Jet lag

I've been away on a 2 week trip to Siem Reap, Cambodia and Koh Samui, Thailand.  We arrived back home last night. I slept about 4.5 hours and am waiting for the sun to come up so I can have a walk around the garden.  I'll be a general mess today with adjusting to the flip flop of day/night.  I'm looking forward to catching up on blogs I've missed while I've been gone.  In the meantime, I'll share a few photos. Hotel Khmer, Siem Reap.  Just seeing this photo brings back the glorious scent of the lobby.  The bowl on the lower right was filled with fresh ginger root and lemongrass.  The fragrance of the lemon grass permeated the lobby, and is said to repel mosquitos.  *We both got a few dozen mosquito bites along the way. The employees would rush to great us on our return throughout the visit with cold water and a chilled towel.  They were beyond wonderful!

First day, we wanted to take it on the easy side, so off to Angkor Botanical Garden. There was differing info on the size, I believe what we walked was around 15 hectacres. Loved all the ferns and orchids hanging on, well -just everywhere! 
From the palm garden. 
Things were not labeled, but I'm assuming this is Cyrtostachys Renda, red lipstick palm.  
Ugh, so gorgeous!
Their shade house went on & on, the orchids in here were labeled. It was overwhelmingly full of beautiful plants.
It was incredibly hot & humid for the entire 2 weeks we were away, it feels SO cold here.  I've gone from sweat drenched shorts & tanks to layers of clothing. Healthy snails and LARGE millipedes were plentiful. *There were street vendors selling seasoned snails for a nice snack - in the hot sun under plexiglass, did not try.  
However, I will miss having fresh fruit after every meal.  Dragonfruit, passionfruit, pineapple, mango and papaya were always available and delicious! *Also guava on this particular plate.
We lost track of the amount of smoothies that James consumed, hahaha. The prices there were extremely low, around 70 cents for a smoothie. 
Pineapples :)
I'm realizing now, I have too many photos to dump into one post.  I'll focus on Cambodia only. Second morning, we woke early to join a sunrise tour of Angkor Wat.  It is the world's largest religious structure sitting on 400 acres.  It was worth the 4 a.m. alarm.

The amount of detailed carvings still in tact was mind blowing.  And the amount of labor needed to mound dirt up around and around the structure to continue building it taller!


And onto my personal favorite of all the temples we explored, Ta Prohm.  Built in 1186, a Buddhist temple dedicated to the mother of King Jayavarman VII.  It is one of the few temples that had inscription with information about the inhabitants (80,000). The largest trees have been left (although the jungle has been cleared somewhat).  It has a very swallowed by the jungle appeal.  


The trees and their roots were just massive, jaw dropping!
Preah Kan Temple was a smaller linear temple also had the swallowed up in the jungle feel.


A naughty young monkey climbed in and jumped up on the Buddha during our tour.

A few random shots that I don't remember taking... *looking back on this, I believe this would've been the moat area around Prea Khan.  Some of the larger temples had repeating sections wall/moat/wall/moat/wall.


Green papaya salad, mmmm.
Night out.
A few street shots where the shop owners were plant people. 






Almost forgot, Nina the land mine sniffing rat!  They train and use African giant pouched (cheek pouches) rats to sniff out land mines. They are light enough to not trigger the mines.  The rat is given a treat, and the land mines are safely removed.  I'm not a rat fan, but she was quite cute and friendly.

And a parting bamboo pic. I'm so happy to be home, I missed my kids so much!  And, of course the garden which I'm rushing out to check on now.  I look forward to catching up with everyone.  :) 
Please forgive typos/mistakes-I'm rummy.



Comments

  1. Stunning pictures, but I would not have dared eat any of the fresh fruit or veggies or smoothies. They looked so good, though. What a fantastic trip that must have been.

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    1. I think if you're careful, you'd be fine. I drank only bottled water, brushed my teeth with it as well. As long as the ice is made with filtered water it's fine, and we found it was most everywhere. We didn't eat street food that had been out in the heat. We definitely enjoyed fruit multiple times a day and it was fabulous! Today I'm certainly missing it. The hotels and restaurants we went to were very clean, good practices maintained. It didn't feel any riskier than eating out in the U.S.

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  2. I've followed your vacation photos on IG, Tracy. What a wonderful trip you had! That's an experience of a lifetime. I love the shots of the tree hugging the temple. The sunrise shot was stunning and the mine-sniffing rat was a surprise.

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    1. Thank you Kris, it was a great trip! The flight was long, about 20 hours. I'm wobbly today lol, but should be back to myself tomorrow.

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  3. The scent you describe sounds so wonderful, and the food looks beyond delicious! And the plants and land formations--wow! I'm going back through to see your beautiful photos again. Thanks for sharing! Welcome home!

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    1. Thank you Beth, it is so good to be home. *I woke up last night and had no idea where I was for a second!

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  4. Wow, what a trip. You saw lots of interesting things.

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    1. It was great, thank you. And I'm still awake at 4:18, hopefully can keep my eyes open until 9!

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  5. Two amazing places -- the garden and Angkor Wat. And good photos too.

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    1. Thank you Anvil, worth the long flight. I've slept a normal night and feel almost human today!

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  6. Hi, oh my, I am so excited to see and hear more. Welcome Home!!

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  7. Oh man, what a trip (in both senses of that phrase). I can't imagine the flight time and jet lag, or the humidity, but the plants and the fresh fruit make it seem almost worth enduring (no seasoned snails for me thanks). I look forward to more photos and hope your garden did well in your absence.

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    1. Ha, I'm so much better today- I really feel the jet lag in the morning. Garden is covered with leaves, and so dang dry. I lost a protea, but it was a weakling anyway. Pfbbft!

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  8. I hope you regain your normal routine and sleep quickly. It takes me about a week to get over jet lag, though less when I was younger :-D.
    Exceptional photos. I love those temple eating trees. The lobby of your hotel was particularly stunning and serene. Adventure and memories to treasure!
    Chavli

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    1. Thank you, the staff was so exceptional and caring - it really added a lot to the experience. Today the jet lag wasn't as bad, the morning was a little rough. I agree, the older I get the longer it takes to adjust!

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  9. That rodent you posted a picture of looks really cute. Hope you had a lovely time away!

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  10. What an amazing adventure! Monkeys sort of scare me. I've always heard they can be assertive and of course there are all those videos of them stealing and throwing temper tantrums. The temple ruins are amazing, the little mine sniffing rat is charming, and the food - green papaya salad is one of the few ways I like eating that particular fruit. Green mango salad is good too! Welcome home.

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    1. I was wary of the monkeys, can't trust 'em! This one was little and not so intimidating. However, we were warned they can bite or grab your phone. I kept a safe distance. I agree, that salad is the best way to enjoy papaya. I used to get packs of dried green mango & orange mango, the green was my favorite. I can't find it anymore.

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  11. Spectacular photos. I want to visit so badly now. And the food!! The fruit!!

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    1. Oh how i miss that fruit after every meal! It was such a great trip, you would love it!

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  12. I've never been to Thailand. What amazing photos! That hotel looks absolutely amazing!

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    1. A first for me to be in that area of the world, it was wonderful!

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  13. so cool! I love all of these photos- beautiful temple, beautiful plants

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    1. Thank you S, I thought about your Bali trip so many times!

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  14. I really enjoyed your photos and descriptions, especially around the temples. Fascinating.

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  15. Admittedly, I have never considered a visit to this country, but after seeing your photos of the temples and those amazing tree roots, it could be a possibility. Hope you catch up on sleep and welcome home.

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  16. Incredible pictures! Ancient trees, ancient sculptures… wow!

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