Margate Beach

About 10 minutes away from Atlantic City down the Jersey Shore is the city of Margate which Jersey Iggy visited for the first time last September. She wanted to see a lovely elephant there!

Beach Patrol to Snow Patrol

Jersey Iggy got to beach-comb during the final days of summer last September in Atlantic City.

Now that autumn is nearing its end, Jersey Iggy is bracing herself for the transition from sandy shores to snowy streets.

Today's Forecast: Sunny & Cher

Famous celebrities' handprints welcome you at Resorts Atlantic City's "Entrance of the Stars," where you can indirectly be hand-in-hand with such stars as Cher, Frank Sinatra, Bill Cosby, Donna Summer, Jerry Seinfeld, and many others.

Click here to see more famous handprints from there!

Absolutely Absecon

Back in August, Jersey Iggy beheld the Absecon Lighthouse, located near the north end of the Atlantic City Boardwalk. It is said to be New Jersey's "second tallest lighthouse" with a height of 169 feet.


In existence since 1857, the light that shines from its tower no longer serves as a navigational aid, but visitors can still climb it for a small fee and view the historical exhibit at the mini-museum in the replicated 1925 Keeper's House down below.

Jersey Iggy couldn't help but notice how the nearby casinos have dwarfed this lighthouse! (Effectively defeating its purpose)

Happy Birthday, Gingmaganda!

Miss Iggy joins the sisterhood in wishing Gingmaganda, our bus-chasing, pinkophile correspondent in Cainta, Rizal, Philippines a very happy birthday today!

Until they invent a "Magic Bus" that can fly you to places beyond your wildest dreams, this bus is for you!

Let's Hear It For New Yoooork!

Jersey Iggy is celebrating with Yankees fans all over the world and cheering "Hip-Hip-Hideki!" (as coined by Sreisaat for World Series MVP Hideki Matsui) as the blue-and-white pinstriped team from New York won the 2009 World Series in the brand-spankin' new Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. This is their 27th time winning it, the last time was in 2000. Here's Jersey Iggy outside the entrance to a sporting goods store which proudly displays the Yankees logo.

Inside is the most coveted official Yankees World Series shirt:

Fortuitous Faery and Sreisaat were Facebooking each other like crazy as the monumental Game 6 was airing on Wednesday night, New York time (Thursday morning, Cambodia time). At the big moment when the Yankees struck out the Phillies and won the World Series, Sreisaat's electricity went out. Strike out...Lights out! :P

Here comes... Khmer Iggy and the bride!

Oh, and the sister of the bride, too!


Aren't they all lovely?

The wedding was held on November 1 and 2, also the first two days of the Bon Om Tuok (Water Festival) in Phnom Penh. So while about 2million people (according to the papers here) gathered at the riverside to watch the boat-racing competition, Khmer Iggy, R and I were witnesses to a fairytale-like Khmer wedding.

Traditionally, Khmer weddings last for three days and are done at the bride's home. Nowadays, the ceremony is shortened to only one day. Our landlord's daughter's wedding, however, was held for two days (may kaya sila). Despite the shortened ceremony, it is still rife with elaborate rituals, costume changes (not only of the bride but also of the groom, their attendants, and their parents), and not to forget the food and merry-making!

Here are some of the photos that we took:


These dancers represent the devadas (or deities, similar to apsaras), who performed a dance ritual representing their enchantment with the beauty of the new couple, and to personally cleanse and purify the bride and groom to bring them good fortune, beauty, and grace for the rest of their lives.


Following the dance ritual is ka'ak sak, or the hair-cutting ceremony. Another symbolic ritual representing a fresh start to their new life together as husband and wife. Family and friends take turn to symbolically cut the bride and groom's hair and give them well-wishes.


Bang chhat opok-mdei, honoring of the parents. A traditional song is played as a reminder to the couple, especially the bride, of the hardships of child-raising, and of parental duty that they will be facing in the future.


I forgot what this ritual is called... married relatives and friends of the bride and groom take turn to give advise and blessing to the couple and present them with something.

The two-day ceremony ended with a lavish dinner reception at Mondial Center, a popular wedding reception venue in Phnom Penh. It was fun! The reception area was full of guests, all-smiling and happiness written all over their faces. A 7-course Chinese-Khmer meal was served and it was sumptuous! The drinks were overflowing and Khmer music was blasting. Khmer Iggy wondered though that, despite the yummy-licious food served that night, rice was served last.






Looking at the bride and groom, Khmer Iggy thought that they look too young to be husband and wife that they seemed to be more like the homecoming King and Queen, don't you think so too?