oNe PhOtO a DaY jUlY 2019

THE PROMPTS FOR THE MONTH

MONDAY 1st I AM: Vicky - an Australian, a wife, a traveller, a cook, and organiser, a swimmer, a reader, a teacher, a cyclist, an optimist, and a planner but unfortunately also a worrier. I am also happy to lead a simple life and my guiding principles are gratitude and integrity

TUESDAY 2nd MY FAVE BELONGING: This is going to be a tricky month for me, as we are travelling so of all the things with me right now my camera is my fave belonging. It’s been getting a real work out too. It’s old but it’s done good service and still works perfectly perhaps a little like me

WEDNESDAY 3rd MY FAVE VIEW: is most definitely prayer flags flapping in the wind at the mountain passes in Bhutan. We were fortunate today to drive through three passes and fly our own flags for the benefit of all sentient beings at each. This is Yongtong La at 3411 metres and the vibrant flags in the top of the shot are the ones we strung up today. I love Bhutan

THURSDAY 4th I’M GOOD AT: devising engaging learning activities to suit the abilities and interests of my students. This is an archive shot of our little monks taken not so long ago in Kep

FRIDAY 5th IM NOT SO GOOD AT: travelling these windy mountain roads but this is the ninth crossing of the kingdom. Anyone who knows me knows I do not travel well but our driver is a dear friend with whom we have done this journey several times in the past nine years. We were in the high passes and surrounded by clouds for a large part of the morning today but are now descending into the heat and blue sky of the sub-tropic zones

SATURDAY 6th MY FAVE COLOUR: is orange as anyone who knows me already knows. Another favourite thing is butter lamps, which just happen to burn orange despite appearing white before they are lit. Taken yesterday at Kore La-the final pass on the lateral road before reaching Trashigang

SUNDAY 7th I LOVE EATING THIS FOOD: Momos! Not the same as Chinese dumplings though I love them too. We have been eating as many as possible since arriving. Yesterday was a momo party with Ian’s former class 4/5 students who are all now finishing high school or already studying at a tertiary level. Love those cheese momos!

MONDAY 8th A HIGHLIGHT FROM MY DAY: After heavy rain all night and all morning we scored a dry spell at 2pm and hiked down the farm road and through the scrub on a rough track with lots of leeches to find our driver patiently waiting for us at the road head. Our aim was to reach Trashigang to see the newly restored interior courtyard of the Dzong. Last time we saw it in 2016 there were piles of rubble and it was a sad picture. With 15 minutes before it closed we managed to convince the security guards to allow us in. Finally, we got to wander around the courtyard alone and see it looking resplendent with only a handful of monks sharing the space with us and somewhat mystified about why we would want to be there

TUESDAY 9th I LOVE THIS ABOUT ME: I take a great deal of pleasure in simple things, I try to adapt to the customs and rituals of the places I have lived and in which I travel and I am curious and very interested the culture and daily life of other places. This is me, early this morning lighting a butter lamp at Kore La (the first of the passes we encountered today) photo credit goes to Ian

WEDNESDAY 10th MY FAVE HOBBY: would have to be photography. Recently I’ve mostly been using my phone but here in Bhutan the camera has been getting a real workout. This is my favourite shot from today’s Tshechu (religious ritual combining storytelling, music and dance) in Nimalung. It was hard to choose just one shot

THURSDAY 11th MY HANDWRITING: is not particularly uniform or neat but this is it. I wrote the 100th quote for my 100 days of inspiration, gratitude and calm today - just one day late but I was a bit too overwhelmed by Tshechu yesterday so I gave myself a break

FRIDAY 12th THIS SONG MAKES ME HAPPY: “A Case of You” by Joni Mitchell. It was hard to choose just one as there are so many songs that make me happy but this one came to mind. I particularly like the version by Prince on the ”A Tribute to Joni Mitchell” album

SATURDAY 13th I GREW UP IN: Adelaide. spending long summer holidays on the beach and so many times all four of us kids very badly sunburnt (before anyone knew the dangers of skin cancer), jumping off the jetty, cars bogged in the sand, keys and kids lost and fish and chips  wrapped in newspaper for picnic lunches. I have now strayed far from where I was born and raised but I never quite feel I have come home until I visit the beach and usually manage to do so on the day I arrive

