oNe PhOtO a DaY oCtObEr 2026

OCTOBER 1st A IS FOR... Art … no not street art ... beach art

OCTOBER 2nd B IS FOR … boats in the bay- M’Pai Bay to be exact 

OCTOBER 3rd C IS FOR … cocktail. Every celebration deserves a cocktail and yesterday was our wedding anniversary

OCTOBER 4th DIS FOR... deliveries. It seems to me that the whole world currently relies on them and I can honestly say that I have never ordered food delivery in my life

OCTOBER 5th E IS FOR... espresso. Yes please

OCTOBER 6th F IS FOR … family and friends. A mirror selfie taken with the reflection of my family and friends wall and it seems appropriate because the highlight of today was a long phone conversation with a very dear friend a great distance away and I also added two new photos to this wall 

OCTOBER 7th G IS FOR … garden. Even with a small terrace and a narrow balcony it’s always possible to create a little green space and it brings me so much pleasure 

OCTOBER 8th H IS FOR … haulage. We bought a secondhand kitchen cabinet and knew it would not fit through the narrow opening at the top of the stairs but today our Mr Fixit and his offsider managed to haul it from the first flight of stairs up to the third level and carry it up to the fourth, just as he has with other purchases. They were tipped handsomely for their efforts and fed chocolate cake too

OCTOBER 9th I IS FOR … ink. Just what the ink pad needed for me to use my hand carved wooden stamps

OCTOBER 10th J IS FOR …jasmine. The one on the terrace is in full bloom at the moment and a moody shot captures the near empty streets of Phnom Penh as the city empties out for Pchum Ben 

OCTOBER 11th K IS FOR … knots. These decorative Chinese knotted red tassels neutralise negative energy according to Fengshui. They also symbolise good fortune, prosperity and happiness and this one hangs in our guest room 

OCTOBER 12th L IS FOR … locks. It’s Pchum Ben so most businesses are closed and locked up tight. This icebox is obviously part of a streetside stall and therefore locked very securely in situ 

OCTOBER 13th M IS FOR … monsoon madness. Just when we thought it was over there was thunder lightning and heavy rain for the whole night last night 

OCTOBER 14th N IS FOR … nails. Nail bars are big business here but this was a first for me. This afternoon in the market I spotted a young girl practising her skills on these single finger moulds! Macabre really but Halloween is just around the corner 

OCTOBER 15th O IS FOR … orchid. This one has just begun to bloom on our terrace 

OCTOBER 16th P IS FOR: presents. A very special little girl turns five tomorrow and the joy is in tearing off the paper I’m told so there’s my recycled paper wrapping effort to enhance the fun 

OCTOBER 17th Q IS FOR … quay. Today as we disembarked from the ferry from Akreiy Ksatr 

OCTOBER 18th R IS FOR … roaster -a retro roadside coffee roaster in our hood and we can smell it from home 

OCTOBER 19th S IS FOR … spinach. Bought fresh today and turned into spinach maki for tonight’s Buddha Bowl dinner 

OCTOBER 20th T IS FOR … tradition. These traditional structures are now rapidly disappearing and we like to support places where they have been restored and renovated for business purposes. Tonight’s dinner venue 

OCTOBER 21st U IS FOR: undergrowth. On our hike up to Phnom Da today the undergrowth was lush, dense and prolific thanks to the recent monsoon storms

OCTOBER 22nd V IS FOR … vendor. A mobile vendor shredding coconut for the delicious sweet rice snacks she sells. It is added to fermented mixed black rice and sticky rice with sesame seeds and rolled in rice flour crepes. We spotted her on our morning stroll to the bank 

OCTOBER 23rd W IS FOR: wheelchair. A most unusual sight here especially courtesy ones in restaurant settings 

OCTOBER 24th X IS FOR: Xray. This was not where we expected to be but fingers crossed ….. phew the radiographer’s notes say “unremarkable” 

OCTOBER 25th Y IS FOR …  YeakSa.  It can be translated into giant or ogre in Khmer. Despite their fierce faces they are figures who protect sacred places and they in appear in Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist cultures. This one is a small carved wooden sculpture I spotted

