It's a Wrap!

Well, it's just about over! I can't believe it! sorry the blog has been so quiet but I have run out of room on the hard drive of the computer so cannot download photos and frankly, I think pictures speak much more succinctly than me. In a nutshell, Siem Reap was incredible, our last night in Phnom Penh was terribly sad, Bangkok has been a blast and tomorrow it is over! It has been SUCH as busy time. I think we are all pretty exhausted and have been staying in hotels and spare beds for over a week now. So am I ready to come home? Yes and no. This adventure has been almost beyond words. So much more that we dared to dream. Nick has loved the work and the kids have thrived. I have met some amazing people and seen some incredible things. Opportunities have opened themselves up to us that we had only dreamed of. I think the fact that we will be returning to he same neighborhood makes that pain of leaving a little more bearable. We are tired but happy. Much wiser and more educated about the world than we were 10 weeks ago. Would we do it again? In a heartbeat! So tomorrow night we will board the plane to come home tired but happy. We can't wait to see you all again and share our adventures. I will try not to think of saying goodbye again so soon but at least now I know that it really is quite easy to stay in touch. I also know the kids adapt, that Nick loves the work and that I CAN do this. So thank-you all for sharing the ride. I hope you have enjoyed reading as much as I have writing and please stay tuned for our Vietnam Adventure.....Mrs Saigon anyone?

Siem Reap

Arrived in Siem Reap this afternoon. It was all a bit of a whirlwind as you can imagine! Had a fantastic night last night. The Australian Ambassador threw a going away party for me. Well, actually, it was a cocktail function for the AWC, the Australian Women's Connection but what the heck...I'll claim it! This group of women are truly inspiring. They are from all walks of life and all with the commonality of living in Cambodia. They raise funds for nominated charities as well as forming a network for us Aussie chicks in cambodia. So lovely to be surrounded by such inspirational and really wonderful women. *Sigh* I can't believe I am leaving them all....it was very bittersweet! Thank goodness we are in the same neighborhood.
So I have said many goodbyes over the last few days and it does not get any easier. Those who know me know that I hate them and will avoid at all costs. Difficult over here as you really do need to rely on others and give a little more of yourself away. Feeling quite drained but the fact we are moving to Vietnam makes it a little easier. I know I will be back.

Arrived in Siem Reap this afternoon. Flights were fine and the kids were great. It is only 50 minutes so the kids barely had time to eat their muffin before we were descending. Staying not at a hotel but a B and B call Journeys Within. LOVE it so far. Very boutique and very lovely. We arrived and were met at the airport. Whisked away to the accommodation and presented with fresh pineapple juice as we settled in. 2 story villa with the pool out the front of our door. They continued to tell us about the free WiFi, free soft drink, free laundry, use of a mobile phone they give to each guest....man....unbelievable. Who wants to stay at a sterile old hotel! Had a quiet afternoon by the pool. Gearing up for a visit to the temples tomorrow morning. I do not have my cable with me so no photos as yet unfortunately. You will just have to use your imagination. (hint...picture paradise!) The American couple who own it have 2 children our kids age so there are swings, slides etc. There is also a beautiful dog called Tuna who has just had 7 puppies. Scarlett is in heaven!

Must sign off to sleep and rest up for tomorrow. Nick is upstairs sleeping with Scarlett and I am downstairs with Quiddy. He is lying next to me sprawled over a double pull out bed and I am doing a great contortionist impression next to him in the single. Anything wrong with this picture? Anyway, I'm so tired I could sleep in the floor so....goodnght!

One Happy Tuk Tuk Driver!

Wrote him a letter with the names of all of you who donated. Wanted him to know that it was most definitely not just me, but all of you....who cared.


This is a photo of the front of the little alley that leads to Mr Phea's house. You can see it in the background. No electricity and pitch black!


Mrs Phea turned up as we pulled up!


I guess this picture says it all. He was shocked but so grateful. It was a bit of a tricky situation as we had to be careful that he did not lose "face" which is so important here.

It was wonderful. I wish you all could have been there. Thank you all so much for enabling it to happen. He really is a lovely man whose life will be a little easier and his future a little more secure thanks to your generosity. X

OK...that lady has officially freaked me out!

