Home of the Carrick Family Website
Sunday, March 1st, 2009
Rod Stewart was AWESOME! We had a great time - along with every expat in Singapore! He performed a great mixture of standards and hits - all of them well known by the audience, who sang along very enthusiastically for over two hours. His 21-year-old daughter also performed a few songs. He admitted himself that he was very unsure of what type of audience he would have and how well he would be received in Singapore. He was very pleasantly surprised! Of course, throughout the show he kicked soccer balls into the crowd - something he typically does at his concerts. Maxine was home alone while we were there so we texted her to see if she was okay. Rory told her we were having fun and that I was embarrasing him! Her reply was "BAHAHAHAHAHA Wow! I'm glad I'm not there. HaHa ROD STEWART. omg!" Typical teenager! They're definitely getting too wise for us! Yesterday we went to the South African store and bought some goodies. We got some Ultramel and on the way home Sydney was asking what it was. Rory told her it was an alcoholic drink so she wouldn't want any (it's actually yummy custard, for those who don't know) She immediately snapped back, "hmmmm riiiiight - and that's why there's a picture of High School Musical on the box!" It was just so funny the way she caught us out - way too quick for us!
We went to get our shots on Friday morning. I got two and everyone else only had one :(
Maxine is officially 5'-4½" tall. Taller than me by two inches! And Sydney is gaining on me fast! Maxine was whining for new clothes again the other day - I understand why now. She gave Sydney all her jeans, which fit Syd perfectly! Syd's smiling! I see tedious clothes shopping for teenagers in my future! Uuugh!
Monday, March 2nd, 2009
Yikes! Chinese lessons are getting a bit scarry! We really practised this weekend but it didn't show much! And we're moving right along, forming more sentences. As far as I can see there is absolutely no logic to joining sounds or words! For instance, when you say "dui" on it's own, it means "yes", when you say "dui bu qi" it means, "sorry" or "excuse me" - not a "yes" to be found anywhere! Uuugh!
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
We had Chinese lessons again this morning. Today was a better day. We revised a whole lot of what we'd already done, and went over some new stuff, but I didn't feel overwhelmed like we did on Monday. Our tutor seemed to be in a better mood too! We'll be taking a break next week while Rory is in China. I MUST keep going over my vocab and sounds otherwise I'll be starting from scratch again in two weeks! I'm actually quite surprised with how much we've learned already. I'm finding the character writing very interesting, more so than the speaking. I suppose if Rory learns to speak Chinese and I learn to read/write it, we could actually get somewhere! The kids still think it's so funny to see us diligently studying away in the evenings. Of course, they could be studying with us, but that would be asking waaay too much!!
Friday, March 6th, 2009
Yesterday I went on a tour to Toa Payoh, a district within Singapore. It's going through somewhat of a revivial - updating older buildings, or rebuilding them from scratch, adding more HBD flats for the growing population. Although it wasn't the most exciting tour, we did get to see how the public housing department works here. Usually when you think of public housing, you might picture rows and rows of flats, not the best part of town, high crime rate, etc, etc. Not here! Although some of the flat are old, built in the '60's and 70's they are the ones now being updated. In the new E-homes that are being built right now, occupants are able to turn on lights, ovens, A/C units, etc. from their computer or cellphone at their office or on their way home! So you could get home to a nicely cooled apartment, with supper ready to serve and coffee waiting for you!
In order to qualify for the government subsidized public housing you have to be a married couple, your joined salary must fall within a certain bracket, and one person must be a Singaporean citizen. The joke here is that a marriage proposal consists of the man asking the woman not to marry him, but to get a HBD flat together! It's a very big thing here to be able to qualify, afford, and actually get a flat. Sometimes the wait list for the more sought after flats can be 6 years long! The one really nice thing about the flats is that they are built in hub form. Generally, is the same building, on the ground-floor, or very close-by there will be a shopping center housing everything from a grocery store, bank, clinic, nail salon - anything and everything you would need.
The other nice thing was the older, Granny-flats. They are much smaller studio-like apartments, consisting of an open area for living and sleeping, a bathroom and a small kitchenette. They're built with wider door-ways to allow for wheel-chairs, and there's an on-site monitoring system whereby emergency cords are placed throughout the apartment. If the occupant is in trouble they just need to be able to pull on one of these cords and a light shows in the monitoring center where someone will come and check on them or call an ambulance. Door knobs, light switches, cabinet pulls have all been carefully selected for people perhaps battling arthritis. Instead of having a central corridor with doors off either side, like a hotel. The buildings have been designed with open corridors on the outside so people aren't walking down dark corridors, and crime is kept to a minimum since everyone can see what's happening on the outside corridor. It's all been very, very carefully thought out. I think most of the ladies on the tour were quite taken aback!
