lavanderblues

Monday, June 26, 2006

cambodia pics - project sa'bai!

haha ok so now i shall blog about cambodia. it was a fantastic 15 days spent with eleanor (team leader), terence, joshua, weiming, enming and tengsoon. 5 guys and 2 girls =P haha. we based ourselves in phnom penh, mostly in this really cosy backpacker although ghetto-like area around boeung kek lake. then in the morning after breakfast, the truck from don bosco will come to pick us up and send us to our destination for the day. we helped out in 3 schools - the tuol kuok vocational training sch for girls, the touk thla elementary sch and kindergarten, and the pom chreh elementary school. these schools are under the don bosco flag, and are set up by nuns for the poor kids. they are supported by donations so that these kids get free education. all the schools are in rather shoddy areas of phnom penh too. during our time there, we taught the kids health and hygiene, first aid, gave them a rather basic health checkup, bought medicines and vitamins for the schools, bought balls, english books and other stuff for them too, interacted with the students, helped set up the water filtration system donated by pub which arrived by container, and distribute the soft toys contributed by the singapore red cross. in our time after school, we went shopping, ate good food, drank cheap booze, visited the toul sleng genocide museum and just nuaed. it was a fantastic experience, and i didnt miss home a bit when it was time to leave. haha =P wanna go back again!

im getting a lil'lazy. will upload more in abit!

lin~*
9:18 am

france pictures!

okay. so my silly lappie ran out of batt after i uploaded abt 30pics so i have to go thru the lot again. pardon me if there's no commentary. just look and enjoy!

so anw, bonjour! i went first to the provence region of france - aix en provence, driving through the rustic countryside to avignon, then a bit more exploration, before heading to the gorges du tarn. subsequently, went back to paris where i spent another 3 more days just soaking in the parisian environment before coming back to sunny singapore. in short, the trip was fantastic. ate wonderful foods. tried my long anticipated laduree and pierre herme macaroons which didnt disappoint a single bit (except that i spent about 40sgd on macaroons and desserts alone)... saw wonderful sights, and basically expanded my horizons. wonderful. it was great to spend time with my parents too. and visit all the off the beaten path villages. i'd really go back again. for a 3rd time. except that funds are a-limited and places to visit are limitless. nonetheless, i love france. as always. j'adore france!

here are a selection of the thousand or so photos that trigger happy me took in the course of 10 days.

the best salad ive ever eaten.

cafe culture in france.

chocolat macaroons

flaming fields of poppies by the road side.

lavender flowers!

a pretty patio.

the palace des papes in avignon.

cherry season! they were everywhere! ate so many!

we bought more melons and ate them in the room!

melon with port. fantastic.

white horses by the roadside in the carmargue region.

dad and me by the river side.

a shot of the gorges du tarn.

wonderfulicious duck confit in a tiny village along the gorges.

apricots, fully ripened and juicy, in a parisian street market.

laduree macaroons. i heart the salted butter caramel ones.

l'arc de triomphe

pretty pink figurines in a display

berthillon ice cream. salted butter caramel. bursting with flavour. i swooned at first lick my knees went weak and i really squatted on the floor in the shop swooning over the icecream.

the notre dame. attended a service there.

le louvre, now made even more infamous by the da vinci code. didnt go in, but dad wanted a pic of the pyramid anw.

french park

cute kids on horsies.

enuff said.

delectable fresh from the oven french bread.

our picnic spread in the hotel room - went marketing for hams and cheeses, baguettes and wine, and cherries. wonderful feast.

pierre herme's ispahan. (rose macaroon with raspberries and lychee cream) so wonderful. im a happy babe. insanely ex tho. that small thing cost 10sgd.

another shot of the effiel tower. insanely crowded by mainly mainland chinese tourists.

okay so as u can see i ate alot. tried lots of food. had famous berthillon ice cream (salted butter caramel) and the ispahan which was orgasmic... hams, cherries, saturated sweet french melons with port wine, the sweetest apricots ive tasted that juices run down ur chin when u bite into them... im going to die a happy girl. haha.

lin~*
12:48 am