I AM AN ADULT

 HELLO UNIVERSE! 

Things are going fabulous over in Cambodia! 

This month I have:

• Not been decapitated by numerous cars opening their doors as I decide to cycle past 
• Haven't been swallowed up by sinkhole sized pot-holes on the notorious Sok San Road
• I've hit a milestone with my latest project underway (thus why I haven't been writing too much on the blog) 
• MOVED INTO MY OWN APARTMENT (including the resident ginger pregnant cat) 
• Started a little cycle touring gig, taking out some people on bike tours around Siem Reap and pretending my Khmer is much better than it is 
• Secured my first client in Pet Care Cambodia  (my new dog walking, pet sitting side hustle) 
• Still been covering a fair few KM on my bicycle and on my legs with some infrequent morning runs 
• Enjoyed a few beers and margaritas 
• Went for an All-You-Can-Eat breakfast buffet

Life is great! things are moving so fast in this new little life I#m starting up and it's the first time in a longlonglonglong time that I'm somewhere that I have no intention of moving on from. 

Baby Theo is famous! 

Ultimate Frisbee squad

Letting the good times roll! You can still burn 1800kcals a day and still have belly creases when you sit down y'all 

Did someone say..breakfast buffet? 

Me and my Seattle sis, D! 

Me and Rahkee at the circus! 

Time of my Life in Temple Town

 Good morning everyone! 

As Summer draws top a close in Europe, the wet season is creeping closer to a close. It's not to say that we're not still getting downpours (Universally timed for when I'm out on a bike ride). However, our booming thunder and strobe lightning are gradually fading away. My time in Temple Town is taking on leaps and bounds.

It's been a while (well, since I cracked that bone in my leg last year) since I've been in an environment that has allowed me to unleash my best self. I've been confident but overran with laziness, or lack of motivation, or deprivation for the urge to social. Being the social human you all know me to be, that's a real change. 

I usually thrive in high-intensity environments (see my eight-month stint on that cruise ship or my contract in Tenerife as a hotel animator and scooter-riding-pirate) and for the most part, the past eighteen months or so have been....well...not high intensity, slow, and quite...boring. Arriving at Siem Reap and having a new city to call home is the strike of inspiration I've needed to take myself to the next level of whatever it is that I need next. 

Right now it's a great time to find the balance between my health, socialising, keeping fit, finding an output for some backed up creative energy. I've been going to art classes, made a bunch of new mates, cycle 50km every day, teaching myself to draw, I'm starting to play Ultimate Frizbee, writing a shit-tonne...and been drinking 4L of water a day. Adulting, achieved. 

So that's my latest little update. Might write about some funny stories coming up soon. Currently phoneless, alas, no photos at all. But you can just imagine me in full freckled glory, beaming at the camera! 

Staying in Siem Reap

 What a whirlwind the last month has been! I'm currently in the process of writing something a bit bigger than this blog, so the last few entries are pretty vague (watch this space!) but seeing that I'm pretty sure it's only my grandparents who read this, you all already know the juicy stories. 

I have decided to stick put in Siem Reap for a while. With my visa extension now lasting until February 2021, 

and no signs of Blighty beckoning me home anytime soon, I think Siem Reap is going to be my best option. Usua

lly the hustle and bustle and hoards of tourists and music battles between superclub Temple Bar and legendary pub Angkor What? is enough to make me appreciate the tranquillity of the island. But take all of that away and you can realise that Siem Reap is a rather charming town, and there is definitely enough to keep me busy.

I've checked into a hostel that is costing me about £50 for the whole month, and it's got A/C and 

a HOT SHOWER. Count me in! There's live music, $1 meals, yoga, new routes to cycle, a new river to run by in the early morning hours, friends here AND a new wakeboard park. Siem Reap is the right place for me right now. 

Not many new updates other than that. 

Water Buffalo water buffaloing 

West Baray Lake

The sun aint always shining in Siem Reap

THE LAST 26 DAYS IN PHOTOGRAPHS

And, sorry, not sorry, there's a lot.

Leaving Phnom Penh to Kampong Cham and The Mekong Delta 

One of my nights staying at a temple, in maybe a less desirable town.

getting covered in dust every time someone passes

More lightening. About 30 minutes before it hit us. 

 Mondulkiri and Hills 

The beginning of the National Parks. 

Cycling about 20 minutes before complete darkness, 20km before the next noted building on a map, a thunderstorm rapidly approaching and a flat backtire...oh and a 600m incline up a mountain. Never been so happy to see a power station to sleep for the night.

foggy mountain mornings

Worth it for the sunrises and sunsets

that is not a nipple 

Ting Mongs 

Like we have scarecrows to well...scare crows. In Cambodia they have Ting Mongs to scare away bad spirits and protect their houses. That's why some are wearing surgical masks, carrying replica guns or machetes...and well, who knows why that one has got a spliff in his mouth. The Khmer have got a sense of humor for sure. Here's a small selection of my favourites.

Tribal Cemetery in Ratanakiri Province 

A traditional cemetery for the Tumpoun people.

"Cemeteries have been set up near Tumpoun villages because people do not want their deceased to be far away and the villagers must carry the body to the cemetery. Tumpoun cemeteries are separated into areas for those who died a "normal death" and accidental death. Families visit their deceased relatives after they have been buried for five days to check whether they need food.
The structures above the grave symbolizes a house for the deceased. Graves are decorated with various items. Relatives of the deceased provide the deceased with the materials they used in their life. For example, if they were a farmer, they would be left farming equipment because they will use their tools in their next life. If the family forgets some tools the ghost of the deceased will come back to ask for them."

Ratanakiri

Jerky at the market 

Waterfall camping 

Waterfall camping PRE rain

Walking down the stairs the night before, the morning after the way up wasn't so easy. 

Didn't want to use the stairs anyway

Lady and her egg sac, or half a pringle. not sure.

 Pagoda Life

Big drum makes a big sound. Even bigger when you sleep next to it and they hit it at 4am. Multiple times.

Across The River From Laos

Looking for the stone I've lost...

Some places I've slept the night have been more beautiful than others. 

Preah Vihear Province 

Pursat Preah Vihear Temple. It took me over an hour to climb the almost 3000 stairs here for sunrise. 

my lil rocky moment. well deserved maybe, a mountain and 90km in one day. 

The Preah Vihear Province of Cambodia has one of the highest rates of injuries and fatalities in the world from landmines. 

Bicycle Graveyard

"how many legs has a millipede got?"