Our first stop on our tour was actually to Siong Lim Temple , which literally translates into the Twin Grove of the Lotus Mountain Temple. We've driven by it often as it backs up to the highway, but have never gone in to see - it's very impressive even from what you can see over the walls from the highway! I think it consist of something like 21 different buildings or structures! All the building materials and the craftsmen were brought from China. The temple also has a seven storey gold-topped pagoda! It has a rich history, too much detail to go into here, but if your interested, check out this link.
Sunday, March 8th, 2009
Phew! What a weekend! It doesn't seem like we did much but we just didn't stop! On Friday night Sydney had three friends sleep over to celebrate the completion of their big exhibition project. So, on Saturday morning, we shipped them all off to their soccer tournament at 10am, and helped Maxine get her project done! Afterwards, we went for a wander around Chinatown. I wanted to get some nice Chinese paint brushes but after seeing how much they wanted for them
(S$45 upwards) I figured I'd wait till we get to China! Makes sense I suppose! We went out to dinner at the local plaza, for some Nasi Goreng, at the restaurant with the mean Chinese lady. She shouts at you if you don't finish you food, then offers it around the table to see if anyone else will finish it! She's quite a character! We made it out alive!
At 5am this morning Rory left for China. He gets back next Saturday morning, after taking the train to Shanghai and flying out from there, as Singapore Airlines have cancelled their direct flight on Fridays from Nanjing. Maxine has outgrown all her clothes - Sydney is now wearing her jeans! So this afternoon we went shopping - it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. We started off at Mustafa's, in Little India. It's about as close to a Target / Walmart as you can get in Singapore. It's mostly Indian items but they also carry a fair selection of "regular" clothing, shoes and toiletries. From there we took a taxi to Suntec City, where we didn't find anything. I hate that center - I always get lost! Luckily we didn't have to find out way back to the car! We then took another taxi to Far East Plaza where Sydney found some shirts and Maxine got 3 pairs of bermuda-length shorts. After an early supper at Carls Jr - yummy - we were ready to come home!
We've now got a huge dry-erase board on our study wall - de ja vu!!!! It's got a loooong list of all the things we need to do before we move to China. We've managed to cross off 2 of 33 items so far! We'll be able to take care of a lot more once we give notice on the house in April.
Tomorrow I've got the movers coming to see what we've got to move to China. Seeing that we reaaally squeezed all our stuff into a lift-van when we came here, and we've bought a bunch of stuff here, I'm thinking we're going to need a 20-foot container. But, they still need to come out and take a look. Bleeeuugh! Just means I have to tidy and clean before they get here at 8:30 - nothing like housework to start the week!
Monday, March 9th, 2009
The representative from the moving company just came to check what we have to move to China. Scottish guy - very unexpected! We have to give an itemized insurance list for replacement value in Chinese Yuan! I asked him the hell I was supposed to know that! He's going to try to find some info. for me, but since Rory's in China I asked him to gather as many brochures, pamphlets and newspaper ad's as he can so we can sit and fathom out the prices, with our limited knowledge of Chinese characters! I suppose it's good practise! No alcohol allowed in the shipment - gosh darn it - I'll just have to finish that bottle of tequila and the Baileys and the Amarula cream!
Maxine has offered to take orders for my bracelets and necklaces for Mothers Day! So, she's going off to school tomorrow with an order form and some samples! I figured I'd give her any profit I make since she's the one actually selling them. As long as I cover my costs I'm happy. Mothers Day in the UK is on March 22nd, so if I hurry I could get a few orders in for some to be sent overseas in time.
Tuesday, March 10th, 2009
Rory called this afternoon to say that he's found two houses that he likes, and that he thought I would like. One is PINK! But the inside isn't - phew! It has a lake view but it's patio is on the front of the house, so not ideal. The other house is brick, with nice big rooms, nice back yard. We've just got to see if the landlord will be willing to put in a higher fence for the dogs. It would help so much if we could organize that now, and then when Rory and I go in April we just have to get the furniture. It's going to be tough with only two days to furnish a house! I imagining it's going to feel like I'm on one of those decorating shows! Just no silk flowers or astro-turf hot-glued to the bathroom walls please!!!
