Loving life

It’s been quite a week. Eventful, happy, sad and social. Very social. But that is par for the course in Siem Reap, it’s a very social community if you give it half a chance. Well, you don’t even have to try really, there’s always something going on. I’m loving life.
It started with my birthday. Yes, I’ve notched up another year — but, who’s counting? It was certainly a year to remember and that’s really what matters isn’t it?
And it was a birthday to remember too. I was thrilled with the arrival of two friends, from different corners of the globe, who helped spend a lazy, relaxing afternoon catching up over a few drinks and rocked on with party celebrations into the night. Cheers Philippa and Bruce!
And I was overwhelmed with the many people who joined us for dinner at Two Dragons and for the many, many lovely and unexpected gifts. I can’t begin to tell you how spoilt I was. The best gift was being able to spend the evening with so many wonderful people from all corners of the globe and with such diverse backgrounds and personalities. And the beautiful chocolate birthday cake, organised by the Joker. I told you — totally spoilt.
And I can’t begin to thank Lin, who was managing the restaurant on her own and tuk tuk driver extraordinaire, Marom, for being waiter and barman and all-round funny man.
In other news, “winter” happened this week. Yes, it came and went. Lasted all of three days. Night time temperatures plummeted to a refreshing 14C. Maximums still reached mid to high 20s. I donned long pants and long sleeves for two mornings and needed a light-weight blanket at night. It was a lovely change. So refreshing to not be dripping in sweat, which is an almost permanent state as soon as you leave the front door. Our Khmer friends were suffering though. It might as well have been the Arctic for them. Tuk tuk drivers were rugged up in scarves and thick over coats and I saw a young girl wearing a thick parka. The old guy across the road, who on hot days wears a pair of shorts, no shoes and no shirt, was decked out in long pants, closed-in shoes, a shirt, jacket and a scarf. Apparently it snowed in Vietnam, which must have had something to do with the cold snap. But it left as suddenly as it arrived.
We farewelled dear friends this week. Maggie and Rollo have headed back to Australia and New Zealand to see family, attend weddings and do some road-tripping. This delightful couple, in their late 70s are full of energy, enthusiasm and happiness. They are embracing life and all it brings and they have been doing some wonderful volunteer work, introducing music programs to very poor schools. We will miss their wit and warmth and we wish them well until they return to Siem Reap mid-year, all geared up for another round of school and music.
We finally caught up with our newish neighbours and went out for dinner on Monday night. They’re Brits, here for a six-month stint and after weeks of waving from our balcony and quick chats when we cross paths in the street we managed to organise a night out. We tried a sky bar overlooking the river, which serves delicious and well-priced Khmer food. Then we headed down to Brothers for some cocktails — $1.50 mudslides definitely went down well. Perhaps a little too well. It was about midnight by the time we got home.
We skipped Aussie day celebrations on Tuesday night, despite Charlie’s Bar going to the effort of bringing in sand to line the sidewalk, as well as live music, Aussie flags and burgers with beetroot, and opted for an Indian meal next door — for our weekly foodie meet-up.
Day times have been just as busy. I was invited out to an organic farm, about 15 or 20 kilometres north-east of town on Wednesday. Was great to have a look at all the things they’ve got in place from the insect control to the worm farm. Apparently the insects are attracted to yellow and blue. Who knew?


The last few afternoons have been fun-filled, documenting kids from a local NGO as they create puppets for the Giant Puppet Parade next week. Their creations are amazing and colourful and I can’t wait to see the giant caterpillar come to life on the streets. Bamboo is used to make the frames of the puppets and they are covered with tissue paper and cellophane and adorned with all kinds of colourful decoration. It’s a wonderful project.

I’m going to leave you as I head off to a local spa for the afternoon to enjoy a mango scrub and a massage — my birthday present from the Joker. Happy days. Definitely loving life. Hope your day/weekend is equally as enjoyable.