Cambodia - Kompong Khleang

It’s sunrise in a rural floating village in Cambodia and there is a chill to the air that is beginning to wear off with as the sun gets higher in the sky. I’m perched on a low resting chair on the deck watching the village begin to stir. I’ve never been to a place like this before, where the whole village is built and morphed around the rising and falling tides. I am in Kompong Khleang, 50 km from Siem Reap and almost 300km from Phnom Penh. Every house is built on stilts, metres high, and a portion of the community live full time on houseboats tied to one another to move in unison as the river rises and falls. Downriver about 4 kilometres is a giant golden statue of Buddha standing tall against the skyline. The town messages boom over the speakers and music plays to wake the village soon. But for now, it’s quiet except for the hum of boat motors on the waters below. I could sit like this morning after morning.

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#3 Gelato and Luca

I’m sitting on a Park bench somewhere between Bologna and Milan.

Today I am supposed to visiting a friend from up North to go outlet shopping but, like a lot of other days recently, I’ve woken up with tears in my eyes.

I’ve been living in Italy for a few months now and my boyfriend back in Australia has recently informed me that he can no longer “do this”.

This being long distance.

This being me living halfway around the world.

In hindsight, it was the catapult into the making of myself. At the time, though – absolute heartbreak.

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#1 South of France

It’s coming on nightfall in the south of France and we’re in the car driving South.

Having just finished an omelette dinner and a glass of rouge under deep red French awnings, we have decided to spend the night in the countryside. It’s the kind of decisions you make only when your entire life at that point fits into a car. From the coast to the countryside it is!

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