The Perfect Road Trip

And so just like that, it was decided that we would travel to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam from Phnom Penh in Cambodia!! Just the name Vietnam had always fascinated me, what with all the movies seen in early adolescence especially the rather impactful 1978 Robert De Niro and a dainty Meryl Streep, starrer, The Deer Hunter, an Academy award winner and what a fantastic movie!!

Picture Credits: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt007741

Meaning of Vietnam: "Viet" was a pronunciation of a Chinese word for "far", which described a nomadic (wandering hunter) people in that region of Asia. Historically these wanderers migrated southward into current-day Vietnam. "Nam" means South. Therefore, Vietnam means "Viet (ethnic) people of the South."

My better half, oh! of course I understand your loyalties my darling readers and friends lie with me, and so they rightly should, and I do understand your agony at having to bear the connotation of terminology such as 'better half' but in this kind of trip planning I do fully endorse him to be in fact "better' than me!! Well, as I was saying....my better half usually makes these impromptu plans and just tells us "okay so we leave tomorrow morning at 6.30am by bus for Vietnam" and all three of us, my two daughters and I say.... like ....."ooookay....as in five hours from now and we are going to another country??" Hahahaha!! This is how the 'better half' operates and we have grown to love the man for his surprises and so we hustle to pack our mini bags for a three day road trip to Vietnam. So, now I use pictures to take you through the surprise packages we encounter on this so called road trip!!

There is thing about road trips....there are the happy early morning travelers and then there are the not so happy early morning travelers,

 The not-so-happy early morning travelers one with head down on the table and other with head buried in a book, in the waiting room of the bus journey from Phnom Penh to Vietnam.


So far nothing much had been said about the bus.The waiting room seemed to be quite the backpackers haven and the younger ones of our pack were not too pleased: not with the people but with the prospect of lack of comfort amenities in the six hour journey to Vietnam.So much for surprises!! 

Finally we all were ushered into a mini-van sort of vehicle with five co-passengers. All of us were a little perplexed as to how we would manage six hours in this confined not so comfortable space.Was this the bus that was to take us to Vietnam!!? Took us all, all of ten minutes to break the ice. Music came to the rescue and we all sang Abba songs as our co-passengers were from Sweden and knew the songs.

At least the part about singing all along the way on road trips was coming true, even if the vehicle was not right and the route unknown. So here we were getting used to the idea that we would be spending the next five hours like this when suddenly the mini-van came to a halt.Out jumped the driver and opened our doors and asked us to step out. Huh?? The kids and I were somewhat surprised.We are really far from Vietnam still we said!! Is something the matter? Do we have a flat? 
Well, we hopped out and were asked to take our belongings and vacate the van. Here I am with two of my Swedish friends and the van in the background.But, where exactly am I?? I wondered....but was patient!

And here are my better half and our friend from Germany...moving towards the border crossing point.And then I realized it. We were at the border of Cambodia and Vietnam.So, our road trip took us from Phnom Penh Cambodia to another province of Cambodia from where we had to cross over on foot to Vietnam as our vehicle had a Cambodian registration.

So,I thought from here we are to take another bus to go to Ho Chi Minh city.Well, on and on we marched in the sun.It was not a very short jump over the border...it was a fairly long walk.

  Here is the international border checkpoint and imagine my surprise when from the border post I spied the huge Mekong river. Vietnam and Cambodia are linked by the mighty Mekong river. Yaaayyy !! I realised the surprise my 'better than the best half " had planned for us. We were going to Vietnam via the river!! Amazing! We were going by a large boat to a place called Chou Doc.om where we were again going to take a bus in

Here we all are, all ten of us, except me as I am clicking the picture, inside the restaurant where we had some interesting soupy noodles and waited patiently for an hour or more for the boats to arrive.The Europeans were travelling by speed boat to Ho Chi Minh directly whereas our family of four was going by a much slower languorous boat to Chou Doc where we were to spend the night and take the bus to Ho Chi Minh early the next morn at sunrise!!

