2010 recap

Blogging somewhat regularly (I use that term loosely this year) and taking a lot of photographs gives you a different perspective at year end.  There is actual...documented proof of the things you've done and places you've been and odd thoughts that you've had.  It is nice to be able to take that trip down memory lane without actually having to remember too much on your own.

2010 is certainly a year that I am glad to be putting behind me.  It has had some of the biggest challenges I've had to face physically and emotionally but those challenges aren't what I'm carrying with me into 2011 and future years.  Instead, it is the love and support of one very strong and truly amazing husband...the warmth I've felt from friends and family both near and far...rekindling friendships with childhood friends...receiving the kindness and support from people I didn't know but have since become friends...did I mention my super husband and awesome mom...

I feel a bit wiser this year for some reason...am probably not but since you are now a captive audience I am going to pass on some of my bits of wisdom from the year...okay...maybe not wisdom but just thoughts...

• Laughter can really help to get you through anything.
• It is important for Kate to start the day with a good cup of coffee.
• Seeing life through the eyes of a child is a good perspective to have.
• The postal service still rocks.
• Standing on the Great Wall in China is just as incredible as I thought it would be.
• Giving is a good thing.
• I spend far too much time on the phone at work...
• Duke is a great healthcare provider...and...has an especially great basketball team!
• I enjoy having visitors in Singapore...hint...hint...
• Red meat really isn't all that bad.
• Hockey games are far more fun in person.
• I have an unexplained and uncontrollable fascination with the $2 store here in Singapore.
• I love traveling around and exploring new places with Alan.
• Asking for help is not fun but is sometimes necessary.
• I'm constantly torn between missing all the wonderful things about home and enjoying all of the new experiences here in Asia.
• Peas are still the cause of all evil in the world.
• Alan & Tina were right that it is good to always have a camera in my bag.
• Doing laundry is still the best chore...ever...
• Developing new friendships...even at my age...is really quite fun.
• I am, and always will be a cold weather gal...but Singapore heat is starting to feel normal to me.

I do not have any specific resolutions for 2011.  Instead, I have a bunch of things planned in my head.  You'll likely read about them or hear about them or find pictures of them at some point but for now...they are staying in my head.

I'm off to Bali tonight to celebrate the New Year weekend with some good friends.  I've not been to Bali before so I'm looking forward to exploring...relaxing...reading...and doing nothing.

I'll leave you with some photo highlights from the year:

Raleigh in Jan

Singapore Slings with Tom & Alan during their visit for Chinese New Year

Before chemo in Feb

Springtime in Durham in March

Fresh strawberries from the NC Farmer's Market in April

Hanging out with my brother, Alan in May

 Visiting China and climbing on the Great Wall of China in June

Visiting Vietnam for the first time in July

Also in July, remembering a solider who lost his life for our freedom

Recovering and hanging out with friends in August

Visiting friends and family in Ann Arbor in August

Eating my very first Philly Cheese Steak sandwich in September

Seeing lots of pumpkins and autumn stuff in October

And seeing a cotton field for the first time in October

Celebrating Thanksgiving with Ashleigh and David

Spending a good bit of December with Alan

Seeing the progress of being patient...and to being healthy!

Happy New Year everyone!

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That is bananas!

Today I went in search of the game Bananagrams as a gift for a friend. 

If you haven't played it yet it is a lot of fun.  The electronic game for your iPhone or iPod Touch is great fun too. 

Anyway, I found it relatively quickly...which is not something that happens often when I'm looking for US made products here...the problem was that it was priced at $45.90...YIKES!  I just checked on Amazon and they have it priced at $14.95.  Either it costs a whole heck of a lot more to ship things from the US or there is an incredibly insane mark-up on the price for the stores to make a killing profit.  The funny thing is that they are manufactured in China so it should actually cost less to ship to Singapore than to the US.

Needless to say, I did not purchase the super expensive version of Banagrams.  Instead, I bought UNO which was also probably over priced but not nearly as much. 

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Thanks Margo!

A belated thank you to Margo for sending me a little piece of Durham to enjoy here in Singapore.  It is perfect to drink my Durham based Bean Traders coffee out of my new Dur-ham mug.  I am now getting a nice collection of cool coffee mugs thanks to CLAIRE too. 

It is really interesting to me how little pieces of home make such a big difference when being away.

 

And yes...that is me shortly after waking up...that is some crazy morning hair, eh?

