Infinity Charity & Welfare Organisation - Skills are important

We believe there are two types of student, the academic kids and the ones who fail in academic. We are not doing enough for those who fail. They need a more physical, tactile approach, involving people skills, team-building, problem-solving or building things. If a child is a “hands-on" learner, they tend to learn better when some type of physical activity is involved.

Every child has their own skills, abilities and uniqueness which can contribute to others and bring great joy to others and them. It does not matter if a child cannot get flying colours in education but it does matter so much in this era when the child does not have any talent or skills to enhance themselves.

For example, an arts education helps to build academic skills and increase academic performance, while also providing alternative opportunities to reward the skills of children who learn differently.

Ever anyone wondered, what happens if we lose our permanent job and you do not know any other job besides of what you were doing all the while? Not everything is permanent in life and of course there is no job security where employees are retrenched these days due to downturn of an organization. There should be an alternative to move forward and to earn for living without depending solely with an office job. 

Obviously, every child should be given the best possible opportunity to acquire mastery of skills. On September 2016, we received a call from a guardian from Pusat Jagaan Kanak-Kanak Istimewa Lagenda requesting us to look for sponsor for Sharmila Devi, a 16 years old teenager to attend a short baking course. According to guardian, she is not keen into studies and she is not doing very well but she is interested in baking. We at Infinity Charity & Welfare Organisation decided to sponsor her as what she learns at the baking course will definitely help her in future.

Good luck girl!

 

Infinity Charity & Welfare Organisation - The first step

There is a quote by Mohith Agadi “if you want to celebrate a happy occasion, do it by helping those who are in need.” We certainly agree to this statement and that was our very first step.

Our very first charity event prompted while we were planning of one of our committee member’s birthday. We wanted to celebrate in a different way than usual party and cake cuttings. We decided that we should cherish beautiful and joyful moments with these children by spending time with them in any orphanage.

We definitely disagree to cake cutting at orphanages or even to tell anyone of them this event took place due to a birthday and we would protest for NO CAKE CUTTINGS AT ORPHANAGES PLEASE. Some of these children may not have family to celebrate with them or even a birthdate. So, please do not hurt those tiny little hearts.

We believe in giving the children the feel of being loved, therefore we played with them, talked to them and even ate together. We do not donate money to the homes but rather give the children what they want or need for their well-being.

 

These children were wonderful and friendly. There were so excited being photographed and we were so happy to see them enjoying and posing for the camera.  Looking at them smiling and playing, make us feel so satisfied. Of course some children were very naughty but there was some cuteness in them. Kids will be kids.

 

When all of us gathered back home, we all felt so happy which we cannot explain. This made us very happy and we decided Infinity it is. That’s our group name to organise charitable works. We are going all out to help children and here we are now with our own registered Society, Infinity Charity & Welfare Organisation.

One thing to be always be remembered, no one is orphan in this world, we are all God’s children.

Banteay Srei - Citadel of the women

All that we can think first about was lunch at Banteay Srei Parvis Café after the tiring hiking (my previous write up on Kbal Spean). This restaurant was at the entrance of Banteay Srei Temple. They had many choices of Khmer food in their menu but we were too tired to even think what we should order. We ended up ordering fried rice, surprisingly. The portion of a plate of fried rice was too big for a person to finish up, so we took away my portion of food. Our lunch cost us $ 14 which is for 2 plates of fried rice, 1 water bottle and 1 can of soya beans drink. After our lunch we continued our tour to Banteay Srei Temple.

The main entrance

 

This temple was primarily dedicated to Lord Shiva and it was originally called as Tribhuvanamaheswara which means “great lord of the threefold world”. Now, it is called as “The Lady Temple” by the locals. The temple is so beautifully built with huge red sandstones and the carvings are very in detailed. This is a must visit place by art and architecture lovers as the Khmer architecture and sculptural art is such an amazing thing to experience directly than just seeing through the internet.

 

At the back of the temple

 

 

The best time to visit this temple is in the morning and do not go during the noon if you cannot take the afternoon sun above your head, that is what we went through. Also, it is better to visit early if you want to explore and capture photographs without being disturbed by other visitors. The temple is small and the crowd is big, so we have to be patiently waited to capture good photographs. Whatever said and done, I feel that noon is a good time to visit the temple because the lighting for photographing was too good and we got a few good photos.

The next day trip is to visit the Angkor Temples.