And so after this delicious simple meal and some glorious hilarious braiding and being photographed, fun, we parted ways with our dear friends with the promise that we will look each other up at Ho Chi Minh City over the next few days.

This is the lower deck and the following pictures show the relaxing upper deck of the long boat we took to Chou Doc.

As the evening progressed the sky clouded up and as we cruised the Mekong Delta towards Vietnam, singing many happy and sad songs, we saw some wondrous rain.

And after this lovely perfect river trip we finally reached Chou Doc.The boat docked next to a floating hotel and imagine our joy and surprise when we learnt that we were to spend the night right here in this hotel's room, being rocked gently to sleep in the Mekong-Bassac waters.

                                             
                                                   The docked boat

Just outside our room window

One of the beautiful royal boats below in which we spent some relaxed hours at Chou Doc.

One of the most wonderful experiences of human life is to see the sun rise on a brand new day. It always fills me with hope and joy for a better world!! We were really lucky to catch this beautiful sunrise early the next morning!

After this wonder of nature it was time to grab a quick bite and head for the sleeping bus to Ho Chi Minh. The most delightful thing about the breakfast were the freshly baked buns, no doubt a remanent of the French pasts of Cambodia and Vietnam and the very strong and sweet delicious VietCoffee. Do remind me to give you the recipe at some later point my dear.

And then again on the road this time to board the bus to Ho Chi Minh. Here are some moments in Chou Doc early at around 7am. These countries are surely up and about really early in the mornings!! 

Waiting at the bus station.....and here it rolls in..... and what a bus!!

And so we slept and ate and watched TV and had a lot of fun having been given the four seats right at the back so we could enjoy the trip like a family!! Some people on the bus ate Durian, a favourite fruit here, for which it is rightly said "tastes like heaven but smells like hell" and all the time I kept thinking oh!dear Lord if one thing could take away this and make the bus "smell like heaven" in spite of the Durian it would be AmbiPur, which always made our personal spaces feel like fresh and heavenly.So, here's a new slogan I just coined...

"Durian: Tastes like heaven and NOW even smells like heaven...AmbiPur....need one say more??" (https://www.facebook.com/AmbiPurIndia) 

In between at some point the bus had to cross the river and as there are no bridges on the extremely wide Mekong-Bassac river our bus rolled into this boat which ferried us across the river!! So, in the bus on the boat across the river!! Hahhhaaa!! This was turning out to be quite the awesomest (as my kids put it) trip of all of our lives :)

The first views of the wonderful city of Saigon now known as Ho Chi Minh.

Just imagine our delight when as soon as we checked into the hotel and stepped out to explore the city we bumped into our dear German friend. It's true what they say what is destined to happen will happen.We were destined to meet and have share many memories of Saigon and so we did.

The wonderful views from our hotel window of the city where we spent the next few days exploring a turbulent past :the Cu Chi tunnels the War Remnants Museum and many many wonders that will take up yet many more posts for you to enjoy,But for now my dear readers and friends I leave you with thoughts of the journey we just took together! :)

We took a direct bus back from Ho Chi Minh to Phnom Penh.....

Just waiting for the next road trip plan to materialize ..who knows this wonderful surprise filled man might just come up with one in the next one hour...it is Friday you know ;))

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Strawberries, cherries and some angels kissing spring.....

I read somewhere just this morning that your favourite ice-cream is as harmless as it looks..and that it does not make your cold worse or your nose run...good news I said!! well, not that a cold or a runny nose ever stopped me from having ice-creams and sundaes and shakes!! Talking of which reminds me.....I recently had answered a question which had tormented me forever.The question being....What does happen to cows during an earthquake? The answer my 10 year old gave me....they begin to give milk shakes.So, not an unsolved mystery anymore.

Getting back to the more interesting stuff of life life like ice-creams, here for your kind perusal are some pictures of us in ice-cream places in Phnom Penh,Cambodia like the loungy Blue Pumpkin, (left) there is no lying about your love for home-made ice-creams here!! which we simply must visit once or twice a week.Of course you do agree that all those walks and badminton games around the Riverside area must be polished off with some sumptuously delicious coffee shakes at Swensen's!!