SUNDAY 14th I DO THIS MOST DAYS: I write 3 things I am grateful for at the end of the day and add them to my gratitude journal. When I do forget I do it the following morning. Do not take things for granted but take them with gratitude

MONDAY 15th THIS FLAVOUR MAKES ME HAPPY: It’s called thingay here in Bhutan and it’s almost onomatopoeic as it leaves a tingling feeling on your tongue. Combined with chilli in thukpa it’s the quintessential Bhutanese flavour. I just went out and bought it because of this prompt and now I will have to try to make that delicious rice porridge with paneer when we get home

TUESDAY 16th I LOVE THIS FILM: We happened to be living in Bhutan when it was released in 2016 and one of the animators is a dear friend. But what I love most about it is that the visuals are so strikingly Bhutanese and it’s so important for young children to see their own culture displayed, surviving and thriving in a modern medium

WEDNESDAY 17th I’M GRATEFUL FOR: blue skies and sunshine in sleepy little Haa. This view onto the main street from our hotel window is also pretty spectacular. Actually, I’m also very grateful for the opportunity to be in Bhutan right now

THURSDAY 18th MY FAVE BOOK: long story follows.....  It’s a bit of a stretch because we are travelling but I’ve been trying to make these prompts about me and our trip. I can honestly say this my favourite Bhutanese writer and I have read every book she has written (except the recipes in her book about Bhutanese food) many of them several times. I taught one several years in a row and love it so much I tried to buy another copy this trip but had no luck.  We went to 5 out of the 6 bookstores I know in Thimphu to find a single copy of any of her books and then miraculously found a new children’s book to add to my collection just an hour before the book store closed on our last day in Thimphu on Tuesday. I went straight back to our hotel room and read it so it’s my new almost fave book

FRIDAY 19th MY FAVE PLACE IN THE WORLD: It’s a tough one. There are lots of places I love. Somehow Bhutan is the one I talk about most when we are not here and now that we are the love is rekindled. I always say I left a piece of my heart here when we left and now I think an even bigger piece will stay behind when we depart in two-days’ time! It’s the everyday sights, the people the culture and the sheer majesty of the kingdom that brings a sense of inner calm. I love Bhutan

SATURDAY 20th MY FAVE PEOPLE: Of course, my family and the wonderful friends, who have stuck with me through thick and thin are up there on this list, but if I’m honest with myself right now the little monks of Kep win hands down. After a month of travelling I miss them. I have loved every reunion in the kingdom and the many friends and former students we have spent time with but these guys (and their other classmates not in this archive shot) make my heart sing

SUNDAY 21st TODAY WAS GREAT BECAUSE: after deciding to pay our final hotel bill in the country with a credit card we had some spare cash. I found a great book in the airport and then worked out a way to get the extra cash to Lama Shenphen for his work with recovering addicts in the kingdom. We are sad to go but grateful for the memories. “Palden Drukpa Gyalo”

MONDAY 22nd A SCENT THAT MAKES ME HAPPY: Nothing beats the smell of coffee in the morning - well perhaps drinking it! I always have to buy freshly ground coffee first when we do our marketing and then sniff it until the shopping is done and we can relax with a brew before heading home. This routine ensures any forgotten items are remembered when my brain wakes up. Oh yeah .... my go to perfume is also “Happy” and I haven’t had any for over two years- this was a duty-free purchase on our return to Thailand yesterday. Blissful start to our Bangkok sojourn

TUESDAY 23rd I ACHIEVED THIS! Despite almost always cycling or swimming these days on our final day in Bhutan I achieved a personal best for 2019 with the hike up to Taktshang - almost 18kms and 158 floors for the day.

WEDNESDAY 24th MADE ME SMILE TODAY: We made it to the Kingdom of Wonder today. Our luggage has grown at every destination and we left the airport in the smallest vehicle of the whole trip. I wanted to take a shot of Ian in the Cambodian Rickshaw with all our bags and the driver photo bombed it so only half the bags are visible

THURSDAY 25th THREE THINGS I’D TAKE ON A DESERTED ISLAND: Hope, calm and inspiration. Then everything else would fall into place

FRIDAY 26th A MEMORY OF MINE: That time in 2012 when to celebrate education in Bhutan, representatives from every school walked to the capital of Trashigang district from their schools and joined each other on the road. It was a 16-kilometre hike from my school and a wonderful experience. With hundreds of children and teachers converging at the main intersection and staying overnight to participate in a full day of entertainment and celebration. Of course, every foreign teacher in the district was included and along with principals I led the charge out of Rangjung Higher Secondary School. Some primary children walked for 3 days! What a feat of coordination and harmony

SATURDAY 27th A FAVE OUTFIT: I wore yesterday. I love it because it’s simple, casual, comfortable, my favourite colour combination (orange and black) and everything except the shoes and necklace are more than a decade old. It still fits and I still love it. Photo credit to Ian who took a zillion shots in this art filled laneway in Phnom Penh before I was happy with one of them - as I’m fond of saying, “That’s as good as it gets!”

