For the week after New Years, I joined my friends for two nights in Bangkok and four nights in Siam Reap. They has been in Vietnam prior, and continued onto Phuket. I probably couldn’t have articulated why I wanted to go to Cambodia, but I am glad I did. It has a very laid back feel to it, and feels still a little unspoilt. There’s countless hotels, of the 4-5 story size, with strong European influences. January is the dry season, but being South East Asia, it was humid and hot. It always is!
Cambodian’s seem to be very capable basket weavers, and I think they were used somewhat for fishing, not just as a decorative food serving device. This tree was at the airportDoes this not look like bliss? The bikes were used, but the pedal taxi was merely decorativeDespite it’s name, it was incredibly tame compared to similar streets in Bali, Phuket or similar.A remork is the Cambodian’s answer to a tuktuk. Usually a scooter with four seats, though the rear facing back rest could fold down and then your suitcases or other transportable items could fitA canoe idling at the rear entrance to Angkor Wat. I think these are traditional, as I saw one in the man made lake at the resort tooApproaching Angkor Wat from behindThis etching demonstrates how work on Angkor stopped when a king died. So there’s lighter etchings in the top areas, compared to around where his hand is.Angkor Wat from the front – the light is all wrong, so I am thankful we started by seeing it from the behindTo the left is the very common etched pillars, which to an electrical engineer like me, looked like insulators we use on poles! We saw glossy stylised versions at the airport – what a great room dividerThe brighter/lighter head has been replaces or restored. These figures were also repeatedly etched on the walls in Angkor WatThe concubines… which is Cambodian is a word that includes ‘sara’ so it sounds like I’m partially a concubine?Side profile of one of the smiling buddha’s at the second temple we visited – it had 49 pillars, all with a face etached on the four sidesLotus flowers were everywhere, with the petals folded in various ways. They seem to be the national flowerWhen the humidity was too much, or after a work out 🙂Inside Ta Prom – a temple overtaking by treesThe silvery trunks of trees growingNature always winsIt’s hard to know if the rubble was a result of nature, or humans
Cambodia had always been on my bucket list, as I’d been to it’s neighbours: Thailand, Laos, Vietnam. The bulk of the holiday was relaxing and eating and drinking, we saw all three temples in one day, and that was just enough for us 🙂
My original post from 2013 has seen me really work through getting the things I want to do, DONE! So I’ve also updated my ‘completed Bucket list post‘ So I have decided to republish and deleted some things that no longer seemed like things I wanted to do or buy or achieve.
I ended up with eight big things, 22 travel related things, and 11 ‘experiences’ – 41 in total. It’s a shorter list than I expected if I’m honest – perhaps I need to find more things to add.
And I did – I updated this post to add another 22 items, a few of which I just did on my recent trip to Europe. As always, I’d welcome suggestions!
The BIG stuff (8)
Live in NYC Get married (before the children) *Have children (thinking 3) *rethought this, as at 2020 A home with a passionfruit vine, a frangipani tree, a magnolia grandiflora… and a vegie patch. Pay off my mortgage (currently about $250k $40k to go) Fully fund my retirement Write my will 2020 *Prepay and plan my funeral – had the appointment, was discouraged from putting down $, ended up working in the industry in 2019
Travel (22)
Visit every continent (Completed: Australia, Asia, Europe, Middle East – need South America & Antarctica)
countries (8 6 4)
Visit Cambodia – Jan 2018 Visit The Maldives – Dec 2018 Was going to be family trip, but we changed to Sri Lanka Visit Mauritius Visit Croatia – 2019 Visit Iceland – 2017 – 8 posts! Visit Sweden Visit Norway – does a day trip from Copenhagen count (2018)? Visit Finland
2018 update: I’m not sure what appealed about Sweden and Norway, both have been sidelined, and I made my way to Copenhagen!
travel experiences (19 15 13) 1. Go to Carnival in Rio de Janeiro (could do it with the bro in 2014, but alas, I realise I don’t love crowds and big parties, so maybe another time) 2. See Machu Picchu (to think my brother just did this Jan 2014!)
8. Go to the super bowl (early Feb) 9. Go to Burning Man, Black Rock desert, Nevada USA (late Aug/early Sept) 10. Go to (the original) Mardi Gras | New Orleans (mid Feb) 11. Spend Christmas or Thanksgiving | US 12. Fly FIRST class – maybe Emirates where I can shower?
So quaint – this one no longer exists, but… aww via
4. Swim with dolphins in NATURE (not in Dubai…:s) – Jan 2021 5. Go to a silent retreat – 2018 (a singular day) 6. Get body painted for an event 7. Go caving – 2017 and second time in Iceland 8. Be part of a flash mob (thanks Moonwave for the tip!) 9. Build a bonfire and make S’mores – 2018 10. Try kite surfing 11. Try a pottery wheel – 2018 12. Attend a masquerade ball
13.Pick fruit from a tree & make a pie – 2018 14. Stomp grapes 15. Start a fire without matches 16. Use a paddle to bid at an auction 17. Waterski – barefoot and normally! 18. Go snowshoeing 19. Mud wrestle 20. Take a SoulCycle Class 21. Dune surfing 22. Ride a unicycle 23. Toboggan – likely with the Northern Lights 24. Sleep in a Capsule Hotel – 2017