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Siem Riep - Day 2

Our second day in Siem Riep began with the alarm waking us up at 4:45 am...yep...you read that correctly...we woke up very early!  We read that seeing the sunrise over Angor Wat is a 'must do' so we decided we would.  Alan had just arrived from the US a couple of days earlier so he was still a bit jet-legged so the early wake-up wasn't so bad.

We headed over to Angor Wat and made the walk into the temple in the darkness.  Thankfully there were some others who came more prepared than us so we stuck close behind them and their flashlight beams.  We arrived in front of the temple and waited for the amazing sunrise...

It was by no means 'spectacular' but it was pretty great to stand and watch the sunrise in a place where people have probably been doing that for many, many, many years.


After having breakfast at the hotel and getting a cleaned up we headed back out for some more temple touring...

Our first stop in the daylight was to the temple of Ta Prohm which is being overtaken by the jungle.  The temple covered a fair amount of ground but it seemed to be smaller due to all of the small buildings and corridors inside the main walls. 

There is evidence of nature taking over here just about everywhere you look be it through moss...

or via the trees deciding that they want to grow...right...there...

This should give you some perspective on the size of the trees...

If you have seen the movie Tomb Raider you may recognize some of the temples at Ta Prohm as they did a bit of filming here.
On our way out of the temple we saw this tour group...

Both Alan and I thought it was fun to see a tour group of monks at the temple.  It is sort of like going to a Thai restaurant in Durham where you see a lot of Thai people eating...it must be good.

Our next stop was to the temple of Angkor Thom.  This temple is huge covering an area of around 6 sq miles.  There were multiple times when we were wandering through Angkor Thom that we really weren't sure where we were and exactly what we were looking at.  We do know that we entered through the Terrace of Elephants on the eastern side...

Inside the gates we found an area known as Baphuon which is currently under restoration.  It was one of the few areas in the temples where we weren't able to climb up and on it due to this.  At the back of the temple building you can see a reclining Buddha if you look closely (his head is on the left)...

The final area within Angkor Thom that we saw was Banyon.  It was probably my favorite area of our second day.  It was also a great place to find a spot in the shade to sit and cool off from the heat and blazing sun.

Our last stop of the day was to Angkor Wat during the daylight. 

It is believed to be the largest religious structure in the world.  It is very well preserved and is believed to have never been abandoned since being constructed.  This is evident when walking through it as there are far fewer areas of ruin and more just wear and tear from the elements over the years. 

It really was amazing to tour all of the temples but I must admit after two days of touring we got a little temple fatigue.  I know it might seem odd to be in such an amazing place and get tired of seeing such historical and beautiful areas.  We certainly appreciated it but by the end of day two we got a bit hot and we were dirty and ready to just relax.


I'll leave you with one last picture...

This is the moat that surrounds Angkor Wat.  It is just over 350 feet wide which makes for a beautiful walk when you are entering or exiting the temple.

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Merry Christmas

Seasons greetings from Singapore!

Last night (Christmas Eve for us) Alan and I walked around and looked at the holiday lights that are up on Orchard Road.  I'm not sure if you recall the craziness that they called decorations last year...click here to check out my post from last Christmas.  I actually like the theme that they had this year.  It is mostly just Christmas trees and sparkly lights.

It seems that Santa may have even stopped by Singapore for me...

I actually couldn't find a way to get inside my present so I left it for everybody else to enjoy since it was so pretty.

It certainly doesn't feel like Christmas here since the temps are in the upper 80s and a nice tropical breeze.  I'm not complaining since I know it is very cold where most of you are and am actually a little jealous that you are or will be seeing snow.  This is the closest I could come to snow...

And to keep with the winter theme we decided on ice cream for dessert...

Gingerbread on the left for me and red velvet cake for Alan on the right.  Mmm...  Think anybody from Singapore actually knows what a real red velvet cake looks and tastes like?

Since it is already Christmas morning here I'll take this opportunity to wish each of you a very Merry Christmas.  I hope you have a relaxing weekend filled with good food, laughter, family and friends.

p.s. If there is snow where you are please go outside and play a little in it for me!

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Cambodian meal

I'm a bit behind on my blogging about Cambodia so will try and catch-up over the next couple of days...

One of my favorite things to do when visiting a new place is certainly trying the local food.  You never know if it is going to be good or if it will be safe to eat but it is definitely fun trying.  In Cambodia, as with most Asian countries, it is not safe for Americans to drink the tap water.  This also means you have to be careful with any fresh veggies that could be washed in water and also having ice added to your beverages.  Regardless, if you don't try the food you will miss out on such an important part of any culture.  So...I usually rely on recommendations from guidebooks such as Lonely Planet and feedback from friends who have visited.

