Tag: travel

The Best Iced Coffee In Phnom Penh

In the middle, the comical and diminutive guy is Mr Bunnarith, the famous and friendly owner cum barista of The Best Iced Coffee In Phnom Penh. His signature coffee and stall is like a national institution; so be aware many rivals and wannabes are claiming the same name. Look for the funny man. There exists a Facebook fan page but it is also not by him. When you are at the Russian market, show other hawkers this pic and they will point you to him.

He was running the business for over 30 years and is known by tourists from all over the world, as seen by his collection of pinned magazine and newspaper cuttings from all over the world praising his coffee. Locals love his Khmer coffee too. The milk coffee is made with tins of Cambodian Best Cows brand condensed milk.

I had a long chat with him and he told me he aspired to open an international coffee chain. Ironically, many foreign franchised coffee chains are now in Cambodia. Although an overhanging sign proclaimed “We can speak English”, he spoke halting Hokkien or the Fujian Chinese dialect and we conversed using it. On the other side (camera left), was fellow Malaysian traveler Augustine Gan

I could not remember or find the exact year. I searched my Gmail and found an AirAsia booking dated 2008. Can’t be definite as I have been to Cambodia several times.

#travel #cambodia #phnompenh #khmer #russianmarket #coffee #me

Going Home For Raya

I started on this journey on Federal Route 1 on March 29. I have since covered Rawang, Serendah, Ulu Yam, Rasa, Kuala Kubu, Kerling, Kalumpang, Hulu Bernam, Tanjung Malim, Behrang, Slim River and many tiny places in between.

To tell the story, I visited quaint little towns, rustic villages and wandered through dusty roads and jungle trails. Camped in tents, stayed at dodgy ‘rumah tumpangan’ (lodging houses) but also at comfy hotels, chalets and motels. Met friendly and warm people from all walks of life.

In between, I have also traveled back to my home base in KL several times to replenish and to attend to paying work. Where possible, I try to continue again the next day. Quite tiring but it kept the sense of adventure and exploration fresh in my mind.

I’m going to take a short break to visit the Ramadan bazaars in KL that I love, break fast with friends and make way for the many cars in the upcoming exodus. Will continue with the road trip where I left off after the Hari Raya holidays.

Another reason I need the break is that I must make my new website catch up with the daily pics. Before I can finish adding some of the missing older ones, I ended up acquiring even more new pics and stories to manage.

Nevertheless, the website gives it the much needed interface of systematic sorting, categorization and tagging of subjects befitting an epic travelogue. And unlike Instagram, Twitter or Facebook, topics are easily searchable and there are related links in every article or post.

Look out for more unique images and stories of awesome people, nature, animals, food and places on the route after the break. We’ve only just begun.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f4, 1/320 sec.

Into The Silver State

Today is the coronation of the Sultan of Perak and a fitting day to begin the Perak stage of the Federal Route 1 adventure. Tanjung Malim is Perak state’s southernmost and gateway town when traveling from Kuala Lumpur by road and rail.

When the North-South Expressway opened, businesses that depended on stopover traffic soon went into decline. To make matters worse, even the old trunk road was realigned, mandating a detour for those wanting to visit.

Nevertheless, there was optimism with the opening of the UPSI campus and establishment of Proton City. What is the town like today? More pics and stories to follow.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 200, f4, 1/250 sec.

Man In The Tree

Sharing more outtakes from the earlier leg of the road trip. Saw a man plucking cikus (sapodilla) on top of a tree during exploration deep inside a village in Ulu Yam. I will continue with the journey after the long holiday weekend.

Someone asked me: Why carry the very expensive Sony A7R and its heavy arsenal of Zeiss lenses when it is safer, easier to use lighter, less expensive mirrorless systems?

The answer is simple. I do carry two other mirrorless cameras but a day will come. This was such a day. The day when a scene will cry out for the brute resolution of the A7r. The camera will clearly define every leaf and every fruit.

It will pick out the details right down to the ash on the tip of the cigarette or make out the motifs on the man’s shirt. Its fine tonal rendition will separate the leaves from the fruits. The excellent dynamic range will keep everything in check, from sky to face, even under the harsh sun.

I can think of more but the most important reason is that this is also an archival mission. Many of the old surviving buildings, towns and lifestyle documented on this journey will soon disappear forever. So why not capture it at the best practical quality for future generations to relive and to appreciate.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f4, 1/800 sec.

Map – Federal Route 1, North of KL

What was supposed to be a 100 km journey for this stretch took more than 1000 km as recorded by my GPS and odometer. Every town or place on this route is like a treasure chest waiting to be discovered and opened.

The extended mileage was because of the multiple up-down trips back home and to various accommodation locations. There were also numerous detours and excursions to branch roads and such.

Sub-trips sometimes yield little for the camera but were still worthwhile for the additional info I gather from locals about the geography and history.

Here’s a gentle reminder again to not make armchair suggestions. I wrote about the methodology, or lack of, in an earlier post.

As well meaning or well intended and appreciated as they may be, I view them as spoilers. That’s because I work entirely at random. No script, except for what I already know from previous trips.

In fact, as I explained before, I will not even view any other pictures in advance so as to have a clean slate or state of mind with no-preconceived notions.

Every stranger you see featured, I met by chance and it is them, the locals, who drove the direction of the journey by suggesting the next place.

It is not a tourism promo or a paid junket packaged as a travel story for a newspaper or magazine. It is one man’s journey and his honest perspective; simple as that.

This first leg of Selangor (north of KL) has about 70 pictures. The stories were all written on the go, on the fly, on the road and usually, minutes before I post. Please view the series from the start to fully understand how each town connects.

Big thank you to the wonderful people I met so far. Big thanks too to you followers and friends for joining me on this ongoing journey.

You can also follow the series on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, all under @tvsmithmy