The wonderful local guide who said I should start cycling rather than waiting for Josie and Karen who were busy faffing around because I had very short legs! Bless him. Can't say he was a whole lot taller than me!!
My favorite nickname... Pocket Rocket! Thanks Josie! That is why you are my favorite!!
Eating Elephant ear fish! Now it was really tasty, and we were enjoying a lovely relaxing lunch with Megan and Marnie... but who comes up with these names? Just crazy!
All of the looks / smirks / comments about my penchant for invisible zinc on my face. Turns out if you don't rub it in, it is not always entirely invisible! Over time people stopped mentioning it to me... and Josie noted the other day that I looked different without a white face... but on the last day one of the girls asked if I knew I had not rubbed it in properly. Of course I said yes, but just left it there! I hate getting sunburned. Later that day she was saying she got a bit burnt! Guess what... I didn't!
Sharing my rather substandard photos with the boys... We were asked to write why we were on the adventure. This proved harder than one would think... there was so little space available. Anyway my boys, who clearly aren't gaining the full benefit of their educational opportunities wondered why I believed in GOD things and what that had to do with my ride! It is GOOD people!!
BTW - just a note on the state of my apparel. Yes, it is fabulous, thanks for noticing! It is also very grubby... but in my defense, I did have it laundered in Phnom Penh. I wonder if it was so cheap because they didn't actually wash it. Or maybe they washed it twice and that explains why it was so late getting back. I was starting to get very nervous that I would be cycling with no clothes! It certainly smelt nice and fresh!
I spent the day in Phnom Penh with Marnie. We may have gotten the tiniest little bit lost. Personally I blame the map. It must have been faulty in some way. Anyhoo, we ended up following this little old man and having a wonderful Buddhist blessing. It was so lovely and totally unexpected.
Photo bombing people at Angkor Watt. This sort of behavior is probably completely inappropriate... I should probably hang my head with shame. OK I did that. But it was still a lot of fun! And then we got separated from our guides. So I played tour guide for a group of us. Some of the messages might not have been 100% based on actual facts! But we had a wonderful time and the temple is absolutely amazing! I am so glad we had the opportunity to go there.
Cycling on the last day. Shannon had been sick on the bus on our big cycling day. So we were cycling together. It was hot and dry and hot and dusty, and did I mention it was hot? Anyhoo, I remembered how much help my friends had been for me back in the days when I was not the most fabulous cyclist in the world, so I decided to be Shannon's motivational buddy. Please don't get me wrong, she is awesome, and probably did not need my help at all... but I gave it anyway. Now on this ride the most difficult part, if you ignore the heat and dust (did I mention that already?) and the water buffalo splats from passing cars, is that we seemed to be doing a lot of uphill. Our itinerary did not mention "challenging terrain" for that day, so we were most displeased! Some of us more than others. So every time we were doing an uphill I was telling Shannon that I remembered from the last time I rode here that there was a very big downhill after this uphill. I don't understand it, but Shannon didn't seem to believe me! What is that about?? And each time there was no big downhill after an uphill she seemed to believe me less... I just don't understand it!! Anyway, we all made it! A job well done I say!!
I had two traditional Kmer massages in Cambodia. The first was at Kep which is the most wonderful seaside town. Great white beach and fabulous seafood. Our hotel had this really cool outdoor lobby. No walls or windows, just some wooden poles and a roof. And better still, we actually had some time off! I was rooming with Josie that night and she thoughtfully arranged massages for the two of us and Karen. Excellent work Josie! It was very expensive at a whopping USD 10.00 for 1 hour! I love Cambodia. Now we had to have the massage in our room. Josie went first, and I went and had a relaxing beer down at the Cabana's near the beach. When I returned to the room with my massage therapist, Josie was still there. Still having her massage. Now I don't want to speak out of school, but quite frankly I didn't know that legs could bend like that... I know that mine certainly can't! Anyhoo, I had my massage. Fully dressed. It was quite a shock. It was like a full body sport. She sat on me and pushed bits with elbows and knees and feet. It was so wonderful. I felt absolutely fabulous. The second one (again arranged by Josie) was in Phnom Phen. Again, completely fabulous!
Our disco bus! One of our wild and crazy peeps is a DJ. So to break up a particularly boring bus journey, he did an impromptu gig. It was so much fun.
Playing that's a new low. Now this could be applied to almost anything... how early we had to get up, how long the bus trip was, how bad the food was (although luckily there were very few of these, but the hot picnic lunch with rancid chicken was the lowest), the buffet breakfast with no food (I know right!?), but most often in referred to the bathroom facilities. I guides called these "Happy House". Now just so you know, a Happy House can refer to anything from a lovely western style bathroom, to a nasty hole in the ground to a tree. I am not a fan of the tree, but I have got to say by the end of the trip a tree was a really great option. In my opinion, one happy house which won the that's a new low game... because if you weren't having gastric distress before going for a visit, most likely you would have afterwards!
Lot's more to come!
Hope you enjoy!!
W xx
No comments:
Post a Comment