiti ini.

* Cerita dibawah ini ditujukan kepada bekas-bekas mahasiswa & mahasiswi yang pernah menuntut di Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP) sebelum ini. Harap-harap cerita di bawah ini sedikit-sebanyak dapat membawa kenangan manis semasa belajar kepada anda semua :)

*Pengalaman penulis belajar di UMP (Jun 2009 - Jan 2013)

Gambar candid yg diambil semasa minggu pertama orientasi kami (Julai 2009); jurusan Kimia Industri (Bsc.)

Hari Ketibaan Sang Fresher

Masih lagi aku ingat hari pendaftaran pertama semasa aku baru sampai di UMP. Pada hari itu aku ditemani oleh keluarga dengan menaiki kereta pick-up Ford kami & habis barang-barang aku dibuang di belakang kereta. Habis disaluti dengan tanah bagasi-bagasi yang aku bawa kerana kereta itu sentiasa ayahku bawa untuk pergi berkebun. Selepas selesai menyerahkan borang-borang di Blok W, aku kemudiannya disuruh untuk menaiki bas yang disediakan untuk pergi ke hostel. Dengan perkakas serta pakaian yang bertimbun banyaknya aku memecut turun laju ke simpang menuju ke blok bangunan di bawah dengan harapan agar dapat menangkap bas yang bergerak tadi.

Permandangan depan hostel KK1 & KK3 yg sempoi (Julai 2009)

Setelah sampai aku terpelik melihat keadaan yang sunyi & hening di hostel tersebut. Lalu aku pun masuk ke dalam sebuah kedai runcit yang jelas kelihatan di salah satu penjuru bangunan tersebut. Aku lihat nama kedai tersebut; tertera perkataan "Ina Shoppe". Aku masih ingat lagi muka cuak aku kerana tidak nampak satu kelibat pelajar pun di situ. Dengan menahan perasaan takut & cuak aku bertanyakan akak yang bertugas di Ina Shoppe & dengan sportingnya akak itu membawa aku ke bahagian belakang kedai tersebut yang kebetulan juga merupakan sebahagian daripada kawasan hostel. Pusing punya pusing rupa-rupanya baru aku tahu yang blok KK2 masih terletak jauh ke bahagian belakang kawasan UMP. Dengan muka tahan malu aku berterima kasih kepada akak itu & terus memecut ke KK2.

Permandangan hostel KK2 dari jalan luar (Ogos 2009)

Zaman Tahun Percubaan (Tahun Pertama) 

Zaman tahun pertama aku penuh dengan peristiwa-peristiwa lucu & menggelikan hati. Beberapa minggu pertama sesi perkuliahan pakaian aku ke kelas adalah standard jenis baju & seluar kemeja, berkasut hitam ala kulit (sebenarnya PVC). Lihat saja pada pakaian nescaya sudah tahu pelajar itu golongan fresher atau tidak. Disebabkan jarak antara hostel & kelas yang boleh tahan jauh, maka basikal lah teman sejati aku ketika itu. Pada waktu itu bukan main seronoknya aku menunggang basikal. Masih lagi ku ingat waktu aku menggayakan "Superman" ketika menunggang basikal balik dari makmal ke KK2 pada waktu malam. Pada masa itu tiang lampu TNB di jalan luar KK2 masih lagi belum dipasang, semuanya gelap gelita. Perjalanan dari KK2 ke KK3 ditemani dengan bunyi nyanyian Sang Katak yang rindukan hujan.

Masih juga aku ingat pengalaman pertama aku mengambil ujian pada waktu malam, subjek Kalkulus. Bukan main rajin lagi aku menelaah pelajaran dari pagi hingga ke petang. Pada saat aku membuka kertas soalan sewaktu ujian malam itu fikiran aku terus menjadi kosong. Hilang terus segala formula-formula yang aku hafal pagi tadi. Panik juga aku dibuatnya. Tapi nasib baik lulus juga subjek malam itu.

