Jeff Dean
for those who are interested....the hope is to capture my view of somewhere I've dreamed about for for a very long time....thanks for coming alongjeffdeanOttawa
Travel Blog Posts
why do holidays have to come to an end? Who made up that rule anyway...
Published: October 20th 2008Asia » Cambodia
October 20th 2008
Hi, yes that fated day has arrived...Monday, the first day back at work. Holiday is over, just a memory, was it real? After looking through the over 900 photos I took while away, it was real and it was an adventure! But to catch everyone up with the detail.... The flight to Hong Kong was uneventful as you normally wish for on a flight. We got our baggage sorted out, more on the way home than we had on the way out, and found our bus to Kowloon....Hong Kong has changed a lot in the long time since I was there last! Always an amazing city! We settled into our very expensive hotel room, you have to remember we were paying a whopping US$ 8 a night in Siem Reap, and for the first time since ... read more
October 17th 2008
Hi all! I tried to post this morning but the ínternet' went down...in the airport now and honestly not ready to go home. I guess it is better to leave when you are not ready than cannot wait to leave at all...so many things to say about Cambodia and this adventure...of all the places in Asia I have been, my heart has been taken...the people, the country, the kids, the struggle, those who are here to help...everything....more than I could have ever imagined...this is the only place I have ever been where I really feel each and everyone one of us can make a difference..... There will be lots of pictures to come, more than I would expect anyone to ever look at! LOL. Have fun, be safe and see you on the other side (of ... read more
October 16th 2008
Hi there! The trip to the country to visit with Sophea's 'parents was amazing, even though I did not get to drive the tractor in the rice fields! Maybe next time....All of the kids and Lysa made the afternoon a perfect day...the trip out was not too bad and we had weather entertainment on the way home! We not had real rain since arriving in Cambodia but last night made up for it....the roads flooded for a little while and the rain was so hard we had to pull over...all good fun and laughter..... This morning was a trip to S-21, the interrogation prison in Phnom Penn that saw more that 20,000 prisoners during the short few years it was in operation. Pol Pot and his regime made sure that no one ever survived a trip ... read more
October 15th 2008
Well day two is in Phnom Penn and to be honest it is much better than we could have imagined. Spending time with Sophea and Lysa and their friends has been wonderful to say the least! We had dinner on Monday night at a friend's restaurant who also sponsors a school benefiting 28 kids who's parents are either not alive or cannot afford to send them to school. Proceeds from the restaurant and an amazing cookie shop are the main sources of income for the kids education...on Monday we were lucky enough to see the kids perform traditional Khmer dances! They were amazing and such a pleasure to watch and know that we were helping support them...the restaurant was packed and I am sure I can say that everyone there was impacted in a positive way ... read more
October 13th 2008
Well we survived the taxi trip from Siem Reap to Phnom Penn but honestly I am not sure how! Tomorrow must be a day to visit the lucky buddah. That can be the only explaination...it was not just a white knuckle ride but an OMG duck so you did not actually see the 3 cars trying to pass whilst 2 more cars are blocking the road and cows, dogs, bicycles everywhere! I will stick with the tuk tuk! Speaking of which we had to say goodbye to Bunn our driver of several days and the staff at the Ivy....all wonderful peope. I am sure I will see them again! So the remainder of the day is being spent relaxing with Sophea and Lysa. They have kindly opened their house to us while we are here....Tomorrow is ... read more
October 12th 2008
just another day in paradise, really I am not sure I want to leave Siem Reap! The folks at the Ivy said I could clean the rooms and get tourists to say and that would pay for my room! So tempted!! The tuk tuk ride today should have been a four wheeler ride! It was funny, we even had to dig the tuk tuk out of a sand pit on the road to the village! So after we drove as far as we could, the road basically ends in the flood plains of the Tonle Sap during the raining season...we hired a boat to take us to the village. It is interesting to be sure. During the dry season the houses are about 8-10 meters above the dry ground and you will see from the pictures ... read more
October 11th 2008
Hello! Today was honestly a tuk tuk free day! Relazed this morning and then headed to Le Tigre de Papier to try our hand at Khmer cooking. What a fun time! Everyone (6 people in total - a couple from Sydney, an American doctor working at the children's hospital and a woman from Turkey) got to choose a starter and then a main course. My two favorites are green mango salad and a traditional Khmer dish called Amok (Tamarind, galangal, basil and lemon grass based). Rae cooked up bananna flower salad and fried noodles...We started off with a trip in the local food market near the school and then to preparing our meals...lots of laughs and new friends made plus some amazing food cooked up! It is a good thing we went to school today, as ... read more
October 10th 2008
It seems funny how everything works. It has only been a week but it seems like so much longer that we've been away...today was amazing and the tuk tuk ride was completely worth the 'shower' at the end of the hike...still needed a shower to wash off the red dirt that caked on everything but that is a small price to pay... Today was a day of 'signs' and things to ponder. The signs can speak for themselves (assuming I can get the pics loaded) but the things to ponder, well here there are...as well as random road side goings on... What do you make of dogs, cats and chickens playing together? How do you get all those piglets in a basket with out them escaping? Really, I know those are rice fields but where does ... read more
October 9th 2008
What a day! I was not sure what to expect with the adventure today. The temples from yesterday were amazing and I was not sure how Angkor could be so much more....How wrong I was! Before that though, I have to say that Ta Prohm was straight out of Tomb Raider and was so amazing I kept thinking it was not real...it is amazing what the jungle had done and the power of a banyon tree...even one sever feet around and more than 75 feet tall...more I am sure.... We had great luck this morning and had Ta Prohm to ourselves for more than an hour. That was just enough time to tour around the outside walls and make it into the inner walls...we did have to fight our way to get a picture of the ... read more
October 8th 2008
I am not really sure what to say about today...first a clarification...a driver does not necessarily mean also a car...it could mean a tuk tuk...yes today was another tuk tuk day but this one was wonderful and actually much better than having a car...The weather has been perfect with some clouds, 30+ and a tuk tuk breeze to cool you off after exploring could not have been better planned....Seven temples in all today and honestly, they were all different in so many ways....Finally we just had to call it a day or start on the sites for tomorrow....Tomorrow is another early day but passing on the sunrise outing...We have decided to spend 3 days at the temples so if we miss anything or just have to get a sunrise or a sunset in, we will be ... read more
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