A Smaller World

Many, many years ago, probably two and a half decades ago, I bumped into my friend Jimmy Lim on my way back from Kuching to Pontianak. When I asked him why he visited Kuching, he replied nonchalantly, "Oh, just went there to play basketball." I found that hilariously funny, an off-the-cuff remark that I'll never forget. 

Fast forward to September 2024, I was sitting at the back of the church. Was supposed to be the translator, but it wasn't needed that day, so I ended up daydreaming instead. God knows why I was suddenly inspired by what Jimmy said in our 20s. It must be funny if I just went to Phnom Penh, bought a Hard Rock t-shirt and came back to Singapore. If people asked, I could just say, "just went there to buy a Hard Rock t-shirt."

The idea was entertaining, given my lifelong passion for the absurd, ocipala stuff. I executed the idea, even though I wasn't exactly sure. However, it wasn't meant to be. Closer to the date, suddenly it was announced that I needed to go to the Beijing office instead. The date clashed, as I'd be flying on December 8, 2024, the same day as my return flight from Phnom Penh. As Beijing was a business trip, the Cambodia trip eventually failed. 

About six months later, I was heading to JB with Surianto. We talked about his solo trip to Cambodia. He was keen on Siem Reap as he wanted to see Angkor Wat. I didn't wish to do so because I had done that back in 2009. We eventually made a pact: he'd go to Siem Reap to get me the Hard Rock t-shirt, and I'd return the favor by getting him one from Phnom Penh.

At SATS Premier Lounge.

So another six months later, on Christmas Eve, when it was lunchtime, I walked out of my office with a rucksack on my back, headed to Changi Airport, flew to Phnom Penh, travelled to the city, checked in to the hotel, and I was at Rock Shop not long after that. Oh yes, I left the office and went to Hard Rock Cafe. It's just not the cafe on Orchard Road, but one a couple of hours farther away, to the north of Singapore. 

As I did that, it dawned on me that, in this day and age, the world had become smaller and things were so much more doable. Quite enlightening. You know how we always have subconscious mental blocks that certain things just can't be done? One of them had just vanished into thin air. 

At Techo International Airport.

But let's go back a little to the arrival. Techo International Airport was so grand and modern, something that I clearly didn't expect from Cambodia. Remember the autogate that I mentioned during my Bali trip? Indonesia couldn't do it right, so imagine my surprise when I just scanned my Singapore passport and entered the country seamlessly. Mind-blowing!

The signage for Express Airport Bus was a bit vague, though. Took me a while to figure out where it was. When I got to the bus stop, there was an Indonesian lady there, so we talked and she openly told me about many Indonesians that came to work at the scam centers and online gambling sites. As the bus never arrived, a young man from Germany named Marcus asked me if I'd like to share the tuktuk. Another lady from the US called Biba joined in, so three of us squeezed in and made our way to the city. It was fun. What a way to begin our adventure!

The Cambodia Post.

The next morning, I was on a mission again: to find Cambodia Post. It was not far, and the staff was helpful. Soon after I mailed it, I walked towards the riverside, tracing the trail of my younger self. When we journeyed from Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh, we stayed at the Riverview Guesthouse, so I walked along the same road again 16 years later, making my way towards the Royal Palace of Cambodia.

Funny how your mind plays tricks on you. Fueled by nostalgia, I was full of hope that I'd find the guesthouse. When I saw the palace, I could almost see Markus stopping the tuktuk during our quest to find happy pizza. And I stopped there, never got past it, as though that would help me preserve the memories. Then I turned back, had my breakfast at Lotus Pho & Cafe. I ordered a fried rice set that came with Coca-Cola (weird that it wasn't tea or coffee). While eating, I did some research using AI and Google Maps. Apparently Riverview Guesthouse had been permanently closed. 

Waterview Guesthouse in 2009.

I walked back to Sunny Hotel, checked out and visited the biggest mall in town, Aeon Mall Mean Chey. I thought I could spend most of my time there because my flight was quite late at night. But although it was huge, there wasn't much for me to do there. Browsed the local food at Khmer Victory Village, but couldn't find one that looked tempting, so I ended up having salted egg noodles that tasted like a very spicy Indomie. 

