LOKAL in B'Bos

07/02/2026

You’ll have to wait for my next Polarsteps update to find out more!
Or drop a comment to find out where we are! What he dishes were & not too miss out on one of the best foodie places on our trip!

04/02/2026

Today was one of the best eating days in Laos! not many photos as Stanley took most of them! even the bones were crispy enough to eat! We had grilled chicken, sausages for Stanley & 🐜 confessions… I don’t know how but after sipping the broth (chicken based) I had many little white & black ants laying around! It’s sooooo weird but them floating around the soup, looking alive (know they can’t be) it was as if my mouth must have uncontrollably unconsciously spit them out! Or they were alive & didn’t want to be ears! Nevertheless the soup was deliciously delicate!

27/01/2026

If you read only one of my stories, let this be it…

Travelling in Asia is not only sunsets, markets & beautiful food.
It’s children, chickens & puppies playing between litter.
Rivers holding plastic & bottles caught in reeds.
Take-away containers thrown from moving vehicles.
A vastness of waste that asks uncomfortable questions.

& yet… it’s also change.
School children cleaning streets.
Nightly sweeping of doorways & businesses.
Conversations with locals.
A slow awakening that rubbish is worth more collected than poisoning our Earth.

Nature responds — fires, floods, storms, heat & ice — mirrors of how we treat ourselves & the world we depend on.

Still… I choose to see the beauty.
In people. In cultures. In shared meals. In stories exchanged at long tables.
In the privilege of witnessing every facet — light & shadow — of these lands.

Travel is not escapism.
It’s a meeting with reality.

Grateful beyond words as we say goodbye to Cambodia & hallo to Laos ✨

If you read only one of my stories, let this be it…

Travelling in Asia is not only sunsets, markets & beautiful food.
It’s children, chickens & puppies playing between litter.
Rivers holding plastic & bottles caught in reeds.
Take-away containers thrown from moving vehicles.
A vastness of waste that asks uncomfortable questions.

& yet… it’s also change.
School children cleaning streets.
Nightly sweeping of doorways & businesses.
Conversations with locals.
A slow awakening that rubbish is worth more collected than poisoning our Earth.

Nature responds — fires, floods, storms, heat & ice — mirrors of how we treat ourselves & the world we depend on.

Still… I choose to see the beauty.
In people. In cultures. In shared meals. In stories exchanged at long tables.
In the privilege of witnessing every facet — light & shadow — of these lands.

Travel is not escapism.
It’s a meeting with reality.

Grateful beyond words as we say goodbye to Cambodia & hallo to Laos ✨



Trtraveltruths SoutheastAsia OnTheRoad ConsciousTravel Gratitude

26/01/2026

Kampot… slow days, good sleep, easy tuktuks.
Old buildings, river lights at night, friendly people everywhere.
French pastries next to street food… dumpling soup, gin & tonics at the old cinema hotel… generous platters, real butter doing what it does best.

An easy place to arrive & stay awhile.

Follow me and my travels on Polarsteps
https://www.polarsteps.com/StanleyCarpenter

10/01/2026

From Long Beach, Koh Rong.

Sending this light home to the Overberg
for those facing fire, wind & loss.

May the winds ease
may the fires be contained
may people, animals & land stay safe.

Holding you in steady thought & quiet care.

Much calm, strength & protection
Lainy & Liefie

30/12/2025

Late afternoons on Côn Đảo kept revealing the same quiet scene… ducks turning slowly over coals on a street corner. One night we stopped, pointed, negotiated through Google Translate, were told no (rare here), ended up with a bigger duck than planned & a lesson in how food, patience & humour travel best together. Hot days, perfect evenings, beach walks to finish it all.

29/12/2025

From sunrise in Phnom Penh
to sunset in Kep ✨

A day carried by rails, rice fields, passing villages & slow conversations with the land.
Cambodia unfolds best between moments… when the journey itself becomes the destination.

Wonderful Cambodia 🤍

24/12/2025

Quickly we extended by another night. We felt comfortable, had a spacious bathroom, mozzie net & very friendly people around, tourist & locals alike. A fridge filled with ice cold Saigons (beer). A mama in the kitchen & a host happily arranging or excursions.

A mama in the kitchen who couldn’t speak any English but clearly understood I love eating lekker food & was prepared to cook us different styles of fish (other than the menu) during our stay!

But be careful what you wish for…one evening our host arrived at our veranda, a bit uneasy, mama send him to offer us something special! My tummy was so full after fish, rice & salad, “so, thanks but no thanks”… He didn’t leave & just said it’s really special (we were told before coming to the delta, never decline a food offering here, it’s an insult!). The poor man stayed till I asked what it is, he smiled big, thinking I’m going to say yes!!!! “A duck egg! Very special one!” Then the penny dropped!

Continue reading to find what we didn’t eat…

16/07/2025

Desert Dust & Old Friends

Namibia — land of the brave (likely cousin says!) and the brilliantly timed reunion!
Ran into Andreas & cousin Jürgen at a pit stop in Betta. Convoyed for a stretch, and good thing too — our tyre gave up in true Namib style. Teamwork, dust, and desert luck.

03/03/2025