As we were planning this trip, we were looking for an opportunity to get active in a community as a family. Given the age of the kids, especially the twins, we did not find any such opportunities, especially not over the period of time we were looking for (max a month) – it’s either a […]
Les p’tits gastronomes….in Cambodia
Upon arrival, our culinary expectations of Cambodia were not necessarily low, simply non-existent. Lack of preparation or information, maybe. Of course there will be heaps of delicious fruits, and, given we will be in the tourist hotspots, there will be a good selection of whatever cuisine, but Cambodian cuisine itself is just a fuzzy concept […]
Angkor, 3 more ways
Most of the Angkor historical site has been “kitted out” with bicycle paths and, given how cycling-keen our troop is, we manage to find a rental with kid-sized bikes on the outskirts of town. The only questionable part is getting there in one piece – even the backroad is quite busy with zooming tuk tuks, […]
Angkor, Part I: a circus, temples & a small but mighty museum
We arrive in Siam Reap after a 5 hour lunatic drive from Phnom Penh – our driver almost fell asleep on us several times, stopping every once and then to splash himself with water and fill up on energy drinks. Not very reassuring. Considering the COVID situation – at this stage really only affecting China […]
New friends and street art in Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh. To be honest, this name never popped up on my radar as a desirable place to go but as we were reading up on Cambodia with our plans to visit Angkor, it sounded as if Phnom Penh was really quite a funky city on a happy rebound, with a vibrant community, great restaurants […]
Kuala Lumpur – skyscrapers and a fun STEM afternoon
So many people have raved to me about Kuala Lumpur, so when Marina, our travel agent, proposed it as our South-East Asia homebase, I picked it over Bangkok. We have a great AirBnB that is only a 5 min walk from the famous Petronas towers – a giant (and I mean, GIANT) shopping mall with […]
MONA – Controversial art, fun for all
The MONA is probably what put Hobart, and Tasmania overall, on the tourist map. It is the biggest private art collection in Australia, and a pet project of its multimillionaire founder, David Walsh, a talented mathematician turned professional gambler who made his fortune with Black Jack and betting on race tracks. His collection is dedicated […]
Les p’tits gastronomes in….Myanmar
I arrive in Burma with my culinary expectations practically zero if not negative given everything I have read about the cuisine being bland and uninteresting, especially compared to its neighbours. Thierry, who visited Burma over 15 years ago also does not have particularly exciting memories of the food scene, but we are in for a […]
2019 to 2020, reunions to tennis Masters: Sydney – Hunter Valley – Melbourne
We embark on our plane to Australia with only three objectives, the rest is wide open: visit our good friends the Fouter family in Sydney, take surf lessons and go to Uluru/Ayer’s Rock. As we leave Auckland, we don’t know quite to expect: Julien had sent us pictures looking out from their house in the […]
Auckland, take-2
After all that paddling (and rain) of our canoe trip, we decide to skip any further adventures and just take it easy in Auckland instead. Having gorged ourselves on essentially crackers and dips for the past 4 days we are craving some decent food, and our memories of Auckland are sweet so back we go. […]