Wednesday, March 11th, 2009
Had kind of a down day today. I haven't been sleeping well the last few nights - either can't get to sleep, or wake up at 3am and end up reading for a couple of hours before falling back to sleep, what feels like 10 minutes before the alarm goes off! Uuugh! I bought some ginger-lemon tea today. Nowhere near as good as the "real thing" from the hawkers stalls - not enough ginger. They boil ginger slices in water, with honey, on the stove for 5-10 minutes then pour that over the tea leaves so that it's nice and strong. I suppose I could boil some up and put it in the fridge and just zap it in the microwave when I feel like some.
I did get some earrings made - very quick pattern - dark brown faux-pearls and green crystals. Speaking of green, our pool looks like pea soup! I think it's all the storms and rain we've been having. I'll have to call the pool company tomorrow - they should have come today but I haven't seen anyone yet. The kids were very embarrassed when they got off the school bus - all the kids can look out over our 4-foot fence as it pulls right up to the front gate! Looks like another storm is on it's way too - dak grey clouds all over - should get here sooner or later, depending on which way around the island it circles!
Thursday, March 12th, 2009
I learned how to make a beaded cabochon today! I'm so excited to get it finished and embellished. We all worked on the same type stone and same colors of beads, just in different configurations, so it will be very interesting to see how different, or similiar, each one looks when we're all done. I'm really going to miss my group when I move. Although, we've already spoken about meeting up in Shanghai to go pearl shopping!
When I got home from beading group I realized that I didn't have a gate opener! Luckily it was about 3pm and the kids were due home at 3:20. Still, I had to wait outside, melting away, as my car alarm wouldn't work and open the doors! I can't get into it either to see why it's not transmitting - battery? The light flashes though. Oh well, thank heavens Sydney can climb over the gate, and that there wasn't a torrential rainstorm like there usually is at that time!
Rory seems to be having a good China trip. He'll be looking at the houses again tomorrow morning. Just double-checking rooms, finishes and yards. He's been getting lots of information and tips from all the expats he'll be working with, who have been there a while already.
He had a collision with a bicyclist yesterday! He opened his taxi door when he reached the hotel and didn't see the bike coming from behind. Like I've mentioned previously, the traffic is horrendous and they come at you from all angles! Anyway, he flew over the handlebars and the door, damaging the door so that it wouldn't close properly. Eventually after much arm waving by everyone and Rory flashing some $$, all seemed to be happy to go on their way! I'm sure it's not the last time it'll happen!
I'm really missing my garden in Coppell. All we have in our "garden" here is two huge palm trees! One of my orchids has flowered once. The bourgainvillas try to flower but I don't seem to be doing the right thing. Oh well, perhaps China will offer more variety.
Friday, March 13th, 2009
For a Friday 13th, today was a reasonably good day, if you discount the unbearably hot and humid weather! This morning I went on a tour with the AWA (I remembered my gate opener this time!). We walked through Emerald Hill, a cobbled-road historic area just 50 yards off Orchard Road in the downtown shopping district. It consists of rows of terrace houses and shophouses, many of which are still in remarkably good architectural condition, displaying many of their original Peranakan features, such as the stylized bat-shaped windows. Bats are a good thing in the Chinese culture. Many people unknowingly think the windows are butterflies, since the houses are always so delicately and beautifully decorated, but no, they're bats! The Peranakan people are a magnificent blend of Chinese and Malay cultures. Chinese workers would migrate down through Malaysia, marry a local Malay girl, and possibly move on to Singapore. In fact, although many of the Peranakan influences are Chinese, Peranakan's can only be found in Singapore and Malaysia today.
The difference between a shophouse and a terrace house is simply that a shophouse was built to house a shop on the lower floor. The terrace house was purely residential. I think I have written about the shophouses before, but I'll do it again - I really love them, and will miss seeing them so much. Basically they're built in row form, usually about the same width. The width being restricted by the length of joists and beams they could carry on the ships. Also, they were taxed on the width of their houses, so they are literally one room wide by sometimes five rooms deep, and up to four stories high. There was always a well in the front and one in back, for the kitchen. The center of the home was a tall, open courtyard area, where sometimes a pond or other water-feature would be found. The "jack-style" roof let out the hot air, allowing circulation and cooling of the house, and letting in light without letting in the rain. There were no glazed windows, only shuttered windows. Here they are known as Venetian shutters, since that is where they were brought from. Since then, the influence has been carried to Malaysia and other Asian countries where they are now known as Singapore shutters. Once again, these would allow for air circulation while keeping out the rain. Malays did much of the wood carving on the doors, window screens, decorative corbels, and any interior carvings too. The roof tiles, amazingly, were made from clay by Chinese women. Being tiny in stature, they would wrap the clay around their thighs, forming the concave shape of the tile. Since the shape of their legs allowed for a shallow curve in the length of the tile, this stopped the roof tiles from falling off and meant that only the bottom tile had to be cemented into place and the others simply lay neatly in place on top of each other. You can tell which are Spanish tiles - they're bigger - more robust legs!!! Many of the houses have different styles of European tiles decorating the facade or floor. Many of the floor tiles are 1½-inches thick, with the color patterns running all the way through, so I would imagine they'll last for many, many years!