Waktu senja di rumah kediaman C11, KK2 (September 2009)

Rumah persinggahan pertama (KK2) 

KK2, rumah bernombor C11 merupakan hostel penginapan aku yang pertama di UMP. Pada masa itu seluruh blok B hingga ke blok K dipenuhi dengan kenderaan pengangkutan. Boleh aku katakan 90% daripadanya adalah basikal, hanya blok Senior di belakang sahaja kelihatan kereta-kereta yang cantik berkilat. Lapar pada waktu malam bukan masalah besar bagi kami sebagai penghuni KK2. Setiap malam antara pukul 9p.m sehingga 11p.m akan kedengaran suara yang memecah kesunyian malam; "Hot Dog seringgit!, Hot Dog seringgit!" yang sentiasa menceriakan pelajar-pelajar yang sedang memerah otak menyiapkan assignment masing-masing.

Aku merupakan salah seorang warga Kuantan yang belajar di UMP pada ketika itu. Walaupun begitu cukup jarang untuk aku pulang ke rumah walaupun jarak antara Gambang ke Kuantan hanya dalam 40 minit perjalanan kereta. Pada masa itu masih belum ada lagi Rapid Kuantan. Yang ada singgah ke dalam bus stop UMP pun hanyalah bas Rahmat Alam & bas UMP sendiri. Perkhidmatan bas UMP & Rahmat Alam hanya berfungsi pada hari Sabtu & Ahad. Kalau hendak ke bandar kami hanya ada 2 pilihan; samaada menyewa kereta Senior atau jalan kaki ke stesen bas berdekatan dengan Caltex simpang Gambang, jaraknya memang fuuuhhhh!

Jumlah basikal yg boleh mengalahkan IPTA & IPTS di Malaysia (Julai 2009)

Hostel KK2 kalau dilihat dari luar sama seperti taman perumahan rumah teres. Ini disebabkan UMP menyewa rumah-rumah di situ untuk dijadikan rumah kediaman bagi pelajar-pelajar. Pada waktu aku menetap disitu, makanan di KK2 lah yang paling enak & best di dalam banyak-banyak kafe dalam kawasan universiti. Keenakannya sampai lecturer dari Blok W pun sanggup turun untuk membungkus makanan di situ (hehe). Masa itu internet KK2 pun boleh tahan punya laju, password untuk WIFI TMnet juga bukan lagi satu rahsia untuk semua penghuni yang menetap di KK2.

Permandangan dari cafe KK2 ke arah padang terbiar pada waktu petang (November 2009)

Hostel seberang Highway (KK4)

Sedar-sedar sahaja tahun pengajian pertama aku di UMP sudah berlalu. Masanya sudah tiba untuk aku & penghuni-penghuni KK2 yang lain mengisi borang permohonan kolej kediaman untuk tahun ke-2. Tanya sahaja pelajar yang pernah mendiami KK2, aku boleh katakan hampir kesemuanya tidak mahu berpindah ke kolej kediaman yang lain selepas tinggal di situ (mungkin sebab faktor makanan). Aku & kawan-kawan serumah aku dengan penuh konfiden berlari ke Ofis pendaftaran KK2 & menghantar borang tersebut. Kami fikir sudah semestinya kami akan berjaya mendapat hostel di KK2 lagi kerana kami merupakan antara golongan yang paling awal menghantar borang tersebut. Last-last selepas keputusan diumumkan kami tergamam sebentar kerana kami dihantar untuk mendiami kolej kediaman yang tak pernah kami sangka-sangkakan; KK4.

