oNe PhOtO a DaY fEbRuArY 2021:

THE PROMPTS 

FEBRUARY 1st TODAY’S WEATHER: “Mackerel Sky not long dry”. Not a hint of rain in the forecast but this is today’s weather

 

FEBRUARY 2nd FLORAL: Just about the only time we see cut flowers outside of Phnom Penh is in the Phasar Leur (market) in Kampot. Today’s shopping expedition did not disappoint. This floral display was very tempting but I resisted as I know they would not survive the Tuk Tuk ride back to Kep very well

 

FEBRUARY 3rd SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL: A traditional, dragon face brooch and the traditional woven container I store it. Both are treasures from Bhutan. I have worn the brooch innumerable times with my traditional clothes and I look forward to being able to visit and do so again in the future. I just can't bring myself to wear it with anything but kira

 

FEBRUARY 4th DUO: It’s no secret I love rattan and baskets so when I discovered these rattan bangles I just couldn’t resist. I struggled to decide which design I liked best and finally settled on the lower twisted one which was out of stock in my size, at the time, so I had to order it in Siem Reap, where they are made. That meant I had to wait for it to be delivered. One day later in Phnom Penh I saw the elliptical one and instantly bought it. Now they are a duo and I have never worn them except together. In fact, now I’m sure I’m going to wear them again tonight

 

FEBRUARY 5th MY HAPPY PLACE: I would ordinarily have said that is the pool but I have spent so much time indoors recently, my new happy place is in a Tuk Tuk. I think the cheesy grin confirms it. It means I’m out of the house, the wind is in my hair and I feel life is regaining some normality, even if a huge truck is barrelling down on us. Make your own adventures

 

FEBRUARY 6th FREE CHOICE Best surprise ever ..... We had a visit from one of our most capable and serene monks today. Nit you made my morning. Catching up on the monk gos. Sadly, he came to tell us of the many boys who have now left the monastery either for other temples or to re-join their families! We can’t wait to see them again. Maybe March... we miss you boys.

Today’s actual prompt is “Something Borrowed” but I am just not a borrower: a lender yes. I haven’t posted our little monks of Kep for so long that I’m going with this

 

FEBRUARY 7th MORNING: After rain overnight, it’s a rare, fresh, cool morning here. The raindrops on my favourite orchid inspired me to get out of bed to take photos before they evaporated

 

FEBRUARY 8th BRIGHT: The bright almost gaudy murals on the pagoda walls are almost complete now and we had the opportunity to visit today with a benefactor and dear friend. I bit the bullet and returned to the exact spot where I had my accident and actually took the photo I was trying to when it happened

 

FEBRUARY 9th FAVE FOOD: I don’t really have one fave food but I do love this lotus root salad and of all the dishes I make it is certainly the most popular among friends. I always get fresh lotus roots when they are available here but it isn’t always possible. We never see it in Kep but it is on my list again when we shop in Kampot market tomorrow

 

FEBRUARY 10th LOVE IS.. surviving the seven-year itch twice and then getting married. This is my favourite of all our wedding shots. Our two witnesses and very best friends at our secret wedding ceremony and this was taken at the photo shoot after in the Botanic Gardens. Still going strong twenty four years later. Love is knowing this is forever

 

FEBRUARY 11th 10am: My two favourite Chinese dishes are almost ready to be packed to take to the Chinese New Year celebration we were invited to yesterday. Luckily, we were heading into the Kampot market at the time so I could get all the ingredients. The raw veggies need to be combined with the tofu skins, mushrooms and cashews as soon as that cooked component is cooled. Busy morning in our house but I might just get showered and get these dishes assembled and packed before our 11am pick up. Fire crackers have already startled me twice this morning

 

FEBRUARY 12th KINDNESS: is a habit I learned from my Mum and a tradition I continue after having lived many years in Asia, where almost no-one has an oven. Always give away half of what you bake! These banana and chocolate chip muffins, which just came out of the oven are destined to be mostly gifted to friends for Chinese New Year treats. Well OK there’s zucchini in them too but don’t tell the kids that

 

FEBRUARY 13th RED: These are 红包!: red packets, which are traditionally given with money inside to children, for Chinese New Year. They are actually left over from last year - Year of the Rat but I didn’t buy any this year - Year of the Ox. I chose them because they have my favourite Chinese blessing written on them. 万事如意！“10,000 matters as you would wish them.” This is the first year I can remember that we haven’t cooked a Chinese banquet for friends but we were invited to celebrate with the Khmer family of a friend, two days ago on New Year’s Eve