An interesting bit of information about the shophouses was that they used to have a little 6-inch square hole above the front door. This would allow you to see anyone standing at the door, without having to actually come down the stairs to see. Also, when the hawkers, who at that time were illegal, came scampering down the street selling their chicken rice and dumplings, they would want to see money first before cooking the food. So they would lower their money down through the hole and about 5 minutes later the hawker would place the small tub of food on the rope and they would pull their meal back up! Apparently the hole also worked well for throwing cups of water onto unwanted solicitors! The front door would have a solid door, as well as a saloon-type half-door. This "door" would be intricately carved and decorated with latticework. In each panel would be a bat-shaped window. All of these windows were about 4-feet off the ground - the average height of the tiny Chinese women! They wouldn't be allowed to go outside, but could only peek through the windows. Spiral staircases run up the back of many of the houses which were built as fire escapes as well as for the servants to use. While Raffles made it law for these outside staircases to be built, they also held a touch of romance, as they were known as the "Lovers Getaway"!
The Emerald Hill area, which is north of Orchard Road, was originally a Scottish area, whereas, south of Orchard was Irish. In 1837, William Cuppage, and Irishman, bought the land and named it Emerald Hill, harking back to his native land, the Emerald Isle. He started a nutmeg plantation which failed in the 1860's because of disease. The land was left to his son-in-law upon his death, and from 1890 through to 1925 the land was subdivided and parceled out, eventually becoming the Emerald Hill as we see it today, for the most part.
Many of the houses have been renovated and customized according to the owners taste and sometimes religion. This is usually more evident on the inside. Some have been turned into restaurants and pubs. But, the historical society has said that although they can gut the inside if they want, owners must leave the facade in it's original state. So, besides the numerous different paint colors found on all the different houses, they still all have their original carvings, doors, shutters, and tiles.
We also got to visit an old Peranakan house just a little further down the road. Over the years it became a place where Chinese could and would leave their unwanted girl babies - only boys were wanted, in order to carry on the family name. The Chinese theory was also that girls cost too much to feed, house and educate, and then they left to go with a husband! Sadly, one of the old ladies passed away yesterday. She was one of the babies that were left on the doorstep over 90 years ago! Although her wake was being held today, we were welcomed into the home. They believe the more people that attend the wake, the quicker their spirit will make the obligatory tour through hell, and then travel back up to heaven. So our group of 18 were very welcome! We didn't actually intrude on the wake, but kept to the one side of the building and the kitchen, where we got to see some original old rice chests, meat chests, and the old wood-burning oven with the huge wok on top. This was our last stop, and just as well since by this time it was pouring rain and we'd been walking for a good 4½ hours!
It was a wonderful tour, as is any tour that Geraldene Lowe leads. She is truly an amazing woman, who must be in her late seventies or even eighties, speaks 6 languages, and has more knowledge than I could ever even hope to have! If you ever hear of anyone coming to Singapore be sure to mention Geraldene's name and send her an e-mail to see what tours she's got running. She does a different one almost daily!
Sunday, March 15th, 2009
One week to go! This time next week we'll be in Cambodia! I never thought I'd ever be able to say that!!! Cambodia!
Rory got home safely from China, after a long trip home. We spent most of the weekend planning what to do with the house that we've decided on in China. From the photo's it looks great. Just a few things that need working on - grout in the bathroom, painting inside - which they usually do anyway, closets, fence for the dogs. It didn't take me too long to remember all my AutoCad skills, drawing up the floor plan of the house. Rory's emailed the agent so we hope to hear some good news tomorrow.
