Gobble Gobble

It's the holiday season . . . Paul and I decided to celebrate Thanksgiving at home this year with some friends in Pune. It was a multi-cultural affair with Scots, Irish, English and Belgians present. We had a lovely spread of traditional American food for turkey dinner, but started with pigs-in-a-blanket, peppers and goat cheese wrapped in pastry, and Paul's cheese dips. For dessert, I made a pumpkin pie with my last can of pumpkin in the pantry and we had a delicious Belgian chocolate mousse. It was a great evening and we felt as though we were home, except for the hot temperature and lack of turkey.

The children coloring before Paul starts up the Michigan football game via DVD . . .


Where's Nora? Some toys are the simplest . . .

Now it's Lotte and Nate's turn . . .

A sunset view of Pune from the kitchen . . .
Paul's not shy . . . it's time to eat!

From left to right, Tomas, Becs, Colm, me, Nora with an airplane, Paul, Bec and Will . . . Here's one with Mieke . . .

Dinner is over. We played with a spinning chair for a while, well the children did...and now it's time for chocolate mousse and pumpkin pie! Yummy!

Becs and Nate . . .

Stuffed full of chicken, cranberries, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, veggies, and dessert it's time to go home!

Into the Jungle

After a quick flight to Bankgkok then a 1 hour connection to Siem Reap, we found ourselves in the middle of the jungles of Cambodia. The name Siem Reap literally means the 'Defeat of Siam' —Siam being what we know as Thailand today —and refers a struggle that lasted for centuries and is commemorated in stone in the bas relief carvings of the monuments we visited. You literally could spend weeks in Cambodia and the temples of Siem Reap, but we only had 4 days, and Paul wanted to go temple touring to which we did. I was just excited to be back in nature. We enjoyed spectacular food since we really love dim sum, noodles, pork, and fresh vegetables. These seem to be the common types of food available where you go, so we were quite happy. The climate is hot and sticky, but a nice pool back at our hotel made the afternoon very relaxing and easy to cool off.

The first temple we visited was the enormous Angkor Thom, which is actually more like a city than a mere temple. It is 10 square kilometers in size, and in particular we spent most of our time at the temple Bayon. Angkor Thom was by far our favorite place we visited. Below you will see the entrance to Angkor Thom along with the carvings in relief.

These Hindu temples we eventually converted to Buddhist temples as you will note the 'Smiling Buddha's' below. . .

Tiny doorways . . .

A Hindu goddess . . .

The Elephant Terrace . . .

Bayon from a distance . . .

Now, off to lunch! We shared steamed pork spring rolls along with chicken and noodles!

We hopped back over to the hotel for a quick dip in the pool to cool off after lunch before heading out to Bantea Srei. Bantea Srei is about 25 kilometers away from Angkor Thom, but is the temple dedicated to the Hindu goddess Shiva. It is also believed despite its small size, the intricate carvings reveal that women solely carved the reliefs due to the detail displayed in comparison to the other temples. Below is Paul's favorite image . . . Shiva eating the demon. Yikes!

A walk through the lily pads before we head back to the car to catch sunset . . .

Cambodian sunset from high atop a temple . . .

Hot and exhausted its time to head back to the hotel to freshen up!

On the way, we decide to check out the local junk food. So gross, American ham and cheddar and shrimp flavored chips.

The next morning we visited the most well-known temple, Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat is believed to be the largest religious structure in the world, and its sheer size is impressive. It is really so big we could not figure out how to capture the entire premises on film.

Three Cambodian brides take photos for their wedding day . . .

Our tour guide was really driving us bananas. So we ditched him and decided to walk the grounds ourselves. Good thing we did as it led us outside to this old gate that used to be an entrance for people coming to the temple.

Up we go . . .

This path leads to the Buddhist monastery . . .

Taking a break in the shade . . .

Time for lunch. Today, we visited Cafe Sophea which was written up recently in The New York Times for its casual atmosphere and lovely French food. Paul had the fish and I had fois gras au canard. Though I am not typically a huge duck fan, Paul and I really enjoyed this dish the best!

Back to the hotel for a quick dip and a snooze, and then off again, this time to Ta Prohm. Ta Prohm is most famous as it was filmed in Lara Croft Tomb Raider, and it really is the temple that makes you respect the jungle. Literally, the jungle is growing up, around, and through this temple which is amazing to see.

Where's Paul?

A little tree here... a temple door there...

I really thought Paul was big until I saw this photo . . .

Pretty flowers decorate the door . . .

We headed out to Cafe Indochine for some lovely Cambodian soup for dinner. Then, back to the hotel for a good night sleep. The next morning we headed out to buy some silk as souvenirs from our trip, then back home to India. Wow! I had forgotten in 4 short days the spectacular sights while driving through Mumbai traffic--a truck, horses, motorbike, and rickshaw!

Week 16

Today marks the 16th week of pregnancy for Paul and I. We are both doing well. I have gotten my energy back and I am back into all my old routines, such as the gym and yoga. The narcolepsy seems to be fading as well. Still craving yogurt, fish, salad, pineapple, and eggs. However, recently I have begun to crave spicy food. In particular, tomato and onion uttapa with sambhar and coconut chutney--don't forget the extra green chilies please! Not sure why...but this always sounds good for lunch!

I felt the first signs of quickening on Saturday night. Paul and I were watching The Reader and I could not get comfortable. I kept squirming all of the couch and was attributing it to some indigestion from dinner. Then, all of the sudden I realized that the feeling that was driving me crazy were "butterflies in my stomach." We talked to all our other pregnant friends and realized that feeling along with the low back pain confirmed Peanut's movements.

And we are now off to Cambodia on Thursday!