I love entering into a new year. I like the sense of liberation and hope because everything starts afresh.

Both the girls embark on a new journey this year – Joey begins Primary Two as a senior & junior prefect, while Jayne starts Kindergarten 1 in a new childcare centre. It’s a new transition for them both, but exciting nonetheless.

On the last day of 2013, Joey went for a three-hour prefect workshop, where she was briefed on the duties and responsibilities of a prefect. Not only must their conduct be good all the time, they must excel in their studies and be a good role model for their fellow classmates. Pretty tall order for kids so young, but I am glad she didn’t seem too concerned at all. The most exciting part for her was probably being chosen as part of the team to do flag-lowering everyday. The Primary Two junior prefects are divided into two groups – 1 group will watch over the Primary One students during Assembly time, and make sure they are well-behaved while the teachers are not around. She was glad to be in the other group who handles flag-lowering instead, because according to her, ‘It’s more fun!’

Due to the new arrangement in her school this year, the Primary Three students have moved to morning session, thus leaving only the P1 and P2 students in the afternoon session. That meant that the P2 students have to be the buddies for the P1 students this year, a role that used to be taken on by the Primary Three students only. I love it when kids are given opportunities to hone their leadership skills and build up their sense of responsibility and accountability. Joey was even given two P1 buddies because some of her classmates missed school for the first few days. She very proudly came home and told me how cute her P1 buddies were. Can’t believe it was merely a year ago when she went through that herself! Such experiences make school fun and meaningful, don’t you agree? :)

When I think about Jayne, I am often reminded of how God shows His love for me through this girl. I’ve experienced many prayers answered in this girl’s life, and remembering those blessings always bring a smile to my face. Years ago when she was born, I used to bring her to the nursery in my office. But for some reason, she kept falling sick and I was taking leave every other week to look after her at home because I could not bring her to the office nursery where there were many other babies too. Even though my boss was very kind and understanding, I got fed up with the frequent sick episodes. There was once I got so exasperated I told God that if He provided this baby, He must make a way for me! God answered my prayers, and He touched the heart of my mother-in-law, who came to me and volunteered to look after Jayne for me at home (much to my delight!) even though she really didn’t want to look after kids anymore after being a babysitter for many years herself. It had to be God who moved her heart. That began her 2 years of staying at home and best of all, she stopped falling sick altogether!

Then we started her for Nursery 2 last year at the nearest childcare centre we could get. Even that meant we had to speed-walk 20 minutes to and fro everyday, pushing her in her stroller because it would be too much for her to walk that distance. It was physically tiring and draining especially after a long day of work. When it rains, I would have to take taxi to and from the school because it’s unsheltered all the way. There were days I felt really frustrated. Again, God heard my cries and this childcare centre nearer to my house suddenly called me late last year and asked me if I was still interested to send my kid there. You see, that childcare centre was about 10 minutes’ walk from my home but so popular that I was Number 70 on the waiting list. The reason why they contacted me was because they built two more extensions of the centre JUST NEXT BLOCK TO MINE! The school fees were similar but the distance cut short by 80%, and all the way sheltered! When I put down that phone call, I really felt the love of God.

Her first day in the new school was yet another miracle on its own. I was expecting her to cling on to me and refuse to let go, but that didn’t happen. In fact, when I spoke to her Teacher at the end of that day, she told me that she has never seen a child with as strong an adaptability as Jayne. She went to the Teacher and introduced herself as, ‘I’m the new girl.’, which I thought was pretty hilarious. Then, she participated actively in all the discussions and even told her classmates (who refused to answer questions that the Teacher asked) that, “Come on everybody, don’t be shy. Answer Teacher!” When she paired up with another girl to do some sharing, she also encouraged the girl not to be shy and share what she thinks. The Teacher ended off by telling me, ‘I’m very impressed.’ I felt like a really proud mummy.

I think Year 2014 has gone off on an amazing start for me. How has yours been? :)

P/S: I have a giveaway coming up TOMORROW. Stay tuned.

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For families planning to visit Phnom Penh, you will be glad to know that Cambodians are rather friendly people, especially to children. They were very gracious when my kids went around taking photographs of the merchandise in their shops, and many even flashed big smiles to the kids along the way.

