Fish market and jungle

On Tuesday, Feb. 20th, walked down to the fish/crab market

The road to the sea from our place.

Fish market

BBQ seafood

Morning blessings

fish huts

View from our bike ride up the side of the hill.

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Cambodia

Arrive back in Phenom Penh for 2 days.  A reminder how great the food is here and inexpensive.  We met up with a friend of Frank's and enjoyed a lunch overlooking the city.

green mango salad

Monday the 19th, we hired a driver to take us to the southern coast of Cambodia - Kep National Park.  It was a 3 hour drive ($55US) we are staying for 3 nights at Le Bout du Mond. A rustic jungle resort.   French is prevalent.  The menu is listed first in French, then English and most of the guests here speak France as well. Our cottage has a stunning view of the sea and the sunset.

Our cottage is large and roomy with an open air shower and views in 3 directions.  It feels like living in a tree house.  The bed is comfortable but sleep is often interrupted[ by the noises of the jungle.

View from our sitting area.  Next to the sinks in the bathroom is a large bowl with small fish which people like to put their feet into since the fish nibble at your calluses.  A beauty treatment I guess.

Sunset 

Leaving the Maldives

Sunday February 18th
Our final days in Bandos were snorkelling in the morning and then napping, reading and eating.

Among the many colourful fish, we were lucky to see a giant sea turtle.  We hovered close to it for a good 15 minutes.  At one point it turned and swam towards us.  Came within a metre.  The shell on its back is at least one metre in length and when it swims, its feet stretch way out to either side.  The other life forms on the island are large fruit bats.  They look prehistoric and we occasionally see them with their rubbery wings fly overhead as they perch on a fruit tree.  

Our day of departure was overcast with some rain.  It was a long night and morning travelling back to Singapore and then waiting 7 hours for our flight to Cambodia - Phenom Phen. 

View from our cottage.

Maldives

Monday, February 12

After a 4 hour flight which was a little bumpy for over an hour, we arrived by 9pm in the city of Male in the Maldives.  We were efficiently whisked by boat to our resort island. We had a late meal by the sea and then to our cottage.  A lovely space.  Woke up and immediately checked the beach out.

Frank enjoying the view as well .  

To our amazement, there was a massive school of small fish along the shore.  In the photo it  is the dark strip close the shore.  But then along came 1/2 to 3/4 metre long sharks.

The dark image at the top is the shark.  There were about 3 of them and we were only about 1 metre from all of this.  Fascinating!  Later in the morning we put on our snorkelling gear and swam out to explore.  Again only metres from the shore and were were into the coral reef and numerous different fish.   Should be an entertaining few days.

Singapore, 2018

Sunday, February 11
Arrived yesterday in Singapore and was shocked to see the changes since I was there in 94-95.  I do not like it.  The waterfront has been replaced by a mass of high rises.

This is the massive Sands hotel.  At the top are bars and a swimming pool. I was so discouraged that I wondered how we would enjoy another 2 days.  On Sunday we spent the morning in Little India and not a single building had been replaced.  Had some charm.

Also we could afford to eat here.  The other part of Singapore we saw yesterday was very expensive - $10 for a poor cup of coffee.

A nice view into Little India

In the afternoon we visited the waterfront and its ultra futuristic scenery.

Frank is standing at the opposite side.  The inverted glass bowl magnifies sound.  When Frank spoke in a normal voice, I could hear him on my side as if he were standing beside me.  Interesting.

The inside shopping gallery and subway stop.  The subway system is amazing and efficient and cheap.  This concourse had some of the most expensive stores anywhere.

Another 'interesting' structure.  It is a museum of art and science.  We may visit it tomorrow.

Tet

February 9, 2018
The city is getting ready for the biggest holiday for Vietnam and many other Asian countries. Flowers are a big item and specialty foods. Many of the pots of flowers are bigger than I am and some are carried off on the back of a scooter.

strapping an orange bush on the scooter - no problem!

Today was the last day of classes before the 2 week holiday.  Most students came dressed in tradition clothes - as well as myself:)

teenagers wear it with jeans and sneakers - making it a bit more modern.

adult men also enjoy the traditional clothes

There was music, food and games.  Now it is off  for me to a quiet island in the Indian Ocean:)