Pelangi muncul selepas hujan di belakang bangunan pentadbiran UMP (Ogos 2010)

Pada waktu itu aku menetap di Blok B, KK4. Salah satu kebaikan menetap di sini ialah tidak ada sistem curfew ketat yang mewajibkan pelajar untuk pulang ke hostel tepat pada pukul 12.00 a.m. Bilik aku terletak pada tingkat paling atas sekali bangunan & tingkapnya menghadap terus ke Ladang Kelapa Sawit milik Dato' Franky. Untuk student yang ada tabiat tidur petang memang terasa seperti dipanggang kalau tidur di sini. Jadi sebagai salah seorang student yang ada tabiat sebegini maka aku sentiasa mencari port paling sesuai & selesa, tak lain tak bukan perpustakaan UMP yang 24 jam berhawa dingin.

Tanya sahaja penghuni KK4 tentang katil keranda, nescaya semuanya akan tersenyum kambing. Papan kayu yang digunakan sebagai alas untuk meletakan tilam dibuat daripada kayu yang rapuh & mudah patah. Jadi setiap kali kami hendak baring, maka perlulah kami lakukan dengan slow-motion. Sebarang pergerakan yang pantas serta mengejut akan menyebabkan papan kayu penyokong tilam patah... maka tidurlah pelajar tersebut dalam ruang kosong dibawah tilam itu, seperti dalam keranda.

Permandangan dari bilik KK4 menghadap ke ladang kelapa sawit (Julai 2010)

Aktiviti sewaktu belajar

Aku merupakan pelajar yang boleh tahan aktif kerana minat aku adalah sentiasa berjalan ke hulu & ke hilir. Sewaktu tempoh aku belajar di UMP aku sempat menyertai beberapa program di UMP. Antaranya ialah pernah menjadi tutor sambilan untuk program Bahasa Melayu for International Student (BMfIS) pada tahun 2011 & 2012. Program ini sebenarnya adalah hasil kerjasama UMP dengan Northern Illinois Universiti (NIU) dari Dekalb, Amerika. Kerja aku sepanjangan menjadi tutor sambilan adalah untuk menggilapkan lagi skill permahaman Bahasa Melayu pelajar-pelajar dari NIU. Kerjanya boleh tahan juga punya stress kerana material pembelajaran untuk pelajar-pelajar ini perlu aku sahkan dengan Penasihat program yang juga merupakan professor dari universiti tersebut. Jadi hampir tiap-tiap hari sepanjang tempoh 6 minggu pengajaran aku perlu bangun pada pukul 5.00 a.m untuk memastikan diri aku benar-benar sedia untuk mengajar. Tapi penat letih mengajar memang berbaloi disebabkan aku dapat memahami budaya masyarakat Amerika dengan lebih dekat & jelas lagi.

Sesi BMfIS tahun 2012 bersama Derek & Matt (Julai 2012)

Sesi BMfIS tahun 2011 semasa majlis perasmian program (Julai 2011)

Menerjah pasar pagi di Pekan bersama Ryan (Julai 2011)

Selain itu aku juga bergiat aktif dalam sukan Ten Pin Boling. Pernahlah juga aku merasa pengalaman mewakili UMP ke MASUM tahun 2010, 2011, Open IPT Challenge & SUKIPT 2012 walaupun pencapaian aku tak sehebat atlit-atlit yang lain.

Bersama geng Ten Pin Boling UMP semasa SUKIPT 2012 di Sunway Pyramid (Oktober 2012)

Bersama Afiq, Kuchai & Zarul serta mamat tak dikenali (di belakang) yg mengambil peluang bergambar semasa Open IPT Challenge di MIBC, Melaka (November 2011)

Pengalaman belajar sebagai mahasiswa jurusan Kimia Industri

Semasa kaki aku baru sahaja memijak kelas pada hari pertama aku belajar di UMP, terus terang aku katakan aku kurang pasti tentang apa yang aku belajar dalam jurusan ini. Lama-kelamaan baru aku sedar yang modul pembelajaran dalam jurusan ini menekankan kepada konsep analisis kimia dimana kebanyakan waktu praktikal di makmal adalah dengan pendedahan instrument analysis seperti GC, HPLC, FTIR & macam-macam lagi kepada pelajar. Tapi sebagai satu jurusan yang masih lagi baru & fresh di UMP sudah tentunya terdapat sedikit kelemahan. Antaranya adalah jumlah instrument yang terhad yang membuatkan ramai pelajar yang hanya menjadi Tukang lihat & pantau termasuklah diri aku sendiri. Tetapi dengan penubuhan makmal berpusat baru-baru ini aku percaya masalah ini sudah sedikit sebanyak diperbaiki. 