Wow, where do I start with this one? You will recall in my last post that the old lady in the market said with 100% certainty that we would be living overseas. I did not think she meant next month! Most of you are now aware that we have been offered a post in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. This has been a dream of ours for so long. I cannot tell you what it is about the place. From the moment we set foot in that county I knew we would live there. That was 15 years ago. I swear to you....I knew it. So much so that we geared our lives toward it. Nick studied the language full time for one year and we made work decisions according to "the plan" Now of course there is an argument that doing all of this made it happen...maybe that is true also. Either way it is happening. Our excitement was tempered with the fact the the circumstances around our offer were tragic. The current serving member passed away. I feel sick when I think about it. I cannot even imagine what his family are going through at this time. So as exciting as it is we have not felt much like celebrating. You just can't in those circumstances. That being said, who are we to question the way life works. We will just go with it. And what a ride it is going to be. We arrive back home on the 13th and Nick heads to HCMC on the 1st of March. He then comes back to do a Pre-Deployment course (irony not lost) for 3 weeks in CBR on the 6th of April. He hopes to fly home on the weekends. He will then come home on about the 26th of April and the house will be packed up. We will then all leave together on about the 28th. Phew....it's gunna be one hell of a ride!

What the future has in store for me.....

Had a great morning this morning! (If you take out the bit where I had to take Christopher to the doctor due to an ear infection!)
Went to a massive market called “Orussey” A multi storey affair that specialises in dry bulk food but also has an extensive wet market, household goods, clothing electronics and hardware. It is definitely not geared towards tourists at all so I am happy to report that I was there for 2 hours and did not see another Western face. It was brilliant! You can really get a feel for what this place was like before the tourists hit. No one speaks and English and that was half of the fun. I actually picked up a few bargains as most (well…probably all) is priced for locals. A watch for $3. A purse for $4 and a stunning “bling” necklace for $15.
The highlight for me though was getting my cards read. There are a dozen or so old Khmer women who I spied sitting at little tables scattered throughout the place with decks of cards in front of them. From what I can gather people think nothing of this type of thing and like nothing better than a good old peek into the future. God, I was dying to have a go but alas, no English speakers in sight. Just as I was heading out to leave I saw 2 young girls with a wonderful old lady with the sum of one tooth, getting their cards done. Most of the younger generation here speak English so I asked if they would mind translating. It was a wonderful experience. I had to ask various questions that I needed or wanted to know answers to then shuffle the deck 9 times. I was a little nervous but loved the outcome. In a nutshell:
-I will have a long and happy marriage to Nick,
-He does not have a girlfriend!!!
-He loves me but there are also 3 other men who are in love with me!
-Nick is very popular and well liked
-Nick is very much like my children (I knew that one!)
-Feb is going to be a good month for us. We will both make much money and our good luck will continue until October.
-We will definitely end up living overseas, she is 100% sure she said (sorry mum) and that there are people looking after Nick to make sure it happens.
- She said that they were fantastic cards and that we are surrounded by a lot of people who are looking out for us.

The girls told me they go and see her all the time but that she is “only” about 80% accurate. Gee, I hope she was having a good day, as I loved what she had to say! All in all a great experience. I really felt like I was a local and that feeling is getting harder and harder to find in these big cities. A day I will certainly remember forever!

Australia Day Cambodian Style

Had a lovely evening out last night to celebrate Australia Day. It was held at the Australian Embassy and it was bigger than Ben Hur! Over 500 guest from all sorts of places. It was quite a formal occasion with all the p's and q's being minded. The food was sensational. the Cambodians really know how to cater let me tell you. Meat pies, lamingtons, prawns, lamb, amazing fresh smoked salmon...even a chocolate fountain!

What is it really like having a Nanny

Well, Rhumpa is not quite a nanny but she may as well be...and....it's fantastic! Rhumpa is a Teachers Aid at the kids pre-school. She is just a lovely lady who adores the kids. it is so nice to watch the relationship unfold. My expectations of a baby sitter are not all that high as far as the normal stuff goes. I expect them to know basic first aid, actually like children and to be responsible. Rhumpa exceeds this at every level! Added bonus...the children adore her! Nick being away this week we decided that a little bit of help would not go astray and at the princely sum of $3 an hour (no that is not a typo!) we hired Rhumpa from 3 until 7pm every night. We have gotten into a lovely routine so far. The kids, or usually just Scarlett mostly, will have a sleep from 12.30pm till 2ish. We then just kick back and watch Dora (kids obsessed). Rhumpa arrives at 3 which is when I make my escape to the gym. I leave her some money and she takes the kids to "Le Jardin", a local restaurant that has as close to PP has to a play area. She plays with them and gets them an ice-cream. They spend a couple of hours just playing. I could learn a lot from this woman. Sometimes I feel so busy that I forget the art of play. Rhumpa has it down pat. She is in the couch cushion tunnel, she is singing the songs...she is kinda the mum I wish i was! (and I am learning). She then brings them home and helps me to bath them and give them dinner. She is almost like a husband but kinda more useful, in a nice way Nick! That being said, it is kind of weird having someone in your house. She goes to do the dishes from the children's dinner and I want to say "no" but the princely some of $3 is apparently enough to stop me. The other concern is the attachment from the kids. I think this is probably more my issue than theirs as I have learnt that they are more adaptable than I think. I really feel that she cares for my children with her heart and not her wallet. This makes it so much easier when I have to leave for what I call a well earned break. Does not feel 100% but almost! I will miss her for so many reason when we leave. Not for the obvious. She is a wonderful woman who tears up already when I talk about us leaving. Bring out the tissues that day!!!

