The feeling you get at the Temples of Siem Reap cannot be underestimated. It’s an awe inspiring place and we thoroughly enjoyed our many hours spent there today. 

We started early – up at 4.30 and on the road by 5.  The weather was cool in our air conditioned tuk tuk! We had to use our newly purchased kroma to keep us warm on the 1/2 hr drive out to the Temples. 

The hotel provided us with a picnic breakfast and with our guide Sok’s help we found a spot along with hundreds of others to view the sun rise over the largest and probably the most famous of the Temples, Ankor Wat. 

    
Our guide a lovely gentle father of 5 boys and one adopted baby girl was full of interesting stories and good ideas for getting the most out of a trip to the amazing site. 

We moved off and visited the first of the temples deciding wisely , to leave Ankor Wat itself to the end. 

The pace was good and the feeling gentle and hushed as we moved around the partly restored Temples. 

   
    
    
    

There were hundreds of saffron robed monks ranging from about 7 years old up. Quite a spectacular show. It was a day of blessing for the monk and nuns and they were all out in force. 

It didn’t bother us in any way as the area is huge and we really only saw this gathering when we returned to our tuk tuk to drive to the next temple. The one made famous by Angelina Jolie and Tomb raiders. It has started restoration but has  a long way to go. It’s the one with gnarling tree roots pushing through the building knocking over stonework. 
   
 
I loved this temple. It had a very eerie feel to it. 

   
   
We stopped for lunch before arriving at the grand Ankor Wat temple. What a place it is. 

We climbed yet more steep steps.  All the way to heaven! 

El had her fortune told by one of the young monks. Not sure she loved what she heard…… But ……

Then as we walked out towards the tuk tuk we crossed the moat and Peter and El stopped and walked to the edge. We kept walking and and fifteen minutes later a very excited Pete and El arrive to tell us he had proposed and El had accepted. How lucky are we to be with them to share the love. 

 

   

We returned to the hotel tired, dusty but very excited. 

A night to celebrate. 

We started our day at the National Museum which is a modern gallery, very well organised and labelled for tourists. Typical of the type of service you are given here,  the hotel sold us the tickets and rang for a car from the museum to pick us up. Within 10 mins a van arrived and off we went to start our tour. 

We walked through the four main galleries and got a history of the Khmer Civilisation, the Khmer Kings , Buddhism and of course the Temples or Wats of Cambodia. Really interesting and a great introduction to our visit to Ankor Wat this afternoon. 

We walked back into town and felt very pleased that ‘winter’ has continued today and the weather is very pleasant. No hotter than Brisbane! 

We escaped the noise and motorcycles by having lunch at Genevieve’s a well run restaurant near our hotel. It is named after an Australian woman who gave much to the people of Cambodia. Such tasty food. 

I had green mango salad with chicken Yum. Steve and El tried Lok Lac a local beef dish served with an egg and Pete had spicy beef salad. All delicious. 

   
 
After lunch time for a siesta before heading with our tuk tuk driver out to the Wats for sunset. We timed our visit to get to the ticket office by just before 4 to buy a ticket for this afternoon and tomorrow. When we arrived it seems the rules changed and the office now opens at 5. We waited and got first tickets and were off and away. We got out there to discover hundreds of people attending what looked like a political rally. So busy! People also having picnics and laying in hammocks looking very relaxed. 

   
    
 
We walked up the hill to view the sunset with monks in saffron robes, locals with children, and a cast of assorted tourists some with a distinct aroma of BO. Some people should never wear polyester. 

The stone work at the top of the steep stairway climb was crumbling but quite atmospheric. 

   
    
 
So it was back to town and a visit to the Cambodian craft market where everything is hand made from recycled materials. Some beautiful things and we all found a few little gifts for Christmas. It was set in a lovely garden where we sat and enjoyed a beer whist watching some children put on a cultural show. 

   
    
 
By now we were tired and ready for dinner so walked back towards our hotel and the Night Markets an area full of stalls and outdoor eating. We shared a few simple dishes before heading home to bed. 

We have a 4.30 wake up so we’re out at Ankor Wat for sunrise. 

Siem Reap is proving to be a great place for a holiday. Put it on your list. 

