Birthday fun Cambodia style!

Yesterday I reached the grand old age of 32. Or 33 if you count Khmer style: they count your birth day as year one so on our first UK birthday we'd actually turn two here. Needless to say, I decided not to count that way!

This was the lovely sight that greeted me when I got to class yesterday.

The day continued to be full of surprises. After class there was a surprise lunch with some of the other volunteers - with more balloons decorating the restaurant - and a card and present from the gang here. My card was actually a jigsaw with the messages written on the back - and it was another item from the Disney princesses range (for other times, see here). Wonderful. My present was these rather fetching PJs (stripy top worn underneath - optional).

Pyjamas are the daywear of choice for many discerning Khmer ladies - they can be seen on all ages when doing all manner of daily activities. Sadly, I've not managed to capture anywhere near the extensive range of choices in the pics below, but I'm sure you get the idea. I will try to get at least one shot of the bright orange 'Angry Birds' ensembles that we regularly see for the future.

It's definitely a quirk that none of us have quite gotten to grips with yet, however I'm beginning to see the advantage. Light and cool yet covered up from the sun and always matching. What's not to like!

The rest of the afternoon was spent eating the, frankly magnificent, chocolate cake that Gordon had had made for a birthday treat. It was delicious and disappeared faster than you can say "What's happy birthday in Khmer again...?"

a dreadful picture of me with the cake

mm-mmmm

We snuck in a round of Scrabble before heading back to the hotel to study. Sadly, the concentration just wasn't there today so I chatted, read lovely birthday emails and texts and blew up balloons with Tida, the wee girl of the night receptionist at our hotel and the lady who runs our beer stall of choice at the river.

preparing for the "magic" trick of sticking a balloon to the wall

The day was rounded off with beer and peanuts on our balcony watching the sunset before a lovely dinner at Smile and a quick Skype chat with my folks.

Fun times :)