Into the Jungle by the Sea

Those of you who know me well know that I am not really a city girl.  Yes, I have lived in cities off and on for the past 9 months, but I will always be a country girl at heart.  Getting out into the country is good for my soul.

This week, is the Pchum Ben Festival in Cambodia, which is a time when Cambodians visit Wats and offer sacrifices to appease the spirits of their ancestors up to 7 generations.  Pchum Ben is a 15 day festival, but most people only take three or four days off of work to visit their hometowns and make food offerings.  Because it is a national holiday in Cambodia, we have a whole week off of school.  (A fall break of sorts).

Anyway, several of my roommates, another friend, Abigail and I decided to take a little trip to the Gulf of Thailand, which is supposedly a three hour bus ride South. In our experience the ride took 5 1/2 to 6 hours due to rough road conditions, mechanical issues with the bus, stopping to let off other bus riders in the small villages and towns along the way, and slowing down to allow cows and goats to cross the road safely. However, I was relieved to finally get out of the city and take in the sights of the Cambodian countryside and rice fields.

We visited a sleepy, little beach town of called Kep and stayed at a quaint little eco lodge.

By quaint, I mean mud brick huts with thatched roofs, solar power, cold showers, and open eves, all in a beautiful jungle environment with a natural swimming pool, complete with fish and lily pads. During our stay, several little critters visited our cabin just to keep us from missing the army of ants, cockroaches, lizards, and mice that invade our kitchen in the city every night.  Personally, I would have appreciated it if they would have chosen to leave us alone during our vacation, but other than our visitors we had a truly lovely time at Jasmine Valley Eco Lodge Resort.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time reading in hammocks, savoring tropical fruit, taking in the beautiful flowers of the jungle, and chatting with friends.

While relaxing and drinking in nature was good for our bodies and souls, I believe that no vacation is complete without at least one or two harrowing hikes to beautiful overlooks.

We also embarked on a day-long boat trip to a Rabbit Island.  The seas proved to be bit rough, but the time of rain, sand, and surf made it worth every bump.

It is official, my daughter is a beach girl!

To top it all off, we savored dinner while taking in a spectacular sunset over the ocean one evening.

All in all, we came away from the four days in Kep refreshed body and soul.

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.  

He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,

he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths

for his name’s sake.

Psalm 23

Alas the time for me to attack the pile of papers that I need to input into my grade book before the quarter ends next week has finally arrived.  However, if you ever find yourself in Cambodia and in need of a little retreat by the sea, I highly recommend Kep.

PS.  Abigail wanted me to finish this post by posting a picture of her favorite part of our trip, the friendly snail that visited our cabin porch. Abigail affectionately calls the creature,"Snailey."