I tried Bakong Tourist app for QR payment when I bought the noodles. Turned out that, it didn't deduct directly from the credit card and I needed to top up the KHR wallet using the card instead. There were charges in USD, hence no point doing so, especially when Phnom Penh is very card friendly. One more thing, when I paid in USD, the change was always in KHR. 

Back to the airport!

Since KHR is a fixed-rate currency (1 USD is 4,000 KHR), I might have problem converting it back to SGD in Singapore, therefore so I spent it as much as I could before leaving the country, hehe. After watching Anaconda at Major Cineplex, I took Grab to the airport, spent much of my time writing this blog at Plaza Premium Lounge, and, as I headed to Gate A21, I bought Naga Balm and paid in KHR! 

And that brought us back to Jimmy's comment at the beginning of the story. From here onwards, I'm qualified to say this: "Oh, why did I go to Phnom Penh, you ask? Not much, just went there to buy a Hard Rock t-shirt and come back!"

Dunia Yang Jadi Lebih Kecil

Bertahun-tahun yang lalu, mungkin sekitar dua setengah dekade lalu, saya bertemu teman saya, Jimmy Lim, dalam perjalanan pulang dari Kuching ke Pontianak. Ketika saya bertanya kenapa dia pergi ke Kuching, dia menjawab dengan santai, “Oh, cuma ke sana main basket.” Saya merasa ucapannya sangat lucu — komentar spontan nan konyol yang takkan pernah saya lupakan.

Lompat ke bulan September 2024, saya duduk di kursi di bagian belakang gereja. Saya seharusnya menjadi penerjemah, tapi ternyata hari itu tidak dibutuhkan, jadinya saya malah melamun. Entah mengapa, hanya Tuhan yang tahu, saya tiba-tiba teringat dengan ucapan Jimmy waktu kami masih berusia 20-an. Saya berpikir bahwa kocak juga kalau saya pergi ke Phnom Penh, membeli kaos Hard Rock, lalu pulang lagi ke Singapura. Kalau orang bertanya, saya bisa menjawab, “Oh, cuma ke sana beli kaos Hard Rock.”

Ide itu terasa menggelitik, terutama karena saya senantiasa memiliki ketertarikan terhadap hal-hal ocipala yang tidak masuk akal. Saya memutuskan untuk mengeksekusinya, meski masih agak ragu. Namun ternyata tidak semudah itu. Menjelang tanggalnya, tiba-tiba diumumkan bahwa saya harus pergi ke kantor Beijing. Jadwalnya berbenturan — saya harus terbang ke Beijing pada 8 Desember 2024, hari yang sama dengan jadwal kepulangan saya dari Phnom Penh. Karena perjalanan ke Beijing merupakan perjalanan bisnis, akhirnya rencana ke Kamboja batal.

Sekitar enam bulan kemudian, saya pergi ke JB (Johor Bahru) bersama Surianto. Kami berbicara tentang perjalanannya seorang diri ke Kamboja. Ia ingin ke Siem Reap karena ingin melihat Angkor Wat. Saya tidak tertarik karena sudah pernah ke sana pada tahun 2009. Akhirnya kami membuat kesepakatan: dia akan membelikan saya kaos Hard Rock dari Siem Reap, dan saya akan membelikan versi Phnom Penh untuknya.

Di SATS Premier Lounge.

Enam bulan berikutnya, sehari sebelum Natal, saat jam makan siang, saya keluar dari kantor dengan ransel di punggung, menuju Bandara Changi, terbang ke Phnom Penh, menuju ke pusat kota, check-in di hotel, dan tak lama kemudian saya sudah berada di Rock Shop. Oh iya, saya memang meninggalkan kantor untuk pergi ke Hard Rock Cafe — cuma bukan yang di Orchard Road, tapi yang letaknya beberapa jam lebih jauh ke utara dari Singapura.

Saat itu saya sadar, di zaman sekarang ini dunia terasa jauh lebih kecil dan segalanya jadi lebih mudah dilakukan. Sungguh membuka mata. Kadang kita punya batasan bawah sadar bahwa hal-hal tertentu tidak mungkin dilakukan, bukan? Nah, salah satu pikiran seperti ini kini lenyap begitu saja.

Di Bandara Internasional Techo.