What I like best about Dairy Queen on Riverside Phnom Penh are their cute stumpy paper covered cones and the picture below. This one I clicked while I was attempting to click the Dairy Queen in the background and by golly!! I love this picture....don't you?

The very first ice creams:

In the Persian Empire, people would pour grape-juice concentrate over snow, in a bowl, and eat this as a treat. This was done primarily when the weather was hot, using snow saved in the cool-keeping underground chambers known as "yakhchal", or taken from snowfall that remained at the top of mountains by the summer capital — Hagmatana, Ecbatana or Hamedan of today. In 400 BC, the Persians went further and invented a special chilled food, made of rose water and vermicelli, which was served to royalty during summers. The ice was mixed with saffron, fruits, and various other flavours.

Ancient civilizations have served ice for cold foods for thousands of years. The BBC reports that a frozen mixture of milk and rice was used in China around 200 BC.^[5] The Roman Emperor Nero (37–68) had ice brought from the mountains and combined it with fruit toppings. These were some early chilled delicacies. (Wiki)

Where do you go to my lovely.....tell me the thoughts that surround you....

To the magical world of  blossoming flowers and fragrant love, whispering vows and rings and music and laughter.....is where I went this weekend...to a June wedding......

The earth laughs in flowers..... said Ralph Waldo Emerson.

.....and indeed the happy weekend was filled with two laughing flowers...the  young couple so in love..no wonder the language of love is flowers..it is the language of laughter, of joy, of happiness!! 

Another sentiment of love is the wedding  ring. According to legend, the oldest recorded exchange of wedding rings comes from ancient Egypt, about five thousand years ago.

The circle represented by the shape of the ring is a symbol of eternity, with no beginning or end. The hole in the center of the ring also has significance. It is not just considered a space, but rather a gateway, or door; leading to things and events both known and unknown. To give a woman a ring signifies never-ending and immortal love...and a new togetherness into unknown territory. (Maybe that is why some people get 'cold-feet' just before the ceremony!?)

Interesting Fact:  In many countries, even today, including Norway, Russia, Greece, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Poland, Austria, Germany, Portugal and Spain, the wedding ring in worn on the ring finger of the right hand and not the left. In Jewish tradition, the groom places the ring on the bride’s index finger, and not the “ring” finger at all. 

Pictures are an amazing tool, wouldn't you agree? With them we can travel where ever we want and from the comfort of where ever we 

wish to be!! The magic of photos made me Google search this.Maybe it interests you too. 

The history of photography commenced with the invention and development of the camera and the creation of permanent images starting with Thomas Wedgwood in 1790 and culminating in the work of the French inventor Joseph Nicéphore Niépce in 1826.(Wikipedia).

So, here I am, all ready for the week and here's an Irish saying for those who have weddings in June .....

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

Of earthen pots and Glucon-D

There are some nice people I know who love animals and birds and who love to do right by them and who post stuff about leaving water in earthen pots for the thirsty birds in the hot summer months on community boards and community mail messages. Sadly, I know some of them to be the very same people who are endlessly critical of the guards who walk the lawns the heat, the ladies who man the locality gates with no cooler or air-con, who are relentless in their cribbing about drivers, maids and laborers. Never does it pass  their caring minds that much as we need to care and provide for the voice-less animals and birds we need to look at the conditions of the people who work for us. As humans we need to provide too for the have-nots or the lesser privileged  So,this summer let's please offer that Glucon-D regularly to our house help,our maids, drivers, laborers  allow her/him the one day off to recover from the treacherous walks and work in our homes.Let us bring out the "earthen pots" and fill them up with our love for fellow human beings and not just birds and animals.Don't get me wrong.I too like birds and animals.And sometime when I am in a real vindictive, bitchy mood I would like to vent and bitch about one particular animal lover who for the love of animals stole my darling dog from my home!! Yes, I got him back only after ten days of........well, another time then....