Admittedly, there may not be many activities to keep the kids entertained in Phnom Penh, but for a short trip there, you can discover interesting things to do as a family. The kids may not be that interested to visit the famous historical sites and landmarks in Phnom Penh such as the Silver Pagoda, Royal Palace or The Killing Fields, though. In particular, I would strongly advise against bringing the kids to The Killing Fields because they may get traumatized by the background and history of that place. We did go there, but only the husband went in to visit while I stayed outside chasing the chickens with the kids. He came out with a really solemn face and told us snippets of how there is a tree in that place where babies were swung against brutally until they died right before the eyes of their mothers. Joey had a nightmare that night just from listening to the story. =X

So, here is my list of Top 4 family-friendly activities you can do with your kids in Phnom Penh, for your reference should you decide to pay a visit to this beautiful country:

1. TAKE A SUNSET CRUISE

This was one of the highlights of our trip and you can read more about it in my earlier post here. The kids love taking cruises and everyone was amazed at how beautiful the sunset was. The kids thought the setting sun looked like an egg yolk! The moments we spent on the cruise and admiring the beauty of nature together was a great family bonding time.

2. GO ON A TUK TUK CITY TOUR

Tuk Tuk rides are generally cheap in Phnom Penh, and the kids loved it! With no windows or doors, you can get a really good view of the streets – How people live, do their businesses, etc. With a cool weather of 25 degrees on the average, tuk tuk rides are quite enjoyable. But you might want to prepare masks for the kids and yourself because the quality of air is not too ideal in Phnom Penh, especially on the roads. We got these cute masks for the kids from Central Market at cheap prices.

They liked the rides so much, they wanted to drive the tuk tuks themselves.

3. RELAX BY THE BANKS OF MEKONG RIVER

Flags of different nations line the banks of the Mekong River, so it’s quite a pretty sight here. With a strong breeze and warm sunlight, this was a really nice place to hang out with your family. The view’s gorgeous too. Plus, it’s free!

 

4. VISIT KID-FRIENDLY CAFES & RESTAURANTS

Cafes & restaurants are generally kid-friendly in Phnom Penh, but I would recommend a visit to Le Jardin because there is a treehouse and sandpit there for the kids to enjoy while the adults have a relaxing meal. Plus, the food’s not too bad too. (P/S: Fruit juices were freshly squeezed and cost less than $1.50/glass!)

 

There were guinea pigs near the entrance!

This place feels like a retreat away from the hustle & bustle of the busy roads outside. Very peaceful and cosy.

The food was yummy and we had a really enjoyable afternoon there. :)

That wraps up my posts for Phnom Penh, and I certainly hope that it’s been a useful guide to all of you planning a visit there soon. Check out the rest of my posts on Phnom Penh here.

Phnom Penh is not like Bangkok where you can shop till you drop. Fashion trends are virtually non-existent there, but if you are looking for the ‘market experience’, you can probably get it. There are several markets in Phnom Penh which you can visit such as Central Market, Russian Market, Olympics Market and also some weekend markets that appear near the river when weekends come. We visited the Central Market & Russian Market, and both are pretty similar though I prefer the latter. We didn’t buy anything from either places because nothing is really nice or fanciful – Everything on sale looks like something we can find in Singapore in the 50’s.

Since I went with the expectation to just walk through the markets, observe how the locals buy and sell and have a taste of Cambodian markets, I was pretty happy even though I bought nothing. The kids were of course not interested in culture-related stuffs, so I kept them entertained by taking photographs. It occupied them very well, and at the end of it, I sifted through some really good photographs of what I thought were good reflections of what the markets were like. I told them specifically to take photographs of people, and I was pretty amazed at how good some of the photos turned out to be. All the photographs in this post were taken by them.

This is a visual journey through Phnom Penh’s markets through the eyes of my kids. =)

What do you say? Do you think my kids have potential to be great photographers when they grow up? :)

Phnom Penh is not a common travel destination for families, so when I was doing my research and planning for the trip, I couldn’t really find many things to do there. Then again, my expectations were not high – All I wanted to do was to spend quality and quiet time with the family, so even if we have to laze by the poolside for all four days, I was fine with that. Thankfully, I did manage to fill the trip with fun things to do and interesting places to visit. Turned out, Phnom Penh is a pretty child-friendly place. The Cambodians are friendly and hospitable people who made our trip a very enjoyable one. It was also a big surprise that Phnom Penh was much cooler than Singapore at only 23 degrees at night and 26 degrees by day. We loved it!

