Parting thoughts from Cambodia

100 degrees . . . Except at night in my hotel room or when riding the tuk-tuk.

Thank you Vibol and Mr. Ramorn. Thank you to the wonderful staff of the Sayana Angkor Hotel & Spa. My visit to Cambodia was excellent because of you.

Riding on the Elephant around Angkor Tom and people taking pictures of smiling, yellow haired me, one Asian man shouting "you are the queen!"

Sitting in the night market in the "fish massage" with Buddhist monks from Thailand and a Korean family. We were all laughing so hard we cried as the little fish tickled and nibbled on the dead skin on our feet and legs, the wife asked to have our picture taken together. I'm sorry I did not have mine, but I will remember this for the rest of my life.

Learning to count in Khmer: moi, be, bi, boin, prahm.

Drinking fresh green coconut juice. I remember as a little girl wanting to buy a coconut from the store, and Mom finally caved. I think it took 2 hours to break open. The girl in the picture was chopping through one every 15 seconds.

Thank you Cambodia. You have my heart.

Tuk-tuk fun

Mr Ramorn, in the pink shirt, has been my tuk-tuk driver now for 3 days and has taken any concern out of the navigation end of things, and has granted any destination wish. Today we stopped by a sugar palm stand where the woman was boiling down the parts of the plant for sugar cubes for tea or coffee.

The ride today was 37 km north of Siem Reap,and although air conditioned cars were available for hire, I much prefer the slower, open air of the tuk-tuk.

New friends, new scarves

I had a hard time resisting the charm, er persistence, of the dozen girls who adopted me this afternoon at a temple site a little further out from the center of Angkor Archaeological Park, less visited and eager for the trade. I couldn't say no to any of them so, Easter Scarves it is!

Happy Easter from Cambodia

Angkor Temples Day 2

Some of my favorites pictures of the day. My guide Vibol made me do the jump, he promised me it would look good. He has a great sense of humor and is an excellent photographer! After another delicious Khmer Kitchen Salad with fish (water lily, mint, basil, carrots, and some I'm not really sure), it was back to the hammocks. I was caught in a little extra curricular kissing again, too.

The mostly young people working in the service industry here are eager to converse in English. Everyone I have met here has been extremely gracious, happy and polite.

Cambodia

Kissing the Buddha at Angkor Wat is encouraged! It was a HOT day, and my guide Vibol and I spent an hour after lunch the best way to pass the hottest hours; in a hammock in the shade. Here are a few of the favorite sights of the day.

Morning on the Chao Praya River

Bangkok is a massive and overwhelming city. One night unveiled the city in the morning from the 26th floor of my hotel room, seemingly quiet, cool and tranquil.

Bangkok via Singapore

Today mostly is flying, and if travel is therapy, I am well. It will take 7.5 hours from Sydney to Singapore on the most gracious Singapore Airlines. Then on Thai Airways to Bangkok. One night in Bangkok and the world's your oyster! Then on to Cambodia tomorrow on Cambodia Angkor Air for the long Easter Weekend, exploring the largest Hindu complex in the world. Angkor Wat is one of my most anticipated destinations.

Bondi Beach

A beautiful day to walk the sandstone coastline of the beaches and swim in the seaside salt pool at Bronte.

New South Wales Art Museum and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney

Wandering out this morning with a general direction of green on the map, I found the NSW Art Gallery, a lovely gem of a place, with works spanning centuries and continents. Favorites include the Pearl on Every Shore painting, They Give Evidence, a social justice sculpture, and two portraits of Margaret Olley, beloved 20th Century artist in Australia.

The garden walk revealed the fragrant Plumeria, or Frangipani, and at least 5 weddings with views of the Sydney Opera house and river. St. Mary's Cathedral offered Holy Week reminders, with wrapped statues, but I was able to locate a postcard of Jesus and Mary Magdalene sculpture to share.

