cambodian christmas

well its been a mixed experience for my first christmas away. some moments just missing my family no end and unable to stop thinking of what i'm missing and other moments able to enjoy the one off opportunity before me.. it was lovely to be back in a country that reminds me so much of mozambique - cycling around, carrying small child on my back, waking up itching mosquito bites (!), flushing the squat loo with a cup of water, potholed roads etc.. its not all great stuff but it is a life that i am strangely drawn to.
tim and catherine did a top job of pulling out all the stops to provide endless christmas treats which included baked potatoes, orange christmas tree x 2, homemade bread and scones, ginger wine, a bedroom full of orange balloons... it certainly felt like a special time for treats and celebrations.
eden and forrest also played their part, eden in particular being more friendly than my own flesh and blood isabella had been when i first met her! eden is quite happy to give anyone a kiss and cuddle so i made the most of that!
it all seems ridiculously brief thought as i'm now on my way to vietnam, just stopping one night now in phnom penh. i've learnt a few lessons on my way today
a) set an alarm when catching early morning transport. i failed to manage that so set off having had 5 mins to get up and go and say goodbyes
b) never take malaria tablets without food. i took my daily dose before realising that my late schedule meant breakfast had to be missed. this resulted in lesson
c) always carry a spare plastic bag. being sick on a bus requires one.
d) do not assume moto drivers know their way around. i have wasted at least an hour this afternoon reading my rough guide map on the back of motorbikes trying to work out where on earth we've ended up!
but its all good, i've got where i needed to and was not too ill, have discovered that i can survive without food a lot longer than i thought and have treated myself to a bit more luxury in my nights accommodation to make up for the other shortfalls in my day! so should be a breeze from here on!

greetings from asia!!

it is so strange not to be saying this in person to lots of you or not writing my usual mini essays in cards to the rest of you.. but this is a different year from normal so my greetings come to you over the internet. i do feel bad about it but hey. so i wanted to wish you a very happy christmas, i'm hoping that you get the chance to enjoy a bit of time out from all the usual christmas chaos and that you get some quality time with some people important to you.
for me christmas is all about the coming of peace and joy and hope and light and life and all the good things because i am celebrating the coming of jesus into this world. if i'm honest its often tricky to actually experience those things at christmas time as it is always so busy.. so its interesting that this year has been more full of all of the above than any other year in my life. i am having a run-up to christmas completely full of peace and joy and light and life and hope and excitement. so although it is a very different experience for me from normal, it is certainly not a bad one.
i always enjoy reading a bit of chapter 1 in john around christmas precisely because its full of talk of light and life when it describes the coming of jesus. this year i noticed a bit i hadn't seen before, verse 16:
"from the fulness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another"
well, how true that is for me this year. may it be so for you too

mekong adventures

so i had imagined a romantic journey travelling peacefully down the mekong river from the thai border to luang prabang watching village life pass by and admiring sunset views... well there was some of that but mostly i ended up on a party boat full to the brim with white tourists who spent two days on a slowboat drinking beer, smoking pot and cigarettes, playing cards and taking photos of themselves.. it was very entertaining and i was tempted to take more photos of my companions than the view but i resisted and you can see some of the results for yourself, see my photos link. it was very beautiful and very peaceful at the same time, with added bonus amusement factors. i am loving my time in southeast asia, surprisingly glad not to be coming home yet, hope no-one takes offence at that. but it is just great to be out having these adventures and seeing so much. i will keep in touch.

temples, massage and birthday fun

no photo today sorry, but see my photos link for some of our fun out in bangkok on tuesday night for the king's birthday. extra special celebrations here this year as he's been on the throne 60 years. basically everyone wears a yellow tshirt and lights a yellow candle in the eve and generally all congregate in certain parts of the city to provide me with excellent yellow photo opportunities! i loved it, just thought everyone wearing the same colour was fantastic.
i'm now in chiang mai enjoying a quieter life, loving being able to get about on foot, and then recovering from that with a quality foot massage! everything really does seem cheap - an hours foot massage is just over 2 pounds, my ensuite room for the night is only 1.50.. so naturally i am taking that as an opportunity to have the odd treat - lemon crepes with yogurt this morning were especially delicious! that plan can backfire though - went for a spontaneous head/arms/hand massage whilst shopping at the night markets last night and came away with a headache and sore arms! i feel like i have experienced the top and bottom ends of the massage quality range.
as for temples - well that seems to be the main sightseeing event in the cities, to pop and see the odd temple but i don't really get it. i mean i can see they are often beautiful buildings, but one or two of those and i'm templed out. its not like i even enjoy touring round churches all that much and at least then i take some significance from them as places of worship. so may stick to bargaining at markets, eating delicious treats and relaxing by getting a massage.. not a bad life at all