Chinese lessons tomorrow morning - yikes! I'm NOT ready! We've got a busy week ahead - Maxine has a basketball game tomorrow afternoon, and photography field trip tomorrow night. Tuesday she has basketball practise, and I have Bunco :), Wednesday we have our Chinese lessons for two hours, then we have our relatives, whom we've never met, coming from England to visit with us. We'll be spending the day with them taking them to places they haven't yet seen. I'll be rushing back at 4pm for Maxine's photography lesson! Then on Thursday I'm hosting scrapbooking. On Friday morning a few ladies from my beading group have our first flower arranging class. Saturday, Maxine has basketball play-offs and Sunday we leave for Cambodia! Somewhere in there I need to do laundry and pack for vacation!
Sydney went to her friends yesterday and they all went shopping at VivoCity Mall. They all decided to have pedicures - the one where the fish nibble on your toes!!!! It's sooooo gross, but they all though it would be fun and seemed to enjoy it! They put their feet in the water and hundreds of tiny feet swarm to your feet, chowing down on all the disgusting dry skin! It's not painful at all, just ticklish. Sydney was the only one who stuck it out. Alex wouldn't do it and Savannah managed less than a minute.You can see numerous people's videos of it on YouTube.
Monday, March 16th, 2009
My desk is back to looking like it normally did - paint chip, swatches and furniture pictures everywhere!
We did our Chinese lesson and it went quite well! Every lesson we get about 20 new words and symbols to learn! I'm going to have to step up my revision to keep up!
Not much happening today. We've decided to go ahead and sell my car now. I can get around, probably easier, in a taxi anyway. I just takes the stress off trying to sell it under pressure closer to the time. So, I'm having a home day today - doing laundry and the likes. Although it dark and cloudy outside - I don't think it's going to be drying very well today.
Hopefully I'll have more interesting news as the week passes by.
Tuesday, March 16, 2009
I waited the whole day yesterday for the car rep. to come and he didn't show! He called late in the afternoon to ask if he could come at noon today - uuuuuh, NOOOOO! I fhe wasn't buying my car I'd have been a whole lot more peeved with him!
While I was researching Siem Reap restaurants online today I came across an interesting option! It seems that at Happy Herbs you can get some choice "happiness herbs" sprinkled on your pizza! Unless you want to zone out for a couple of days you have to ask for "tik-tik" which means "a little". If you're there for breakfast you can get a freshly "brewed" cuppa too!!!
Friday, March 20th, 2009
What a hectic week!
Maxine won her basketball games and made it to the play-offs tomorrow. On Tuesday we had a massive storm, and the lightning conductor of the condo's next door got struck, setting off their alarm, and ours as well!! I've never used the alarm before so I had no idea what the code was, or how to disable it. Eventually we found a number for the alarm company and the guy came out and disconnected it - almost an hour later! Then, as if that wasn't enough, later in the day I go to get in my car and the battery is totally dead! Can't even open the car with the remote. So, someone had to come out for that! Then I had bunco on Tuesday evening, which was a lot of fun, and a great stress relief! On Wednesday we took Nigel and Margaret, family on Rory's side visiting from England, to Chinatown, and then out to supper at Clark Quay. We had a really nice time at a restaurant that was in an old ship, on the water, so we had a lovely cooling breeze. A relief since it was a stinker of a day! The next morning, on Thursday, I had 8 people over for scrapbooking, from 10am till 3pm. Maxine won her basketball game again. Sydney and the rest ofher group were chosen to take their exhibit to a hotel downtown as a island-wide ehibition of work from IB program school within Singapore. I think they were more inpressed with the buffet lunch and puddings!
And, today I joined my "beading buddies" for our first flower arranging class! We had so much fun, and learned soo much! Simply little things, that mean life or death to your flowers!! We made a nice little round centerpiece of red roses and hypericum berries. Our next lesson is in two week since a lot couldn't make it next week with the kids being on spring break.
Tomorrow, Maxine has play-offs, we have to take the dogs to the kennels, stock up the hamster with plenty of food and water, and pack our suitcases! We leave for Cambodia on Sunday morning - Yippeeeee! I CAAAAAAN'T WAAAAIIIIIIIIT !!!!
Saturday, March 21st, 2009
Phew! We're almost packed, just got a few things on the washing line trying to dry. Still got the dogs to take to the kennels. We went to Mustafas at 10:30 last night (they're open 24-hours) to buy new swimming goggles and a backpack for hauling water bottles, etc. around with us. Of course, while we were there we had to shop around a little and came back with a few bits and pieces more than we intended!
Maxine's team won bronze medals in their basketball tournament this morning. They played really well today. She's on the sofa now having a snooze before she goes out with her friends this afternoon. Sydney is battling to keep her eyes open after spending the night at her friends house. They'll both feel it tomorrow morning when we have to wake up at 3am to get to the airport!