Tapi mari kita mundur sedikit ke bagian kedatangan. Bandara Internasional Techo begitu megah dan modern — jauh di luar ekspektasi saya terhadap Kamboja. Ingat autogate yang saya ceritakan waktu perjalanan ke Bali? Indonesia saja belum bisa melaksanakannya dengan baik, jadi bayangkan betapa terkejutnya saya ketika saya cukup memindai paspor Singapura dan langsung masuk tanpa hambatan. Luar biasa!

Hanya saja, petunjuk menuju Bus Bandara Ekspres agak membingungkan. Saya butuh waktu untuk menemukannya. Ketika sampai di halte, ada seorang wanita asal Indonesia di sana, dan kami pun mengobrol. Ia bercerita bahwa banyak warga Indonesia datang untuk bekerja di pusat penipuan scam dan situs judi online. Karena bus tak kunjung datang, seorang pemuda asal Jerman bernama Marcus menawari saya untuk menaiki  tuktuk bersama demi menghemat ongkos. Seorang wanita asal AS bernama Biba ikut bergabung, jadi kami bertiga berdesakan di tuktuk menuju pusat kota. Seru nian! Sebuah awal petualangan yang unik!

Di Cambodia Post.

Keesokan paginya, saya punya misi lagi: mencari Kantor Pos Kamboja. Letaknya tidak jauh dan stafnya sangat membantu. Setelah mengirim kartu pos, saya berjalan ke arah tepi sungai, menelusuri jejak masa muda saya. Dulu, ketika kami berpergian dari Ho Chi Minh City ke Phnom Penh, kami menginap di Riverview Guesthouse. 16 tahun kemudian, saya menelusuri jalan yang sama lagi, berjalan menuju Istana Kerajaan Kamboja.

Lucu bagaimana pikiran bisa mempermainkan kita. Karena terbawa nostalgia, saya berharap bisa menemukan guesthouse itu kembali. Saat melihat istana, saya hampir bisa membayangkan Markus bernegosiasi dengan supir tuktuk dalam misi pencarian happy pizza. Saya berhenti di sana, tidak melangkah lebih jauh, seolah hal itu bisa membantu saya menjaga kenangan bersama Markus dan teman-teman. Lalu saya berbalik dan sarapan di Lotus Pho & Cafe. Saya memesan nasi goreng yang sepaket dengan Coca-Cola (aneh juga, bukan teh atau kopi). Sambil makan, saya mencari informasi lewat AI dan Google Maps. Ternyata Riverview Guesthouse sudah tutup permanen.

Waterview Guesthouse di tahun 2009.

Saya berjalan kembali ke Sunny Hotel, check-out, lalu mengunjungi mal terbesar di kota, Aeon Mall Mean Chey. Saya pikir bisa menghabiskan banyak waktu di sana karena penerbangan saya malam hari. Tapi meskipun besar, tidak banyak yang bisa dilakukan. Saya menjelajahi area makanan lokal di Khmer Victory Village, namun tidak ada yang tampak menarik, jadi akhirnya saya makan mi telur asin yang rasanya seperti Indomie yang sangat pedas.

Saya mencoba aplikasi Bakong Tourist untuk pembayaran QR saat membeli mi tersebut. Ternyata, sistemnya tidak menarik saldo langsung dari kartu kredit, tetapi harus mengisi e-wallet KHR terlebih dahulu. Karena ada biaya dalam USD, saya memutuskan untuk tidak menggunakan QR, apalagi Phnom Penh sudah sangat ramah terhadap kartu kredit. Satu hal lagi, kalau saya membayar dengan USD, uang kembalian selalu dalam KHR.

Kembali ke bandara!

Karena mata uang KHR memiliki nilai tukar tetap (1 USD = 4.000 KHR), saya mungkin akan kesulitan menukarnya kembali ke SGD di Singapura. Jadi saya berusaha menghabiskannya sebelum keberangkatan, hehe. Setelah menonton film Anaconda di Major Cineplex, saya naik Grab ke bandara, menghabiskan waktu menulis blog ini di Plaza Premium Lounge, dan ketika menuju Gerbang A21, saya membeli Naga Balm — dibayar dengan KHR!

Dan akhirnya, kita kembali lagi ke komentar Jimmy di awal cerita. Mulai dari sekarang, saya resmi bisa berkata: “Oh, kenapa saya pergi ke Phnom Penh? Cuma ke sana beli kaos Hard Rock lalu pulang lagi!”