well...here we are. cambodia. a land we know nothing about. and where we dont have a single friend (yet).
the kids handled the trip really well considering we left melbourne at two in the morning. steve started chatting to a lady on the plane that invited us to come and visit her in kuala lumpur sometime. she was really lovely and as it turned how she had two kids at the private school that steve went to. she looked like a slightly older, slightly asian angelina jolie. of course steve couldnt see the resemblance.
we arrived in cambodia yesterday afternoon. and thankfully the driver from the hotel was there to meet us despite us taking quite a while with our visas and being about an hour later than expected.
the drive from the airport to the guest house was great. so many things to look at. so many things to absorb. endless food stalls along the road. selling everything from hot corn on the cob to salted fish. no one seemed to mind their food being prepared in the midst of car and motorbike fumes.
its a great feeling having a swarm of people riding their bikes or motorbikes around you..most of them going the same direction. many with toddlers and babies on board as well. we all had lots of things to point out as we drove along. im pretty sure the coolest thing was the traffic lights have countdown numbers on them..so you know exactly how many seconds you have left before the light changes colour.
the guest house suits us really well. the staff couldnt be friendlier. they are all besotted by the little girls. i feel like the mother of movie stars. within minutes we had a table of ladies begging the girls to have their nails painted. they were so sweet with the girls and found everything they did and said adorable.
the downstairs area is set apart for eating and there is a huge choice of food. of course with the current eating restrictions..gluten, dairy and egg it cuts the menu down to about ummm....not very many options. thankfully chinatown has been a pretty big part of our life so there are no issues for the kids just eating asian food. rive breakfast, lunch and dinner??? sure!
neshica and i went out for a little adventure today. (first full day) one of the men who works here was more than happy to be tuktuk driver for us. not only that but he basically did everything else as well. smelled fruits. complained about the price. held our hands and led us out into crazy traffic (a very good lesson in faith). and passed on the messages from the adoring fans. (neshica had lots of people talking).
we got back to our guest house with a funny assortment of fruit. some wanted..some not. since then the big kids have been drawing, playing hangman and cards...while the little ones have slept. neshica has had about 6 showers already. and steve seems to be getting over his cold. hes got some crazy sore happening on his face that he just went out to get some medicine for.
not sure what this afternoon will offer. trying to just lay low and get used to it all. we might venture out for a mini trip or just stay here and entertain the staff some more.
now its sunday so i will just add what happened last night and then send this off so its not too far behind. hopefully the next email will be on target.
so yesterday afternoon we hopped into a tuktuk and headed down to the river front. tuktuks are well and truly the way to travel with kids. no carseats to fiddle with. lots of fresh - umm - air and lots and lots to look at.
the river front was great..the highlight being this circle of people of all ages playing shuttlecock. basically hitting a flying thing back and forth with their feet or knees. usually behind their bodies. pretty impressive. especially the old dude who would have been 70plus. he was an absolute guru!
of course we had lots of people pointing and smiling and all that..but nothing intrusive. all very friendly.
we headed back into the traffic and asked the tuktuk driver if he could take the long way home. it was such a great trip. fantastic breeze. lots of temples. MONKEYS and bats. what more could anyone ask for??
we got back to the guest house and were pretty much asleep by 7. didnt even have dinner.
all in all a good day.
the kids handled the trip really well considering we left melbourne at two in the morning. steve started chatting to a lady on the plane that invited us to come and visit her in kuala lumpur sometime. she was really lovely and as it turned how she had two kids at the private school that steve went to. she looked like a slightly older, slightly asian angelina jolie. of course steve couldnt see the resemblance.
we arrived in cambodia yesterday afternoon. and thankfully the driver from the hotel was there to meet us despite us taking quite a while with our visas and being about an hour later than expected.
the drive from the airport to the guest house was great. so many things to look at. so many things to absorb. endless food stalls along the road. selling everything from hot corn on the cob to salted fish. no one seemed to mind their food being prepared in the midst of car and motorbike fumes.
its a great feeling having a swarm of people riding their bikes or motorbikes around you..most of them going the same direction. many with toddlers and babies on board as well. we all had lots of things to point out as we drove along. im pretty sure the coolest thing was the traffic lights have countdown numbers on them..so you know exactly how many seconds you have left before the light changes colour.
the guest house suits us really well. the staff couldnt be friendlier. they are all besotted by the little girls. i feel like the mother of movie stars. within minutes we had a table of ladies begging the girls to have their nails painted. they were so sweet with the girls and found everything they did and said adorable.
the downstairs area is set apart for eating and there is a huge choice of food. of course with the current eating restrictions..gluten, dairy and egg it cuts the menu down to about ummm....not very many options. thankfully chinatown has been a pretty big part of our life so there are no issues for the kids just eating asian food. rive breakfast, lunch and dinner??? sure!
neshica and i went out for a little adventure today. (first full day) one of the men who works here was more than happy to be tuktuk driver for us. not only that but he basically did everything else as well. smelled fruits. complained about the price. held our hands and led us out into crazy traffic (a very good lesson in faith). and passed on the messages from the adoring fans. (neshica had lots of people talking).
we got back to our guest house with a funny assortment of fruit. some wanted..some not. since then the big kids have been drawing, playing hangman and cards...while the little ones have slept. neshica has had about 6 showers already. and steve seems to be getting over his cold. hes got some crazy sore happening on his face that he just went out to get some medicine for.
not sure what this afternoon will offer. trying to just lay low and get used to it all. we might venture out for a mini trip or just stay here and entertain the staff some more.
now its sunday so i will just add what happened last night and then send this off so its not too far behind. hopefully the next email will be on target.
so yesterday afternoon we hopped into a tuktuk and headed down to the river front. tuktuks are well and truly the way to travel with kids. no carseats to fiddle with. lots of fresh - umm - air and lots and lots to look at.
the river front was great..the highlight being this circle of people of all ages playing shuttlecock. basically hitting a flying thing back and forth with their feet or knees. usually behind their bodies. pretty impressive. especially the old dude who would have been 70plus. he was an absolute guru!
of course we had lots of people pointing and smiling and all that..but nothing intrusive. all very friendly.
we headed back into the traffic and asked the tuktuk driver if he could take the long way home. it was such a great trip. fantastic breeze. lots of temples. MONKEYS and bats. what more could anyone ask for??
we got back to the guest house and were pretty much asleep by 7. didnt even have dinner.
all in all a good day.
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