Rory's gone to the money exchanger to get some US dollar bills - seems that's what's used in Cambodia.
Our Cambodian vacation started somewhat bright, and early - 4am to be exact! Not sure what I was thinking by booking a 6am flight! While we were checking in we realized that Maxine and Sydney were dressed very patriotically - Maxine had on a red and white striped shirt and Sydney a white hoodie with blue stars! They looked like a walking American flag! After checking in we had some much needed coffee and muffins for breakfast and both girls made use of the free foot massage machines! Such divas!
We arrived in Siem Reap around 9am and luckily our rooms were ready so we literally dumped our luggage and headed out the door to begin our tour of the temples! I had booked a van and tour guide through the hotel, so we didn't have to worry about transport for the next three days. Our tour guide, Hay (pronounced Haai) was very good at giving us snippets of interesting information, as well as history about Cambodia in general, and the specific temples.
The entire Angkor region is a protected area so no new concrete type buildings are allowed to be built within the region. Many monkeys, deer and snakes can still be found in the area, although we saw no snakes! Phew! Our first stop was Angkor Thom. It is surrounded by a 100m wide moat and 8m high walls representing the crossing of the ocean and the mountains. Within the Angkor Thom walled area there are many temples, including The Bayon, Baphuon and Phimeanakas, as well as the Elephant Terrace.
The size and scope of the temples is awe inspiring. It's amazing that the detail of the stone carving is still so clear after 900 hundred years. The foundations of the temples were often built from laterite a type of volcanic rock, not suitable for carving but strong enough to forma stable foundation. We entered through the south gate, one of five gates. The east gate, known as the Ghost Gate, was used only for funerals.
Although it wasn't as humid as Singapore, it was still incredibly hot so after the first temple we decided to go back to the hotel to have a break and a swim for a few hours and then head out again at 3 O'clock for another wander through the ruins or Angkor Wat. It turns out that this is what most people seem to do - including the locals who can be seen relaxing in their hammocks everywhere!
Angkor Wat is an extraordinarily beautiful sight, with it's majestic lotus-bud-shaped towers and expansive 3½ mile long moat. Built as a Hindu temple and dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu, it is covered in bas-relief carvings of numerous Hindu myths. Around 1200 A.D. Angkor Wat became a Buddhist temple and many of its references to the Hindu faith were removed.
After freshening up at the hotel we took a tuk-tuk to a buffet restaurant not far from our hotel. The food was interesting but we were reluctant to try everything, it being our first night there - we didn't want to spend the rest of the vacation with food poisoning! There was also an Apsara Dance show but by 8:30 we were all fading fast - Sydney was asleep at the table! We headed back for an early night, knowing that we'd need to be feeling refreshed and ready to go the next morning.
Monday, March 23rd
Despite our intentions of enjoying a relaxing morning, we were woken by fellow tourists heading out for the early sunrise. We'd had our revenge the next morning!
After breakfast we set off for Prasat Bayon Temple. It was only 8 O'clock but we were already sweltering! Although it's the youngest temple in the complex, it's far more weathered than many of the older ones. It seems that the temple was built by an aging king. Wanting to see its completion before his death, he used smaller stones, perhaps not of the best quality, and poorer workmanship. The temple consist of 54 towers, each with four faces facing each direction. The height and size of the tower are relative to the size of the state which it represented.
By eleven we were ready for another midday break and stopped for lunch at Rumduol Restaurant, opposite the temples. Rory had Chicken Curry and I had Fish Amok. It was one of the tastiest, most delicious meals we've ever had - seriously! For Fish Amok, white fish is cooked in coconut milk and other khmer spices and then served in a green coconut. We had lots of fun playing with the little black and white kitten that was scampering around the place, trying to catch the ties on my backpack. After a swim back at the hotel we walked across the street for some yummy milkshakes. Later that afternoon we went to the temple, Ta Prohm, featured in the Tomb Raider movie. Much of the temple has been taken over by huge trees extending their roots through the walls into the ground making it a very photogenic site. Somewhere during our walkabout though the maze of small rooms and walkways we managed to lose the kids! I stayed put while Rory and Hay went off to find them. Of course there was a heated discussion over who lost whom!