Image credits: Raveendran/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

Wikipedia cites the Earthen Pots as: Matki, (or Matka) is the Hindustani word for an earthen pot.It is used all over India, as well as Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanks, as a home "water storage cooler". It has been in use since ancient times and can be found in houses of every class.

Of pink, pearls, rings, cane, lamps, coffee mugs and bedside tables....so here is my bedside table.

There is nothing nicer than a pretty bedside table with some of your favorite things, to go to bed happy and softly.Yours could have your favorite books or candles or pictures of loved ones you like to look upon as you drift into golden slumbers...... 

 May all your sleeps be filled with pearly dreams.Cheers!! Sleep pretty darlings do not cry....and I will sing a lullaby.....

You don't bring me flowers.....anymore...

Never did believe there was ever a need for an occasion to get myself a big bunch of flowers! The way I see it, nothing lifts the spirits like the fragrance and delicacy of the Lord's choicest creation.As a kid I read a story about a fairy who lived in a blue heel shaped flower.Still looking for that flower, yes, I am.Found bell shaped ones,cone shaped ones,round and flat ones but the fairy one Gosh! so till I do, I've realized I just have to keep looking.Means I just "have" to keep getting flowers :) Well, here are some beautiful bunches i clicked just for you at Avon, Connecticut on my travels Do be a darling and let me know if you happen to stumble upon my blue fairy flower, won't you?

Oh! and if you are on Facebook and would like to see some more swell paintings and pictures do visit my gallery under Tangerine Art Gallery.See you soon!!

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Of ginger tea and conversations on my vist to the Oh! so Glorious Maine

Of bags scarves and more things nice!

Of all the wonderful pieces of clothing that humankind has used to maintain it's physical modesty, the scarf has always been my very favorite  It is no wonder then that when I decided to take up yet another venture it had to do with scarves.The project has taken off with such a bang that I am having difficulty keeping up with it's pace.More on scarves at a more opportune and leisurely time.For now I am posting some pictures of the silky loves of my life.Do hope you love them as much as I do and don't forget we deliver all around the globe (conditions apply) so do not hesitate to get in touch. Nothing gives a bigger high than someone writing to us! Thanks for those of you who are regular with us.Much appreciate your interest in us.Hugs to all.

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Sokha: the peaceful beach in Shihanouk's Ville, Campuchea

And then there are some days when the magnificence of nature makes one feel so very minuscule. Sokha Beach at Shihanoukville Cambodia is one such place.The saying...'take my breath away" was surely invented here.

Adore the trees with the strong sturdy roots....sometimes I wonder how these trees weather the storms of being in the midst of storms (funny grammatics!!)  which I am sure hit this ah-so-peaceful shore quite often.

And then my attention is drawn to my own rouges!! Here they are for your viewing pleasure too.I see that in this case too the roots are strong and sturdy.It sure helps to have 'em to weather the storms of this road we are all traversing..this road called LIFE!!

Cheerio! and happy dreaming of beaches oops! bitches!! as this is what they are pronounced as in this part of the world. Heheheheheh!

Recurring Thoughts

Whenever an unfortunate event occurs that reflects the deterioration of society, it is not so much an entire culture, or a people as a whole that is to be shamed...I rather feel how sad it is that the thoughts and tendencies of some individuals can mould the thinking processes of entire nations and populations.I felt that very sharply even as I read many criticisms shaming India as a nation for the much publicised Dec 2012 unfortunate rape event.I am currently in a country in-famous for paedophilia and where the Buddhist clergy are reportedly(I read one article on it almost daily in the papers here) raping minors in monastries. I think it is a shame to humanity whenever this kind of deterioration and erosion of moral-social fabric occurs, which breaks human-kinds backbone honestly.How is one to deal with the burden of our fellow-men's (socio-paths) sins, I wonder.Sometimes the sadness of these happenings envelope me on happy evenings and  make me sad.Today is one such evening....Beautiful lyrics are flaoting in my mind...."Jin raatob ki bhor nahin hai..aaj aisi hi raat aayee...."