alilou's Adventures in Wonderland - Rarotonga, Oz, Vietnam

[alilou]

Well I didn't eat those bits

[skatesindreams]

Oooh...those orchids!

[alilou]

A whole huge farm of them, rows and rows - many different kinds. Simply stunning.

[alilou]

I have a new post ready. It feels like it's been ages, but I've been really busy with endless appointments being back in Vancouver, and catching up with friends, oh and watching all of Worlds live on Bold. Anyway finally got a new post done - this one about Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Use the link in my sig line.

Then there's another entry in The Nomadic Life series, about why we travel.
Direct link - http://alisonanddon.wordpress.com/20...-do-we-travel/

A huge appreciative thank you to all of you who read the blog. I love to do it, but it's nice to know it's interesting for others. Every writer wants readers, and every photographer wants their photos seen, so thanks

[skatesindreams]

As long as you are writing/sharing, I'll be joining you!

[alilou]

Thank you, much appreciated

[alilou]

Another post on Cambodia! This one about a trip to a floating village that was absolutely fabulous. A whole village of houses on water, all floating together, and grocery shops in boats, making their rounds, and kids rowing themselves around. A whole community living a completely different way of life. Truth be told there's lots of floating villages in SE Asia, but this was my first to get kind of up close and personal so it was very exciting.
Use the link in my sig line.

And of course another in The Nomadic Life series - What Language Barrier?
http://alisonanddon.wordpress.com/20...guage-barrier/

We're now in a casita in a little village on the west coast of Mexico and staying put for a few months. Heaven

[alilou]

A new blog post is ready, about our three day "boat" journey from Phnom Penh to Saigon. "Boat" because most of it was supposed to be by boat, but most of it wasn't. Still it was an amazing journey into life on the Mekong Delta.
(Link in sig line)

And another post in The Nomadic Life series about time to rest (and get the blog caught up to date!)
Direct link: http://alisonanddon.wordpress.com/20...-time-to-rest/

Looking forward to WTT
I can actually watch it live on the ISU channel - if the internet speed is fast enough, and I think it will be.

[Buzz]

Thanks once again for sharing your adventures with us.

[alilou]

You're welcome. Thanks for reading.
(BTW I like your sig line - who said that?)

[Buzz]

You're welcome. Thanks for reading.
(BTW I like your sig line - who said that?)

William Congreve.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Congreve

[alilou]

Ah, thank you. Everyone has heard "hell has no fury like a woman scorned", but it's nice to see the original, and true, version.

Gonna try to stay up all night to watch WTT - but only if the internet speed is fast enough, otherwise I'll see more buffering than skating.

[alilou]

I have a new post ready - about how to make rice noodles (surprisingly interesting!) and Saigon, and a fantastical temple and religious group who decided to combine Buddhism with Taoism, Confucianism and a little Christianity to come up with a unique and colourful spiritual soup. Their temple has to be seen to be believed. So use the direct link for this post.

Also a post on the nomadic life about emotional and physical health - direct link
http://alisonanddon.wordpress.com/20...cal-wellbeing/

It's 3.45 am and I'm up watching WTT FD live streaming in Mexico

[orientalplane]

Thank you so much for sharing with us your fascinating lives, and the beauty and heartbreak of a world that most of us will never experience!

[alilou]

Thanks orientalplane, I'm so glad you enjoying our stories. Yes, it's a fascinating world alright. So much to see. When I look at a map I can't believe what a tiny amount of the world we've actually seen. And even though we're a bit worn out from our last big journey, every time I think of places I haven't been to yet, I'm just about ready to get up and go again . . . . .well not just yet, but the fascination with all the variety of ways of living, and the natural landscape, in all the different places in the world still excites me to want to see it. I just read a blog post describing a trip to Tibet in the 1990's, and photographs of the people, and I immediately wanted to go see for myself

[alilou]

I have a new blog post ready. This one's about our return to Cambodia to see the breathtaking, monumental, archaeological ruins of Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom, near the town of Siem Reap. I'm not much into archaeology or history but the buildings here are so well preserved, and the scale so enormous it was hard to take it all in, and really worth seeing. It is justifiably designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Also saw some beautiful traditional Khmer dancing and managed to get one or two good photos. Gorgeous costumes. Oh and we ran into a Cambodian wedding party in the grounds of Angkor Wat - beautiful outfits.

Bah to all the haters! WTT is a great competition Had so much fun staying up all night watching the ISU live stream.

And now I'm starting at the beginning of the season watching the GP competitions that kwanfan1818 put on dvd for me. I'm finally getting to see some of the programs I've only been able to read about

[skatesindreams]

Thank you so much for sharing with us your fascinating lives, and the beauty and heartbreak of a world that most of us will never experience!

Echoing this, with gratitude.

[alilou]

Thanks skatesindreams. Thank you!

And there's a new post ready - this time about a wilderness wetlands bird sanctuary, a floating village, village life in a village on land, a croc farm, and how to make beautiful crafts from water weeds, and candies from palm sugar - all in Cambodia.
The usual link in my sig line.

And a new nomadic life post about trying to maintain equilibrium while travelling (haven't figure it out yet )
Direct link:http://alisonanddon.wordpress.com/20...nd-equanimity/

[alilou]

I have a new post ready about our travels in Laos this time. We spent a week in Vientiane. Lots of markets and temples as always - SE Asia's like that and the usual quota of Buddhist monks, and a real highlight - being invited to a special family ceremony for two men who had just joined the monastery. A rollicking good time

We love Laos - it's a very gentle country, even if the people will eat just about anything that moves. But the story, and photos, of that stomach-churning market is for the next post.

[skatesindreams]

What a "slice of life" you experienced with the monks family.
Indeed you were "in the right place" for an extraordinary occasion.

Thanks, for continuing to share experiences that we would know very little about, without you.