I chose to leave even though I wanted to remain… That is I wanted to stay in Europe and yet when the result came in and we started to realise that there was no turning back, I became determined to leave the UK and find some other place to live.
It seemed easy at the time, but as the year went on, many things started to leave me feeling like it was a bad idea. Leaving the UK without a plan meant I was either crazy or I had a lot more hope and confidence than anyone thought.
Flying without Wings
A bit like getting on a plane without any wings!
Or even as a country leaving Europe without any clue as to what we were going to do🙄
Destination Unknown
When I look back on the year from now as it is December 2019 it feels like a distant memory.
Also feels like the right decision.
I wish I knew then what I know now, but then it wouldn’t be the same I guess. So having the chance and options to try it again after learning more about myself is a blessing.
What I want out of life and how life changes you is something I am still learning.
I just hope I can understand more, learn more, and progress in a positive way each year forward.
Not me… Well okay, I bought some goodies, chocolates, biscuits and some wine for the volunteers this year.
I have decided after a very long time to learn to play the guitar again and thus purchased a new one from the No Strings Attached shop that is here in Kampot.
Just have to remember how to play it now.🙄
Great volunteers early in December from Franc and Spain. Elisa who is so kind and organised, Elle who is quite the perfectionist ( don’t change too much ) and Maria, who was our first volunteer from Austria and definitely won’t be forgotten… ever.
Middle of the month allowed me to meet an amazing chef from Poland who has been working hard in Norway for over 10 years and after some fun experimenting in the kitchen he gave me the urge to open a restaurant in Asia. So Adrian, enjoy your travels with Marika as I may be calling upon your services soon.
A great couple both were really enthusiastic about Pepper and help me a lot. Looking forward to keeping in touch with you guys.
I loved Marika for her sarcastic comments about how I am stubborn (yes I know I am ) and finally realising that my foot was not getting better went back to the pharmacy and after another dose of antibiotics found it healed very quickly.
So big apology to Jess from November who told me about it then🙄
What else?
Well the 8th annual sea festival arrived in Kampot just before Christmas which gave us a chance for the farm to meet the shop while all the volunteers, chefs and staff from the shop had a few hours together… maybe we could call it our Christmas party 🤣
Farm meets Town. For the first time, all the staff from bo Tree pepper shop and Kampot Pepper shop combined.
Finally the end of 2019
So foot healed, Guitar in hand and back to my fitness regime I am in the zone for the new year. Much to look back on, mostly firsts in many ways, but for once it has all been about me. I have been selfish this year, and I have enjoyed every minute of it.
Arriving back on the farm at the beginning of November should mean we have a good month to catch up on the building projects we have to finish and get done in time for the beginning of December.
However, we have an early high season as many people are arriving at the farm each day. The reputation of Bo Tree is growing.
Neutral Europe
Welcoming Switzerland and Poland this month as two volunteers from each come to stay the farm along with the regular French volunteer we need each month.
Fitness from Poland
Mike and Edyta from Poland were amazing and gave me a much-needed boost in terms of energy and production. We managed to make a start on the extension of the decking around the visitor centre and plan for expansion I want to achieve before leaving the farm in May 2020.
Our star French volunteer was Audrey not only did she come from Toulouse ( half of our french volunteers have so far!)
Audrey became a great volunteer and someone I hope will become a friend for a long time. After I found out she had spent some time in my home city of Nottingham giving us many things to talk about.
She even helped me sort out a dilemma that I had whilst on the farm.
So A big Thank You Audrey – I won’t forget your help 😃
Two very uniques girls from the french and German side of Switzerland allowed me to learn a lot about a country I have never visited. We also had music galore as Jessica was learning the Ukulele and some more new music for me to add to the volunteers’ playlist form Mina.
TIP OF THE POST
I love the French, the wine, the cheese, the accent and of course Paris. But I have found something else that makes me smile as much as all of those. Gad Elmaleh is a French-Canadian comedian who happily enjoys taking the piss out of himself and his country of origin. Well worth checking him out on either Netflix or YouTube
A new side to Kampot
A visit from a friend in Myanmar to Kampot gave me the chance to stay away from the farm and shop and experience a natural bungalow on the other side of the river. A couple of nice restaurants and determined to overcome a 20-year reluctance of getting back on a moto gave me a busy month.
Resulting in cutting my foot whilst biking through muddy stones, which then became infected as a result of living on a farm.
I always seem to order the girlie looking drink when choosing cocktails
Set around the most beautiful countryside I have seen in South East Asia.
This town has fast become something of a tourist trap. I believe a few years ago this was a brilliant place to visit and use as a starting point to explore the surrounding landscape.
Now it has become more of a construction site with vast hotels springing up across the town.
I think in a few years life will change too much and it will be a booming tourist spot but will it still be attractive?
