oNe PhOtO a DaY sEpTeMbEr 2026

SEPTEMBER 1st IN THE MIRROR: A tiny, Japanese, ceramic Buddha appropriately enough, reflected against a backdrop of the wheel of dharma in our bedroom 

SEPTEMBER 2nd AT THE TABLE: In a quirky little neighbourhood space we like there are mishmash old electrical appliances and odd chairs and tables including this one which was once two treadle sewing machines. This morning there was what I think is an old style hairdryer parked at that table

SEPTEMBER 3rd ON THE FLOOR: Just about the only thing that isn’t furniture in our place and that lives on the floor are our shoes in the entrance way 

* this one was a Facebook Fab Four pick 

SEPTEMBER 4th ON MY FEET: are slides with arch support, that I would never wear in the street, because with my scrunched up feet they are difficult to walk any distance in, but are perfect for the slippery tiles around the pool and in the showers 

SEPTEMBER 5th OUT THE WINDOW: in a neighbourhood space that is undergoing a new imagining. There were so many great views through the windows

SEPTEMBER 6th SOMETHING I’LL EAT: actually I have already - today’s breakfast 

SEPTEMBER 7th IN MOTION: At twilight yesterday a solitary hornbill came to rest on the roof opposite our apartment. It observed the skies and ground for several minutes and we were sure it would take off. Night was falling and it happens quickly in this region. It would soon need to roost. It jumped a bit forward and launched huge wings in a slow steady take off and was gone. I love that we still see them but worry that they are so often alone these days 

SEPTEMBER 8th SOMETHING OLD: The Royal Palace in Phnom Penh certainly fits that bill and was glowing in the early evening tonight

SEPTEMBER 9th MY COMMUTE: Considering we are retired and sold our last car in 1989 then besides bicycles and tuk tuks we are most often ambling, strolling, wandering, on Shank’s pony, on the number 11 bus, on foot, or put simply just walking 

SEPTEMBER 10th SOMETHING NEW: Today I bought two new sets of six postcards and one single card for my snail mail project. They are the only things I have bought new besides groceries and meals and drinks for weeks. Happy to have more charming illustrations of Phnom Penh to send into the world 

SEPTEMBER 12th A FAVOURITE SPOT: The sky bar we always take guests to and which affords the best views over the city especially at sunset

SEPTEMBER 13th A PLANT I HAVEN'T KILLED: This beautiful Jasmine was on our terrace and came with our apartment. We have repotted and relocated it and not only did I not kill it but it now flowers about every six weeks and deliciously scents the night air for one or two days

SEPTEMBER 14th ALMOST BEDTIME: but I’m still tempted to taste this mixed berry cake, since the one I baked three days ago disappeared at the celebration I took it to, before I could

SEPTEMBER 15th IN THE LAUNDRY: Only a couple of years ago there were only mum and pop shops that did laundry with one machine and drying space often on the footpath. Laundry is still $1- $2 a kilo in those establishments and I can’t help wondering how how those small family enterprises have reinvented themselves to stay alive, now these self serve places are popping up everywhere.  There is always someone in the laundry

SEPTEMBER 16th OUTSIDE TODAY: in our hood this is quite a common sight and an often used cheap form of local transport. Today was no exception 

SEPTEMBER 17th I USE THIS DAILY: That would have to be this pair of chopsticks - my go to eating utensil for the last 40 plus years 

SEPTEMBER 18th ERRANDS: We ran a lot of errands today but the one that gave me the most pleasure was buying hygiene supplies for the little monks of Kep. We are going back to see them and to try to assist with their skin issues in a few days

SEPTEMBER 19th ON MY BED: The beginnings of the packing for our upcoming trip to Kep are currently on our freshly laundered bed 

SEPTEMBER 20th IN MY POCKET: today is just my hand and my favourite handkerchief more often used for wiping my sweaty face after walking than blowing my nose. Such is life in the tropics 

*chosen in the Fab Four on Instagram 

SEPTEMBER 21st A VIEW FROM MY COUCH: sitting in my reading nook in the corner on the couch at the far end of our open plan living space. I sat there just long enough to snap a pic today as we were rushing out the door to catch a bus for a little local jaunt 

SEPTEMBER 22nd EVERYDAY BEAUTY: In a country where rice is an everyday, every meal option there is everyday beauty in the ripening rice crop and the prospect of a bumper harvest is a bonus too. The fields are also at their best right now with the monsoon season bringing so much rain

SEPTEMBER 23rd AN OPEN DOOR: of the bungalow where we are staying reveals our picnic lunch in the making. A cycling adventure before the rain sets in, coming up next 

