If you prefer to view the thumbnails and read the captions, please click the link below: My iPostcards from Cambodia
Another reason why this trip to Cambodia was made very special is that I was able to travel with two of my best buddies from high school, Gerry & Joel. Joel informed Gerry and me that he couldn't join us for this trip to Indochina, thus he was not with us in Vietnam, but then surprised us at the airport upon arrival in Siem Reap. It was a great way to have a reunion.
The last time I visited Singapore was during the summer before college, when I traveled with my high school buddy, Allan. Since my partner, Bill, and my friends, Tom & Gerry have never been, I decided to route our trip to Vietnam & Cambodia to go via Singapore. In order to maximize playing tourist in such a short limited time, we pre-arranged a package through Singapore Airlines' Stop Over Holiday to see some parts of Singapore and Sentosa Island.
No, we did not go to Vermont to get married and/or celebrate Bill's birthday. Although those would have been wonderful reasons, we went here to attend a family wedding. Kaya, Bill's nephew, and Kelley met around the same time Bill and I met ... and now, they are finally getting married. Awww... when will it be our turn? Please click HERE for pics of the rehearsal dinner and HERE for the beautiful garden wedding ceremony and reception. This was a very happy occasion.
@ the balcony outside the couple's pre-wedding cabin facing the river
Long before Meryl, played the ruthless and cynical Miranda Priestly in "The Devil Wears Prada" in 2006, she did "The River Wild" in 1994 with Kevin Bacon... We flew up to Oregon, where Bill's mother and one of his brothers live, for a family reunion and to celebrate another brother's milestone birthday. To save on the air fare we decided to fly on Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air. Big mistake! Once we got there, not all of our luggage had arrived with us. It immediately put a damper on and stopper to our activities for the next 28 hours. That's how long it took for the airline to deliver our missed luggage & golf bag. So the highlight of our first day was having to buy toiletries and clothes at the local Walmart. I never imagined that I would have so much fun at a store like Walmart!...LOL.
For X'mas 2000, I took Bill's one and only niece, Carley, to the Philippines, to meet my friends & family, and experience the beauty and culture of my homeland. This time around, my own niece, Czarina, was with me. I was so excited for her to experience my partner's beautiful and loving family. It was great to see everyone again. It has been exactly 10 years since I was first introduced to them after Bill came out to his family six months prior.
One of the highlights of this trip was a full day of wild river kayaking on the Rouge River, same river where "The River Wild" was filmed. So just like some of Meryl's characters, I too enjoy fashion, but also enjoy the great outdoors.
I am the result of an accidental and final creative effort between my mother, a writer & retired hotelier who comes from a musical family, and my father, a joker & retired airline man who has an enormous zest for life. People who know them well have said that I've inherited the best of their gifts. This is an attempt to share parts of my mundane life, which include entries about my family, my "in-laws", my friends, my pets, my travels, my adventures, my goofing around, and some of my feeble endeavors in writing, poetry, and song writing, etc. Hope you like my bloggerole of rigmarole ... my bloggerdash of balderdash!