The Lonely Planet guidebook did not disappoint in guiding us to the Angkor Palm restaurant in downtown Siem Riep...

Almost all of the restaurants in Siem Riep have open fronts meaning that you can choose to either sit inside or sit on the sidewalk just outside and watch the world go by.  A lot of them have seating on the second level so you can sit above the craziness of the road and watch from on high.

The Angkor Palm was recommended for its authentic Khmer cuisine.  We ordered their specialty which is a sort of combination platter...

I'll explain the food starting at the seven o'clock position and moving around counter-clockwise:

• Seven o'clock - Fresh spring rolls
• Five o'clock - Fresh mango salad
• Two o'clock - Green chicken curry...or yummy, yummy goodness
• One o'clock - Amok - baked fish curry in banana leaf...also yummy goodness
• Eleven o'clock - Lightly sauteed morning glory - a green veggie which is sort of a cross between spinach and asparagus
• Ten o'clock - pork spare ribs...slow cooked and melt in your mouth perfection

We also had dessert...

This is simply called Khmer dessert.  It is plantains in a sweet liquid made of condensed milk, tapioca, coconut milk, cane sugar, and a little bit of soy.  It was surprisingly not too sweet and was a refreshing end to a delicious meal.

We liked everything we ate and the Khmer style of cooking leads to a lot of flavor but food that is not too heavy.  Things tend to be baked or fresh instead of being deep fried like in Thailand and Vietnam. 

The best part of this meal is that the entire thing including a large bottle of water and two beers only cost us $20 US.  That is certainly a lot by Cambodian standards but coming from Singapore a meal of this quality would have run close to $60-$70.

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Should I declare these?

Yep...that is my carry-on and yep...those are two boxes of Rice Krispies cereal.  

I found them at the grocery store here in Bangkok and am smuggling them out of Thailand and into Singapore.  Okay, not really smuggling but more like bringing them in.  I have a HUGE bag of marshmallows waiting to be paired up with these little guys.

Oh, the things you do to have the creature comforts of home...

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SIN to BKK

We are off to Bangkok today.  It will be Alan's first time in Thailand and my fourth trip to Bangkok.  He will get to do some touring and take a cooking class while I am busy at our office.  Yeah for him...boo for me...

More on Siem Riep when we get back from Thailand later this week.

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Siem Riep - Day 1

We arrived in Siem Riep last Sunday at around noon.  We checked into our hotel, Prince D'Angkor if you happen to be in the area and need a good hotel, and decided to head out and make good use of the sunshine and remaining time in the afternoon.

Our first stop was to the temple of Preah Kahn (which means sacred sword)...

Preah Kahn dates back to 1191 and was a Buddhist University and a small city in addition to being a temple.  It is actually in pretty good shape as many of the structures are still standing with four walls and roofs attached.

Unlike in the US, you can pretty much walk where ever you want in the temples.  There are a few places where they are restoring or it is simply unsafe but there aren't specific walkways.  It makes it fun to be able to go in and out of the corridors inside the buildings because you never know what you will find.

The walls themselves are just as beautiful as the buildings.  Most have some sort of carving on them and the level of detail is just amazing.  It must have taken ages to carve and then build these temples.

Our next stop was to Preah Neak Poan (which means intertwined serpents).  It dates back to the late-12th century and the water in the pools were considered holy.

This temple was one of the smallest that we went to.  Again, we could walk anywhere we wanted without getting in trouble and there were actually a couple of guys swimming in the water.  There were also some local kids and this is one of my favorite photos from the first day...

The next stop was to the temple of Ta Som which again dates back to the late-12th century. 

This temple is also pretty small but at the very end of it had a great reward...

How often do you get to see a tree growing out of the top of the face of a temple?  This next picture will give you an idea of how the trees just take root anywhere they please...

Next stop was to the temple of Eastern Mebon which dates back to the middle of the 10th century.  This temple is a bit different as it is a Hindu temple instead of a Buddhist temple.  This was actually our favorite temple.  It was one of the quietest ones and we were there at a great time of day to take pictures.

Our last stop of the day was to the temple of Pre Rup (which means turning the body).  It dates back to the middle of the 10th century as well. 

As you can see from all the people, you can climb to the very top of this temple.  It is supposed to be a great place to watch the sunset so Alan and I decided to climb up...these...

It may not look that difficult from the picture but these are 31 very steep and very narrow steps.  Getting up isn't too tough but coming down is not the easiest thing especially if you are not fond of heights.

The sunset wasn't anything spectacular the night we were there but this gives you an idea of what we saw...

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