Bergaya dengan safety goggle yang baru dibeli dari makmal bersama Leong (Februari 2010)

Berpakaian ala-Yemen bersama Mohammed semasa Expoconvo 2009, salah seorang teman karib dari Yemen yang belajar dalam jurusan yang sama (Oktober 2009)

Berbuka puasa beramai-ramai di surau UMP (Ogos 2009)

Berehat di Air Terjun Sg. Padan berdekatan UMP untuk menghilangkan stress belajar (Januari 2010)

Muka keletihan selepas tamat majlis malam Tahun Baru Cina UMP di Restoran Mexica Garden (Mac 2010)

Bergambar dengan awek Jepun semasa dalam program penyelidikan ARW selama 2 minggu di Narita & Tokyo (Disember 2010)

Amaran! gambar di atas hanyalah lakonan semata-mata & tidak berkaitan dgn si hidup ataupun yang telah mati.. hehe

Tahun akhir pengajian sebelum perpisahan

Zup zap zup zap, sedar-sedar sudah habis 3 tahun setengah aku belajar di UMP. Antara perkara yang paling stress semasa zaman aku belajar di UMP adalah semasa menyiapkan tugasan Final Year Project, tapi nasib agak menyebelahi aku kerana tajuk yang aku pilih agak senang difahami & aku juga disupervised-kan oleh seorang Dr. yang berkaliber serta 2 orang pelajar Master & phD beliau yang sanggup membantu aku sentiasa. Masih aku ingat akan Kak Irma yang sanggup meminjamkan aku ruang meja makmal beliau kerana aku terpaksa menjalankan FYP sehingga larut malam di dalam makmal postgrad & juga kesudian Kak Irir dalam menolong aku menganalisa sampel biodiesel menggunakan GC sehingga ke malam hari. Aku memang berhutang budi dengan mereka semua. 

Gambar terakhir yang aku ambil bersama rakan sekelas sebelum tamat pengajian (September 2012)

Tiba lah di saat terakhir sebelum kami semua berpisah. Bak kata orang setiap permulaan akan diakhiri juga dengan perpisahan. Dalam kesibukan menyiapkan assignment & tugasan seharian tanpa aku sedari hari terakhir aku di UMP sudah pun tiba. Sudah tiba pula masa untuk aku & rakan-rakan sekelas memasuki alam baru yang mungkin lebih mencabar, tapi kenangan pada hari lepas akan tersemat jua dalam hati aku sampai bila-bila masa. 

Semoga kesemuanya mendapat berkat & rezeki yang melimpah dalam meneruskan perjuangan hidup masing-masing, sama ada dalam pekerjaan mahu pun pendidikan dan juga yang telah mendirikan rumah tangga :)

  

- Tamat -

A Journey to the Land of Khmer - Kingdom of Cambodia

Standing in front of the lion & "Naga" statues near the Preah Norodom Blvd. in Phnom Penh

        Kingdom of Cambodia. Before my visit to this country, the only thing that I know about Cambodia is their majestic Angkor Wat which had been built by one of their great king, King Suryavarman II during the 12th century. Angkor Wat literally means "temple city". Back then it served as the capital of ancient Khmer. My one-week visit to this place taught me a lot about their culture and hardship that they have endured throughout the years. I had visited three of Cambodia's major cities; Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Battambang. Cambodia was also made infamous for the genocide that took place between year 1975 - 1978, where almost one fifth of their citizen were wiped out from the country by the ruthless regime of Khmer Rouge. Below are some of my experience during the journey.