Kbal Spean – River of Thousand Lingas

Our ride to Kbal Spean was not as fascinating as what we imagined but we only saw dried trees, dried up lake and damaged crops because it was dry season. My bad, I did not really emphasis on the weather thinking that we could survive the heat since Malaysia that time was at 40°Celsius but never knew that a lake can dry up at Siem Reap. The lake we passed by was the Srah Srang which also known as “The Royal Bath”. I did not click picture of the lake because it was all mud sand with buffaloes roaming around. We were worried about the rivers in Kbal Spean and we did not have any high expectation.

The drive took us an hour journey to reach the destination. Please note that there is no toilet uphill. Also, wear a proper sport or hiking attire and a good sport shoes on. Do ensure that you carry a backpack with water bottles, towels and emergency kit just in case. If you want to know the place in detail, you may get a tour guide to explain what you see because what you see may not be explainable just by looking. We were all geared up to hike 1500 meters uphill to witness the Rivers of Thousand Lingas. 

At the entrance of Kbal Spean

The hiking was about almost an hour with few pit stops of taking photographs passing through the forest. There were wooden staircase towards the top of the hill and the nearer the site, the steeper the trail went on. Those who cannot do hiking or less stamina are advised not to visit this place because the hiking pathway is not consistent with huge rocks on the way and not solid ground. Bringing kids here obviously is adventurous but parents have to be extra conscious on kid’s safety.

Do watch where you are walking and what you are stepping on because you do not want to trip and fall down here. Even the staircases here are quite rotten, so be careful with your steps.

When we were at 100 meters to reach the site, sadly we did not hear any sound of running water and we understood river got dried up too but yet anxious to see what is stored up there. As doubted, we could not find the river but the markings of the water level are visible. The river was drying up completely. Nevertheless, we were astonished with the beautiful carvings on the rocks and the carvings were mainly on the Hindu’s Trimurti, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. The carvings was clear but it would be astonishing to witness the carvings along with the waterfalls and running water. 

River water seems to be drying up completely

This place is also called as Sahasralinga in Sanskrit which means "1000 erected penises". 

This valley is actually below the riverbed and water will flow on the lingas

It was said that the locals used to come here to shower to get the blessing of the holy water. My mother always said that we should sprinkle some holy water on us from the river or sea where ever there are but unfortunately we were not that lucky here.

Be careful  when walking at this place because you would not know where the carvings are and these are Hindu gods who are being worshiped by the Hindus. You would not want to step it wrongly and it is my personal belief as a Hindu. Do not criticize anything over there, no spitting, no urinating and no misbehaving as a respect to this place.

Reclining Lord Vishnu sleeping on serpent Ananta with Goddess Lakshmi at his feet and Lord Brahma on lotus at the side

Most of the carvings are not so clear as the sand had covered the carvings. I expected to see more carvings but felt that we left out some because the sand had covered them fully.

We will go back here again during the wet season so we can witness the beauty of the nature with the waterfalls. We headed our way down from that hill as soon as we finished exploring the place and it was obviously faster than hiking up.

Trip to Siem Reap, Cambodia - The Khmer Kingdom

It was 8 months in advance when I made the plan to visit Siem Reap in mid-April 2016, 3 days 2 nights trip. The flight charges was quite reasonable and also the hotel. I did a lot of internet readings before booking the hotel and Google mapped all the distance of the places that I wanted to visit so it will be easier to plan our agenda. As my husband, Bala is so particular with timing, including meals timing, so it is a must for me to be well prepared. Blogs that I read actually helped me so much to choose the hotel and places to visit. Thanks to bloggers!

We took the early morning flight with all excitement to explore Siem Reap. A day before the flight is when I updated Bala our agenda and he seems to be happy with it. We landed at Siem Reap International Airport approximately after 2 hours which was around 7:30AM and we were quite fast to exit the airport as we did not check-in luggage. We have been backpacking in most of our recent trips and we find it very easy and convenient as save time being at airport waiting for out luggage. As we quickly walked our way out of the airport, we start looking for cab or tuk-tuk but no tuk-tuk seems to be around there. So, we hired the airport cab for $ 7 and requested the driver to send us to our hotel.

