I watch the forest breathe

The land of yogis and trees. I look back on my childhood memories at this enchanted pocket of the world – located in central Sri Lanka, Ulpotha is rich with the purest energy emanating from the fresh faces of guests to the organically grown food to the wild surrounding fauna. The trees range from bamboo to banyan, the tops of some lie submerged in the fresh water tank; during dry season, the water marks can be seen striped across the middle of the ancient rocks that line the perimeter of the water. Jumping off the steps, I glide into the earthy water and lie on my back looking up at the grand mountains and taking a moment to reflect. I imagine this scene millions of years ago, untouched, exactly the same - a long necked dinosaur leaning it’s head into the water for a drink would top it off perfectly.

I’ve been going since I was a buba myself, once upon a time groups of us were rampaging through the ancient forest playing cops and robbers, hiding behind the giant roots of trees or the lush green grass of the rice paddies – careful not to disturb the adults who we could always hear laughing or chanting, the sound of a gong now and then, reverberating across the grounds. It was our magical playground by day and by night it all disappeared with no electricity or lights; instead, oil lamps hang scattered inside the mud huts or along the pathways. It was so raw and wild that we’d always be careful to stomp our feet loudly for snakes and creepy crawlies, it wasn’t until 10 years later that I actually witnessed one!

We never appreciated it enough as children, but now as we live such chaotic lives full of all sorts of stressors, Ulpotha is the perfect place to wind down and press pause for a little while. With no sense of time you’re able to truly slow your breath down: in yoga classes, during an Ayurvedic healing, a natural shower or a gentle bike ride through the local village. Everything’s very spread out in Ulpotha, allowing you to be social yet have your space at the same time, it doesn’t take too long to get your bearings but ‘the Cade hut’ is definitely one to remember, as it’s always open for a Tambili (King coconut) or a yummy snack.

It’s rare to have time to fully relax these days and a shame that it often takes a drastic change in environment to do so – but with options like Ulpotha readily available, why wouldn’t you jump at the opportunity? Sri Lanka in itself is a gem, with its strong Buddhist influence, scenic land and loving people (despite their heavy history of conflict). I’ve never met someone who hasn’t shared the same thoughts and feelings as I.

We’re usually lucky enough to go to Ulpotha for New Year and while it’s always pretty similar, there’s something special you take away each time you leave. The same faces tend to appear and new ones are always welcomed. This year was the driest new year so far, the water in the tank was so low, we waded through the middle of the lake feeling the melted chocolate-like mud squelch and squirt through our toes, the wading soon turned into a therapeutic mud bath as we lathered it all over our bodies and returned to land to bake on the bank in the afternoon sun.

By night, it comes to life, friends, guests, local villagers and staff all joined together to dance on the smooth rocks to the rhythmic beats of Sri Lankan drummers, while the girl’s jangled and spun in their beautiful saris. Come 8am the local shaman had arrived to bless the land for another year by boiling the milk for the milk-rice (a local treat) as we patiently stood and observed the ritual.

Although time doesn’t exist in Ulpotha, it always ends too fast. But you come away inspired by the culture and energy that you’ve gained. One day I hope to take my children there, to run along the dusty paths, feel the magical energy and watch the forest breathe.

Bikini's and booze Part 1.

I look out of tinged windows in Bandaranaike airport, Colombo – the clear blue skies tease my eyes and prickle my skin as I think back on the most beautiful holiday that I’d been thinking about for months, and now it’s come to an end. The smell of cinnamon and cardamom waft around my computer screen as I sip on a chai latte in coffee bean and reminisce…

We started off here in a very different zone, our ‘4’ hour journey (that ended up being about 10) was delayed about 5 times before we landed. The one runway in Male (the capital of the Maldives) proved quite troublesome when there was more than one plane that needed to land, so we waited in the air until it was our go, with regular 3 minute updates from the talkative pilot.

After a conversation at dinner the other night I found out that the Maldives have made an agreement with the US to move there once the islands sink, I think they’re predicted to last for another 40 years? How bizarre though, imagine being from this side of the world and uprooting to a totally different country because yours was underwater..