SUNDAY 28th MY FAVE SEASON: Here as in most of Cambodia, there are really only two seasons- the wet and the dry. It’s always hot. It’s is officially the wet season but there was no rain today so we had the best of both seasons dry and a little cooler without the bright sunshine

MONDAY 29th MY FAVE ANIMAL: I haven’t had a pet since I was a child as my lifestyle is too nomadic, so I get a big kick out of seeing and spending time with wild animals in their native environment. Birds especially but the pedantic in me won’t allow myself to call them animals, so an elephant it is. This is an archive shot taken in Mondulkiri last year

TUESDAY 30th SOMETHING I WANT YOU TO KNOW: I’m a total foodie. I love cooking and baking and sharing original vegetarian food with family and friends. I delight in trying new dishes in restaurants. I also love to alter and experiment with recipes and in fact rarely make anything but adaptations or fusion dishes. This is a snapshot of a few recently homemade meals

WEDNESDAY 31st MY FAVE THING TO TAKE PHOTOS OF: would have to be the little monks of Kep. After a six-week break, we will start classes again tomorrow so this is an archive shot. I’m so excited to see them and also very curious about the changes that may have occurred at the monastery and among the boys themselves

Kep Calling

Arriving in Phnom Penh we felt that we weren’t off to the best possible start. While in Bangkok, in our eagerness to begin the next phase of our existence, and do it by the book and follow the rules, we had attempted to get the long stay visas we wanted at the Kingdom of Cambodia Embassy and failed miserably. We were issued tourist visas and were told that they could be extended so we carried on with the flimsy plan we had already made. That was to check out the possible places we would like to live over the next month and in the order we preferred them.

On the plane we filled in new visa forms, hoping against hope, we might be able to have the tourist visas cancelled but that was not to be. We did however leave immigration feeling optimistic as our long-term visa application forms were both stamped for approval before we mentioned that we already had tourist visas…….. next time. There has to be a next time anyway since as usual we have left some luggage behind in BKK.

From the moment we were in a taxi and heading for the downtown area things just seemed to be signaling that Cambodia was a good decision. Familiar Asian vistas made us both feel comfortable and at ease. The heat however, after our prolonged winter in North and South America, took a little more adjusting to then we expected.

This is a reconnaissance mission of sorts and with our moods oscillating between total optimism and worry, we spent our time alternating between checking out the availability and prices of goods and services and returning to old haunts and sights as well as discovering some new ones.

Phnom Penh continues to hold its own in terms of attractions, traditions, businesses and sustainable, eco-friendly, conscious driven enterprise. Unfortunately the perennial problems of any large city are ever-present. Garbage, traffic and retaining the traditional architecture whilst allowing development to take place and provide long-term benefits to the local community, seem to be the most pressing issues from our point of view, and “Phnompers” is not alone in that challenge. We enjoyed the afternoon breaks from the heat, reading and swimming, well enough to allow ourselves the luxury of two extra days in the capital before setting out on our most important task.

Bussing out of Phnom Penh through near stand still traffic at a snail’s pace and amid swirling dust and sprawling incomplete construction sites on the outskirts, in a worn out, beaten up tourist van with an ancient air-con incapable of its primary function was a bit of a wake-up call. The roads, the conditions and the heat conspired to spur the driver into ever more daring attempts at overtaking and speed.