The cab driver suggested us to go for our tour instead of going to the hotel since check in time is 2:00PM. We queried him on the entrance tickets and travelling distances while keeping my findings in hand too to re-confirm his statements. I wanted to go to Kbal Spean, my must visit place in the list which I am not going to miss in any cost and which is an hour drive from the ticketing office. Secondly, I was thinking of Phnom Kulen Mountain with waterfalls but it is another hour drive with a complete opposite directions with Kbal Spean. Ticket to Phnom Kulen should be purchased at a different office and it has different charges, so we did not want visiting the place in order to save our time and energy. We did not want to exhaust ourselves on the first day itself.

The driver’s payment was $70 for the one whole day trip with Toyota Harrier. The itinerary was to visit Kbal Spean, Banteay Srei Temple, and Tonle Sap Lake (floating village) inclusive of lunch and dinner places. At the drop of a hat we agreed to the driver and bought the entrance tickets and then precede our drive to Kbal Spean. Here you go with the basic information on the Angkor Temple.

ANGKOR ENTRANCE FEES (Angkor Temples, Banteay Srei, Kbal Spean)

• 1 day pass costs $ 20
•  3 days pass cost $ 40 (can be used for a week period)
• 7 days pass costs $ 60 (can be used for a month period)

Angkor Pass

THE TICKET AND VISITING

• Purchase at Angkor Conservation Counter, their main ticket sales office
• Ticket counters are open daily from 5:00AM until 5:30PM
• Bring along your passport to the ticket purchasing counter
• The fee must be paid in US dollars, Cambodian Riel, Thai Baht or Euro
• Photo and name will be printed on the passes. Photo will be captured with a webcam at the ticket purchasing counter
• Visiting hours at the temples are from 5:00AM until 05:30PM. Kbal Spean closes at 3:00PM.
• Must always carry the tickets. The tickets will be verified / hole punched upon reaching every park entrance and at temples
• Keep a Angkor Map in pocket/bag because the temples path is a bit of confusing especially Angkor Thom
• Purchase a Guide Book so it is easier to visit the temples with a handful knowledge and history about the temples
• Carry wet tissues or hand towels to keep you cool down , the place is hot during April
• Must carry water bottles all the time. Drink lots of water to avoid dehydration
• The weather is too hot, so please wear hat / cap
• Wear proper footwear. Flip-flops not recommended as the place is sandy and have to climb stairs up and down to visit the temples
• Do not wear long skirts which touch the ground. It will be quite a hassle to climb the stairs again. Saw one Chinese girl having hard time going up the stairs at Bayon Temple.
• Sunglass to protect the eyes from the sand dust during travelling on the tuk-tuk

Below are the websites that have very useful information on Siem Reap:-

http://www.angkor-temples.com/index.html

http://www.cambodia-hotels.com/siem-reap/attractions.htm

http://www.tourismcambodia.org/provincial_guide/index.php?view=places&prv=21

 

These are some of information that I could share out of my knowledge. Hope this helps.

Nothing feels better than sharing something we know to others.

~Lenz~

Welcoming myself into the blogging world

My very first blog is ready today after many years creating the blog account. This thought came up during my recent travel to Siem Reap with my husband. While trekking uphill of Kbal Spean, I was telling that knew about the place that we are trekking from few bloggers while browsing the internet and it was helpful. All of a sudden, he suggested me to write my own blog as we do many things that we can share and it can be helpful for others too. Thanks for the advice Mr. Hubby and here am I now.

I am Lenny Roopa Sukumaran and my people around me call me Lenz. Actually, name Lenz came out my laziness of typing an album name in Facebook years back and it ended up my nick name as my friends started to call me like that. I am a Malaysian Indian woman who is very crazy about food, photography, dancing, music and traveling. I create my own style no matter dressing or organizing anything and I always be who I am. I am learning about cars now.

I and my husband have been enjoying food since the day we started dating in year 2004. I am so glad that we are not fussy in what we eat and we always rather try something new when we travel. We love to cook and bake together during weekends.

Since I was a kid I am very fond of cameras and photographs. I believe photographs give us thousands of memories and bring us back to time for a moment. Every place I visit, anything I do and every special moment in my life will be captured as I do not want to lose these memories in future.

I am a classical dancer and I have been practicing and performing mainly Barathanatyam, a south Indian classical dance form since I was 8 years old. I am who I am now because of dance. I have lots of hobbies and all of them are related to arts for some reason and one of them scrapbooking during my free time.

Travelling is my passion. I am happy that my life partner is also my travel buddy. We have a lot of places to travel, a lot of places to visit and a lot of knowledge to be grabbed. 

Hope this life given to us is sufficient to fulfill our passion...

~Lenz~