gratitude x 1,000 [mary & jim in cambodia]

we were incredibly fortunate that my parents made the long journey to be here with us when ezra was born.  they helped us welcome ezra in bangkok, took care of cedar while we were in the hospital & did all the laundry & dishes in those bleary early newborn weeks.  then after 3 weeks in bangkok, they hopped on a plane with us & helped us settle back into our life in phnom penh.

[tie dyed shirts straight from the brockport, ny arts festival]

in the airport as they prepared to leave after 6-weeks in asia (we had time to chat- we had to arrive at the airport 5 hours early & their flight was delayed another 4 hours, due to the death of king sihanouk & the arrival of his body from china, but that's a whole other story!) we made of list of our trip highlights.  

so here it is.... the Top Five "Jim & Mary Asian Tour 2012" memories.

1) that first glimpse of daniel holding a pink blanket in the nursery (welcoming baby ezra)
2) lots of cedar time in bangkok
3) long weekend in kep
4) being "out & about" & meeting our community in phnom penh
5) a trip to prey veng province

reunion in a russian tourist trap [phuket]

the hastings family reunion really kicked into full swing when we all (blaine, lindsay, daniel, cedar & i) met up with our brother ben & his girlfriend lindsay in bangkok.  we had found a great deal on a trip to phuket, so we headed to the beach!

we had NO idea what we were getting into.  i think i thought that phuket would be like our beloved kep, but just bigger & with more hotels.  

not even close.  

phuket was tourist-filled beyond anything we'd seen in southeast asia.  despite the tourist trap vibe, we had a good time relaxing at our hotel (which turned out to be completely full of russians, even the menu & signs were in russian!) & taking a really amazing boat trip out to phi phi island.  turns out phuket is popular for a reason; its beaches & islands are fantastically bright & beautiful & even a boat full of feisty russians couldn't ruin that.    

& I'll meet you at the station [night train from laos]

[my favorite train photo - cedar & his buddy sophia]

our travels with blaine & lindsay took us on an overnight train from vientiane, laos to bangkok, thailand with our entire MCC team.
it was 12-hours, but we actually really enjoyed it!

our seats had fold down tables where we could eat & play games & after that they folded down into bunk beds! when it got dark a nice train worker came & made up our beds with sheets & blankets & we all snuggled up for a night of sleeping to the soothing sounds of the rolling train.

blaine & lindsay in cambodia

in july & august we were lucky enough to host two of my (amanda's) brothers & their lindsays (yes, they have the same name).

first to arrive on the scene were blaine & lindsay!  we hadn't seen them since their wedding exactly a year ago, so it was great to catch up, hear about their new life in colorado, introduce them to their nephew & show them our life here in cambodia.

we had some laid back days in phnom penh - recovering from jet lag on our porch,  playing with cedar, & eating fried tarantulas (eek).

after a few days in phnom penh, we headed to siem reap to explore angkor wat.  we'd been there before, but it really never ceases to be awe-inducing in its sheer epicness & this time, we had a really good tour guide to boot! (seen in the umbrella shot below, explaining something very meaningful to lindsay)

after angkor wat we headed to laong prabong & vientiane in laos & phuket in thailand, but more on that later.

*pictures taken by a combination of hastings & talstras

benjamin & lindsay in cambodia

after our mini-family reunion in thailand, ben & lindsay came back with us for a week of fun in cambodia.  they had just finished a trip to wild india & crazy phuket, so we did lots of relaxing on the porch, but also some fun cambodian sight-seeing too.

[ben & lindsay exploring angkor wat]

[they fit right in]

[touristing in siem reap complete with fish feet massage, coconuts & cambodian mojitos]

[apsara dancers]

[learning how silk is made] 

[besides all the touring baby cedar spent a lot of time enjoying his aunt & uncle & smiling ]

it was a quick & full visit & we're already looking forward to our next visit!

escape to the seaside [kep]

while amanda's parents, jim & mary, were visiting we had the chance to escape phnom penh & explore a bit of cambodia. our first excursion was a long weekend at the seaside village of kep, one of our favorite cambodian getaways.

we stayed in bungalows, had leisurely breakfasts, played scrabble, took photos where we tried to look very serious & very cool, ate seafood, stared at the baby, napped in hammocks, walked by the ocean, went swimming, played more scrabble, stared at the baby some more...

& visited a mango & pepper farm!