Retrospective New Year

Finally! It is wonderful to be back with you.
This is the seventh time that I have tried to bring new year's cheer in words and photos to you.
Rather than have a little pity-party about our internet woes here, I can briefly outline where we've been over the last week and then get on to the pictures. Yay! Also a celebratory moment - our best birthday wishes to Ricky :)
We had one last burst of beach at Rabbit Island, many thanks to the recommendation from Adele (who also thinks she is a rabbit). It really was a nice spot. From there, we had time in nearby Kampot where the main attraction is Bokor Mountain. There is quite a story from that one - our bodies are still recovering from the onslaught and the coming photos of that adventure should be quite fun. After Bokor, we had an interesting bus ride away from the coast, through Phnom Penh and then finally made it to Siem reap last night. Today was our first day in the temples. We ran around some of the minor and thankfully quieter ones, and are still tingling with excitement.
This excitement is now being channelled to go back in time, to run through some images from one week ago.
So...





















Here you can see the view, from one of our breakfast spots. Looking back along the beach, there is Toothy Fruit Lady, some water, and then our B1 bungalow on the hill.
Toothy did not sell fruit with teeth in it. I do not mean to confuse you! That was just the name that I gave her, given her particular distinctive appearance.

Naomi enjoys catching up on her reading, with cheeky grins over the top of the book every now and then :)













As for me... I quite enjoy the beachside snacks! All of this lounging around in the sun and sand, and swimming in crystal clear water that is as warm as a bath, really builds up an appetite.

At first, I did get quite excited about the lobsters that came to visit on the heads of slender beach girls... but the novelty soon wore off, and I was back to the staple choice of fried rice with squid and shrimp.

The year wound up in a very relaxed and beautiful way for us. We watched Durian Head (for an explanation about that name just keep reading) running about after his sister and her friends, as the sun set across the water.

Here I am being happly relaxed in the hammock. Naomi is quite excited that my shaving apparatus did not come on holiday with us ;)

If you look carefully at the following image, you can just make out the beachfront area in the reflection in my eye!

With the sun setting on the Year 2006, we found ourselves quite smiley indeed.

Hardly content to simply watch the closing sunset of the year, Naomi swallowed the sun and all that it represents in one giant gulp. Perhaps that explains the funny sounds her belly has been making lately! hehe.

Some time earlier, we took a stroll from the relaxed seclusion of Otres Beach, to see what happens in the more bustling areas 5km along the coast. We did not like it at all! After only a few hours, we scurried back to Durian Head and the quirky familiarity of our home stretch.
However, on New Year's Eve, we knew that it would be better to be in amongst the action.
The walk towards the Occheuteal Beach became more interesting with every step. Rather than teeming with westerners, it was Cambodians who ran the show. Thousands and thousands, of all ages... having great big barbecues by the water and then meticulously carving New Year greetings to line with candles in the sand.

Above, Naomi stands in front of one of the New Year messages. You can see the strip of light stretching for kilometres... and you can also see a few fireworks. It really was a spectacle - those fireworks were running continually from dusk until just after midnight! Hundreds of small groups were constantly releasing handheld rockets. The constant hiss and crackle and occasional gasp when one went too close to a passing head was truly something to witness.

The fireworks were by no means spectacular in themselves. It was the continual barrage across several kilometres of beach that made them so impressive.

The big finale was just more of the same, although at a somewhat more frenetic pace. The blue dolphin is one of the more picturesque beachfront bar displays at Occheuteal. Look closely (also remember you can click on images for a larger view) and you can see the fireworks literally stretching as far as the eye can see, all the way down the coast.
So - that was how we said goodbye to 2006, here on the coast of Cambodia. I hope that your own New Year moments were memorable for all the right reasons... and that 2007 has started well. Many happy wishes from Naomi and me :D

This is how we began 2007 -

with a long, happy sleep-in! You can see the little Rambutans that I strategically placed for Naomi to discover when she woke.

The first few days of the year were spent in the sun at Otres, with many warm moments together and with some of the locals.

Above, are our two favourites. The girl in the red was very smiley and quite keen to improvise games with us, as she ran around the grounds of her family's restaurant. Her little brother is Durian Head - he had a particularly cute and very small face, set in a large spiky brown head. He was absolutely gorgeous. His play would usually be quite independent - he would follow a few steps behind his older sister, oblivious to what she was doing. Most of the time he pushed a small toy truck around, with a load of sand that would be deposited in mysterious places for reasons only he will know.

This is a real durian -

in all its spiky, stinky glory. I enjoyed it, but Naomi really wasn't impressed. That was fine for me - I enjoyed being the sole consumer... although it would have been good not to have been making durian burps for the next few hours.

The kids found an octopus in the shallows, and made a little pool of sand for it to suffer and be tormented in.

Durian Head was there, looking slightly concerned - he is at the left with the yellow singlet. Naomi really liked his little buddha necklace, and is hoping to find one for herself in the markets at Angkor.

There is Naomi, looking quite giant beside the little Cambodian kiddies :)
We don't know what happened to the octopus, perhaps it was released... or perhaps it tasted quite nice with the right spicy sauce. I am pretty sure I caught one of the nearby mums supervising the little critter licking her lips a few times.

There have been countless amusing english attempts. I thought I would share this one with you from a local real estate pamphlet.

Day 1, 2007... and another spectacular sunset on our happy holiday.

The cloud formations looked quite striking -

(and from now on, I promise I will try to keep the ocean sunset photos to a minimum!)

The giant geckos made a few more appearances, as have hundreds of little Tchk Tchks (you can see a little one just under the light at the bottom right).

While on one of our last strolls on the sand, I saw the remnants of an alien invasion -

He may have been defeated by the seaweed, maybe the tiny crabs who make thousands of sand balls around their holes every evening... but it was very clear to me that for this robot invader, All Our Base did not Belong To Them.

The Starfish Bakery is a non-profit establishment in Sihanoukville that funnels all income to support underprivileged and disabled children. We became quite fond of the place after our first visit, and returned several times. These return visits were unsuccessful - every time we made it in to town, the bakery was closed.

This dragonfly enjoys the sunshine in Starfish's cute little courtyard.

Well. I finally managed to get these images, and a few of the associated stories across for you to enjoy. Now that I have discovered a functional and affordable internet cafe, I look forward to sharing more soon! I do have to thank Naomi most sincerely, for being so patient with all these hours spent trying to share and record our adventures.
The final image for you today is of Durian Head, zipping past the Dec 31 sunset with his little clicky-clacky truck.

Much love and smiles,


- Naomi and Guy.