* Cambodia is using both of their own currency (Riels) and USD; 1 USD = 4000 Riels. 

Example of situation: Buying a meal at 6000 Riels would require you to pay the stall owner 1 USD and 2000 Riels; buying a souvenir at USD 6.5 would require you to pay the seller USD 6 and 2000 riels, or 26,000 riels if you have tonnes of Cambodian's cash. One of the reason why Cambodians are good in math.      

Phnom Penh - Capital City of the Kingdom of Cambodia

Riding a Tuk-tuk (motocycle taxi) on the street of Phnom Penh

          I was greeted by a tuk-tuk driver upon stepping out from the airport in Phnom Penh. We made our way to Hostel Nomads, which located near to Mekong river in the city. The first thing that I noticed about Phnom Penh was that most of the roads were covered by dust. Plenty of dust. It is not surprising to see most of the motorcyclist in the city wear scarf to protect themselves against the fine dust. This is mainly caused by the heavy construction projects that take place around the town where investors from China and Japan invested in the property development within the town. Most of the citizen are happy with the foreign investment as it brings them the development that the country needed. Phnom Penh also has a huge numbers of motorcyclist, where crossing the road would become tricky sometime for a newcomer. 

The evening view of the riverside in Phnom Penh

          Phnom Penh is not really a favourite destination among the tourists. Most of the tourists flock to Siem Reap instead to witness the beauty of the sacred temple of Angkor Wat. Phnom Penh however has its own attraction. This place is no Bangkok where sky scrappers are scattered around the city. Phnom Penh is a city where everything is moving slow and peacefully. Walk to the park located beside Mekong river and one can catch a glimpse of the old citizen of the capital having their leisure activities at the center of the park. This is usually accompanied by the local pop music and they are doing this almost everyday throughout the year. It was amazing to see the locals enjoying their time exercising despite surrounded by the busy traffic and if you have some extra riels and dollars to spend with, you can just dine on the ship that cruised along the Mekong river while watching the sun set view. 

The dancing Cambodians on the riverside

This could be the one and only tallest building in Phnom Penh which is still under construction; the Vatanic Capital Tower

The Dark Period of Cambodia - The Occupation of Khmer Rouge (1975 - 1978)

           One of the most horrible thing that a Cambodian could ever mentioned of is the occupation of Khmer Rouge during 1975 - 1978. Under the ruthless leader of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (Khmer Rouge), nearly 1.7 million people from the overall population of Cambodians were slaughtered under the reformation of the new communist ruling government. Under the command of Pol Pot, thousands of people were sent into jail and executed, where most of the victims were accused to be spy for America and even KGB. The people that lived in the city were labelled as the "new generation" that would become an obstacle in the administration of the new communist party, thus they were subjected to harsh treatment. 

The pictures of the prisoners in S-21; where the innocents were tortured to death 

The mass migration planned by Khmer Rouge, where cities were left vacant

The city dwellers were forced to leave the city and migrated into the rural villages, where a business man  would end up being a farmer in the vast paddy field. This resulted in one of the largest mass-migration that had ever took place in Cambodia's history. Frightening enough was the story of the man that wore spectacle that would be caught and executed, all because of the reason that the intellectuals were condemned to be the one that caused the destruction of the country (and yes, the one that wearing spec would be regarded as an intellectual person). The people living in the rural villages were brain-washed by Khmer Rouge into believing that the city dwellers were evil and hypocrite, they were hired as the soldier for the Communist Party. The monks were not spared either, they were tortured and killed as the religious activities were completely banned from the country under the rules of Khmer Rouge. 