So we sat in Male, confined to our cabin on the plane without being allowed to leave as they walked up and down every 20 minutes spraying that horrible air freshener, itbeginning of our holiday…

felt like a scene from Auschwitz – we entertained ourselves playing drawing games and making lots of noise with the onset of cabin fever and slight insanity that was relieved a few hours later when we reached Colombo! Excitement soon turned to panic as dad realized he’d lost all three of his bankcards at the

My brother mooched around the airport pushing trolleys and asking us all to hurry up, I comforted dad with extreme empathy for his situation – was it 3 or 4 bankcards I’d managed to lose over 6 months of travelling? Mum wandered around asking the people behind the travel booths how to get her sim card to work and then we received the good news that the cards had been found! So we all waited in anticipation for another 40 minutes, to then discover that someone else’s cards had been found… booo!! With the stress of the situation, the heat from outside and the long journey, everyone’s temper was on the rise. We all crammed into a car with our mounds of luggage along the new and pristine highway that made us feel like we were back in KL – it’s a beautiful highway, appropriate with the increasing tourism in this country post-civil war, but half the country can’t afford to drive on it! On top of that, it was built for free by Chinese prisoners, as the money to build the bridge was borrowed from China hence they’ll reap half the profit for the next 20 years while not having spent anything on the labor to build it! A recent response from a Singhalese taxi driver on the issue was ‘It’s ok though! They were put in prison for petty crimes, they’re not murderers!’ haha, love a bit o’ positive thinking.

Morning yoga

So we got to our friends place, showered up and got ready for dinner, to find dads cards stashed in a ‘secret’ zip of his wallet, dear.oh.dear.

We walked over to ‘The Lagoon’ in Cinnamon Grand, our favorite seafood restaurant in Sri Lanka, for a reasonable price you get to sit next to a beautiful garden/ pond adorned with fairy lights, the fresh seafood is lain out on beds of ice with the ‘cooking styles’ chalked onto a black board next to them. You choose your seafood and cooking style and then watch the chefs cook up a beautiful meal of tamarind prawns, red curry fish, black bean oysters etc. with a few complimentary chocolates to take the edge off after the meal.

The boys chilling

J was arriving on a later flight so instead of dossing on the computer I went out for a drink with mum and a few mates, the Asian glow set in pretty fast but thanks to the dim lighting it could be played off as over-done blusher :p. R. was an interesting man, despite his financial success he took the greatest joy in living on $300 a month in a little town on the border of India where he went back to basics and enjoyed life, void of society’s stressors. He could only do that for half a year before having to return to Colombo to work for another 6 months – but what a dream! We discussed the value of money vs. time and a 'In Time' was mentioned in which time was the currency – the rich always had too much and the poor are always running out, doing anything to gain even a few valuable minutes, living in panic until they realize it’s too late.. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdadZ_KrZVw), Interesting concept eh.

Ulpotha

We got home, swaying slightly, and after half an episode of ‘Orange is the New Black’, J walked through the doors buzzing at having had a great conversation with the taxi driver. A glass of water, PJ’s, snuggle time and finally, sleep.

In the morning J and dad went off to Kolpethi fish market, an experience within itself if you’ve never been to a hot, smelly, loud and busy fish market in Colombo. Haha, I laughed at the prospect that this was their first bonding activity, I guess they’ll remember it well. I did my yoga, met up with J and tuk-tuked around Colombo, pointing out all the familiar sites, vijithayapa bookshop, the national museum, my old house, shops and restaurants. I couldn’t believe how much was changing – the Shangri-La has taken up a massive portion of land, right next to the ‘ECT hotel’ (whatever that is…), the Marriott’s round the corner from that and TGI Fridays has moved into town! When I lived here our one hang-out hot spot was the Coffee Bean! That’s old news now… A quick stop in Odel and then Liberty Plaza to buy a camera for the trip before rushing home to make our deadline – 10 minutes before the van pulled up to take us to Kegal that was about 4 hours away. Up the windy roads we drove, playing ‘who wants to be a millionaire’ on the iPad while noticing the light outside dimming to darkness. The van couldn’t quite make it up the steep hill to Guava House so we jumped out, grabbed our bags and walked up to the fairytale house of wood and glass that R. had designed. Big hugs were in order with our second family who’s house it was, all of whom looked absolutely knackered post-hike up Adams Peak – a gorgeous site that we didn’t manage to conquer this time round. The darkness of the night hid the rubber trees that surrounded us and as J hadn’t seen it during the day I nattered on about what would be revealed come sunrise.