However the good news is apart from maybe one night when you arrive, the town doesn’t need to be your base for the duration of your time.
So use the time wisely, go trekking, visit a homestay and live in a real tribal village or climb a mountain!
Climb a mountain can be used to signify a lot in life when you are looking to do something challenging.
However, on this occasion, it meant just that!
The highest mountain in the whole of Indochina, at a height of 10,000 ft it is a pretty special place to visit.
I have been wanting to climb it since 2016 when I first heard about it and discovered my passion for Asia.
Achieving a first
It is also the first of many things I had set my sights on doing whilst traveling.
These include a few more mountains, a Buddhist retreat. Visiting a volcano and getting a tattoo by a monk who chooses what he believes is best for you. Also re-learning french and the guitar again.
Since 2016 the idea of trekking the mountain on a 2d1n climb is getting less and less. Due in part because of a cable car which now takes you up to the summit in around 20 minutes.
Planning
Finding a guide, group (expensive if you opt for the solo trek) and a day when the weather will be good enough is pretty hard these days.
They don’t always take groups every day and this means you need to plan your trip well.
I was lucky, but then I seem to find my luck here in Asia to be better than in the UK.
Having tried to find a local guide or a way I could arrange to climb. I chose to visit the tour company camped in a little cabin opposite the main church in the town of Sapa.
For $75 I was able to join a group of Vietnamese friends from Ho Chi Minh City who were doing the climb the following day.
Together with a guide called Sun, who I remembered from TripAdvisor as one of the best, I knew we were going to have a good few days.
The Start
With my new friends, we started around 10 am in the morning a little late than planned but soon made good progress as the first part was good terrain and not too hard.
We had lunch around 13.00 and enjoyed the brief rest as we were all starting to get tired.
The next stage became harder but the views we saw made up for everything. Halfway up the mountain we suddenly found ourselves with our heads in the clouds.
After trekking for many hours we finally reach our camp for the night, around 5.30 pm. It seemed like we had been walking all day, but the hours were less than we thought (perhaps our feet would disagree)
Evening dinner
The night was very cold and we had to shelter in our accommodation around a roaring wood fire. Whilst we waited for our guides to prepare and cook our food.
After eating we retired to bed and huddled in our clothes. Eventually, we climbed into our sleeping bags and at 8.30 pm went to sleep.
Early morning rise
Alarms started to wake us up around 3.30 am which meant it was still dark and very cold. We quickly got up and dressed with more layers to keep us warm, headed to the hut for breakfast and coffee.
We departed around 5.00 pm a little later than planned. But during the evening many groups had arrived and we had to wait a while for breakfast.
The climb was slow especially because of the dark, our group keeping together to reach the summit at the same time.
Our guide informed us that during the night a strong wind had come across the mountain.
It meant reaching the summit to view a beautiful sunrise would not be possible as everything was too cloudy.
We decided to take a slower climb to the summit. A little after 7 am saw the top of the 600 steps we had to climb in order to reach the pinnacle.
The success
We finally made it and the relief of the last 24 hours was worth it. What a shame that after all the time spent working together and keeping each other’s morale going we couldn’t really see the beautiful sites that await you when you reach the top.
The views from what I saw trekking up the mountain are quite spectacular and are hard to put into words.
I think I will definitely visit again.
Hopefully, the weather is good and break another first and travel in the cable car to experience the view.
But regardless of that, the memory I have of the 2 days with new friends and the trek will live with me for a long time.
Part of Team Fansipan October 2019
Life is for living
I really have to say that having worked my whole life to live reasonably well. You put aside your dreams and goals of what you wish, so it’s nice to be selfish for once.
Doing things like this is very important in life. Meeting people who you would never meet under normal circumstances is amazing and I cannot stress this enough.
Break free from what you think about life and how it should be. Be brave enough to experience things, step out of your comfort zone and push yourself.
The city seems to have something unique, I only spent a few days exploring but already hooked on the place.
It has one of the most impressive Pagodas in the world.
I was mesmerized by the Shwedagon Pagoda when you walk around.
The food in Yangon has to be some of the most flavorsome I have tried ever in the whole of southeast Asia.
Smells of local street food certainly rival Bangkok in terms of variety and colours look vibrant. Choice of meals to satisfy even the most worldly traveller.
A nightlife that may rival Singapore as like SG there are many western ex-pats camped in Yangon. It is fast becoming the new place to work in Asia.
Especially, as Myanmar opens up to the west and tries to repair the damage done by the Rohinga crisis.
Local places of interest such as the @ygnwalls, local art museums and little boutique shops offering gifts to satisfy any hardened shopper.
Definitely a return visit and also to experience many more of the places in Myanmar.
Everyone says each state has unique places to visit and tastes of food will vary between places giving me such a wide range of choices it may be a country that keeps me here a while.
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