FEBRUARY 1st I’M GRATEFUL FOR THIS: The generosity and kindness of strangers. When we first arrived in Australia we had not yet activated our SIM cards and were stranded in the lobby of an apartment building downtown unable to connect with a friend when a stranger came to our rescue. Today, just days before we return to Cambodia I finally remembered to buy a small gift and write a thank you note to slip through the letter box of that helpful stranger whose name I don’t know but whose apartment number I did ask at the time
FEBRUARY 2nd MY FAVOURITE ANIMAL: is the gentle giant. Elephants are incredibly social, caring and intriguing beasts. I have seen them in rescue parks in several countries and even been kissed by one but this delightful stone not ivory one came from India and is treasured in the home of a dear friend who we spent a glorious time with yesterday
FEBRUARY 3rd CLOUDS: We walked almost ten kilometers, mostly through the parklands yesterday and after a very bleak, cold, windy, grey day the sun finally came out so we could enjoy a cloudy but sunny gum tree vista just before reaching our destination
FEBRUARY 4th INSIDE A STORE: I really enjoyed the products inside this store. It’s lovely to see that souvenirs don’t have to be tacky and cheap but can be tasteful and display indigenous designs which have been respectfully acknowledged with the artists receiving fair compensation for their skills and in the case of artworks certificates of authentic also accompany the art
FEBRUARY 5th ON MY PLATE: one of the very few things I hate about travelling is airport and airline food. For that reason, we almost always leave a homemade dinner in the freezer for when we return. I was expecting an Indian dish that Ian likes to make tonight but when I took it out I discovered I had made it. A favourite pasta sauce with caramelised onions, roasted cherry tomatoes, red capsicum and mushrooms is on my plate tonight and we are back in the Aerie in Phnom Penh and very grateful to have it after twentyfour hours of travel door to door and three flights
FEBRUARY 6th A RECTANGLE: I’m very glad I managed to carry this special rectangle back to Cambodia rolled and wrapped in tissue paper in my backpack hand luggage yesterday. It is “Tjukuṟpa” a Dreamtime story depicting caves where women gather digging for honey ants by Bonnie Connelly. It came with a certificate of authenticity and it has already been stretched so it should be easy to frame here too
FEBRUARY 7th SOMETHING WHITE: The steam buns in the display case of a street vendor in Kandal Market are something white that caught my attention today
FEBRUARY 8th FLOATING: Today’s prompt inspired me to float the altar jasmine flowers I almost always buy in the morning market, in water
FEBRUARY 9th SOMETHING IN NATURE: since today the forecast was for 33° we decided to take an early morning walk along the riverside before it got too hot. These Pink Trumpet Trees are in bloom at the moment and I’ve never even noticed them before now
FEBRUARY 10th A CORNER: The Le Manolois Restaurant is on a corner directly opposite the General Post Office in Phnom Penh and it stands in an area where many old colonial buildings stand in various states of ruin, restoration and viable usage. It looked particularly inviting at dusk yesterday when we returned from watching the hornbills settle for the evening around Wat Phnom
FEBRUARY 11th THIS HAS WHEELS: I love to see the cyclo riders out making a living in the traditional way and cyclos certainly do have wheels. Families, school children and elderly women can often be seen returning home in them in the early morning and late afternoon. Daily sights in Phnom Penh still make me smile
FEBRUARY 12th A MIRROR: belonging to one of the outdoor barbers, who is reflected in it. There are a run of barbers set up along the temple wall under umbrellas and they do a pretty brisk trade especially on Sundays. There is actually a second mirror in the background reflecting a person strolling by on the street too
FEBRUARY 13th BEGINS WITH B: Buddha. No. I’m not a Buddhist but I have lived in many Buddhist cultures and admire and respect the philosophy. This is a scroll we bought in Rangjung, our first placement in Bhutan. We searched it out among the myriad of possessions in storage in Australia and then finally hung it in our entranceway yesterday
FEBRUARY 14th LOVE IS: deciding to get married at forty after having survived the seven-year itch twice over. While we were home in Adelaide we were gifted a swag of old photos of ourselves and among them were several of our wedding day shots taken in the Botanic Gardens. I selected these to bring back to Cambodia with me. Yes, we were married in black. Yes, we had a secret registry office ceremony. And yes, he is still the love of my life. And by the way who doesn’t like Haighs dark chocolate hearts
FEBRUARY 15th ON A SHELF: After living with blank walls and mostly empty shelves for the last six months I claimed many of the treasures I have bought over the years on our travels, to make our new residence homelier while we were in Adelaide. I was worried about this little Japanese Buddha surviving in the luggage and as soon as I started unpacking I searched it out and put it on a shelf in our bedroom. I now have Buddhas from six countries gracing different shelves and walls in the apartment. I can’t understand however why I never bought one in Thailand when we lived there. Might just have to remedy that this year
FEBRUARY 16th MONEY: when we first travelled and lived in China in the 1980s Foreign Exchange Certificates were the money you received at the bank when you changed money. All foreigners were supposed to only spend it and it was able to be converted back to a foreign currency upon leaving with the evidence of receipts. Anything imported from a foreign country also had to be purchased with this currency by locals. It made for a complicated situation and a thriving black market in money exchange. Those days are long gone but I still have a few very small denominational notes in pristine condition I recently discovered
