The whole wide world

Plotting the next adventure

They stand here and tell funny stories of the little boy who got on a boat to go to Malaysia but got lost and ended up in Australia feeding the kangaroos. Or the mouse in Africa that flew in an airplane to China for New Years, he got lost along the way and Batman rescued him and brought him to Singapore after they fought the bad guys.

Under the Stars

Our church had a fabulous activity the other night: Prom Night.

So,

A hot pink Salvation Army dress was found,

A pink bow tie was made to match,

I even tried to crimp my hair and Dave wore his dancing shoes. It was a blast!

MJ

The kindergarten class hamster came home with us for the weekend. His name is Michael Jackson, MJ for short. The whole class voted on the name.

We were very popular at the bus stop after school. And the entertainment for the rest of the weekend was set. Although we did have to wait for David to get home before MJ was taken out of the cage.

Noah was very careful and gentle. He made sure the hamster had enough water and food and even cleaned out the cage.

Gage could not contain his excitement. He wanted to hold that hamster. and pet him. and hug him. and keep him forever. When Michael was in the ball Gage put him in a box with a blanket, tucked him in, sang him songs, and even said his bedtime prayer:

"Dear Heavenly Father. I am so so happy that MJ is here. Please bless my Mommy and my Daddy and my brother. Bless that MJ won't have scary dreams. Amen."

CAMBODIA: Kbal Spean

Right up this path and then about a 2 km steep hike through the jungle is a river we just had to see. Enough to take the whole crew with us.

Noah and his little buddy Will hiked so fast "Quick! This is the only way out of here!" Gage was perched high on Daddy's shoulders for the best view.

We hiked up and over huge rocks, up stairs of tree roots, and over small streams. Once we were completely sweltering and had entirely sweat through all our clothes we reached the top.

And it was gorgeous. There were carvings built at the top of the waterfall in the 11th century.

Our guide was awesome and hiked all the way up to explain all the carvings to us. There were mostly hindu gods and animals. A big beautiful one of Vishnu. Thousands of 'lingas' were also carved across the bottom of the river bed. They believed that as the water washed over the lingas it would become blessed and travel down into the rice fields and the city. Can you believe they are still there?

Lee was a bit surprised that the kids didn't stay too long at the top but were ready to turn around and hike down. He told me that when Cambodians do this hike they stop at the top to picnic or take a sleep in a hammock, because "Cambodians like to rest." Unluck us crazy Americans? What a great sport.

Gage could have stayed all day. Throwing rocks and sticks into the blessed water. Finding tadpoles and dragonflies.

CAMBODIA: silk farm

Have you ever held a worm in your hand while it wiggled? The day we visited the Silk Farm Noah was the only one in our family brave enough to hold one. (Well...ok, Gage was fast asleep in the van and David stayed with him, so it was only me who wouldn't touch the little thing. Would you?)

The tour at the silk farm was fantastic. The Artisans d'Angkor show you the whole process. From silk worms munching on mulberry leaves,

to the spinning of cocoons,

to the harvesting and spinning of the thread, thinning and dyeing,

all the way to weaving gorgeous material. The women sitting at the looms were fast with their designs and generous with their smiles.

I was surprised at how much silk could come out of a single worm and how intricate the whole process was. Noah loved the worms and really really wanted to crank the wheel on one of the big looms. And guess what? He finally got to. Because Cambodians are awesome like that.

Even after watching a worm spin a cocoon of raw silk, or hiking through the Cambodian jungle and climbing over ancient ruins, if you asked any of these kids what their favorite part of the day was they just might tell you it was the golf cart ride back to their hotel rooms. We are so glad we traveled with good friends. The kids never got enough.

CAMBODIA: floating village

One day we drove out to the Tonle Sap Lake to tour the floating village. On the way we passed many neighborhoods of houses on stilts.

The lake is the largest fresh water lake in SE Asia and is a major source of fish for the whole area. In the rainy season this lake swells to 6 times its normal size.

A large population of Vietnamese people live on the river in floating houses. Some are nicer than others. They tie their houses to the trees and when the river covers the trees they move and find another.

They have a school, small stores, even a church.

But no electricity, no running water, no toilets. They use the river for everything. We saw little boats filled with vegetable gardens, dog houses, chicken coops.

When I asked Noah if he would like to live in a floating village. He surprised me. He said no. He said he liked his room in Singapore. Maybe he is catching on to how good he really has it.

CAMBODIA: Bantreay Srei

This temple was small but gorgeous. Different from the others in many ways, especially the color.

Noah said the Khmer writing looked like Sanskrit with ocean waves in it. Really? Like Sanskrit? Go Noah.

CAMBODIA: Ta Keo

I can't help but post about all these temples. They were gorgeous. This one is called Ta Keo.

It was one of the biggest built but then abandoned and never carved like the others. It was hit by lightning and believed very unlucky. No one ever used it.

Noah and I learned to take the stairs sideways they were so steep.

The boys did awesome at the temples but were very happy to go back to swim at the hotel.

CAMBODIA: Ta Prohm

Some of these ancient temples are restored and roped off. Others are kept in a more natural state. Like Ta Prohm - Noah's favorite.

Some of the trees are supporting the building and some of the buildings are supporting the trees.

Gage taking a break.

Mom needed a break too. But opted for a massage. We had the most amazing one hour Thai massage at this place our driver recommended. By the looks of it would you believe it was only $6? Probably. Cheryl said it best - traveling in South East Asia is never boring.

CAMBODIA: Angkor Wat and Bayon

Angkor Wat is the main attraction in Siem Reap. It is a HUGE ancient temple built in the 1100s for the king and a city larger than London. Can you see me and the boys in front of the gates?

The main temple with 5 towers.

The boys loved climbing through the doorways and running down the halls. We made activity sheets and checklists to keep them going when they got tired - Go to the Hall of Echos. How many towers does the temple have? Can you find 10 apsaras?

The temples were covered in beautiful intricate carvings and bas reliefs telling stories of battles, daily life, or religion. Influenced by India and sometimes changing from Hindu to Buddhist and back again. The Churning of the Ocean of Milk was a beautiful story of a tug a war between good and evil with a gorgeous relief that was found at several of the temples.

Another huge temple was called Bayon. It has 54 towers each with a huge face carved on them. They think its the face of King JayavarmanVII combined with Buddha. Two hundred faces throughout the whole temple. Can you see the faces on the towers in the picture?

We climbed all over this one. Up super steep stairs, on blocks of fallen bricks. The boys were not picky.

After a hot and sweaty day exploring the temples, dinner and ice cream at the Blue Pumpkin never tasted so good.

And we finally tried the fish spa. $2 for 20 minutes. We did not last that long. A handful of fish nibbling on your feet tickles SO MUCH. But was still surprisingly nice.