MAY 1st THIS IS ME: at the pagoda with the little monks of Kep early this morning. We are no longer teaching them but their new teacher will start next week. We delivered hygiene products and were rewarded with lots of smiles today. Monthly selfie done
*Much to my surprise this shot was selected for the fab 4 on Facebook
MAY 2nd MORNING: We did a morning run in a tuk tuk to the pagoda to deliver some medication this morning and couldn’t resist taking the morning view across the ocean to Rabbit Island. Now that the rainy season is upon us these dramatic skies are making an appearance again
MAY 3rd FREE CHOICE: Just over a week ago one of the local NGO schools held a Japan Day fundraiser and I took along my yukata to add to the decorations. This little participant took to playing peekaboo with it and returned again and again throughout the day to play with it. She is a such a joyful little soul and it made my day to watch her play so happily unaware she was being observed
MAY 4th TREES: After several days of rain we woke to crystal clear skies and sunshine this morning. Reason enough to go on an early morning bike ride along the coast. I believe, it’s the avenue of huge old trees that make Kep Beach so special. Living in the moment, enjoying the everyday and appreciating nature’s splendour…….. more rain heading our way later today but it is exactly that, that made the air clear enough see the town of Kampot and the islands of Vietnam this morning
MAY 5th MIRRORS: Now that the rainy season has begun, the salt fields are once again flooded and acting like mirrors. Reflections of the now empty drying sheds abound. As we begin the countdown for leaving, I seem to be turning this month’s prompts into Kep nostalgia. Some of our favourite vistas and views are calling us to return to them
MAY 6th LEAF: One perfect lotus leaf floating on the water's surface and one more just about to unfurl. Our lotus pot pond is giving us one final bloom as a farewell right now too
MAY 7th VIEW FROM HERE: Kep’s most iconic and most photographed view. Weekends are not the best time to view it as the crowds are enormous but these dramatic monsoon skies are very impressive
*Most unexpectedly this too was selected for the Fab grid for this prompt on Facebook
MAY 8th LOVE: There are in fact many things I love though perhaps not myself. This archive shot encapsulates a few of them - travel, the ocean, photography, Australia and a sense of adventure
MAY 9th CHAIR: I’ve recently started taking notice of chairs as we will need to buy a couple soon. This is the best one I’ve spotted so far and a couple like this would be perfect for our place but I have a feeling, it will be extremely difficult to find and probably prohibitively expensive too. Oh well still on the lookout and no harm in admiring and photographing this one belonging to a dear friend as I did this morning
MAY 10th WHERE I STOOD: on the still incomplete, manmade spit that stretches beyond the moored fishing boats at the Crab Market in Kep. This development began, was abandoned and is now being dwarfed by the large-scale land reclamation going on all around it. The rapidly changing coastline of Kep is a mystery and a work in progress
*This shot was also selected for the Fab grid for this prompt on Facebook
MAY 11th SOMETHING SMALL: Locally collected gum tree seeds are something very small, from which mighty gum trees will grow. Will attempt to germinate a few and leave a few seedlings behind in Kep when we leave. Something we have done in several different countries over the years. As Kev Carmody taught us “From little things big thing grow”
MAY 12th IN NATURE: Decaying and derelict structures like this one are a legacy from a bygone era and evidence of the history of the Pol Pot regime. Such abandoned properties have long been part of the visual landscape in Kep but currently those which haven’t been demolished to make way for new retail outlets, houses, resorts or hotels, are slowly returning to nature of their own accord. I hope they do not disappear completely. Is the building in nature or is nature in the building? A bit of both perhaps
MAY 13th GREEN: coconuts still ripening on the palm
MAY 14th SUNSHINE: Without the sunshine there can be no shadows. It’s washing day here and the sheets were on the line for less than an hour before they were completely dry - it’s 31° but the weather app tells me the humidity makes it feel like 39°
MAY 15th UPSIDE DOWN: An archive shot of Gam in the first yoga session the little monks had the opportunity to participate in. He would happily accept any challenge and was his usual totally focused self in this upside down pose
We miss these guys but are delighted that Gam is still in the new class and their new teacher loves them as much as we do
MAY 16th THIS SEASON: Right now, we are in the no-man’s land season between the wet and the dry. When it’s not thunder, lightning storms and torrential rain, it’s bright sunshine, sweltering heat and high humidity! Sometimes it’s a few days of each, sometimes it’s alternate days and sometimes it all in the same day! When we venture out we need sun protection and umbrellas and raincoats - just back from swimming with this lot
MAY 17th A SHAPE: A heart shaped cookie cutter I found in the house when we moved in and have used but not often. This leaf was also from a plant in the garden, which was on the property when we arrived and has died back and regrown numerous times in the last few years. Kep: - a place that will always be in my heart along with the heartfelt love we feel for the community here
Both shall stay where they were found
MAY 18th DOOR: Although this was supposed to be a month celebrating Kep, I chose this shot taken a couple of weeks ago, as it is hopefully about to be our new front door! As you can see there will definitely be some renovation and repair required before the move to the big smoke!