The Tonle Sap is a huge lake in the center of Cambodia. In the rainy months you can take a cruise from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh. It expands to three times it's size! We went on a boat trip to see the floating village at sunset- it was no cruise! Sunset is around 5:30pm. We chugged along past all sorts of floating "buildings" from shacks teetering precariously on wooden stilts, to entire schools, with basketball courts, floating! We even saw some pigs in a pen - all floating on a wooden raft! We stopped at a floating restaurant to have a drink while we waited for the sun to set. There were some very cute little dogs running around which the kids had lots of fun playing with. There was also a pool filled with fish that you could send into a feeding frenzy by throwing in some mashed up food. There was also a large area filled with crocodiles! After much persuasion one of the other tourists managed to get the owner to feed a fish to the crocodiles. It took a while for his son to catch a fish, but when he did, it was huge! He tied the poor thing to a rope on a long pole and lowered it into the crocodile pit. They immediately surrounded the fish, and started snapping at it. I stayed well away! Maxine fell in love with a cute little Cambodian girl who followed her around, wanting to be picked up. After sunset we went to Pub Street for supper, to a fantastic restaurant called The Soup Dragon. We had a mixture of local and western food, while sitting on the patio watching the world go by. It was a great evening. Rory and I tried to finish a pitcher of beer but couldn't quite do it - the crème caramel didn't help!
Tuesday, March 24th
Up very early this morning - 4:30am - to watch the sunrise over Anchor Watt. We had a new tour guide today - Kerry - since Hay was proposing to his girlfriend today! Kerry was a lot more chatty than Hay! We learned a lot from her about the country, just from what she told us about her family.
It was quite funny to see all the photographers taking pictures of the sunrise - most of them Korean tourists! Kerry told us that we had arrived on, and visited the temples on a very auspicious day - the spring equinox. She was very informative - she's at college studying tourism. One of nine children, her brother was killed in a road accident last year, shortly after completing college. She was telling us that in order to become a tour guide you have to complete high school, be proficient in English, and do a 3-month training course. Her parents were having to sell their rural home because they had loaned the money to send her brother to college. As she was currently doing, her brother would have sent home his income to repay his parents. But, since his death they've had no income and now have to sell their home in order to repay their loan. As if that was not bad enough to hear, it was amazing to us that the cost of college for one year was only US$600!!!! We almost wanted to whip out our check books and write a check for her right there! Their theory is that if they study tourism and can get people to come visit Cambodia they can get word out and hopefully get more financial aid for their country.
Although you cannot not feel some sadness for the people of Cambodia, I felt more of a feeling of urgency. You desperately want to help them, help themselves. They're a very proud people, but desperately poor, with over 45% of the nation living below the poverty level. When you see programs on TV telling you that for just pennies a day you can feed a family - it's no joke - you can! So little goes such a long way in Cambodia. It really makes you think about how self-indulgent and wasteful we are when you see children running around the streets wearing nothing but a pair of underwear, bathing in algae-ridden rivers, and living with their entire family in a wooden shack smaller than most guest bathrooms!
Banteay Srey Temple is a beautiful temple built in the late 10th century from pink sandstone. The carvings were so plentiful - covering every square inch of surface, and incredibly delicate and intricate - so much more so than the other temples.
Outside all the temples dozens of little children will try to sell you anything from woven bracelets, to books and silk scarves, calling out "one dolla, one dolla". They're very wise in that they remember exactly what you look like and will weed out your name from someone else in your party so that when you come our of the temple they call you by name, shouting "Miss Sarah, Miss Sarah, please buy some bracelets from me, only one dolla for five"…..they're so adorable though that you just want to buy something from them anyway!
On the way back from the temple we stopped in at a stall selling "fudge" made from Sugar Palm. They tap the syrup from the tree, boil it down till it forms a thick paste and then let it dry, forming the "fudge" drops - about the size of a quarter. Soooo delicious! They package them in rolls, wrapped in leaves. We all tried some and ended up buying 6 rolls of the stuff ($1 for 3 rolls) and then they threw in one for free!!!! I think it was because we played with the cute puppy dog and the kids!
Everyone gets around on bicycles or motorbikes. One of the funniest things we saw on a motorbike, but unfortunately didn't manage to get a picture of, was two pigs, laid out on their backs, tied to a plank of wood on the back of the bike. No guessing where they were headed!!!
Kerry also stopped at a stall selling cashew nuts. Rory and Maxine tasted the fruit of the nut, which had a strange texture, resembling that of an uncooked eggplant. Dipped in salt, it had a very sharp taste too!
At the Silk Farm we got to see silk worms through the entire process, including the weaving of the silk into scarves! It was very interesting to see how the silk was spun off the cocoons, into a single thread, which was then dyed with naturals dyes from bark or fruit, and woven into various patterns. We had lunch at the Butterfly Garden, a delightful little restaurant in a garden setting with dozens of butterflies flittering around.