Guava house

We sat down to a yummy Sri Lankan dinner that left our lips swollen and noses streaming with the hot green chilies and after a few flower fumes and a glass of wine we were chatting and laughing away until our eyes began to droop. I crawled into bed while J and J managed to stay up with a bottle of Arrack (Sri Lanka’s local rum, made out of coconut) to accompany them until 3am, only to be awoken by me a few hours later tehehe.

Our days in Guava house included drunk rounds of charades, some heated debates, hot curries, muscly fish, frisky walks in the forest, cold swims and morning yoga – a fantastic start to the holiday ahead.

Ulpotha was our next destination, a ‘5-star hippy commune’ that was created by our friends G and V. No electricity, organic vegetarian food, yoga, Ayurveda, a fresh water lake for swimming, natural outdoor showers, bicycles, mud-huts and mountains – we’ve been coming almost-annually for New Year and I was excited to share this experience with J.  As it’s such a hugely spread out place, it’s always disorientating arriving at night and walking around with a little light while trying to stamp your feet loud enough to scare off the snakes on the path. We made our way into our little room in the mud-hut by the cade – a little ‘snack/ drink’ hut that always has something yummy to munch on but is packed with enthusiastic yogis at about 7.30am – a natural alarm! Hmm..

We’d made the mistake of leaving our kerosene lamp burning in our room with no windows, so re-entering our hole after leaving it greeted you with a strong waft of kerosene gas, no wonder we slept so well…  The next night was the attack of the mozzies so I suggested sleeping on the 1-person swing chair next to the rice paddy outside. We dozed in and out of shallow sleep until the yogis wondered past us at about 6am and we grumpily slid away into our den. As though we’d paid off our karma by sleeping on the swing, that day we had the choice to move to the lake hut that required a boat to access it, or the tree house that was about 25m off the ground in the top of a beautiful tree overlooking the lake. We chose the tree house, not realizing quite how scary it was to climb up it. I dreaded thinking what would happen after a few drink on New Year – luckily we managed by not going back until 8am the next morning while we were dysfunctional with fatigue but not too intoxicated/ wobbly.

The moment it turned NY!

The ambalama was near us so we knew when meal times were, grabbing a clay plate you fill it up with all the delicious organic curries and red rice, eating gracefully with your right hand and pushing the food into your mouth with your thumb. Large finger bowls with pieces of fresh lime were set out to clean your hands after eating so you could grab a slice of fresh pineapple and a cup of ginger tea. In our hut we had a secret stash of goodies that I’d share out when red eyes appeared, the novelty of English sweets wasn’t so high anymore now that I lived there, whereas the others reacted with ‘Real MnS sweets!? What!’ bursting with excitement as they fumbled with the blue toffee wrappers.

The first fireworks of new year

After dinner we’d go and sit with the adults to sip on Patron in the little courtyard that was bathed in candlelight. Flower fumes rose over to the swinging chair that hung over the lake, as we thought about the crocodile that’s bright eyes stood out against the darkness very close to where we were sitting a few months before we’d arrived. They’d managed to catch it and release it into a different lake by dangling a poor puppy as bait... survival of the fittest?

This year the lake was very low as the rains hadn’t come as planned, the water mark could be seen about 1.5m up the ancient stone rocks that stood in clumps in the water. Trees that were usually completely underwater now stood tall and where we had once swam was now land dressed in grass that we claimed as our private beach, laying our towels over it and roasting in the sun. The peace was occasionally disturbed by the odd BANG as A.’s son scooped together mud to create bombs that he filled with firecrackers, left in the sun to dry and ignited with a quick shout to warn us all. ‘What’s your son planning on becoming?!’ Dad said jokingly, A. turned to his son ‘There are bigger firecrackers in the car, just warn us before you set them off so we can run’ this is when computer games get taken too far... But a pretty cool skill for a 10 year old I must admit.

Ambalama

Once we were sufficiently roasted we’d wade into the water, the bottom of which can’t usually be felt at all but now you could walk across the whole thing.

‘Let’s play water polo!’ G suggested, the oldies against the teens. It’s hilarious watching adults get competitive as the mature demeanor fades and everyone’s inner child comes to play, wading through the lake with thick squidgy mud sifting between our toes, it got everyone panting soon enough! After a while I called half time for a quick beauty-break during which we lathered the mud all over our bodies, it rapidly turned into a mud fight. Mmm, muddy hair, muddy body, muddy everything and rinsed off with only a few wriggles underwater leaving your skin soft and clear – how’s that for a new product slogan :p. A side effect that must be mentioned is the slight ‘fake tan’ look that for some reason only appeared on dad haha.  