We decided on a late breakfast followed by a swim in the roof top pool. Always a good way to start a sight seeing day. 

Then some more tripping around.  The streets along the river are full of little shops and stalls, everyone trying to make a living : some selling fresh sugar cane juice, wooden items at such a low cost it seems mean not to buy something! And the sculptures along the river walk are whimsical and fun. Elephants, crocodiles, Buddhas , feather dusters and little wooden cages I thought were for birds but are little spirit cages. The Cambodians are wonderfully superstitious. 

Pete has some wonderful stories to tell of people he’s met and the tales they’ve told him. This includes the funny children in his class who apparently as well as calling him Teacher Peter have lots of other little names for him. Seems he’s quite popular with the children. 

    
   

I was told they didn’t celebrate Christmas here in Cambodia but the devotion to Christmas lights has travelled here and the streets are decorated with festive twinkly lights and as always the streets look better when dressed for a night out. 

There were lots  of little fairy lights wound around trees, poles and shopfronts and it all looks rather lovely. We took a tuk tuk –  my first ride in one and it was fun. The driver perched on his motor bike pulling  us along at a good pace,  weaving in and around other tuk tubs, people, cars and bikes. Such skill. 

We arrived at the rather grand FCC or Foreign Correspondence Club. Such clubs were big in past years and particularly the one in Phnom Phen sheltered many a journalist, sipping a gin and tonic,  during the war years. We met my friend Lynette from Brisbane. Lynette and I are in a mahjong group and although we don’t know each other well, happened to mention we were both going to Cambodia in December. She is here volunteering at the New Hope School and outreach centre. She’s been before and has made some friends here. This is something I’m quite interested in so was keen to find out about it. 

  
We share lots of stories over cocktails in the twinkling gardens before heading off to the eat areas of Siem Reap for a Cambodian BBQ where we sat around a steaming pot and cooked out meats and mixed it with the vegetables simmering in the saucer part of the pot. Good clean eating. We chatted all night with Pete and El telling us all about their life in Cambodia and hearing about Lynette’s life as a volunteer. 

  
Eventually it was good night and back to our room above the beeping horns and zipping motorcycles. Can’t wait to ride Pete’s bike in PP! 

After a short but sweet stay in Singapore we boarded our Silk air flight to Siem Reap. 

We flew in over the rice paddy fields and patchwork farms to Siem Reap to find Pete and El waiting for us at the ‘International Airport’. 

Passing through customs was a funny adventure. We lined up for our visa with passport, paperwork and photo in hand. You shuffle up to the counter, pay your money and wait as your passport is passed along a line of at least 5 people who all do something to it. 

It arrives at the last man who starts to call names. From the scrum of people waiting in a disorderly clusters  you push through as you hear your name. ‘Angela’ ….Thomas ….and eventually Frances ! 

Hello Cambodia. 

Oh it was wonderful to see Pete, hug him and El and start our journey in Cambodia. 

We headed to the hotel in the hotel courtesy van in a busy part of town. Pete and El had arrived early that morning and had already made friends with all the hotel staff. The hotel is not far from Pub Street which comes alive at night. After staying in Tarifa it seems we know how to find the fun end of any town! 

We met Ken ( definitely not the way to spell his name) our hotel supervision who was so very friendly and showed us to our room on the second floor above the street scape of tuk tuk drivers, building renovations, beeping horns, hammers banging, foot spas and so much more. 

Off we ventured to the streets below to checkout the local scene. But really all we wanted to do was talk. Remember we haven’t seen Pete and El in nearly 1 year. So we found a nice shady bar and sat our selves down for a juice. Or was it too early for a beer. Pete and Steve decided it wasn’t,  so beers for the boys. 

The weather is great. Not as hot as Brisbane. Ken our hotel manager said it was winter which lasts about 2 days! So we made our plans for visits to Ankor Wat, the museum, markets and of course the day spa for a massage. 

  
Our conversation flowed and then suddenly it was lunch. So after another walk through the little streets we found a lovely local place and ordered. Fish salad for me,curry for the boys and El. Delicious. 

