oNe PhOtO a DaY jAnUaRy 2018

THE PROMPTS FOR THE MONTH

MONDAY 1st I AM HERE: in Kep National Park -Bopha Prasidh enjoying the splendour of nature and the relatively cool weather. Making the most of the free time and beginning 2018 doing the things we love together

TUESDAY 2nd YELLOW: One yellow prayer flag from Bhutan flying in the living room in Kep

WEDNESDAY 3rd ON THE FLOOR: of the ocean at Rabbit Island. Our first swim in the Gulf of Thailand after hiking and a good deal of scrub bashing around the island

THURSDAY 4th PLAIN: Artisan baguettes from the French bakery - simple, plain, delicious food. I always say we have the French to thank for good coffee and good bread in Asia

FRIDAY 5th STACKED: The fresh limes from the market this morning stacked in a favourite ‘bungchu’ from Bhutan, with the last yellow passion fruit from the vine in our yard on top

SATURDAY 6th HAPPY PLACE: Wherever you can hear the sound of the ocean and see blue skies is a happy place for me

SUNDAY 7th LIGHT: The late afternoon light on the ocean in Kep Bay

MONDAY 8th SPLENDID: To a vegetarian nothing is quite so splendid as a haul of fresh produce from the market. Plenty of colours and textures to ensure we eat a rainbow for lunch today

TUESDAY 9th EVERYDAY MOMENTS: This scene of village kids frantically calling “hello” and waving as we cycle by is an everyday moment that I never tire of. No matter where we go or how many times the kids have seen us before the response is always enthusiastic waving and calling and if we respond, as we always do, there is a ninety percent chance it will result in giggles and laughter all round. We were on a track we had never been on before when this happened today so these particular kids had never seen us before and were a little startled when I stopped to take this shot but they stood their ground and continued confidently with their usual behaviour. Adorable!!

WEDNESDAY 10th I LIKE THIS: Making our lunches from fresh local ingredients on the two days a week when we are going off to volunteer at Kep Gardens and I like it even better when lunch time arrives and we get to eat it

THURSDAY 11th ME:  Learning to accept just being me- no makeup, no agenda just plain ole me. At the end of a full day; visiting the market, practising mindfulness and mediation, teaching the young monks and swimming I feel grateful for having the time to do the things I love to do including relaxing over a beer at a local bar. Life in the slow lane in Kep

FRIDAY 12th SWEET: My first ever attempt at making muffins this morning, was a trial to see if this would be a suitable sweet treat to take to the little monks we teach. Luckily they were fresh out of the oven when the Immigration Police arrived to fill in some paperwork about foreign residents in Kep, they got a sweet treat once the business was accomplished. Always good to stay in sweet with the police

SATURDAY 13th FLORAL:  A still life with a floral “furushiki” or wrapping cloth. Anyone who has spent time in Japan knows these versatile cloths can be tied to carry anything in including bottles of wine to take to parties. Great system as you can just pocket the folded cloth on arrival. I’m not one for pinks or floral but this piece of recycled silk sari has been repurposed as a furushiki. It is one of six I recently purchased to ecologically wrap gifts.  One other pink floral one already has a new home and this will be the next to go

SUNDAY 14th FACELESS PORTRAIT: with a Peruvian Panama or is that an oxymoron?

MONDAY 15th NEW: This morning’s little project to create some new flash cards to assist the monks to understand plurals and answer “How many....?” questions correctly. Not being an artist colouring in photocopies was the best I could manage

TUESDAY 16th WALL: The abandoned colonial residences are something of an attraction here in Kep and this one with absolute beach frontage has an artistic feature wall. Many feature art and few will ever be restored to their former grandeur so invite the artists in an make them more appealing I say

WEDNESDAY 17th THOUGHTFUL: The most recent project at Kep Gardens was to put up bird feeders in many of the trees. I’m sure the birds will appreciate this thoughtful gesture when the cooler weather ends and the blistering heat returns

THURSDAY 18th COOL: We think it is pretty cool that we can cool off in this pool anytime we choose and most times it’s completely empty at twilight when we most like to be there

FRIDAY 19th PAPER: We print hundreds of homemade paper resources for our sessions with the little monks. Yesterday’s letter was “S” and it seems Gam is slowly transforming it into something that more closely resembles the Cambodian script, which he also doesn’t write BTW

SATURDAY 20th REFLECTION: The reflection of the clouds in the pool late this afternoon

SUNDAY 21st DAY OFF: Plenty of time to cycle to the beach and sit and contemplate the world while staring into the ocean on this day off

MONDAY 22nd SCENIC: sunset over Kep’s iconic crab

TUESDAY 23rd YUM: is the perfect description for these delicious pyramids of sticky rice filled with fresh coconut. These are available in the Kep market if you get there early enough. They are just one of the many cheap, nutritious and delicious Khmer foods made daily from local ingredients

WEDNESDAY 24th BEGINS WITH S: Shell begins with S and this one has a near perfect yin-yang symbol at the tip. I found it when beach-combing on Rabbit Island recently

THURSDAY 25th MY MORNING VIEW: often includes this coastal view of Kep. This morning the Mackerel sky and light playing on the water created a shimmering scene

FRIDAY 26th THANK YOU FOR: the opportunity to interact and engage with these beautiful little souls. Though they can try our patience at times, they bring meaning and joy to our lives. Also thank you to Cambodia for the visa that allows us to live here and contribute a little

SATURDAY 27th IN THE NIGHT: as in during the day if we are at home then the front door is open. “Our doors are always open, drop in anytime!”  The outside lights are also always on, if it’s dark, when we are home as is the Khmer way

SUNDAY 28th TEXT: This simple text has a message to be mindful.  As travellers our curiosity and desire to help can sometimes not be in the best interest of the local community. It impresses me that Cambodia is committed to child protection and these signs and messages are prominently displayed in many tourist locations and on tuk-tuks

MONDAY 29th MAGIC: We had a magical day on a boat trip and wandering along the boardwalk getting up close and personal with the mangroves in Kampot on Saturday, so I bring you a little mangrove magic

TUESDAY 30th SECRET: It’s no secret that I love teaching these little guys as we did today, but I do wonder what secret thoughts, dreams, aspirations and desires run through their heads

WEDNESDAY 31st LESS IS MORE: Today’s lunchboxes of love- less rice and fewer chillies means more vegetable salad for me