Timing

Bruce Springsteen played a final 3 night tour in Sydney last night . . . Ellen is in town . . . And this paddle boarding article was in the Sydney news.

Goodbye Cairns, Hello Sydney

Summer = rainy season in Far North Queensland, and while the turn to dry season is coming, today it has decided to rain cats, bats and dogs! It has taken just a week to fall in love with Cairns, the subtle, sweet smell to the air you can't quite put your finger on . . . the looming green, unspoiled mountains enveloping the coastline on one side, the vast, but buffered Coral sea on the other.

On my final morning here, I decided to join in on a 6:30am water aerobics session at the Esplanade Lagoon pool, a big salt water pool built by the city as the dredging of Trinity Inlet has made the coastal area directly in Cairns sort of a big mud flat, filled with crocodiles and sharks! I kid you not, as 100 of us were getting our cardiac workout in, a group walking by on the boardwalk deck was following a shark along the edge at high tide. I acted like a local and kept dog-paddling.

Sunset Paddle from Palm Cove to Double Island, Far North Queensland

Trusty guide Chris and I set out as a duo on a morning that was pretty impressive, and paddled out around this island to see a honeycomb whipray, a number of turtles that sped off when they encountered our long shadows, and schools of fish. Apparently, I had forgotten to pray to the sea god that morning, and went to my knees after doing a little dance . . . off balance, but graceful enough to hold it together. Although the water is about 28 C, the coral can be quite sharp, so you don't want to come in contact. As we were coming approaching the beach, a funny little cuttlefish started hopping out of the water straight towards me.

River Ride

A half day ride through the rainforest, meadows and river of Little Mulgrave valley near Gordonvale had us traverse, trot, cantor and swim with our trusty steeds in a beautiful spot. Going into water that deep with the horse was pretty unique. The saddles were stock saddles, so there was no horn to hang on to. At the end, we had molasses poured into our hands let the horses lick it off for a treat.

Sunrise over Trinity Inlet and May Peak

Can you see the shape of the eagles head and wings? Storytime is the native oral tradition, and it recounts the tale of someone who was turned into an eagle for not sharing food with others.

If you can imagine a warm ocean breeze with this horizon and the squawk of morning birds, you are nearly here.

Flying Foxes

My first afternoon walking down a central street in Cairns, I looked up in the trees to see what the tropical birds making the loud noises were. There are lots of unique species here, so close to the rainforest. But to my surprise, these creatures were not sitting in the trees, but HANGING. Apparently, a significant fruit bat colony calls this city home. They are quite large, a "megabat," compared to a North American variety I'd ever seen, and have a very furry, light reddish brown head and body. There were hundreds of them in 4 or 5 trees on the street.

Me and Tim

A beautiful first morning in Cairns (kanz) and a quick link Tropical Cyclone Tim, not a bother today, but planning my trips to the Outer Great Barrier Reef soon!

http://www.bom.gov.au/fwo/IDQ65003.gif?1363287659204

Flat white, long black

First thing a jet lagged American might want upon arrival in Sydney is coffee. You know, the simple comfort of a routine; so I approached the Quickshots coffee stand mid-morning while killing time before my flight to Cairns only to find some strange terms on the board of caffeinated offerings, along with the usual espresso suspects. After a friendly comment about this being my first time ordering coffee in Australia and an equally friendly response defining the options of "flat white" and "long black," I said hopefully, can I just have regular coffee with lots of cream? The friendliness continued but I was informed of that I would, in fact, not find poured cream on the . . . continent.

What?! My wobbly mind began to race about the next 2 weeks without cream for morning coffee . . .

Oh, I said, weakly, can I just have a latte?

And by the way, somewhere along the way I lost the entire day of March 13 . . .

Departure and Birds of Happiness

The day has come to fly away, and perhaps it's no coincidence after washing my car on Saturday I should find it blessed this morning by the birdies who s(h)it directly above my parking spot in the most beautiful Copper Beech tree. Thanks to supportive family and friends for along the way who have encouraged. First stop, Cairns Australia, via San Francisco and Sydney. See you penguins later!