   

   
  
After lunch we visited the local markets, surprisingly clean and orderly,  where the ladies squatted amongst  vegetables, girls threaded beads and tuk tuk drivers touted for business. Pete used his Khymer language skills and managed to get the price down on some coconut bowls. Then we got the cotton wraps. Another bargain. Markets are fairly much the same all over the world. They certainly weren’t as aggressive or shrill as the Chinese or as persistent as the Vietnamese. The sellers, mostly female were quiet , friendly and helpful. 

We even bought a book Pete recommended and I have been wanting to read.  

  
The afternoon was spent wandering the streets, crossing the small green river and visiting a quiet area with a Wat or temple with a reclining Buddha. 

A quick afternoon nap. 

Then dinner. 

This year will be a different way of celebrating Christmas. 

We’re off to Cambodia to visit our older son Peter and his girlfriend Elena. 

We leave tomorrow. Yay. I can hardly sleep! 

Today was a great day. My birthday! 🎉🍸🎈🎂🎊🎉🍸😀Always a lovely time to celebrate with family and friends. I’ve been celebrating since last week when I went to Sydney to see my sister and nieces, nephew and school friends.   

Tonight we went to Happy Boys for dinner with Rob and Jordan  – another lovely night for two girls with my Happy Boys. Steve and Rob. 

So tomorrow off we fly to Singapore and then Siem Reap. 

Follow along. 

  Oh boy. Overload. I arrived in HK at 6.05 and made my streamlined way to a hotel I booked on the island. I usually stay in the Salisbury ( former YMCA- singalong!) I decided I had a whole day to explore but like having a room to come and go from when it’s s late flight. Next time I’m back to the Salisbury. It’s right next door to the Peninsular. It has classy neighbours. Has views, is near a huge shopping centre….. Where I was had no where you could easily walk to but offered shuttle buses. Now there’s a story! 

Also the island feels s little disjointed. Or it did to me. Very spread out and big roads to cross. I like the feeling on Kowloon. 

Anyway I got to the hotel at 7.45am via express train and said shuttle bus. They upgraded me to a suite! For a day! Very …… Chinese. 

 

 I showered and thought I have a nap but that didn’t work so I got the shuttle down to explore Causeway Bay. It’s very bright and shiney and most shops were closed, so I went to Victoria Park for a walk and mixed with all the amahs – the nannies of the working rich. It’s their traditional day off on Saturday so as they have no home to return to they meet in the parks. Most are  from the Phillapines so they hang together in the parks. They do each other’s hair, paint nails, laugh, eat buns of some description,  it’s so interesting to watch.  By now I was pretty hungry. I only had a banana for breakfast on the plane because everything was flour- pancakes, frittata, Bircher muesli. So I  had to wait for the breakfast places to finish so I could have lunch. I didn’t want a hotel buffet and the local restaurants were jam packed with locals. So I found a place on’Eat Street’ and they did smaller dishes of ‘street food’. I had some satay and a a delicious soft shell crab salad. Yum. Washed down with a mojito. Non alcoholic. 

   
 
So after lunch I wandered the shops but they are either high end labels or slightly tacky local shops. Was looking for Chinese pjs for Clare’s little Jack and Zali but couldn’t find them before my energy ran out. Next time! 

Streets scenes here are fascinating. Especially when it rains which it did. And the noise of Jack hammers. They must be rebuilding everything. 

   
   
Back to the hotel to enjoy my suite before showering again for the flight home. The traffic looked bad so I got the early shuttle which was late and so crowded with our bags piled high. I regretted not getting a taxi to the express train which is great. 

So now sitting in the lounge sipping a bubble or two looking forward to seeing everyone and feeling very blessed. Seeing my sister in Sydney tomorrow for her grandchildren’s 1st and 2nd joint birthday party. Steve’s flying to Sydney so we return home Monday. Rob and Jordan have been messaging in transit from Singapore and Pete and El are in Cambodia. The only ones working at the moment. 

Watching planes come and go with names like Wow, Scoot, Polar, Skid, and feel pleased to be flying good old Qantas. 

See you soon friends 

X

 

I treated myself to a slower start today after my last few days of journeying into the countryside. I packed most of my things. Thank you Steve for taking some of my things home for me. 

Then headed out for a last exploration of streets I hadn’t visited and a freshen up before lunch. 