I booked Billabong Hotel from Agoda and got them to arrange for airport transfer (US$12/trip). I chose the hotel because they have family rooms with 1 king-sized bed and 2 single beds all in one room. It was perfect for my family of 3 adults and 2 kids travelling together. Plus, the hotel has a nice-looking swimming pool, which my kids would enjoy. It’s also a really small hotel with only 20+ rooms. When we reached the hotel, it looked more like a guesthouse and has a very homely feel. The surroundings were beautiful too. A bonus was that they allowed us to check-in even though it was only 10am in the morning – Thumbs up!

The room was a really long one and had all the basic amenities we needed. We were pretty happy with our room. :)

 

Breakfast was also included and it’s served at the cafe next to the pool every morning. Breads and coffee/tea/juices are free flow, and we can choose a main course (omelette/fried rice/egg with bacon/crepes) and a fruit platter to go with it. The food’s yummy!

One of the best things to do on a holiday is to enjoy a slow and relaxed breakfast. :)

The main mode of transport for local Cambodians is motorcycles, so they were everywhere on the roads. As for the tourists, we go by their tuk tuks everywhere we went. For majority of the places, we paid US$3 because there were 5 of us. It’s usually US$2 if you have only 2-3 people. The kids absolutely loved taking the tuk tuks – It was their highlight everyday! It was nice travelling around in this mode of transport as well because we could see the surroundings very clearly (no windows or doors!).

Because we took a very early flight into Phnom Penh, we didn’t really want to have a very packed Day 1. After checking-in into the hotel, we went out for early lunch at a recommended bakery by the lady boss, who marked out nice places to dine at on our map. The Shop is a laid back bakery cafe located on Street 240, that sells fabulous breads, sandwiches and salads. We walked through the indoor dining area to the back of the shop which looked somewhat like the courtyard but sheltered, and enjoyed our very delicious brunch.

 

However, even though the food was delicious, don’t expect them to be very cheap. Everything is paid in USD in Phnom Penh (Yes, prices reflected on the menu are all in USD), so our brunch came up to USD24 for 5 of us. It’s similar to cafe prices in Singapore.

 

To work off the tummy from a bloated brunch, we took a stroll along Street 240 and checked out some of the shops there. There was a free library (Absolutely FOC but the owner did encourage us to buy some books on display at the entrance if we would like), fashion shops and shops selling home furnishings and handicrafts. Pretty nice place to shop actually. :)

Then it’s back to the hotel for some napping before we made our way to our Sunset Dinner Cruise!

 

There are many such operators in Phnom Penh, but we settled for Kanika because they replied my enquiry emails fast & efficiently! :)

It was a little nerve-wreaking walking down this bridge to the boat – there were slits along the way!

 

The boat was scheduled to set sail at 5pm but we were slightly early, so we had a nice time enjoying the sea view and the breeze. It was such a therapeutic and soulful time. :)

I frankly wasn’t expecting to be able to see the sunset at all because the whole sky was overcast! There was not even a hint of light before we set sail. Then suddenly once the boat took off, we saw the most beautiful shade of orange glow and then for the next 30 minutes, everyone on board was just busy snapping and snapping away. =)

It was really a stunning sunset. Our first in Phnom Penh!

   

The Captain of the boat even let the kids wear his hat and drive the boat (and made many of us adults nervous actually) but it was so much fun for the kids!

Phnom Penh has really beautiful pink skies at sunset, and every evening there, we were amazed at its beauty.

Dinner was then served when we requested for it. At USD23/pax including the cruise ride, this was definitely not cheap. But it was Christmas eve and my MIL’s birthday, so I thought it would be a very nice experience for us. For those who did not order dinner, you can also order ala carte when you are on board. There’re finger food and beers etc.

Dinner was a three-course meal with baked curry fish & rice, tom yum soup and chicken satay with salad. It got pretty romantic as night falls.

 

It was a perfect 1st day in Phnom Penh. Stay tuned for more posts coming up!