In Siem Reap, the Artisans D'Angkor is a workshop where craftsmen are taught how to make carvings, paint on silk, etc. We walked through the different workshops watching the various craftsmen and women at work.
That afternoon we took a tuk-tuk to the Old Market, where hawkers sell silk scarves, stone carvings, silver and various jewelry, along with pirated DVD's and CD's.
After a long day we decided to spend the rest of the evening at the pool and have some simple pool-side snacks for supper. It was an awesome day!
Wednesday, March 25th
Today we traveled down to Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. We decided not to fly but drive so we could stop off when we wanted, and also see some of the countryside. It was a long, but interesting trip. We passed a wedding celebration in progress, as well as many stalls en-route selling gasoline in plastic or glass bottles.
We passed many water buffalo wading in the rice paddies and roadside puddles. Our driver took a detour to a stone bridge, Spean Brab Tes, that is older than Angkor Watt - over 1000 years old! We passed roadside stalls were selling bananas stacked 10 feet high, dried fish hanging on sticks, and numerous other unknown local delicacies!
Although Phnom Penh is the capital city, it seemed to be a much poorer city, catering less to tourists. After checking into our hotel we visited the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda, named such because of the floor-tiles made from solid silver, weighing over 2½ pounds each Later we took a tuk-tuk to the Russian Market to check out al the wares. We figured we'd try a Tex-Mex restaurant for supper. It wasn't that good, although we had to remind ourselves we were in Cambodia after all!
Thursday, March 26th
We didn't stay long in Phnom Penh, and we're back in the van today driving down to the coast, to Sihanouk Ville. The closer we got to the coast, the more hilly the landscape became, with less rice paddies and more fruit orchards growing mangos and huge jack-fruit.
The main road to Sihanouk Ville was a one-lane road, with wide sand bars on each side, which were often used to pull over one when a car was overtaking in the opposite direction! There's a general lack of road-rules but everyone seems to know what to do. Sihanouk Ville only just got traffic lights in December 2008 and since then there have been many accidents. Not surprising when no-one stops, and if they do stop it's just for a brief moment before they go on there way again. Many of the intersections only had one traffic light facing one of the four roads!
Friday, March 27th
Maxine wasn't feeling well today and spent most of the day asleep in bed with a fever and tummy cramps. Luckily we had a travel kit so we were able to dose her up with anti-biotics which took care of the bug in a day or so. We had taken our cell phones so we were able to stay in contact with her while we went for short excursions from the hotel. We took a tuk-tuk to the fishing village and boat repair yard, and went for a short walk along the Victory Beach to watch the beautiful sunset.
Rory and Sydney were feeling the results of spending too much time in the sun, and we were pretty much done with restaurant food, dying for simple bowl of cereal, so for supper we just ordered room service - a cheese and cracker platter - just what we needed - along with a bottle of wine from the bar fridge!
Saturday, March 28th
After spending a few hours on the beach, and taking a tuk-tuk drive up the coastline to buy shells we drove back to Phnom Penh, where we could catch a flight back to Singapore. Maxine was feeling much better - back to her chatty self! Since it was our last day we hit the market one more time to buy a few souvenirs we hadn't yet got. That night we went to Huxley's Bar, a British pub, for supper. We got a table on the second floor balcony overlooking the street so we had a great time watching the locals going about their business. Back at the hotel, we turned off our lights, as did the hotel, for Earth hour. Although, I think we were the only ones in the entire city that did! We looked out from our 10th floor window and didn't notice any going off, or any going back on an hour later! Seeing that most of Cambodia don't even have electricity, let alone televisions, we figured that not many would even know about turning off lights! We had fun making silly animal shadows on the ceiling though!
Sunday, March 29th
Up at 5:30 to get to the airport for our 7 O'clock flight! It was a short trip, only three hours, so we were home by lunchtime!
Besides Maxine getting sick, I think we all had an amazing vacation - probably our best ever! We saw so much, but got in some good relaxation time too. We saw beautiful scenery and heartbreaking poverty. We met some wonderful people and saw some incredible places. It was a special time we'll always remember.
Be sure to visit our photograph gallery within the next week or so - we've got over 1500 photo's to sift through first!
Monday, March 30th
Back to reality - laundry - tons of it! Grocery shopping, and scrolling through almost 2000 photographs! Unfortunately, the stupid software "has a problem" and won't save any changes I make to the pictures so I can get them uploaded yet :(