Security Office 21 (S 21) - The High School that turned into Prison

The view of Block C building of S-21, the barbed wire is still attached in its original condition as 40 years ago

            S-21 or known as Tuol Sleng among the Cambodians, is a high security prison building functioned as the place of interrogations for the Khmer Rouge regime. As many as 30,000 victims were believed to have died here. S-21 consists of four building blocks which used to function as a high school before the occupation of Khmer Rouge. Today it has transformed into a genocidal museum for education purpose and believe me, this place could be the last place on earth that you would want to be. By climbing to the top of Block C building one could see clearly the blood stains on the floor. Each of the building block is attached with electric fence to avoid the prisoner from escaping the prison compound. When the Vietnamese armies stormed into S-21 in 1979, they discovered the badly decomposed remains of 12 unidentified dead bodies in the building. The bodies of the victims were then buried right in the center of the courtyard that still present till now. 

The view of the Block C building overlooking the courtyard

The inside view of Block C building, where the blood stain still could be seen on the floor 

         The inside view of the second floor of Block C building was somehow chilling. Tiny cell blocks existed within the building. The chain that was used to leash the prisoner from escaping was still present in some of the cells. During my visit to the place there was hardly anyone around the building. I dared myself to step into the third floor of the building alone but it felt strange. It felt cold and I must say the cells were spooky. Wanting to explore more I called up my friends that had been exploring the building beneath. The inmates of the prison were treated harshly back then. They were tortured and forced to confess for something that they did not commit. Out of the total 30,000 prisoners that were kept here, only 12 of them are known to have survive the ordeal of the place. Below are some of the pictures that would give someone a clearer picture of what had been happening here.

The actual mugshot of one of the civillian prisoner of Tuol Sleng; the device was used to keep the head of the victim up straight

The condition inside the cell of the prisoner

The prisoner was executed during interrogation process by slitting his throat

The victim was subjected to drown execution to obtain information from him

Apparatus and equipments used by Khmer Rouge in torturing the victims

Cheoung Euk Memorial - The Killing Field

These pits holes in Cheoung Euk Memorial are the result from the excavation of the remains of the victims from the ground throughout the years

        Located at about 17 km from the capital city of Phnom Penh is Cheoung Euk Memorial, or known better as the killing field. This place had a connection with S-21, where some of the prisoners in S-21 were deported here for their final destination. As many as 9000 dead bodies were discovered here, at a place where the size of the field is only as big as an ordinary football field of our country's secondary school. The visitors are strictly required to stay silent during their visit to this place. On the middle of the field stood a stupa, which is filled with the remains of the bodies excavated from the ground. The skulls and bones are separated and layered into different level in the stupa.   

The stupa that stood firmly at the center of the field

         One will see cruelty as a whole new definition once they step their foot here. The prisoners from S-21 were brought here by truck at night as to cover up the entire process. The victims were told that they will be set free after weeks and months of suffering in S-21. The victims were chained with one another in a long queue with their eyes covered before asked to kneel down in front of their own grave. Under the dimmed light with the roaring sound of the generator, one of the Khmer Rouge army will then deliver a big blow by using a long pole to the back of the victim. Falling into the pit, the other army men will slit the victim's throat as to avoid him from screaming. The whole process was carried out with the national music playing in the background through the speakers that were attached to the trees. The music was played as to covered up the screaming of the victims. Khmer Rouge armies thought that ammunition was expensive in killing the victims, so the resorted the entire execution by using traditional weapons instead; the razor sharp leaves of oil palm tree were used to slit the throat of the innocent. Khmer Rouge did not want the villagers nearby to aware of their activities, so they poured chemicals onto the dead bodies as to fasten their decomposition and to cover up the smells. 

* There was also a tree nearby which was used by Khmer Rouge to execute the infants, where their heads were smashed against the tree. The first person that stepped into Cheoung Euk after the regime flee from the killing field noticed the strong smells that came from one the trees, and saw the brain remains of the infants there. A grave containing hundreds of headless bodies were also discovered within the killing field, which was believed to be the bodies of the soldiers that had opposed the barbaric rules of the communism.