 

FEBRUARY 14th HEART: My repertoire of origami increased from only paper cranes to include hearts today as a result of this prompt. A friend demonstrated and I followed along: I still need more practise to remember the whole sequence but it’s a start

FEBRUARY 15th PINK: The flash of pink bougainvillea on the roof of the pavilion at the pool

 

FEBRUARY 16th SOMETHING NEW: Last trip to Phnom Penh less than a month ago I got myself a new phone. Considering the previous one lasted over five and a half years I still think this is very new and I’m still learning what is capable of. Sometimes I think it’s smarter than I am

FEBRUARY 17th A FAVE PHOTO: Sisters and cousins taking an outdoor, hot stone bath in Bartsham. We were hiking with friends and heard the screaming and laughter long before we saw this. It was taken in 2011when we lived in nearby Rangjung, in eastern Bhutan. It is one of my all-time favourite shots and a print hangs in our home in Cambodia now

 

FEBRUARY 18th A VIEW I LOVE: The jetty at the Sailing Club in Kep. We are rarely there at this time of day preferring cocktails at sunset but it never disappoints

 

FEBRUARY 19th SOMETHING OLD: Every visit to Kampot I enjoy looking up and discovering the old facades that are still a prominent feature of the buildings. I actually prefer those that have not yet been renovated and this one is my latest discovery. The tattered remains of the Khmer flag sure adds to that old-world atmosphere though the wires are certainly a distraction

 

FEBRUARY 20th SWEETS: No candy in the house and no desserts either so a drive by the beach in a Tuk Tuk provided this as the only option. Ice-creams and Fairy Floss, as we Aussies say, were the only sweets I saw all day and I wasn’t tempted

FEBRUARY 21st THIS MADE ME SMILE: Our house owner at the top of this “ladder” putting plastic bags on the mangoes on the heavily laden tree, to get them to ripen. I also had to rush out there and hold on to the ladder until Ian took over so I could take a photo

FEBRUARY 22nd A GOOD THING: First time back on my bike since my accident over three months ago .... Baby steps. Stationary riding. The road to recovery is slow but a bit more confidence getting on and off and starting and stopping and I’ll be mobile again!

 

FEBRUARY 23rd A LOVE STORY: 39 years in the making and today we combined our love of photography and creativity in a workshop with Artist in Residence Sophal at Knai Bang Chat to take black and white portraits and transfer them to wooden tablets. We each took each other’s photos learned the magical process

 

FEBRUARY 24th SOMETHING BLUE: One of the renovated buildings in the magnificent Knai Bang Chat Resort is painted aqua blue. This is where we did our photography workshop yesterday and the setting right on the waterfront is breathtakingly beautiful. Those moody storm clouds are pretty dramatic as well

 

FEBRUARY 25th HANDWRITTEN NOTE: I’ve always been a purchaser and collector of postcards and greeting cards and a big fan of snail mail. In fact, many of those I buy I can’t bear to give away. I also keep many of beautiful images and messages I have received and display them in our home. This prompt made me immediately remember one such message, from the best principal, most inspirational leader and most devout Buddhist I have ever worked for. I treasure it and our ongoing friendship

FEBRUARY 26th A WEDDING PHOTO: I have exactly one digital image of our wedding and I actually already posted it this month, so here is a shot taken on the day of the Royal Wedding of HRH the King of Bhutan. On that day we were living in Rangjung, eastern Bhutan which was a full 2 days drive from the capital. Like all schools in the country we were given several days of special public holidays to mark the occasion. My school held a daylong celebration, starting with this morning prayer session, which lasted several hours. There were blessings for the royal couple, sports events, watching the televised ceremony and finally an evening of traditional dance performed by both the students and staff and the local primary school also participated. The picture depicts the morning prayer session and the assembled body of boys as well as the lighting of butter lamps as a sacred blessing on the upper level. The girls were also present but on the opposite side of the hall. The white shawls are a formal sign of respect and worn on all important occasions 

26a A little bit of memorabilia from that day

FEBRUARY 27th LIFE IS: what you make of it. Be present and grateful

 

FEBRUARY 28th WHAT I’M READING: The final book titled “A House Divided” in the Pearl S Buck trilogy - The Good Earth. I mostly read digitally these days but I still keep this bookmark for when I simply must read a paperback. I have also downloaded four new books this morning thanks to this prompt

IN 2021 THE PHOTO A DAY CHALLENGE HAS INTRODUCED A FREE CHOICE OPTION SO    I HAVE OPTED FOR FREE CHOICE WHEN THE PROMPT DID NOT INSPIRE ME 

BCFers last sightings in Bhutan-tears of sorrow

Early days 2011

Most of the 2011 group and a few of the returnees from the 2010 intake, with whom we parted company in December last year and whom we have sorely missed this past year. 