SEPTEMBER 24th A FAVOURITE TOOL: with a favourite appliance always travel with us. The collapsible coffee banet and collapsible silicone kettle. I’m not even human in the morning before my first coffee, or framed positively, after coffee anything is possible 

SEPTEMBER 25th IN MY BATHROOM: in the bungalow where we have been staying, I managed to get my bathers dry overnight. We managed only one swim between monsoon showers but it took a day and a half to get them dry. Wet, wet, wet

SEPTEMBER 26th A CORNER OF MY ROOM: It’s a bit of a stretch. More like my messy corner of our room

SEPTEMBER 27th ON MY BEDSIDE TABLE: just the usual suspects in the usual colour scheme 

SEPTEMBER 28th A FLAT LAY: As always when we travel by bus or train or ferry we take monster sandwiches for our rest stop on the journey. We are busing and ferrying to Koh Rong Sanloem tomorrow so meal break is pre- prepared. I’m not a morning person this would be impossible to achieve just before we depart 

SEPTEMBER 29th SOMETHING UNEXPECTED: perfect beach weather and pristine waters, was definitely not the expected conditions after a full week of monsoon storms, overcast skies and flooding in many places across Cambodia. We never considered cancelling our booked long ago trip but wow and thank you. Blissful break for our wedding anniversary has started well 

SEPTEMBER 30th A FAVE THING: This stubby holder or koozie as they call them here, which folds flat and is perfect for happy hour when you are travelling especially at the beach. Happy hour itself and the beach are also pretty good

PROMPTS 

MONSOONING

Maybe this is the last hurrah for the rains. We were told it had rained heaps in Kep, not that it has not rained in PP but not much or for long. 

We’ve had a couple of wild storms but a few days ago the bedding got wet, for only the second time ever and then it happened again today too. 

I ’m grateful Ian saw the storm arrive and battened down the hatches at the back of the Aerie late in the afternoon just a few days ago. 

I was sound asleep in the living room when the storm hit but due to the thunderous sound, I awoke and wandered out onto the terrace, immediately saving a cushion from being completely drenched and rescuing a card that had blown off the fridge door and was floating in a pool of water rapidly approaching the front door. We often hear the approach of rain before we see it. 

Over lunch just that day we had said to Mary that there had been almost no rain recently and only threats, dark skies and drizzle. 

In the seconds it took Ian to react to the approaching storm having felt the wind coming through the back from his spot in the living room, my side of the bed was drenched through the open windows and the swimming gear drying on the back balcony was dripping wet again. 

When I was awakened by the thunderous noise of the rain on the corrugated iron roof above us and over the the terrace, Ian was already mopping waves of water out the back door onto the balcony and closing it to prevent more coming in. 

It was impossible to hear each other over the racket. I actually startled him even though I had been calling his name from the moment I woke up in the living room and wandered onto the terrace looking for him. 

Within ten minutes the rain had stopped the sky was dark and as night descended a startling pink sky emerged through the gloom. 

A few days later the rain started moments after we got into a tuk tuk some distance from home and it bucketed down. We climbed the stairs and were soaked to the skin by the time we reached the front door. For the next few hours it slowed, then picked up again, then positively poured down, in cycles. Steady soaking rain persisted for several hours. Hence the third dampening of the bedding through the open windows. 

Wow, finally the rain everyone has been wishing for, but with it comes instant flooding and hazards on some roads. At least unlike many places the floating garbage in our hood does not contain taped up polystyrene boxes full of other household and market waste. 

Last night we attended a soft opening party for a salon in our hood. It was a huge event conducted on the footpath in front of several different shops and attended by at least fifty people. Food and beer flowed, with an upbeat musical background that actually enabled conversation. Tables were set up as more family, guests, friends, neighbours and the proprietors of adjoining businesses joined in.  

When the rain started up we all rose and moved the table under whatever cover was available and carried on. There was dancing in the street and traffic continued on its way with motor scooter riders unfazed by the drenching and simply getting on with things. 

The Khmer embrace the rain and both children and adults delight in playing in it. While we few foreigners took to the cover of awnings there was never a suggestion that we should now abandon the celebration. It was all just part of the fun. Most guests waited the rain out but some were happy enough to climb into their vehicles or jump on the their motos once the downpour was reduced to a mere drizzle. 

Just one more reason to love our hood. 

Today undeterred we headed off to the local market as was the plan even though the rain had already started.

In fact I think the first drops fell just moments after I pegged the last item of washing on the line. No point attempting to bring it indoors to dry and we do have space because of course the rain stopped and a few hours later it was dry anyway. 

Only one casualty of the recent rains and the mobile shoe repairman fixed it this afternoon when he emerged in his usual position on the street.