Siem Reap - the City of Angkor Wat

         Forget the dark past of Cambodia and lets move to the present. I have no valid statistical figures to show, but I strongly believed that Siem Reap is the pulse of Cambodia. You can see Europeans, Americans, Chinese, Korean, Japanese and tourists from all around the world flock to this place. In other words, this city could potentially generate the main income of Cambodia, that is by tourism. If you are a traveller that travelled on a tight budget like me, be no worry because this place is a heaven for backpacker. Likewise if you have some big bucks to spend with, you can consider to stay in Park Hyatt Siem Reap hotel at the center of the city. 

Fried banana near Pub Street, anyone?

It's party time! 

         Pub street is one of the famous attraction of Siem Reap's night life, considering one could buy a can of local made alcoholic drinks less than USD 1 here. Watching the traditional Apsara dance is a must here. There are plenty of places around Siem Reap offers the visitors a chance to watch the show but if you are on a tight budget, just head over to the Temple's Club. Apsara performance is carried out almost every night in Temple's Club and the admission is FREE. You could just ordered the drinks and meals that you want at a very affordable price and having yourself entertained by the performers at the same time. After buying a bunch of bananas from the local market downstairs, I went into this place awkwardly (nobody would expect you to bring bananas into a club anyway). The Cambodian's Apsara traditional dance is almost identical to the Thai's. It is a no wonder as the ancient Khmer used to ruled Vietnam and some parts of Thailand at the peak of their civilization and a cultural exchanged must have been taking place during this period. 

Angkor Wat - The Legacy of the Ancient Khmer

Angkor Wat; the pride of Cambodia

           Waking up at 4.00 o'clock in the morning, I packed my bag along with my friends. We rented a Tuk-tuk for a half day tour around the ancient place. Our first mission was to catch the sunrise in Angkor Wat. I was thinking that we could be among the earliest people to reach there but I was totally wrong. Reaching the entrance of Angkor Wat, there was already long lines of queues in front of the ticketing counters. I bought a one-day tour passport and it was slightly expensive, but worthy to an extend that I will be witnessing one of the world's greatest architectural building. Angkor Wat served as the ancient capital of the Kingdom of Cambodia. But after numerous wars with the neighbouring Champa (modern day Vietnam) and Siam, the king flee and re-established a new capital away from Angkor Wat. The temple city was firstly build to worship Vishnu before turning into a Buddhist temple years later. Surrounded by the lush forest deep in the jungle, this place was still very well preserved by the Buddhist monks that had their meditation practice daily there, long before it was discovered by Henri Mouhot in the mid of 19-th century. 

The pathway that leads to the main entrance of the ancient temple

The carving on the walls of Angkor Wat tells the story during the ruling of Cambodia's great ancient kings in the past

The Bayon temple or also known as the temple of faces; facing towards north, south, east and west, represent the king rules across every continent of earth   

The view of Angkor Thom, built during the reign of King Suryavarman II 

The entrance to Angkor Thom that still standing proud after hundreds of years 

Battambang - Bamboo Train & Mount Sampov

A view overlooking the street of Battambang from Ganesha Guest House

           This city was my final destination of the Cambodia's journey. This city is made famous by the bamboo train that only relies on simple mechanism to run. The bamboo train was once used widely in Cambodia as it was fast and convenient to travel from a village to the city. However the bamboo train service was reported to be stopped soon by the local government. I was staying together with my friends in Ganesha Guest House which was operated by a German expatriate with his Cambodian wife. Ganesha Guest House is among the cheapest hostel to stay within the city, but be mindful that the heat would make one feels uncomfortable sometime. Every single bed is equipped with a small ceiling fan (that looks much more like a toy) and a mosquito net to protect the travellers from the risk of Malaria. We stayed in the hostel for two nights.

The Bamboo Train Ride - The World's Simplest Train 

Sitting on top of the bamboo train platform, with no ideas of the things that waiting for us up ahead!