bangkok high life

turns out i've started my first trip to asia at the upper end of the scale with my stay at jims. here is the view from his apartment and a snap of the lovely pool which i've enjoyed a couple of times already. not bad. i could be forgiven for forgetting where i am occasionally, sipping frappucino in starbucks downstairs or lounging by the pool. but then all it takes is a short ride on the back of a motorcycle taxi to remind me i am in a whole new world here.
i'm booked on a sleeper train to chaing mai on wednesday night and i guess there may be a bit more challenge from there on. but this start has been perfect easing me in gently, getting all the assistance i could ask for from jim who has mastered thai and life here in just 10 months. the language barrier has been the biggest shock, i had totally forgotten what its like to try and communicate without any common words at all. in fact i've probably never been in that position before as i've always known at least some words like portuguese in mozambique. so i'm trying to pick up a bit here and there and failing that i plan to start using my very helpful point-it book given to me as a leaving gift by the inspired nicky & patrick. simply point at the relevant picture and hope for understanding - can't be that hard?!
i'm not quite up for roast chicken at breakfast yet and am very glad i packed some weetabix! but i am sleeping fine despite the heat and haven't got into any trouble yet so feeling well set to see more of this new world.

looking back and moving on

so i fly to bangkok later today after a mad, fun-filled week in sydney. i am all packed, pretty pleased with my improved lighter packing skills these days. i've already had many tearful goodbyes to other friends and today i am prepared that leaving matt, fi, abigail and isabella is going to be very sad. on the plus side i have had the loveliest times with the girls in particular this week, i guess either they know i'm going or they missed me when i was in new zealand, either way they have never been more lovely to me! lots of extra kisses and long cuddles - result. its been more tricky getting quality time in with matt and fi as life in the mansion continues to be pretty hectic but i am certainly taking away some amazing memories of being welcomed into a family household and given a space to play my small part in it all for a while. i can only hope that i get to see them all again before too long.
so from here it is bangkok for a few days with a friend called jim from youth group days back in my teens! he is very kindly meeting me at the airport so my journey continues to be ridiculously easy. then after some faffing there sorting out onward flight to india and a couple of visas, its a journey to my friend liz in laos via chiang mai in northern thailand and maybe a boat trip on the mekong river. then its a journey, back via bangkok, to tim, catherine, forrest and eden in cambodia where i will be enjoying a very different christmas. and then its onward to a relaxing beach either in vietnam where i could get a new wardrobe tailored or back to a thai island to recover my senses before hitting calcutta on around jan 10th to meet the very lovely miss becky crow for a few weeks travelling in rajasthan. then i head to kerala without her but to meet other friends - andy and kirsty, a surprise added bonus, where we have one week together and i carry on alone for a couple of weeks, then its back to calcutta, maybe try and fit in a quick trip up to darjeeling before flying out from calcutta on february 28th to come HOME!!
i am starting to think about coming home and am of course very excited about seeing everyone. no concrete plans for future employment yet but beginning to get more ideas. it was so fantastic to meet such a diversity of interesting people along my way in new zealand with all sorts of different life stories that made me think the options for my future really are endless. i guess to be honest, i realise i have probably put off making a specific plan for my next few years because i have always imagined getting married and starting a family round about nowish. so i am trying to move away from that fixed idea and learning to start imagining a different future where i make my own plans by myself for now or maybe always. it requires a lot more courage for me to consider making those kind of plans but its also exciting to begin thinking about all the many possibilities.
this year travelling alone is definitely shaping up to be the best year of my life so far and although it is lonely at times and of course i often wish i could share it with someone else, it has been a very special time for realising stepping out on adventures by myself can be very rewarding. i now know for sure that i am very comfortable in my own company, i very happily enjoy chatting to new people and i do love the freedom to make my own decisions. for those of you who have been wondering but too polite to ask, no there hasn't been even the slightest hint of any romance yet by the way, i wouldn't keep back news like that believe me!
so, there you have some of the more honest picture of things. overall i cannot emphasise enough how fantastic the month in new zealand was in particular, but this whole journey so far as well, and how excited i am about my next steps. you will hear more here soon.