OCTOBER 26th Z IS FOR … Zoncello. An addictive discovery I made last trip home to Australia, thanks to a great friend who knows me too well. Archive shot for want of discovering anything z today

OCTOBER 27th YOUR NAME (OR NICKNAME): I’ve had many over the years: Vic, the Vixter, charter bus, Ms Victoria, Weiji, but the one that’s suck for almost 40 years and I actually choose to use myself in correspondence is “V”. The child of a dear friend started calling my partner and me “E&V” when she was in primary school and we still both use it and it’s even a hashtag these days. Thanks Lexi you always were a bright spark

OCTOBER 28th A SENTENCE: After two years of seeing this sign and cringing this prompt motivated me. I let the redundancy go but … It’s not vandalism if the grammarian in me made me do it 

OCTOBER 29th WORDS INSIDE A BOOK: about mindfulness, which appropriately enough I received as a participant in the gift exchange Chantelle organizes each year in conjunction with this group  

*this was a Fabber on Facebook

OCTOBER 30th  A QUOTE YOU LIKE: and which stands on the hall table. There are several scattered through different rooms in our home. I hand write them change periodically but this is a favourite 

OCTOBER 31st FREE CHOICE: Yesterday’s performance of “Dance Through Time” was a spectacle of dazzling skills and grace but this piece to the voice of Edith Piaf was absolutely divine

PROMPTS

Phnom Da - a photographic essay

21-10-‘26

setting off on the long canal out of Takeo 

net fishing and floodplains so wide you can’t distinguish the canal from the lake 

open space

… a big sky day

… water reflections 

abundant bird and insect activity 

… ah breathe deep

sigh

(Photo credit to E for the reflection) 

teeming with life : grass, weeds even Eucalyptus trees growing submerged

water hyacinth too unfortunately 

… actually it is an invasive plant, though you do see it in markets here so it’s edible and the stems are woven into beautiful basketry    

… it played havoc with the propeller

(among the greens in our local market)

(examples of woven water hyacinth I own)

Forward Ho! 

tiny dragonflies everywhere 

I heard frogs and recognized that’s what they were from the sound in the paddies in the bamboo house, then this one joined us for the ride and hunted insects in the boat

Phnom Da … we made it 

… not so many stairs actually but yes in ruin and unstable, deteriorating, and not easily navigable but the tree shade and density was gorgeous 

deep in discussion 

I love a wide horizon

the jungle encroaches 

rocking around at the top 

… moss covered stones everywhere 

… caution required but eh 

… soul restoring too

a path down with a banister

… yes please 

… a bonus - an articulate monk who delighted in introducing himself in English

… lush, dense, prolific undergrowth threatened to take over

… I was literally escorted down the treacherous steps to the boat by the driver

… he was graceful on a smooth and slippery concrete ramp 

… I was awkward on a worn, washed away, stone staircase but felt secure because of his gallantry

… he danced me back to the boat

… relieved I clambered aboard 

now we have seen huge dark clouds rolling in it’s all systems go to get back 

back in the water hyacinths but the path we carved earlier is still navigable so 

… go go go 

O Oh! It’s raining over there 

… and on us now too

… the birds are fleeing and squawking 

… out come the umbrellas

… in an open boat, huddled beneath them getting nearly drenched anyway 

… no one complaining, not even Michael who had no umbrella and was soaked to the skin

… rain stops and we are partially dry from the wind factor at the dock 

… both the driver and boatman were dripping earlier

… no one is or was cold  

 

clearing skies and a solitary kite flying overhead 

suddenly it was over

(Yet again E’s shot) 

but there were other sights to see and conversations to be had

… young kids shyly saying hello and scurrying off on their bikes 

… and one youngster confidently asking questions and providing information in near perfect English 

… final statement “Do you want to learn the Khmer language?”

… you’ll go far young man 

vandalism? graffiti? street art? contemporary culture? Call it you what you will 

Many thanks to Michael for inviting us along, organising transport and providing the historic information and context as well as engaging us all in conversations effortlessly. A red letter day for sure