Outdoor showers

I went to wash off the residue in the shower and as I put down my soap on the stone beneath the palm tree I heard a big thump, as though something had fallen from above my head, I glanced up to see the second half of a 2m long rat snake slithering between the dried palm leaves and out of the showering area. Ugh, I shivered and got under the cold water to rinse off the memory, at least they’re not poisonous…

On the last night we treated ourselves to a romantic hot shower. You ladle out the hot water that’s boiling in a huge cauldron outside over fresh flames and mix it to your desired temperature into your own little cauldron. While one soaps up, sitting on a large rock, the other pours water over them with a coconut ladle until the cauldron’s empty and then you swap over. It’s always more convenient having one before the sun goes down so your imagination doesn’t go too wild with creepy crawlies emerging from the depths of the forest.

As we were the ‘friends’ and not the ‘paying guests’ at the retreat, the yoga classes were always full to the brim so we took over the empty yoga shala once everyone had left, stretching into our body gloves and filling up as much space as possible. One afternoon we engaged in a deeply intimate meditation called ‘____’ in which you look into your partners eyes continuously for however long you can, I wriggled at how uncomfortable it was for the first few minutes and soon followed J’s lead and got into the flow, watching each others faces distort and change color with the intensity, it was an interesting experience to say the least… So the ‘calm’ box was ticked off, now the craziness was due, it was New Years eve after all.

The Sri Lankan drummers made their appearance in full traditional dress with anklets jingling and their hands moving against the drum faster than anyone I’ve seen before. Caught in a mesmerizing trance, the girls came out to elegantly dance to the rhythm followed by the little ones that moved in impressive synchrony. And then, dinner was served. Spread out across a huge rock by the beautiful banyan tree that was adorned with flags and hanging lanterns, we sat and ate our New Years meal, drinking beers and arrack to keep the spirits high. I was told about an hour before this, that I was to DJ part of the evening with no playlist planned whatsoever, how bloody stressful, flicking through all your songs one by one with total despair even though you’ve heard them all a million times before. But despite the stress it was a musical success, we all danced and jammed and lay on the straw mats, looking up at the array of stars and down at the lotus lights floating in the lake. Fireworks went off every hour until 8am by which time the village shaman had arrived to give the blessing for the New Year by boiling and eating the notorious ‘milk rice’. We’d spent the last few hours sitting with the remaining party animals around a fire with a few spliffs, watching the light of the sun slowly mask the stars, we climbed our way back up to our tree and crashed out till lunch. New years eve wasn’t a very messy night besides my poor brother’s first drunken spew all over dads white trousers, you gotta learn somehow…

The evening of the 1st was a little more eventful, I paced wide eyed between the huts, guiltily trying to avoid the game of charades that I’d organized earlier for all the yogis in the ambalama. They all soon went to bed and we created our own games that were paired with funny conversations until the room began spinning in various directions and the night came to an end after 3-glasses of wine and my head in the toilet. J lead us back to our tree with the help of the little Belgian man shining his torch up to us so we could avoid a terrible fall on our last night in Ulpotha… Avoiding confrontation with people from the night before, we left with heavy heads at 6am the next morning for a 6-hour drive to the beach down south. ‘http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M36OGCfYp3A'

Cambodian romance

Colourful juices

'Air Asia flight AK1473 is ready to board, please proceed to the departure gates', the ladies voice echoes across the airport (funny how it's usually a woman's voice - but that can be saved for another post) we sit, in a weird delusional/ buzzed state, after an early start and a large coffee. I can't believe our Christmas holiday is over already. But I don't feel that usual dread of having to go back to work or school, because the adventures just keep on rolling - much to the envy of the three other members of my family, hehe. So our trip - this is going to be a long one, but I'll try to keep it as concise as possible. .