All things cellular

A nice surprise today from AT&T that for less than $100 for the entire trip, a 30 day World Plan for part of the journey, and a 30 day European Plan can be added for just enough minutes to make outgoing calls in light of any extenuating circumstances. Receiving my normal allotment of text messages is no charge, but any reply will cost, so I will refrain.  I also have an unlimited data plan, but will have to turn that off overseas in order to avoid international data roaming charges.  Not a big deal, just won't have access to email or the internet unless I have a WiFi source.  In other words, I will not be potentially acquiring data from a cellular signal.  If I didn't explain that well enough, you might ask someone under 30 to 'splain it!

As long as my 3+ year old 3G iPhone holds out on this trip! I have also purchased, for less than $20, a solar cellular charger.  Hopefully, that takes care of the international power adapter issues. I hope to be lucky in Ireland; TripAdvisor suggests that the last 2 weeks of April can be some of the sunniest!

Bon Voyage Beverages

Sunday March 10th
6pmish
Paragon Grill & Surf Lounge

What has 15 legs and no arms?

It's done. The final airline reservations on 9 airlines were all confirmed and booked yesterday, so March 12th the globe-trotting begins and finishes April 29th.

Most of my ticket was earned by years of corporate travel, but several legs were tricky.  Of particular trouble was the Mumbai - Istanbul journey on the Award ticket, we just couldn't find availability on a Star Alliance flight.  So, a purchased ticket was the only option on this short of notice. EgyptAir had the best price, so I will be having lunch in Cairo, an unexpected bonus and perhaps even see pyramids from the plane.

Purchasing online a Bangkok RT flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia was pretty easy on Cambodia Angkor Airlines website.  My financial institution issuing a Master Card gave a quick call moments after the transaction went through to confirm I was in fact making a purchase in another country.  That's a far cry from the day back in 1990 that I used a Greek ATM to pull out 30,000 drachma (oops, wasn't that 30 USD not 300?) using my fancy charge card connected to a nearly empty bank account at the time.  Thanks American Express!!  I was a good investment risk after all . . .

Movie Night

Feeling a little Weekend Wanderlust? Check out these video or movie inspirations along the journey.

Australia

The Thorn Birds (take you 4 days) or this National Geographic 4 minute video on the Great Barrier Reef, my destination water dreams.

Thailand

The King & I Formerly known as Siam, or อาณาจักรไทย.

Mumbai

Time for a drink! My favorite new spirit, Bombay Sapphire Gin. Highly recommend any of these 3: The Namesake, The Life of Pi or The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Istanbul

Watch 007  . . . Skyfall. Parts of Istanbul — including the Spice Bazaar, Yeni Camii, the Imperial Post Office, Sultanahmet Square and the Grand Bazaar — were filmed.

Dublin

Once, a favorite musical score, too.

Travel Map: Where in the World have you been all your life?

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• Vacation rentals at TripAdvisor

Some have asked why I chose the destinations this time around, and a Round the World Award ticket requires that you move in one direction around the globe, with no more than 5 stopovers and 10 segments, ending up in the same country. This cool map at TripAdvisor has helped me track a majority of places I've been over the years and where I'd like to go in the future.

India (& a little Egypt) via New York

Obtaining a visa for travel to India yesterday in New York City was easy peasy, thanks to my good friend Pam and her new hybrid Ford we dubbed "Greenie." An 18 hour trip to NYC included a single tank of gas, a trip to Macy's, a slice in Times Square at Patzeria Pizza, an impromptu interview for the Redeye 3am Fox News channel's Schulz on the Street program, AND a visit to the Met and a quickie photo opp in the Egypt section.  Cairo had been on the shortlist for the trip, but the final cut leaves the pyramids for another journey.  Same day pick up for the visa enabled us to get home by Midnight, and now the journey can really begin.