Christmas concerts and Cambodia

I am rather disappointed in myself for letting the blog slide. I really enjoyed keeping track of my doings and feelings while I was walking but since I have returned I have not found the 'right' time for writing and I think I have felt that it is probably boring to other people. I have also had difficulty uploading my photos as well.  Technology is a wonderful thing but also challenging and a fickle friend.
The weeks seem to be flying past and I have done so much since the last post.
My bushwalking friends booked a lodge up at Mt Buller, about two hours north east of Melbourne in the Alpine region, for the Melbourne Cup weekend. This is really only one day but it usually morphs into a weekend away because Melbourne Cup is a holiday (in Melbourne only) and it is on the first Tuesday in November.  It is the horse race that stops a nation for the two minutes it takes to run! We usually get away on a Friday and return on Tuesday evening but this year I was going away to HongKong on Tuesday morning so we all returned on the Monday.  We intended to do some day bush walks rather than camp and hike as we used to do. We are not organising the long walks we loved  to undertake a few years ago now that we all have grandchildren and travel overseas a lot more.
Buller was unexpectedly cold but beautiful.  It snowed which was magical but did pose an issue for walks.  We ended up painting and drawing as three of us have embarked on art programs over the last two years. It was such fun to work with friends like  this.  We also did a lot of talking, eating and drinking of course. Walk? We managed a couple over the weekend then it was back to Melbourne and my trip to HongKong and Cambodia

 Sunday Mt BullerMonday Mt Buller!

I flew to Hong Kong for the birthday of Eileen,  Peter's cousin. It was a lot of fun meeting her friends from, Vancouver, Malaysia, New York, Scotland, Hong Kong plus spending time with my brothers and sisters -in -laws, her sister Kathleen and daughter Kate who I had visited in Kent as well as
the Aussie cousins from South Australia. Hong Kong was still experiencing the protests which are disrupting bus routes and general transport. They are very tidy with their tents all in a neat row.

Eileen had organised a cruise to Po Toi Island where we swam, hiked and of course ate great seafood. It was a fun day and we also paid tribute to Peter's  Aunt who's ashes had been spread around here. We all threw flowers onto the water. It was very rough past the island so the boat was tossing and rolling but calmed once we went into the cove to go ashore.

The restaurant was very humble but the fish and seafood served was so delicious. Cousin Lawrie had a great time helping to serve the food.  

 The   trip back was calm and it was interesting seeing the city lights.

Next day was the actual party and what a hoot that turned out to be. Eileen was piped in with bagpipes,  two of her god sons performed rap dances with great flair and then we had karaoke. Each table had to perform a song. It was such fun and we danced all night. Such a happy occasion.
Friday after was a shopping day in Hong Kong and then off to Cambodia.
In Cambodia we met Sister Helene who runs a charity that assists young girls to recover from being abandoned or trafficked in the sex trade. We were privileged to visit her hostel and a hospice for palliative care. The group(except for Anthea, Lawrie, Karen and myself)  that went to Cambodia with Eileen were all school friends who had been taught by Sister Helene at high school in Hong Kong.

 

They were all wanting to help her project in Cambodia and it was such a warm reunion. We were all inspired.
After visiting with Sister we went to the Palace, the killing fields, and the genocide museum. It was a
sobering experience. Phnom Penh, and the rest of Cambodia, is still in recovery from the Pol Pot regime.  It is a country literally rebuilding itself and very poor still. After being in Europe and Hong Kong it is quite shocking to see how poor and humble the lives of the Cambodians are. Despite this they are very eager to do a good job and be helpful to tourists.

 We flew to Siem Reap  to visit the temples of Angor Wat and Banyon, Angor Thom and others. They are so mysterious and grand. It was fascinating to learn about the history of these buildings and the civilisation that created them. I was particularly interested because most of it was built over the sane period as the castles in Spain (9th to 12th century). It was extremely hot and after a couple of days we were templed out and rearranged our program to visit the floating village on Tonle Lake. That was fascinating as it really is a floating village; schools, churches, police station, supermarket all floating.
They shelter in behind mangroves as the lake is so large you can't see to the other side at all. Most are Vietnamese fisherfolk but to be honest I am not sure I would be wanting to eat the fish. Some fish are farmed right beside the houseboats and that means everything is in the water. Despite that the
houseboats are kept neat and even have plants and are painted brightly. We are so privileged but I am sure they are happier.

 

Back to Siem Reap and I was very keen to see silk made. I had silkworms as a child but never made a thing with the cocoons(that I recall anyway). We visited a silk'factory' and saw the whole process. It was fascinating and so interesting and labour intensive. These artisan training places give training and work to the most undereducated young people and are also trying to revive the craft skills that were decimated by PolPot. After seeing how hard the women worked at the silk spinning we felt that the price for the silk products was not so outrageous after all and spent quite a bit!

Back to Phnom Penh and dinner at the Foreign Correspondents Club Bar, which is an institution and has photos from the war period up the walls. There was a Japanese guy there who we asked to take our photo. He had been puzzling over us as a group and offered. He was an ex journo.
Back to Hong Kong and a bit of shopping then home to Melbourne. A whirlwind trip but interesting and fun getting to know new people.
I had no sooner arrived then an SOS from Jonathan asking me to mind Ziggy while they did a photo
shoot on the same day for Common Dust their new Tshirt/clothing business. Just as well Hong Kong is mostly in the same time zone and I don't  get jet lag!
Since then I have been applying myself to writing the two units for the library degree and we had Ziggy's Christmas concert for Mini Maestros. Grandma and Ziggy  with the rest of his class had to perform in front of lots of parents and the Muneri/Leong entourage. Ziggy has been rather shy to start in his classes but not here! He was waving to his Aunties and parents and a veritable show pony! He was thrilled to receive his Blue and gold ribbon. Grandma didn't do too badly either, kept in tune, and in sync with the movements.

The entourage from the right, other grandmother,  Regina( GoGo), Chipewa Clare's sister, Clare, Jonathan and Ziggy.

My art has branched out to watercolours. I love it but I am learning how difficult a medium it is when you know nothing. It requires patience and consideration which is quite a challenge for me. My usual style is to leap in and start splashing about but this is a gentle art and I am intrigued by that. My late husband used a frog as my symbol on the family computer. He had a red sports car, Jonathan had a skateboard and Nick had a guitar. When I asked why I got a frog, he explained it was because I was a
great one for jumping into everything. I couldn't disagree and decided it was symbolic of my general enthusiasm for life and saw it as a compliment. It isn't necessarily the best way to approach watercolours but I am sticking with it.

 I have only had a few lessons so no Van Gogh but hopefully potential for improvement.