Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

I know I promised that this post would be about the exotic and unusual from our travels in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam – it’s coming. However, I have been so excited this week about the fantastic workshop I did at the Eclectic Studio last Sunday that I wanted to share. I was certainly out of my comfort zone with copper, brass and silver sheet metal, chasing hammers, and butane torches, but I really loved the work and am happy with my efforts on the day. Mary Hettmansperger, a delightful artistic genius was our teacher, whose extensive background in traditional weaving has been transferred to creating contemporary jewellery. PS: please visit the website of the Eclectic Studio , or contact the lovely Roz for an extensive selection of creative classes and workshops.

I often wonder what most people remember about a holiday. In an earlier post, I said it was the 'people", but there seems to be a bit of consensus amongst friends that "food " is definitely up there. Certainly exotic foods add another dimension to the experiences. Yes, these bottles of wine were for sale, and they did contain snakes, scorpions, and other creatures often considered nasty. I did try some, but it wasn't amongst my souvenir purchases. There were of course, other delicious and more familiar food found in markets and from street vendors. - bananas, mangoes, tamarind, dragon fruit, corn, fresh greens and noodles .... and lots more ... anything and everything....   Shopping is not easy  a) when you're not sure of the language ;    b) when you live in a floating village ( Here a woman and her child stop at the local shop for dinner supplies) ; c) when you have a weak stomach for raw meat ( apologies to all my vegetarian friends) We ate wond...

It's been a week since we returned from our holidays in Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos and most of our holiday stories are about the people we met...  Memories are about the people first, the experiecnes, second and the places after that?   My photo of  our holiday is this one taken in a small Vietnamese village, where a baby was totally fascinated with Jim's "white"  beard, and just wanted to touch it and play with it.   The family , outside their village home. A moment of craziness - a group of young Japanese tourists having a "fish massage" in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Nara, recollecting his own incarceration, and the tragedy of family deaths during the Pol Pot regime, the Killing Fields, Phonm Penh, Cambodia   "Snow" explaining what was edible,  Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Our boat man , Mekong River, Vietnam   Family welcoming us to Vientiane, Laos in a "baci" ceremony. Buddhist monks at dawn alms gi...

Happy Easter to all my friends and family who celebrate this special religious event. Most associate eggs with Easter, so I thought this photo of quail, duck and chicken eggs for sale at the morning markets in Luang Prabang in Laos on Friday morning  was most appropriate. Jim ( my husband) and I arrived home yesterday from our amazing, wonderful, exciting, spiritual and inspiring trip to Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. You may have guessed we enjoyed  all the different experiences and I will be blogging about some of the mjore interesting stories with photos over the next couple of weeks.   Whatever beliefs you have, there is no denying that one of the most spiritual and peaceful places in the world is Angkor Wat in Cambodia.  When I  reveiwed  my holiday photos and came across this one, I am reminded that " Easter tells us that life is to be interpreted not simply in terms of things but in terms of ideals." ~ Charles M. Crowe Ke...