To my delight Bernadette V , Jill’s friend had emailed me to arrange to meet for lunch today. This was despite the fact her husband is retiring from his position as a Judge on the Eurooean Court, her adult children were in town visiting and they are off to Rome tomorrow for a farewell with Colleagues. I really appreciate Bernie making time to meet me. 

We met at 12.30 and she led me through streets I hadn’t been,  past a restaurant called La Crocodile (a  restaurant where her family had dined last night) to a lovely cafe over a Foie Gras specialist boutique. We had a lovely Foie Gras salad with asparagus, beans and baby prawns. With a glass of Pinot Gris it was my kind of lunch. 

 

 We chatted for ages and have many things in common. She’s a Brisbane girl but married a European man and has now lived in Strasbourg for 30 years. Like me she swims…. And reads. And she is living my dream life. 

Tales of her children’s weddings this year were fascinating especially her daughter’s wedding: married into a family with connections to the famous Armani label. What a dress. What a wedding. Thank you sharing Bernie. 

 

       After lunch I did some last minute shopping and ventured into areas behind the Cathedral. I’m sitting in one of the Cathedral’s deck chairs with a cool breeze to head off the heat of the afternoon, watching children play in the spraying water, young people meeting and air kissing, oldies holding hands sitting side by side on the deck chairs, buskers playing decent music, dogs being taken for their afternoon airing and  cyclists avoiding the pedestrians. Locals have learned to live with tourists and don’t seem to be too annoyed by the strolling picture snapping hoards cluttering their cobbled paths.  It’s a wonderful street scene. And it’s all over. 

 

 
I stopped for a drink, people watching as I sipped. It’s interesting. Nobody here appears to drink too much. That could be because the waiters are generally so slow! They sit on one drink and smoke at least 3 cigarettes. Lots of chat and smoke. They take their kids to drinks and to dinner and I didn’t see one children on an iPad or iPhone. They were either joining in the chat or playing nearby. It’s safe in piazzas/ plaza. 

Back to the hotel to pay the bill and get things organised for the morning. My train to CDG airport leaves here at 7.45. So I’ll be having to get going. 

It’s been a wonderful week of independent living. Lonely at times but really peaceful and recharging. 

I’ll be pleased to be home but oh how I’d love to live in Europe for awhile. Perhaps as a ‘your tour guide’. I could plan your next holiday! I’d have to live here to get it just right! 
See you all soon and thanks for coming along on the holiday  with me. 

Today I took a trip to Germany. I thought a visit to the grand Baroque town of Baden Baden would be a change of gear from the cuteness of yesterday’s wine villages of Alsace. I know Germany also has cute villages but Baden Baden is renowned as a spa town and I thought I might take to the waters and get nude with the Germans! 

So off I went on the train,  having to change trains as we hit Germany. I was then squashed like a German sardine with the holiday campers. Oma and Opa and all the kiddies were taking all the seats. The parents must be working.  The little German princes took most of the seats and their rather large Omas and Opas took the rest. I had to stand squashed with the left overs as they sang and chatted all the way to Baden Baden.  

 

   Not a great start. Then I had to get the bus and once again super crowded and standing for 15 mins. My poor feet were already tired. I had to recover in  the nearest cafe with coffee. 

Headed straight to the mountain look out and fortunately had done my internet homework as the tourist office was not to be found. I knew which bus and about the combined bus and funicular ticket –  even the bus driver had to make a call to find out how much it was. But Trip Advisor had me all informed and it was a smooth trip to the funicular and up the top of the mountain. The views were magnificent. 

  
    
 A dear little Oma took my photo after snapping about 106 of her little prince. She was very sweet though and offered when she saw me standing looking out.  Up the mountain there was sun baking and hiking ( with sticks of course). I chose looking. 

After returning back to Centre Ville I went to the day spa. There are 3. I toyed with the idea and went in and collected the brochure. It all looked very smart. Modern and very blue and white. But it was a mixed day all nude, and I wasn’t sure I could cope with all those German bodies male as well as the females  ( or if they could cope with me) I decided I’d be too lonely on my own and went and had a nice lunch nearby and watched people coming and going from the spa. For 40€ I could have an hour and a half moving through a series of ‘stations’ hot shower , steam, hotter shower, scrub, hot shower, plunge and so it went , through all 12 stations till the final plunge and lay in the sun. I thought it would be fascinating and certainly I wouldn’t run into anyone I knew ( no Jann Scott I know you think I always know someone). But I decided no! 