The streets of P.P

As everyone knows the cheapest flights are usually at the most difficult hours, so we board our flight from Kuala Lumpur to Phnom Pen at 4am,  everyone appearing slightly bedraggled and zombie-like, I'm getting used to this look. This was mum and I's second trip to Cambodia, the first was the beginning of a love affair, the second is when the romance really kicked off. We lead the way as soon as we got to the airport, feeling fairly empowered as we grinned with the knowledge of the prices to pay and the places to go - we took the boys to our favourite little boutiquey cafe for a yummy brunch, introducing them to a beautiful Cambodian morning. Fresh beetroot, carrot, ginger and apple juices arrived, the colours vibrant against the white table cloth. The food followed suit, with a light start of soups, salads, fish and sweet potato rosti's. There was plenty of time for a taste of Khmer so a spot of western didn't seem a crime.  After dumping our stuff in the room, the family split according to sexes, the boys dossed in front of the TV, grinning from ear to ear as they melted contently into their beds, and us girls went to our favourite, and very dangerous shop Ambre, for an indulgent spree. We arrived back about  4 hours later, sweaty and tired but refreshed after a king coconut break, opening the door, the boys lay in exactly the same position we'd left them in, I smiled.

Spiders straight from the kitchen
eek!

My mind roamed free as I inhaled a few flower girl fumes and we went to a beautiful local Khmer restaurant that gave it's profits to street orphans - the heart put into the food was evident as we munched down on masaman curry, Asian greens and so much more. We fell asleep satiated and happy to be there. The next morning we made our way to Kep, a little seaside town near Kampot where the French influence is large with the beautiful architecture and French boutiques. We had to give the boys a taste of the notorious Kampot pepper crab, a meal where you remain totally present as you use your fingers to delicately discover the fresh meat underneath the hard, red shell. Your eyes widening as you crunch down on a fresh, green piece of Kampot pepper, little yelps coming out from everyone in turn as a prick from a claw or leg was felt. It's funny being back in Asia, and having to slow down from the fast paced London vibe. Getting used to slower service at restaurants and testing your patience as the orders repeatedly come back wrong or different to what you expected - laughing about it's the easiest way out, compared to the simmering anger that my brother was experiencing opposite me. We all slumped down onto the round, comfy deck chairs by the pool for an afternoon siesta. I awoke to see everyone snoozing around me, and slid quietly into the water. The clouds were positioned in such a way that only a triangular shaped slither allowed you to see the glow of the setting sun. As it lowered it looked like the eye of an elephant, but warm, rich and knowing - a serene ending to a full-on day.

Cooking Kampot crabs

Lilo action

After us girls found a happy place with our morning yoga, we ventured to 'rabbit island', walking away from the crowds to find a tranquil, empty area on the white, sandy beach. I took off my dress and lathered myself in sun cream  laughing at mum's comment towards me "oh darling you're a beautiful colour, ivory almost" - secretly praying  that the ivory would shift up on the colour scale post-Cambodia. I swam out and for hours I felt like a child again, rolling around, making weird shapes and thinking weird things, with no one but the fish to judge you or tell you what's wrong or right. I lay floating above the turquoise water, my head half submerged - underneath the surface it always amazes me that there's a whole other world, the distant sounds of boats, fish pecking on coral or swishing through the water as their way of making their presence known. And then above water you have the birds, the people, the wind, cicada's and crickets screaming their tunes.  The sun zapped our energy and our water so we went in search of something yummy. Starting off with fresh juicy watermelons, green papaya salad followed, king coconut and a variety of grilled seafood and Cambodian goodness - everything coming to a 'hefty' sum of $10 - I love it here.

Rabbit island

New years eve was never so relaxed, we played cards, we ate amazing food, restaurant hopping for tastes of it all and sipping on cocktails before snuggling up in bed. I walked out onto our veranda and lit my last cigarette of 2012, reflecting on the craziest year of my life and wondering what 2013 would hold. The next morning I felt utterly grateful for the clear head and the intact memories of the night before, a first for a long time. My dad was quick to slip into his seargent major role and hurry us all into the taxi to get to the beach in good time. So we gulped down our breakfast - scrambled eggs with the unesacary addition of a mountain of MSG, and we were finally off to Otres beach, (what Phuket was 20 years ago - basic and beautiful).

Coconuts

To entertain the young 'un in the car we played 'guess what I'm thinking', the game being constantly interrupted by fits of laughter as the realization of the ADD and 'out of it-ness' of every member of our family became increasingly apparant. 'Is it a metal?' 'Yes' 'Is it a parakeet ' ..  'Really?'.. The tyres hit bumpy ground as we veered off the road towards our little Robinson Crusoe beach huts. The picturesque Google image of white sandy beaches, tanned tourists and sparkling seas greeted us. Driving passed 'happy herb pizza' and 'mushroom point' made me giggle.