As much as the scenery and the amazing students, one of the great privileges of working in Bhutan has been meeting so many likeminded people. They are a diverse group of individuals who share a passion for teaching and a commitment to life long learning. We spent a lot of the limited social time we had together discussing our students, our lessons, our methodologies and the Bhutanese system as well sharing our educational insights and our varied and wide ranging experiences in the classroom in an assortment of countries. We are all passionate about what we do and I would like to honour them in this final blog. It is our fervent hope that we remain in contact with such truly inspirational and dedicated people.

Simon was last seen at the Sherig Century Walk on November 11th. At that time, we still had the exams and end of year procedures before us and since then we have all gone our separate ways, but he is an inspiring educator and a champion of the cause of learning.

Tim appeared briefly in Trashigang on November 24th, when we were there for the Tshechu and he was well aware that it would be our last opportunity to socialize together due to the impending exam commitments. In his first teaching position, since qualifying, this year he has really blossomed and shown huge commitment to his students.

First to leave was Jean Daniel (aka JD) our nearest neighbour in Bidung and fellow "classmate" of the 2011 teacher intake.  JD has been a role model to other teachers and a saint in the eyes of his students, having dedicated almost all his non teaching time to engaging them in a huge range of activities. We last saw him on Dec 5th at 4.30am in our home in Rangjung bound for Trashigang and the bus to Thimphu. Bidung will never be the same without him.

We managed to meet up with Ashley for her birthday celebration and last saw her in Trashigang on the big day Dec 10th while we were all still in shock about the procedures necessary to facilitate our departures from our schools. She, like the rest of us, delights in spending most of her free time with her students and they are frequent guests at her home.

First day on the road and a very auspicious day: 12-12-12, we were able to have a final lunch with Scott in Mongar. Becky was travelling with us and we loved that despite leaving late, in keeping with BST, we all literally bumped into each other and returned to a hotel we had all stayed in earlier in the year. Scott has lived on campus and become a tutor in a variety of subjects, a listening ear and friend to many teachers and students, as well as being a guiding light in Maths and Science for the last 2 years.


Since all other BCFers live or more correctly lived, on the western side of Thrumslingla we have had almost no chance to share experiences with them.

That same evening, after a hair-raising ride through snow over the 3,700 metre Thrumsingla pass, in a Bolero with no heater or demister and an inexperienced driver, who seemed to have never driven in those conditions before, we met up with Tara and Martin. En route we had picked up an elderly woman who was scared out of her wits, as were we, but our flip-flop wearing driver got us to Bumthang in the dark and we shared a final dinner together in the warmth of River Lodge with the bukari (Bhutanese potbelly stove) blazing.

Iman and Noorin joined us in Lobesa for the last couple of hours of our 2-day trip. We dropped Becky there and they got in for the run into the capital and we got to share some special time together in Thimphu. Finally saying goodbye on Dec 17th along with so many others.

 Sheal unexpectedly called from the bus to inform us that she would soon arrive in the capital when we were wandering around the Weekend Market and that meant that we managed to share a couple of meals with her before parting on December 17th.

Reidi was the first to check with us about where we were staying in Thimphu long before the journey west began, so as to be able to join us for that final night and she was the last to arrive. We are so glad that she made the effort to get there and wasn't tempted to stop at the many tempting locations between her placement in Autsho and the capital. Yet another dedicated teacher who will be remembered forever in the hearts of her Bhutanese students.  

Becky has been a special friend as she was a close neighbour and we spent time in each other's homes and shared favourite local spots with each other, in the last year. 

She is a well-recognised and well-loved member of the local community. Her students delight in roaming with her and we have benefited from the local knowledge she has acquired on these sorties and often observed the close connection she has with the Phongmey community. In her first ever teaching appointment she has made a huge impact. She too was last sighted in Thimphu on Dec 17th. 

It seemed fitting that BCF Executive Director Nancy kindly dropped us off at the airport in Paro on our final morning in Bhutan. Our last sighting was the very person who made it all possible. 
Thank you Nancy.

Certainly not the final sighting but a memorable moment for us, early on day 2 of the road trip back west.

Goodbye Bhutan! We are certainly going to miss you and remember the incredible experiences, scenery and people forever.