Cambodia Day 2: Angkor Wat

For our second day we were more organized, and although it became a bit of a chore to make the guide slow down so we could go our own pace, we enjoyed the day much more than the first. We visited Angkor Wat itself and made sure to take our time, absorb what we were seeing and hearing, and rest often.  This is a part of the world I know very little about, so it was particularly interesting to me to hear about the long ago kings bringing Hinduism, then Buddhism to the country (then back to Hinduism, chipping the Buddhas off the walls, then finally settling back on Buddha). I was also surprised to hear about the wars and alliances (Chinese helping the Khmer fight the Javanese? And wait, how big were these empires - why were the Javanese even in the picture?)

We also made the trek to Bantei Srei (not nearly as interesting as the stuff I had read online lead me to believe, but at least the lengthy car ride gave us some air conditioned time to refresh and relax) and Bantei Kdei, which was hands down the kids' favorite place. If Terry weren't wilting so badly in the heat we would have stayed quite a bit longer. Like the more famous Ta Prom, it has trees growing in, on, and through the crumbling temple complex. Unlike Ta Prom, there are fewer people, fewer guards, and basically the kids could climb on anything they wanted and were only restricted by our parental sense of moderate vs. extreme danger. We closed the day at Ta Prom and I probably would have gotten more from the experience had I ever seen Tomb Raider.

Cambodia Day 1: Angkor Thom

In our sixth year in a 6-month-winter post, I decided demanded the family spend some vacation time somewhere warm enough to wear shorts outside.  We eventually narrowed the world down to a week in Cambodia and a week in Thailand.

We flew into Siem Reap in the evening of December 31 (happy birthday to me!).  I was pretty used to auto-rickshaws, having used them as my primary means of transportation when I was in India many years ago, but these tuk-tuks are a bit different - basically a motorbike with trailer. They are also quite a bit bigger, which was a relief as the hotel transfer vehicle was a tuk-tuk and we were concerned how on earth the thing would get us and all our luggage there. It all worked, the kids were enthralled by the ride, and by the time we got to the hotel and checked in we were ready to crash. We were woken up at midnight for the fireworks we could hear but not see, but thankfully the kids slept through it. We got up relatively early, but it didn't feel too early as the sun rises around 6:30am there. Turns out I am affected by the amount of sunshine I receive, at least, my sleep patterns are.

We had a packed schedule for our first day in Cambodia, and in retrospect we should have been more firm with the tour guide we hired. By lunch I was already confused about which temples we had seen, was worn out and cranky and barely even cared what we did next. Terry did manage to get some pretty pictures though, and the kids had fun working through the activities in their Cambodia guide books we had ordered through EFM-owned Greenfeet Guides.  Zoltan eventually got bored of his, but he's more of a doer than a sit-downer. Alex kept hers alive throughout the vacation, even pulling the book out to cross off new fruits when we tasted them in Thailand.

By the time we were dropped off at the hotel around 4pm, after dropping one temple from the itinerary, we were all beat. The hotel pool provided some much-needed refreshment and we managed to survive until bedtime.

Ice Palace

Last year Astana did not create its usual annual ice city, I heard the rumor that the reason was a previously warm and melty winter that destroyed a lot of the work before people could even enjoy it. Last year was a perfectly normal winter, wherein it dropped below zero some time in November and stayed cold into April. 

This year, however, the city did decide to make an ice city, which sort of sucks because it has been a ridiculously warm winter, continually rising above freezing. Last weekend the temps got as low a the December norm of -20C so we went to check it out.

People kept jumping into the ice throne so we told the kids we could take photos around the bear - his legs were benchlike.

The ice castle was pretty awesome, even though it was just for show and there was no way to actually climb in or around it.

Christmas for the rest of us

Admittedly, it has been 15 years since Christmas was my own private free day, where I could read undisturbed all day and then run into other Jews in the evening having our traditional dinner of Chinese food.

I do have mixed feeling about this.

On the other hand, Christmas in our house is relatively low key, compared to the commercialism that's crept into the traditional American celebration of the holiday (at least, from movies and commercials it seems this way). In the morning the kids get presents from the grandparents who celebrate the holiday, plus a few from us (my throwing Terry a bone. He may remember how I explained to him that there would be no Christmas in my home, in our early days of dating. Sigh.)

This year via Facebook I learned of the Finnish tradition of giving loved one books for Christmas, then the family spends the day reading the new books. This is a tradition I can get behind!  Books were in today's haul, and some of them were read, but it certainly wasn't an all-day endeavor.  We then spent quality time building the science projects, playing the games, practicing with the Nerf bows and arrows, and helping Terry make the cinnamon rolls.

Merry Christmas to all!

My little charmers

The children are planning some kind of surprise for my birthday. They want me to be prepared. Zoltan has specifically asked me to be sure to be beautiful on my birthday (aka, wear a dress) to be ready to accept this gift.

Yay for Alex!

At the kids' school, they can earn "yellow signatures" for doing good work or extra credit work; 10 signatures earns a Yellow Card. "Blue signatures," same general regime, are given for showing the positive character traits stressed at the school. Alex came home Friday with a certificate to go bowling Monday afternoon (leaving school a tiny bit early) and she doesn't have to wear her uniform that day, for having earned 6 or more yellow and/or blue cards.

Good work baby!

Gratitude 30th

Last November gratitude. What to choose? I am grateful for the beautiful sunsets I can see from my apartment window, the brisk winter snow, and the sparkling light show Astana puts on every night between the bridges, buildings and Baiterek. I am grateful for good friends, warm apartments, games, books, and kitties (we're babysitting a friend's cat in a couple of weeks). I am grateful for family, technology, curiosity, and children being sweet and loving. I am grateful for the Wisconsin cheese of the month club gift my mom got Terry for Hanukkah, a gift that arrived early and gives to the whole family. I am grateful that at least some of the Hanukkah gifts for the kids have already arrived, since there won't be another mail run before Hanukkah begins. I am grateful that I have never once in my life had to wonder how I would pay for food the next day or electricity to keep the lights on.

There's more, but this is good for now.

Gratitude 29th

Today I am grateful for the embassy-supplied humidifiers.  They have a wider mouth so the tank can be cleaned more easily than the ones we brought over. And in dry, desertlike Astana, we run those suckers 24/7. The kids' rooms are smaller, so after about a week of constant use they have the humidity level of Pennsylvania or Massachusetts. Our bedroom hasn't gotten there yet, nor has the living room, but at least we aren't quite bathing in lotion anymore. 

Gratitude 28th - A

I am also grateful today to my husband, who decided to try out the cinnamon roll recipe from the one cooking magazine we get. Wow. The kids agreed it was worth having to take a nap afterwards, they were THAT GOOD.

Gratitude 28th

Today I am grateful for the lady who sells me local eggs in the market.  The summer eggs are orange, winter a bit more yellowy but still a much deeper color than you find in USA grocery stores.  And she sings. Beautifully, like a bird. I will miss her when we leave Kazakhstan.