A bit of sibling bondage during a
civilized massage

I always discuss with friends how school zaps a lot of pleasure out of reading because so much text is unwillingly forced down our throats. But not having school, and taking the time to get into a good book is so worth it. This holiday I excitedly raced through 3, 'Living Beautifully with Uncertainty and Change' by Pema Chodron- An easy and concise read that teaches you the principles of Buddhism in a very relate-able manner - an appropriate title given my fear of instability that's now been thankfully lifted for the time being, a quote that I love is "Chaos should be regarded as extremely good news" - Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche (it explains why in the book). It taught me my most recent spiritual discovery, almost a form of meditation that can help in the most trying times - 'Tonglen' that I've been practising a lot lately. It's a Tibetan word meaning 'sending and receiving , look it up if you're interested, but the four basic steps are 1) to pause, 2) to visualize, feel your inhale as being heavy and your exhale being light, 3) breathing in the pain, and breathing out the relief and 4) expanding the situation to all those feeling the same way.

Cocktails

 The other two books weren't quite as spiritually enlightening, but sexually - haha E.L James does soft porn well. I was given the book as a slight joke, and I rolled my eyes at the thought of reading it, but after the first 3 pages I was hooked, and finished 2 books out of the 3 in two days. 'Fifty Shades of Grey' - the ultimate girly book. Most of my imagination from my childhood comes from books, and that's what makes them magic; your imagination can go so much further than any special affects created on a screen. It's sad how we, well I, mindlessly sit in front of the TV so much more often than fully engrossing myself in a book. Falling in love with a character, or a certain Mr. Grey, and closing the book with tears streaming down my face just because of a few words printed on a page - the magic that writing can do. I put the book down and swung side to side in our hammock, with a little spliff and cold soda water with a slice of lime.

Asian greenery

Our hut

The spliff didn't turn out to be such a good idea, we sat at the table for dinner and our lovely Scottish waiter Andrew approached our table for our order. 'Patrick and the 3 J's what would you like", everyone made their requests and the attention was shifted to me, causing a 5 minute, non-stop outburst of laughter. You know those moments when there's nothing to laugh about but you just can't stop yourself? And the realization that nothing's funny makes you laugh even more? Luckily it was slightly contagious and mum started as well - I didn't manage to make my order so mum thankfully made it for me. Andrew walked away smirking, and the boys blushed beetroot red, lowering their heads down on the table, 'I'm so embarrassed Jake' was all dad could say, and they looked at each other and shook their heads as our laughs slowly died down. The next few days were lazy as everyone wound down and got into their groove, with no game consoles or computers in reach. Yoga and sea swims for exercise and a little kayak down the nearby lagoon to see the bird life and the mangroves.. expecting to find ourselves in a peaceful paradise we ended up in a sewage dump, laughing and frantically trying to turn around without splashing the water everywhere, it was a funny site. The girls on one kayak, rowing in-sync and the boys on another, the dynamic was hilarious, mum constantly chirping in with 'pull up from your naval point, straight backs guys! open your heart centre' and Jake's response 'shut-up mum my back's fine!' Dad motored along in their kayak as my brother sat back proving to be as useful as a wet paper bag as he picked up on the sergeant major vibe,  shouting orders at everyone to row faster - we ended up tossing him out when we reached the sea.

A smile

In psychology you learn about 'in-groups' and 'out-groups', it's so fun being back with the family as the dynamic shifted between girls vs. boys to parents vs. kids to father and daughter vs. mother and son - it was endless and all such a light hearted laugh. Our taxi ride back to Phnom Pen was the cherry on top as we battled to understand the taxi driver who refused to speak to us, apart from his occasional phone conversations in which everyone in the car went into a shocked silence as he screamed in Khmer to whoever was on the other side of the line. We arrived at our hotel 2 hours late, having gone slightly crazy with cabin-fever, to crash out on soft white pillows as we enjoyed a final spot of luxury, what a happy ending. I look down at my arm, I'm not quite 50 shades darker but it's better than ivory at least  'Please turn off all electrical devices as we prepare for take-off', time to go!


Recipe of the day: Cha Traop Dot (pork and eggplant)

http://www.food.com/recipe/cha-traop-dot-cambodian-eggplant-pork-stir-fry-228764