FEBRUARY 17th SEE-THROUGH: The favourite aspect of our apartment for me is the way you can see through the entrance and kitchen to living-room and beyond to the guest room and terrace from the moment you enter the front door but from the front door you can only see the entrance and nothing more. Like the breather bricks throughout it gives us the airflow needed to keep the place cool without aircon and the delusion of more physical space than there actually is. It’s really feels like home now that more of our art work is hanging too
FEBRUARY 18th A GAME: Local Tuk Tuk drivers can often be seen sitting in their vehicles playing a game of Khmer chess or “Ouk” while they wait for customers. I much prefer that to constantly have them saying “Tuk Tuk?” to us as we stroll by on our daily walks
FEBRUARY 19th ON SUNDAYS I: I have no particular agenda and simply go with the flow. Today we arrived at a friend’s place with a picnic lunch for three only to discover there were several more in attendance than expected but our dishes contributed a western touch to the otherwise Cambodian meal and despite it being much more formal than we were expecting it was a lovely way to spend the day
FEBRUARY 20th A PRODUCT I LOVE: It’s not so much a product as a brand name. I love everything about Dorsu and have been buying their ethically and sustainably produced basic cotton clothing and totes for years. Long enough for you to see two distinct but different labels in the sample collection from our wardrobe I just assembled. They recently updated their look and label and while I welcome the introduction of more colours to the collection I wish they had kept the “Made in Cambodia” aspect of the old label. More details about the unique and highly progressive business model are below so if you’ve heard enough you can’t tune out now.
Dorsu was founded on the principles that clothing should be produced in a way that embraces people and causes as little harm to the environment as possible. Remnant fabric (also known as "deadstock" or "surplus") is unused and unwanted leftover rolls of cloth in its original condition. This is the fabric that Dorsu sources and tests to ensure it has little or no synthetic fiber in it. Great for me as I’m allergic to synthetics.
Cambodia is one of the largest producers of clothing globally, employing over 700,000 workers and accounting for approximately 80% of the country’s total export revenue. Garment workers are subject to harsh and often dangerous working conditions, with long working hours, low pay and unsafe transport to and from factories. Through running a safe, fair and supportive garment production space, Dorsu offers workers an alternative- to learn and grow in an environment that supports them as individuals and as skilled workers. It also provides them with a safe working environment and a living wage.
In a world that is increasingly throwaway and waste originated and a business that is one of the worst for both workers and the environment, no wonder more and more of my clothes come from Dorsu.
I acknowledge that much of the information here was found at and stolen with love from https://dorsu.org/pages/about-us
FEBRUARY 21st AN INSECT: I have to admit I’m not a big fan of insects and getting bitten by a fire ant at breakfast didn’t improve my perspective but looking for the positive I’ll go with this beautiful wall art of a monarch butterfly I spotted in a bar recently! It’s even in my favourite colour so I just know I’m going to become a regular here
FEBRUARY 22nd NOT MINE: This is the detail of a watercolour I saw in an exhibition by Ponleu today. This morning, we finally hung the last of the art with which, we return to Cambodia, and I must say I was sorely tempted by this piece as it is a scene we often see here and yet the background gives it a whimsical quality that suggests he is dreaming and not simply exhausted. Nonetheless I didn’t purchase it and therefore it’s still not mine
FEBRUARY 23rd THIS MAKES LIFE EASIER: It’s an app via which you can book a Tuk Tuk ride from exactly where you are with your destination and price locked in when you confirm. No language skills and no pesky negotiating prices required. There are several such apps operating here and we use them regularly and love the convenience, even though this particular ride turned out to be a wild goose chase, it was not the driver’s fault just misleading advertising on social media about a book fair. We are guessing the lines on the phone are shadows from the overhead wires
FEBRUARY 24th ON THE LINE: The cyclo riders bring such character to Phnom Penh city and they are vehicles which are heavy and difficult to manoeuvre. I love that they are still used by locals as a regular form of affordable transport especially returning from the early morning market but when they are parked like this with precision on the line of the kerb, it surely means a group of tourists have been dropped off at the Royal Palace and will soon continue their tour in an impressive display through the streets and unpredictable traffic conditions
FEBRUARY 25th A TREE FROM BELOW: A palm counts as a tree in my book
FEBRUARY 26th PASTA: Actually, we already had pasta planned for dinner tonight and I waited all day to take a shot of it as it’s one of my favourite meals but then remembered that I posted this exactly same dinner for the “on my plate” prompt early this month, so this is pasta just before it was cooked
FEBRUARY 27th A TOOL: of the Buddhist monk is definitely the alms bowl and the tiffin. It is with these in hand that the monks engage in the alms walk each day and the local community gains merit by feeding them through these receptacles. We got to visit our little monks at the pagoda today and several of them have only now returned with these just in time to feed the whole monk body lunch before the fasting from noon commences
FEBRUARY 28th SO CUTE: My little mate joined us for breakfast and he is so cute. I almost didn’t get a selfie this month so that’s it so cute and selfie all in one
THE PROMPTS
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