          Talk to any of the foreign travellers that you meet in town, they will ask you to try out the bamboo train in one of the villages here. The bamboo train station located at the suburb of the city and is one of the last remaining bamboo train station that still operating in Cambodia. What is so interesting about this train is that it applies a very simple mechanism to run. The wheels are taken directly from the damaged battle tanks and is proven to be very useful for the uneven terrains of the railways. The passengers' seats are built from a wooden platform that could be dissembled any time, and the brake is made by a block of wood. The train runs on a single motor that capable of reaching to a top speed of 60 km/h, which is bizzarely fast considering by its size. The safety features of this train? You can just jump out from the platform any time in case of emergency (and try to avoid from breaking your bones at the same time). 

The French-made quality; taken directly from the battle tank

        During the colonial ruling of French in Cambodia in the late 18th century, an extensive network of railways were built by the French around Battambang. Modern and luxurious coaches were introduced to the Cambodians. However the service did not last long as wars continuously erupted in the country. This was worsen during the rules of Khmer Rouge where the train service was forbidden among the civilians. The locals told a story about a monk that frequently travelled to town from a village far away. This monk turned out to be frustrated by the long journey of walking to the town so he started toying with an idea of building a train that made from the bamboo. This train was soon became so famous that people would use it to go to the hospital, buying the groceries and transporting the goods for business. 

Phnom Sampov - Hidden Gem of Battambang

The view from the top of Phnom Sampov overlooking the village below 

       I simply fall in love with the panoramic view from the top of Mount Sampov. Phnom Sampov is a place that offers an amazing view where one can see a huge landscape of the paddy fields shadowed by the mist that surrounding the place. It was already at late evening by the time when we reached this hill from Battambang. To make matter worse, it was raining which mean a walk to the top of the hill was going to be risky. Embracing the rain, we hired the motor riders below and rushed to the top of the hill. Phnom Sampov was used to be the monastery for the Buddhist monks before the arrival of Khmer Rouge in Battambang. The temple on top of the hill was then converted into the interrogation office of Khmer Rouge in Battambang where the monks were slaughtered and thousands of civilians were murdered here. After the interrogation process was finished, the victims will be brought to the top of the hill before they were pushed down into the opening of a cave below, where they will be died of serious injuries. 

The newly renovated memorial of the buddhist temple on top of Phnom Sampov

At the entrance of the cave where the victims were pushed to their death

Three crazy guys with disposable plastic rain coats

        Heading back to Battambang after our journey to the top of  Phnom Sampov, we came across a cave entrance where hundreds thousands of bats lived. The bats were making their way out from the cave to find their foods in the villages nearby.

The fascinating view of the bats flying in a line out from the entrance of the cave

The End of the Journey

          My journey finally came to an end. Cambodia is a country that is rich historically where It was known in the ancient time as one of the strongest empire in South East Asia. The construction of  the temple complex of Angkor Wat only took 32 years to be completed where according to the archaeologists to build such a massive temple complex in a such a short period of time was almost impossible in the ancient. The ancient Khmer managed to build complex water system network for irrigation purpose at the peak of their civilization where they became very successful in planting their crops. The barage (the lake that functioned as the water reservoir) was built to store a huge volume of water during the monsoon and supplying it back to the crops during drought season. It is widely believed that a dramatic changed in climates was the main factor that brought the empire down to its knee, where the water network became so tough to maintain. The occupation of Khmer Rouge that witnessed millions of people being slaughtered brought the development of the country to a halt and backward. This is worsened by the fact that most of the victims of the cruelty were the intellectuals that hold the future of Cambodia. However, Cambodia is slowly regaining back its track in economy development, all thanks to the foreign investments. The Angkor Wat is now an important asset to the country where it acts both as the national monument that plant seeds of patriotism among its citizen and  one of the country's main tourist attraction. 

* Special thanks to my two travelling buddies, Rain & Nic for accompanying me in this great journey, my journey would not be the same without you guys. and thank you to Snguon for providing us with a better understanding on Cambodia. Would love to meet up with you in the future soon. :)