Not Happy Jan

Sunday morning. 0550 am. Cue BULLDOZER on next doors demolition site. NOT HAPPY JAN. Note to self: Learn how to swear in Khmer.

My Little Photographer

This is the result of Scarletts first attempt at photography. Not a bad effort I thought. Too bad the second one was of my leg (but we don't talk about that one).

So how's the Weather?

I know it has been stinking hot in Melbourne but we have had all sorts over here! As far as winter goes it is of course quite mild. NIghts low 20's and days low to mid 30's. Bet lately, it's been FREEZING. Apparently the other night it dropped to below 20! All the locals have their polo necks and ski jackets on which I think is hilarious! I guess it is the only time they get to parade them from the back of the wardrobe. Had to laugh when Scarlett told me she was freezing the other day on the way to school and I had to go back and get her a jacket. It's lovely to walk around and nod at people and say....it's cold isn't it. Makes you feel much more like a local.
We have also had some unseasonable rain! In fact most of this week has been quite cloudy and overcast with what I think was a fair amount of rain. (Obviously I have not been here in the wet season....now THAT is rain, they tell me). With the clouds the humidity has been up. (I have not been here in April...now THAT is humidity, they tell me!). Moral of the story. Don't whinge about the weather. This is the best its ever going to get. Anyhow, great weather for shopping!

Wow

1,001 visitors...maybe I'm not as boring as I think I am?

Hum Drum

Sorry the blog has been a bit slow of late. Things have pretty much been plodding along and basically, even over here; I’m not all that interesting! Jem was over visiting which was great and I had a fantastic time helping him to spend all of his money. I think he had a good time even if it was a bit of a whirlwind visit. I know we certainly enjoyed having him here.
Mt Phea’s bike fund is going well! We are up to nearly $600 now. Not too late to donate still and the details are on the earlier blog. To those of you who have so generously donated….thank you so much. I’m not quite sure any of us really understand the impact this will make on the family’s life. I guess I can just equate it to if there was ever a time you were a bit down and out, imagine someone came and helped you out when you were in no way expecting it. It would be mind blowing!
Kids are well however well and truly on their way to becoming expat brats! You will have to give me some time when we get home to get them back into line as at the moment they are not fit for human consumption. Remember, most of you are related to them so it is your duty to forgive them!!!
Nick heads away on Friday for at least a week. It will be our last week in the house so it is time to start to pack up! We move to a villa for 5 nights when he returns. After that 3 nights in Siem Reap, one back here and 4 in Bangers and then we are home. Not too sure if it has gone fast or not. Depends on the day you ask me (read….how the kids are behaving!)
Have started on my last minute shopping (much to Nicks disgust) and am having a ball. After having been here a while I have a much better idea of what things should cost. Mainly CD’s and DVD’s as well as a handbag or two!
Scarlett has just woken so will sign off for now. X

Why we are all a bit tired!

Here it is. The bit you have all been waiting for. The part where I have a whinge! Don't get me wrong. Love Asia, really I do. However, there are things that just drive me nuts and this is one of them. The view above is taken from Christopher's bedroom window. Yes, it used to be a house. Yes, it is being pulled down BY HAND! If that were not bad enough, Cambodians, being the hard workers that they are, work EVERY DAY! The banging starts at around 0630 and continues for the next 12 hours. Scarletts room is also on this side of the house and her rooms faces the house, or what is left of the house! All I can hope for is that once it is down they do not start to build immediately. Kinda feel sorry for the new guys moving in to replace us soon. It's gunna take a LONG time to build that new house.....

A few Randoms

Happy Birthday to Me!