oNe PhOtO a DaY JuNe 2017

THE PROMPTS FOR THE MONTH

THURSDAY 1st JUNE: Travel adventures are wonderful but returning to known territory, checking into a familiar hotel and going directly to a favourite eatery with sensational food is sheer joy. Glad to be back in Bangkok

FRIDAY 2nd BESTIES: A bit of a different take since my besties are almost 7,000 kilometres away right now. Reflecting on our time in Peru: the best meal, the best hotel, the best birding shot and the most famous sight of our trip. The besties of Peru

SATURDAY 3rd REFLECTION: The people waiting for the BTS (Skytrain) in Siam station are all a reflection in the transparent glass of the safety barriers. The reflection is more clearly visible when the coloured section of the train is behind the glass

SUNDAY 4th LOCAL: This is a local sign on public transport here in Bangkok

MONDAY 5th ROUND: The round or more accurately spherical lamp that sits on the reception desk in our favourite hotel in Bangkok

TUESDAY 6th COOKING: Just arrived in Phnom Penh and a minute from the door of our hotel is this stall. There is always something cooking in the street in Asia and the aroma draws you in. Tonight we ate at a fondly remembered ethical eatery but we may be tempted by those eggs come breakfast time. Great start Phnompers....

WEDNESDAY 7th ENTRANCE: The is the elaborate and ornate entrance gate to The Royal Palace Park in the river front area of Phnom Penh

THURSDAY 8th ARROW: The arrows on the Smateria brand product indicate that the materials are repurposed netting used in the fishing and construction industries, recycled plastic and leather offcuts. I love this label and their innovative products and today I got this to replace the worn out version I bought here almost four years ago

FRIDAY 9th FULL: Just wandered into Lucky supermarket and discovered a new full jar of Vegemite begging me to buy it. OK Aussie expat's dream come true. Bought one in NYC $12, another in Toronto $10, the next in Bangkok $8 and now Phnom Penh $4.20!!! Something tells me Cambodia is our kind of place and yes I'm a Vegemite addict

SATURDAY 10th MAP: These days we mostly get away with a phone and Google maps for navigating the streets or an iPad and Google Earth for the big picture of the country but today with one day left in Phnom Penh we picked up our first free tourist paper map

SUNDAY 11th STUNNING: The traditional buildings, the tranquil atmosphere of the internal courtyard and the treasures within at the National Museum of Cambodia combine together to all create a stunning impression

MONDAY 12th EXERCISE: We try to walk 10 kilometres a day everyday but the exercise I love best is swimming. For the last 4 days we have been in the rooftop pool every afternoon but today we took a dip in the morning before checking out and our bus ride to Kep. Thanks to Ian for snapping me doing my laps

TUESDAY 13th TIME: From the time we arrived at this hotel the pool was telling me it's time to swim and now that we have we will take the time to swim everyday while we can

WEDNESDAY 14th BEGINS WITH F: Frangipani flowers with their beautiful fragrance abound in Kep

THURSDAY 15th SYMMETRICAL: I have had a fascination with gates and doorways for a long time and this perfectly symmetrical Cambodian version is the stunning back gate of the Palm House Boutique Hotel in Kep

FRIDAY 16th MY STYLE: I guess almost everyone thinks they don't have a style: me too. If I think about it I have adopted the style and clothing of most the places I have lived so ...... a little bit ethnic, a splash of bohemian, a touch of outdoorsy and a good dollop of quirky. I am sure that all these photos were taken by Ian since I am the subject so thanks to him for recording the ever-changing faces of my style

SATURDAY 17th BOTTLE: We are very conscious of our Eco-footprint especially while travelling. We never buy anything in plastic, polystyrene or throwaway food or drink containers and carry our own shopping bags to avoid plastic ones, however the pet water bottles are difficult to avoid and weigh heavily on our conscious. This is the solution. We already have bottles and now the website will helps us buy less until we have our own water filter

SUNDAY 18th MAGIC: The ability to instil tranquillity even in difficult times is the magic of the ocean. Today I'm grateful to feel its influence

MONDAY 19th LETTER: Apparently in Khmer these two letters make up my name. I asked someone to write it for me today. Languages fascinate me and I am amazed by alphabets different from the one I know. I will have to test the theory and see if it truly does sound like my name when another Cambodian reads it

TUESDAY 20th Yay: On exactly the day we predicted and booked to return to Phnom Penh Ian's new passport was issued and ready for collection. Yay yay, yay! Hassle-free journey, prompt check-in and passport in hand - step one successfully completed and feeling blessed

WEDNESDAY 21st ON THE TABLE: This stunningly delicious Mediterranean Platter was on the table in front of me at ARTillery Arts Café tonight. I am so glad I chose it even though we will have to return now to taste the other tempting items on the menu

THURSDAY 22nd TEAL: is the colour of the fencing and gates of the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh and this teal elephant is a detail on the street side of the gate

FRIDAY 23rd PARALLEL: We flew into Bangkok early this morning and the parallel red white and blue stripes of the Thai flag struck me as s fitting image for this prompt

SATURDAY 24th COLOUR SPLASH: I did download an app and do a real colour splash today but then it occurred to me that almost all my clothes are black, white or grey with orange being the only splash of colour these days so.... I found a suitable backdrop and asked Ian to take a colour splash of me. This is it straight out of the phone

SUNDAY 25th BLOSSOM: I see these strings of blossoms every time we are in Thailand. I know they adorn spirit houses, altars, cars and other offerings but I do not know why or even what the small white flowers they always contain are called. Today's prompt promoted me to buy a string as I have always wanted to

MONDAY 26th IN A STACK: Bangkok is always somewhere we arrive with a to buy list and despite having luggage left here to collect the same was true this time. Although the receipts don't look much in a stack they do amount to fair amount of money for a few "essential" items and now we sure have a stack of unusual looking luggage to contend with on the flight tomorrow

TUESDAY 27th OLD: This old, used, tourist visa was officially replaced today when we re-entered Cambodia and a long-term renewable "E" visa was issued. We are no longer nomads of no fixed address. We live in Cambodia

WEDNESDAY 28th NEW: This Swiss designed, open plan, bamboo house in the middle of the paddy fields 2 kms from Kep is our NEW home. We signed up for 3 months today and are sooooo excited to take up residence on July 1st. A series of serendipitous events made it all possible. Happy doesn't even begin to cover it

THURSDAY 29th WHITE ON WHITE: This is in a shop in Phnom Penh and I have admired its beautiful lacquer objects de art on several visits. I will eventually buy one but for today the stunning white on white display of a lacquer Buddha is the image I sought

FRIDAY 30th THIS IS WHO I AM: An orange loving, red haired, vegetarian cyclist, who is embracing the Cambodian lifestyle