The Precious

Date: December 25, 2010

Here's a story.

So I woke up Christmas morning...and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. Actually there probably was a mouse...and a gecko...and a frog... Jungle living! Anyway, after eating a scrumptious breakfast, and sending a few Merry Christmas messages via Skype, I retreated to our bungalow and decided that upon seeing a number of Emily's clothes hanging cleanly on our clothes line I should do some laundry. As an aside, Emily and I have mastered the art of transforming even the nicest digs into our own personal laundromat, stringing our clothes line to any available weight-bearing post and creating a limbo-like maze of wet hanging garb. Meet the Clampetts!!

An example. This picture is actually from China - you get the idea.

So. I went to the bathroom sink and started my washing with the most necessary items - underwear. 2 of 3 pairs. First I rinsed, then I got to lathering with a combination of Dr. Bronner's and bar soap (yes, intended for the body, not for the items covering it). With the Dr. Bronner's stock running desperately low, the bar soap was an improvise. The lathering was aggressive (after months wearing the same clothes, it needs to be) and the combination of soaps created extremely slippery conditions within the sink basin. During this, my wedding ring was freed from my left ring finger, narrowly avoided falling down the drain, and instead bounced out of the porcelain and directly into the waste basket below. Whew! Lucky, I thought. Understand that I never take it off, and as a result, my finger has come to care for it as it's own - in other words, it doesn't remove easily. Since it wasn't lodged in the drain pipe, I decided to just keep on washing, and retrieve it later. After underwear, I moved to socks, then to shirts... I'd say it was a good hour of washing in total and I was thoroughly pleased with the new lavender / mint scent in the air as I hung all articles out to dry. Merry Christmas, clothes!

After all the washing, I moved on to a strenuous afternoon of lounging in the sun...and reading. Fast forward to two hours later when I came to the panicked realization that a) my ring was not resting in the usual pale indentation of my finger and b) the cleaning ladies had come through and removed the trash. Actually, to be more accurate, the cleaning ladies entered while I was still washing, and I physically handed the waste basket to them to empty. Shit. I ran to the reception area, and explained the situation to May, one of JV's fantastic staff members. Her English is very good, but I don't think the phrase "I threw away my wedding ring while washing my underwear in the sink" is commonly heard or spoken. Fortunately for me, she understood and we both set off to find the two cleaning ladies. We walked quickly around the premises, she questioning others in Khmer re: their whereabouts (I think...or informing them of my lunacy...haha), and then suddenly, without words or resolution (in my mind), we went back to the reception. I stood there, looking confused, when she soon leaned over and casually said: 'they have it'. Fantastic!! Devin's butt = covered. Thanks JV! And with that, my finger got it's white gold buddy back again and I was spared the shame of losing my wedding ring on Christmas day.

PS - Yes Emily, I DID reference Lord of the Rings in the title of this post.

Kep = Awesome

Kep, Cambodia
October 17th to 21st

After 2+ months of travel we’re in love – yes, still with each other (most of the time :) and now also with a small town called Kep (pop. 11,500), which is on the southern coast of Cambodia. We spent four fantastic days here, exploring the jungle, the coastline, the mountains, the ‘city’, and the countryside. It was very hard to part ways, and we seriously contemplated overhauling our upcoming travel plans on more than one occasion to stay longer; Laos was very close to being axed. The tough choices of travelling with few constraints. Please pity us.

A little history: Kep was founded by the French elite in 1908 as a ‘retreat’ for the high-rollers of the era. Numerous generously-portioned villas were built along the coastline, and in the hills, and white sand was even shipped in from nearby Sihanoukville to ‘fancify’ Kep’s naturally rocky beaches. Then, a transformation occurred in the mid-1970’s, after the Khmer Rouge came to power. They loathed the French influence, and proceeded to set Kep on fire (quite literally), destroying much of what Kep had come to be. Today, the scars remain in the form of burned out, crumbly villas. Some are occupied by squatters, but the majority remain empty; eerie ghosts of the past. Although still quite rough around the edges, it’s hard to ignore Kep’s natural charm and beauty.

We had heard that Kep was ‘cool’ from a couple of friends when gathering intel stateside, but didn’t specifically plan to go there until the day before…and even then, we were uncertain if the journey south would be worthwhile or how long we would stay. (This decision came after the call for heavy rains along Cambodia’s southwest coast thwarted our initial plan to treat ourselves by doing boo on a remote island beach for a week).

So, we fired up the internet around midnight to look at lodging options, came upon a place called Jasmine Valley Eco-Resort that had excellent reviews, and boarded a local bus headed from Phnom Penh to Kep at 7am. The bus journey brought good news / bad news. Good news: there is availability in the budget-friendly ‘tree-house’ room at Jasmine Valley (we phoned at a reasonable hour). Bad news: a long delay and a confusing transfer to another bus with standing room only after our initial bus backed into a truck after leaving a rest stop halfway to Kep. Perplexing, as the only damage was a broken tail light, which evidently makes the bus ‘undriveable’…yet, there are motorbikes whizzing by on the rutted gravel road, many loaded to the max with a combination of 2 to 4 people, large sacks of grains, long pieces of wood / metal, and ducks all hanging off the side…yes, this is okay, but a minor fender-bender makes the press. The complexities of Asia…you just have to accept it with a smile, as the search for logic and reason can be fruitless.

At last, we made it to Kep, and to Jasmine Valley…and immediately knew we were going to stay awhile. I could fill up a page with my praises, but in summary: great location (tucked in the jungle in a quiet valley), great ‘management’ (Owen & Jasmine, Scott – salt o’ the earth), great design & concept (sustainability: eco-friendly buildings / support of the local community / environmental projects), great staff (friendly, eager to assist & learn), great food (fresh, Khmer ‘home’ cooking) and above all, a great vibe (VERY relaxing, VERY chill.) Sniff around the website; it’s as cool as it sounds/looks (see the link on our blog.)

Our time in Kep was also spent driving around the area on a motorbike (scooter) and exploring the coast, the crab market, and the country (we drove all the way to Kampot – 25 km – got a flat tire in town, had it fixed for $1 while watching kids play bocce, and drove back dodging cows and trucks.) Note that some of the world’s best pepper comes from this region, and I LOVE PEPPER, which makes Kep that much cooler. And we spent a day hiking a trail/road through the jungle – hiding under trees when it rained, catching great views of the sea below…

This is running long, and I want to hit the street in Luang Prabang (Laos) now, so, ultimately, we really like Kep, we really like Jasmine Valley, it was hard to leave….BUT we have now decided to change our plans completely and to come back to SE Asia/ Cambodia / Kep / Jasmine Valley for Christmas…and a bottle of star-fruit cider. Ho ho ho!