MAY 19th CREATIVE: I love the concept of the decor in this new venue in Kep. We too are collecting shutters as we have a project or two involving repurposing them, in our new residence
MAY 20 I READ THIS: We are sorting, packing up and tossing out things in preparation for our big move at the moment. Books were long ago boxed but I did come across this today. It made my heart sing. I would recognise this writing anywhere and the sentiment confirms the knowledge that this was written by a dear friend and former principal at the last school, in which I taught, in Bhutan. Yes, I am a hoarder and yes it was packed to come with us. I miss you Madam Tshewang and am grateful for the connection we have maintained
MAY 21st WAVES: Another quick trip out to the pagoda this morning to deliver medical supplies to one of the little monks with a serious skin infection. Looks like he was pretty pleased to get them from that smile. We were both very pleased to see and interact with them again and they were all pretty pleased to see us too. Managed to get a few waves goodbye
*This was another shot selected for the Fab grid for this prompt on Facebook
MAY 22nd FLYING: When the flags are flying at a pagoda then a festival or religious ceremony is taking place. This is the very pagoda where the little monks of Kep live but it’s an archive shot as today a huge storm is brewing after nearly 24 hours of alternating between torrential rain and brilliant sunshine, we are trapped indoors being chorused by frogs or are toads?
MAY 23rd STAIRS: Climbing up and down these stairs repeatedly several times a week has been an integral part of my rehabilitation regime. Just last week a little over eighteen months after my accident I finally walked down them without holding onto the banister rails for the first time. I’m counting that as a major achievement but still continuing with the stair climbing routine. Never give up. There is always a way forward
MAY 24th A PAIR: it’s been a lazy day but we did walk to the organic farm and buy eggplants earlier this morning so that’s all I’ve got - a pair of curly eggplants, which are now Baba Ganoush
MAY 25th SOMETHING WARM: Spicy Dukkah and parmesan flavoured zucchini and corn fritters cooking in the pan. A new favourite in dinner at our place, especially when served with Baba Ganoush, roasted vegetable salad and flatbread to roll your own warm wraps at the table.
The meal
MAY 26th PINK: We now have a second pink lotus bud in the pot pond we established about a year ago. I love the fact that it is putting on a show for us before we leave.
“Like the lotus, we can rise from the murky mud, bloom from the darkness and trust our unfolding”
MAY 27th LUCKY: Many, many years ago I had a Tibetan bell on my rucksack on a train in Italy, when a thief didn’t succeed in stealing my luggage because the bell rang and woke me up. Ever since I have put a bell on all my bags and considered bells to be both lucky and cheap security. This is my current every day bag, which has a bell I found in the street attached to a Bhutanese lucky charm on it
MAY 28th HORIZON: A seascape where the coral, and fishing boats are visible and the line between sea and sky blurs on the horizon. Kep’s Crab Market vistas
MAY 29th A CAR: I’m not sure what it is really - a truck, a car or simply a vehicle. During rice harvesting time however it can be seen moving from property to property to mill rice in situ
MAY 30th SKY: Just before the monsoon rains began we had a couple of weeks of glorious sunsets here in Kep. This was taken on one of those glorious evenings at one of the many eateries in the Crab Market. The month of showcasing Kep is drawing to a close now
MAY 31st THIS IS ALSO ME: We had thought we’d be in PP by now but we are still here waiting for the final paperwork and lapping up the sunshine, sea views and lazy lifestyle
PROMPTS
