Tuesday, October 30, 2012

It has been a busy week. Cindy moved house so we have spent a bit of time helping her.
Ray did a DJ job at Kapunda on Saturday night and I went into the city and caught up with my sister and her partner and a couple of their friends who were in town to see The Jersey Boys.
Not much else to tell you about today so will sign off with the promise of doing a more informative post with pictures in the not too distant future.

Thanks for dropping by
Till next time
Cheers
Julie

Sunday, October 21, 2012

While I am at it here is a layout I did yesterday.



Cheers
Julie
Just a quick post to share what I have created during the "Art of Wild Abandonment" course with Christy Tomlinson/Junelle (can't remember her last name)

When I looked at the first video for this course and saw that it was about sketching I thought I have waisted my money on this one. I can't sketch to save my life. But I stuck with it and watched a few more of the video's and when I realised sketching does not have to be life-like I figured I would give it a go.

The first exercise was to sketch some owls. Here is my version. I did it on some loose paper and have coloured it with watercolours. As you can see when I pasted it into my Sketch book I did not get it very smooth but I am not too bothered about that.



They are supposed to be whimsical creatures, just as well, I have never seen owls that look like this.

Anyway, I am happy with them I think they are cute.

Next up...Cupcakes

Thanks for dropping by
Till next time
Cheers
Julie

Saturday, October 20, 2012

We are safely back in Australia

What a fantastic two weeks we have had.

We spent 3 days in Seim Reap (Cambodia) and saw Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, The Bayon, Ta Prohm, Preah Khan, Elephant Terrace and Terrace of the Leper King. These were built between 802 and 1432 so ..very old.

Then we got on The Jahan for our cruise through Tonle Sap Lake, Tonle Sap and the Mekong. Seven days in heaven. The accommodation was very nice and the food, service and attention to detail were second to none. I would recommend this cruise to even the most fastidious of travellers.

The cruise took us into Vietnam where we left the boat and spent 3 days at the Liberty Central Hotel in Saigon (Ho Chi Min City). It was right next door to the largest markets in Saigon so what a bonus for the shoppers amongst us.

I am going to post some photos now showing some of the holiday. I took just over 700 photos so there is so much to see. I will just show you a selection today and I will show a few more over the next week or so.

This photo is of all of us having a drink at one of the many bars in Pub Street in Seim Reap. We had just arrived and were having a walk around when we thought it was time for some liquid refreshment.



On the Wednesday night we had dinner at the hotel we were staying at. It was the Royal Bay Inn and every Wednesday night they have a dinner deal, for $20 you get a 5 course meal and a Cambodian Dance performance. This is us with the dancers after the show.


Ray and I in front of Angkor Wat. We had gotten up at 4am to make this trip to see the temples.


Some of the hundreds of carvings on the walls inside the temple. I must say it was not in a very good state of repair but they are starting to do some restoration work on it.


These next two photos are of Ta Prohm, a temple that is being taken over by trees. This is where they made the Lara Croft movie, I think it was called Temple of Doom.



Whoops, these next two got a bit out of order, they are of Angkor Wat again. They show the sun coming up. I am standing to the side of the temple not in the front.


This is the Jahan. A small river boat that can have 52 guests. There were 42 on our cruise and 38 staff. Not a bad ratio is it.


The next 4 photos show our cabin. It was a great size. Had Queen sized bed, sitting room, bathroom and balcony. Very nicely appointed.





The Bar


The Dining Room


The Lounge


The next two are of some of the Waterfront Properties in Cambodia



The next two are the view from the pre-Angkorian temple of Wat Hanchey. The temple was built in the 8th Century. Monks still live here.



These are the stairs that get you the view. 303 of them.

Well that is 21 photos for today. If you have got this far, thank you for sticking with me.

Lots has happened since we got back and I have run out of time to tell you any more today.
Will be back soon with more

Thanks for dropping by
Till next time
Cheers
Julie

Monday, October 8, 2012

Hi there

I forgot to mention that on Thursday it was Brian and Gwens 20th wedding anniversary so to celebrate we went to Raffles Hotel in San Riep and they bought us all a Singapore Sling to celebrate.



This is a photo of the ladies toilet at Raffles.


This photo is of Ankor Wat



We have had a very pleasant few days since we have been on the boat.
I will bring you more up to date tomorrow if I have reception as I am getting tired and the Internet is slow and trying my patience.

I am going to try Ty Chi at 6:30am tomorrow so I best get off to sleep.

Thanks for dropping by
Till tomorrow
Cheers
Julie


Saturday, October 6, 2012

Not sure how this post is going to go but will give it a try anyway.

Yesterday we did the tour of all the temples. With a 4:30am pickup form our hotel it turned out to be a long day.

The sunrise over Anchor Wat was a little disappointing as there was not a lot of colour as it was a bit foggy. The temples over all are very interesting and as with all those buildings of early times the detail is just amazing. The carvings on all the walls and the spectacle of the ornate towers and just the magnitude of the buildings is so amazing.

Can't remember the name if the temple that is being taken over by the tree roots but that was another fantastic sight. I have seen photos of it and to be there and see it in real life was a great experience.

We spent the afternoon at the hotel in the pool, cocktails and then out to dinner at a really great restaurant. We had 5 courses and I must say I am really enjoying the Cambodian food. Some of it is a little too spicy but on the whole it is very tasty.

This is a photo of one of the lotus flowers at our hotel
Not sure if it is going to work.

During the afternoon Ray and I walked to the Main Street which is only about a 5 minute walk from the hotel and bought a birthday cake for Deb as it was her birthday yesterday. After dinner we all went back to Deb and Andre's room for champagne, scotch and birthday cake. We had a very pleasant time.

We are getting picked up at 11:30am today to be taken to the boat for our 7night cruise down the Mekong River. Really looking forward to that

Not sure what the Internet availability will be over the next week so will post again when I get the opportunity

Thanks for dropping by
Till next time
Cheers
Julie

Friday, October 5, 2012

It is Friday today and I have been trying to do a blog post for 3 days now. I must admit it has just about driven me to distraction.
I have prepared some great photos to share with you but the normal procedure does not want to work so it appears I can only show one photo per post.
This photo is of our first afternoon in Siemens Riep (Cambodia) We found a nice friendly pub and had a couple of nice cold beers.


We left Adelaide on Tuesday and flew to Kuala Lumpur. We walked from the airport to our hotel, a whole 500 meters. Even though the hotel was close to the airport we did not hear one plane coming or going. This is a photo of the hotel lobby. Very swish.


Next morning we had breakfast by the pool