Holidays – I love them. Who doesn’t?
Do you count down to holidays?
I certainly do. Bayu and I are off to Siem Reap, Cambodia in a few days time, from the 3rd to the 10th April, 2025. We’ve booked our tickets, got travel insurance, booked our accommodation and discussed things we want to do. We’ve been there five times before, so we have a few favourite activities and places to visit. I’ll tell you about these later.
I’ve started packing.
Three books have been put in my back pack.
Of course there’s a book to read on the planes or at other quiet times on the holiday. Susie gave me this book some month’s ago and it’s been waiting patiently for me to find time to read it. Our holiday will be the perfect time.
A notebook has been added. It’s my intention to write another chapter of the Steve and Bayu Memoir. It’s a chapter about love and infidelity, youth and maturity plus exuberance and experience. This chapter of our life happened twelve years ago and led to us breaking up and later reconciling. It is far enough in the past that I believe we can both contribute to this chapter. Let’s see.
And I added a sketch book. I’ve been working in my art studio since January, 2025 and this has motivated me to sketch again. I only intend sketching one temple – Ta Prohm Temple. It was featured in ‘The Tomb Raider’ film.
What have we included on our itinerary?
We’ve been to Ankor Wat and many other ancient temple ruins on our previous trips, so we are less keen to repeat the experience, but I intend going out to Ta Prohm Temple to sketch it. When I return to Bali I’ll turn the sketches into a painting. Bayu has decided I can do this excursion alone. He is templed-out. If I didn’t have plans to sketch, I wouldn’t be repeating the temple treks either.
But he’s suggested morning walks after we complete our online work – we respond to all villa bookings whenever we are on holidays, and before we indulge in out hotel’s breakfast. A legacy of the colonial French is great croissants and baguettes. Yes, carbs. That morning walk is essential.
We will also be returning to Phare – The Cambodian Circus. They promote themselves by saying, “More than just a circus, Phare performers use theater, music, dance and modern circus arts to tell uniquely Cambodian stories; historical, folk and modern.” We’ve been a few times in the past and every time we’ve seen a new and brilliant performance. Again, we have high expectations.
And there’ll be more walking.
We are staying at Rambutan Hotel and Resort, a short walk to the central hub of Siem Reap with it’s Pub Street, abundant spas, restaurants, shops and markets. Tuktuks wait outside our hotel, but we usually prefer to walk. We get to explore and see more when we’re on foot.
New Leaf Eatery and Bookshop is a favourite for coffee and a snack while I check out the second hand books. I always leave with at least one acquisition. Bayu loves the ambience of the place and the bakery selection is always fresh and enticing.
Tips from friends.
I recently bumped into friends while shopping at Bintang Supermarket. They’d returned from Siem Reap only a week before and raved about two things to add to our list. One was River Cafe and after a quick search on google, we added this to our dining experiences. The other was Mr Mot’s Harley Davidson trishaw tours. We’ve never done anything like this, so of course, we’ll hunt this down and enjoy a tour.
What else?
Our itinerary is incomplete and will be fleshed out further as our holiday progresses. The staff at Rambutan Hotel always have suggestions.
While the photos of the hot air balloons over Ankor Wat look amazing, Bayu and I are a bit scared of heights, so something others consider awesome, for us it would be terrifying. We have happily resisted adding this experience. in the past and this time will be no different. The safety record is also less than perfect.
So the count down continues and we chat, plan and dream. Anticipation is great foreplay. My next blog will share what we actually did in Siem Ream.
Tags: #holidays, #reading, #SiemReap, #writing
This is a lovely and informative blog. Thanks for sharing your upcoming trip with us. It promises to have a lot of interesting places to see and adventures to enjoy. Travel well, and safely.
Sounds wonderful. I have travelled to many places, some better than others but the memories enrich my life. I think 3 trips to India were life changing. Riding camels through the desert, sleeping under the stars, houseboats on the Kerala backwaters, the Taj Mahal, the holy Ganges, I could go on and on. And of course beautiful Bali, 25 years of holidays with loved ones and another one starting tomorrow. Have a wonderful trip , we will be at beautiful Bindi until the 14th so might see you before we leave. 🌺
Hi Helen, We too love travel – the sights, smells tastes and sounds of somewhere new and vibrant. We can’t get enough of it. I’ll catch up with you while you are here. Drop into my studio if you have time as well. Steve.
Thanks for your news Steve and have a great holiday xx Stay safe as the Earth is rumbling and shifting
Enjoy your trip – glad you do your walks in the morning, boy… does it get hot there ! Your hotel looks lovely and ‘intimate’. The pool will be inviting after your activities. Have a safe journey.
Have a great time. I love that tomb raider tree and temple. Phare sound amazing. Safe travels xx
Thanks Steve an enjoyable blog. I’m with you on the hot air ballooning, not on my radar either 😂😂😂
I’m heading to England Scotland and Ireland in May. Still trying to get the Ireland part sorted. A journey of the soul for me. I’m missing Bali at the moment 🙏🙏🙏