Angkor Siem Reap Cambodia

Siem Reap Angkor
Siem Reap Angkor
Siem Reap Angkor
Siem Reap Angkor
Siem Reap Angkor
Siem Reap Angkor
Siem Reap Angkor
Siem Reap Angkor
Siem Reap Angkor
Siem Reap Angkor
Siem Reap Angkor
Siem Reap Angkor
Siem Reap Angkor
Siem Reap Angkor
Siem Reap Angkor
Siem Reap Angkor
Siem Reap Angkor
Siem Reap Angkor
Siem Reap Angkor
Siem Reap Angkor
Siem Reap Angkor
Siem Reap Angkor
Siem Reap Angkor
Siem Reap Angkor
Siem Reap Angkor
Siem Reap Angkor
Siem Reap Angkor
Siem Reap Angkor
Siem Reap Angkor
Siem Reap Angkor
Siem Reap Angkor
Siem Reap Angkor
Siem Reap Angkor

Angkor Siem Reap

A short flight from Bangkok takes us to Siem Reap where we were kindly picked up and taken to our hotel the Lotus Blanc Resort.  We had fabulous service here, the manager organised our tuk tuk driver for our trips into Angkor.  We decided on a full day ticket into Angkor which also allowed us an evening sunset the day before entering the park.  The first thing that strikes you when entering the park is the sheer scale of the place, one of the temples we went to was about a 20km drive!  We started our day at about 5am with sunrise at Angkor Wat said to be the worlds largest single religious monument.  Usually sunrise is a quiet serene moment, not here however as it appears half of Siem Reap had the same idea as us!!!  We were a little worried that this would be the order of the day but because of the size of the place we managed to find lots of areas that we virtually had to ourselves.  Here are a few of the images taken and if anyone would like some further reading here’s a link to the wiki website!

We really enjoyed exploring Siem Reap except for the rather tacky ‘Pub Street’ and found some great restaurants.  This is the cool dry season in Cambodia which is great for us as not too hot in the day and a little cool at night.  The roads throughout Cambodia were in quite poor upkeep and very dusty, so we had some interesting bus and tuk tuk rides!

Muscat Oman

Muscat Oman & Bangkok

It was great to catch up with Rob & Emma who kindly did an amazing road trip from Riyadh stopping at Abu Dhabi on the way and way back.  We had an amazing view of Muscat when flying in with the sun rising over the Western Al Hajar Mountains which surround the city.  We visited the very impressive Grand Mosque where in my wisdom I decided to drop my camera and lens on the very hard marble floor – Oops that’s the end of that lens for the trip!!  We had a great walk over a craggy mountain and did a great little road trip to the Bimmah sinkhole and the nearby beaches.  Here are a few pics with some of the demonstration in Bangkok too, which luckily were very peaceful when we were there!

Palawan Adventure

Our 5 Day Voyage of Discovery through the beautiful Islands of Palawan

We joined 24 other intrepid explorers on a 5 day voyage through the totally unspoilt archipelago between Coron Town and El Nido organised by the amazing Tao Philippines.  The group consisted of nationalities from Wales, England, France, Italy, Sweden, Germany, USA, Taiwan, Japan, Australia, Canada & the Philippines.  We were split into two outrigger style boats with A-Mazing crew on each headed by Johan and Jimboy.  We all had our main bags stowed on the boat and had daily access to a day bag which housed your essential items, including a change of swimwear and a toothbrush – what else do you need???  It was so refreshing not having access to any outside communication for 5 days, something we take for granted in our modern lifestyle.  This trip was not about first class travel and luxury accommodation, it was about sleeping on pristine beaches, adventure, deserted Islands, amazing snorkeling and swimming, drinking Rum and making new friends – not necessarily in that order!  We ate lots of bananas, rice and fresh fish which was expertly prepared by the onboard chefs.  The crews of both ships were superb, such good fun!  They did soooo much for us, nothing seemed a chore, always smiling – a huge Thank You goes to them!

Inverloch Victoria

Inverloch Victoria

We spent a memorable weekend with Megan & Darren in Inverloch, a beautiful seaside resort located on the Bass Highway, 143 km south east of Melbourne, at the mouth of the Anderson Inlet.  We rented a great house and had the traditional ‘Aussie Barbie’.  Darren & I found a great place for the sunset called Twin Reefs.  We even had our own Yoga model meditating in the last of the days sun.  My goretex trainers were again tested by the incoming waves?????

St. Donats Castle Wedding Photography

St. Donats Castle Wedding

This post contains a choice of our favourite wedding photos from the wedding of Lucy & Julian who were married at St. Donats Castle in the Vale of Glamorgan.  Lucy got ready in a room provided by St. Donats Castle with her mum and bridesmaids.  As Julian is from Germany, the day had a definite Bavarian feel to it.  The ceremony was held inside because of the weather, but everyone went outside in the windy conditions after to have their drinks and hors d’oeuvres.  We were able to use areas both inside and outside the beautiful grounds at St. Donats Castle.  Lucy even braved the elements for an evening paddle in her wellies!!!