However at some point I simply forgot to notice as tiny villages, roadside vendors, pools of blooming lotuses larger than paddy fields, scenes of cows and water buffaloes, swaying palm trees, rice fields and the grinding poverty of tiny rural communities sent me into a nostalgic stupor. Memories of travel, adventures and experiences in Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and previous trips to Cambodia flashed before me and evoked a sense of wellbeing and joy at the adventure we are now embarking on. With great fondness I recalled Luang Prabang, Pakse, Yangon, Bagan, Hoi An, Hue, Kratie, Battambang, Koh Phangan, Sukothai and oh so many more, sometimes blurring them together and struggling to identify where each event had occurred.  Thus lost in nostalgia we suddenly arrived in Kampot and were taken aback to discover that we would now have to wait another two hours to complete the last 20 minutes of our journey to Kep.

With no say in the matter, we were left to wander the streets, find water and a quick, light, late lunch and marvel at what we could recognize among the great changes that had taken place since we had last spent time in Kampot in late 2013. Those two hours were enough to convince us that this was no longer a place on the list of possibilities. Kampot seemed to boast more foreigners than locals in the old town sector near the banks of the Mekong at least. To our eyes a great number of them also seemed to be the long termers we wish to become but we do not wish to become part of an expat set!

At twilight we arrived in Kep and stared open-jawed at the ocean. Thrilled at the cool ocean breeze easing the all-consuming burden of the heat, we stepped into a tuk tuk and were whisked away to our budget ‘resort’ hotel. Our late arrival meant we dined poolside and availed of the air-con to rest, knowing the following day we would begin exploring in earnest.

Eager to make the most of time and none too sensibly we set off on foot about mid morning. Knowing Kep is small and spread along the coast we wrongly assumed this would not be too daunting a task. The market was our first stop and while it cannot compare to the huge variety available in Phnompers, it was, in Ian’s words, “Better than we expected and not as bad as we feared.” Thus encouraged we continued along the linear strip following the coast and called in at the first two houses for rent signs we stumbled upon. The second of which contained the manager of our hotel, who was as surprised to see us as we were him. By midday we were lured back to the hotel by the pool and the prospect of a swim. That was the second poor decision of the day. We emerged very refreshed and with the first dose of sunburn in about five years to add to the morning’s near heat stroke!! Time to review our Aussie upbringing and a practice a bit of sun smart behaviour.

The following morning we were clever enough to decide to take a tuk tuk to the second of the hotel manager’s properties but came away disappointed that four of the five properties we had looked at were no more than glorified hotel rooms with a bedroom, bathroom and small kitchen space but no living area at all. The remaining one with an upstairs outdoor space was indeed an apartment but located above the open pit for car maintenance at a garage. Not exactly a location we would consider ideal.

Still Kep has appeal and we were not going to be disheartened after only two days. The very next day we happened upon a sign in the Kep Coffee Café that was advertising houses for rent and was posted directly above a sign calling for English teaching volunteers. It seemed a good omen with both on our hit list and we made arrangements to see a small, new, well appointed house that would have been perfect, if it didn’t transpire that the current occupant has since decided to continue to rent it.

Therefore the search continues but we feel even if we haven't exactly found the house, we have at least decided on the place to live and something will eventually come up. There was a reason Kep was the top of the list and we have confirmed it’s our kind of small community and even made a few new friends in the past few days. I’m glad to say all but one of them, are Cambodian too. The sea breezes in the evenings providing welcome relief from the heat is something none of the inland towns we were considering can offer and the calming effect of the sound of the ocean has its own appeal and is reminiscent of the first home Ian and I ever shared in Port Noarlunga. 

We took ourselves to Kampot for a one night stay and discovered that our first impressions formed during our two hour wayside stop were not too far off the mark and although there are the many more sophisticated cafes and restaurants and plenty of goods we won’t find in Kep we will be happy to access them regularly and live elsewhere. It at least confirmed for us that Kep is where we want to try to make a go of things.

After only two weeks in the country we feel we are making good progress but there is still a long way to go before the dream becomes a reality.  

Next stop is Phnompers en route to Bangkok.

The beginning of the adventure

In less than 48 hours we will leave our hometown of Adelaide South Australia to fly to Bhutan via Bangkok. We will spend this year teaching in Rangjung in eastern Bhutan and we are really looking forward to the adventure. Right now we are surrounded by luggage and making the hard decisions about what we can take and what stays behind. We are feeling nervous, excited, anxious and unsure. There are more questions than answers about our posting but we can hardly wait to get there and begin the orientation in Thimphu. It will be great to meet our fellow intrepid travellers and teachers. This is a first attempt at blogging so we hope to get better at it as the year progresses. Please join us on the adventure and post your comments.