 

 
Still the lunch was delicious. And it did me for dinner as well. 

I wandered around the town and it’s beautiful parks and gardens. Went to the Casino and window shopped ( very expensive). Missed Steve…….. And went to the Faberge museum. More expensive trinkets.  

 Edit   
Then for the return! I was hoping for a seat on the bus and two trains as by now my left foot was aching! Bus -tick a seat. First train fortunately the happy campers were missing but the workers were on it.  Imagine. Hot summers day , hard workers, crowded train = BO. Though I did have a seat. Then a change of platform ( which involves a 7 min walk to another train station, in the middle of nowhere.  Well it’s hardly a station. Just 1 line,  no seats, and confusingly called 9!)  Blaring sun. Train didn’t come. I’m on the platform with an assortment of men. Tourists, bike riders, some who looked like refugees, and me! Train was 15 mins late. Uncertainty is a bonding experience as after 10 mins when our train notice had disappeared from the board most of us started to chat. I was the only English speaker. Finally limped back to the hotel for R&R by 6.15 and rested up till I went out to a concert at 8.30.  

Steve , I know you’ll be sad when you hear how good it was. A trombone concert in the Cathedral. Great program. Great sound. Great seat. Four great trombonists. Enough said. 

Had a glass of chanti at an Italian wine bar on the way home and now ready for bed. 

I have some great photos but they won’t all load. I’ll try tomorrow. 

Would there be anyone there at the designated meeting place? I hoped so.I decided to shower there to save time

   
 I booked on the Internet and was hoping Trip Advisor had got it right. Sure enough Florence, ‘Call me Flo’ arrived with her big blue van at 9.30, with headset in place and off we went. We didn’t really get to say hello to the other day trippers till we were away. There were Nancy and Tony from Southern California ( he was Welsh) Brian and Jessica a young couple from Pittsburgh, and Linda and Bob from San Francisco ( he announced he knew lots about wine and really only liked sweet wines ! Right! and Hansito ( not sure of the spelling ) a very nice courteous young man from Japan. 

We hit the road and I was sitting in the back row bonding with the young couple in probably the worst seats but yeh we are the young ones! Well I wasn’t but …….

 

 
Flo was a font of knowledge on all things to do with Alsace and made a very enthusiastic outline of our day. First stop was a vineyard with Mariette our winemaker host. It was a small family vineyard producing about 35,000 bottles a year. Whites,  Reislings, Pinot Gris, Cremeant which is their name for Sparkling ( they don’t like the idea they can’t use Champagne as a name)  we had 6 tastings and Bob kept pushing for sweet wines  – a theme that continued for the day. There were some very drinkable whites. The Reislings are lovely in this area as are the Pinot Gris. 

  

You can even camp at this vineyard! Check out the grapes. 

  
  
Then onto Lucy and her son Maxime. Very professional tasting of some very nice wines. 

Then lunch  – a free hour in the most lovely small village. It was alive with wooden buildings , flowers and jaunty outdoor umbrellas. 

 

 
I thought by now the group would have bonded and we would eat together but no the couples scattered and lovely Jessica and Brian the young couple asked me to join them. Brian even paid for me which was embarrassing but I repaid with a bottle of Rose sparkling they enjoyed at the tasting at the next vineyard. 

 

 
After lunch we faced the no nonsense super knowledgable Martine, a former engineer. They are a big winery producing 2 million bottles a year and export to Australia. Very good wines. 

 

 
Our last stop was the one probably most like Australian vineyards. We stood at the bar and didn’t have much import from the winemaker. The only thing I bought was a wine cooler. So I can be a poser at home as I chill my wines. At this winery I particularly liked the the Rose Cremant. 

We event finished our buying and headed back to Strasbourg. The weather was beautiful and it was a fantastic day. Great wines. 

I went back to my Vietnamese restaurant tonight for a bowl of prawn and noddle soup. Yum. Tomorrow off the Germany. Baden Baden.