A beautiful seaside town definitely worth visiting!
Three weeks ago I arrived in South Africa and have been travelling around a bit with a visit to Kruger National Park in the mix. My friends who live here in Pretoria recommended I visit Hermanus, a seaside town south east of Cape Town. My travel agent booked me into Birkenhead House, a gorgeous cliff top hotel overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.
I was driven from Cape Town to Hermanus which took about an hour and a half and upon arrival at Birkenhead House, I was offered lunch as my room was not quite ready. I decided to sit outside and was brought a complimentary cocktail followed by a glass of wine and freshly baked bread.
I had advised the hotel of my dietary requirements and the chef made me a delicious salad and a warm new potato dish. Both so good! 
It was then time to go to my room but first decided to take a look around the hotel. It is beautifully decorated, so stylish with huge sofas to sit in to read a book or just take in the fabulous vista.
There are two pools, one inside the building complex and the other an infinity edge pool overlooking the ocean. Bit too chilly to swim but could imagine relaxing in the pool with ocean views.
Then to top it off my room also had its own pool along with a nice outdoor area and a really lovely bathroom.
The staff had left me a small bottle of champagne as a welcome gift which was very kind and I was told the mini bar contents were complimentary as I had paid for an inclusive food and beverage package.
I decided to go out and explore the area so walked along the cliff tops for about an hour to reach the township. It was rather windy but the views were spectacular so I made up my mind that every morning I would take a long walk along the cliff tops where I was greeted by many friendly people out walking or jogging.
The town of Hermanus is quite small but has some lovely quaint paved small streets and great bookshops.
Before I arrived in Hermanus I found out it was Whale watching season so booked a tour as they are very popular and book out quickly. We were given a ten minute talk on the history of the Southern Right Whale after which we went out in the bay for about two hours. We were very lucky and followed a mum Southern Right Whale and her baby near the shore (not great photos though).
Most afternoons I would sit on a day bed reading my book and enjoying uninterrupted views of the ocean and on one occasions saw a whale breaching. Now that was a magnificent sight.
All meals at Birkenhead House were delicious and made with fresh local vegetables and on my last evening I had my dinner inside with an American couple then stepped outside to watch the magnificent sunset.
And so after four days it was time to move on…taking with me my beautifully presented clean laundry!
Whilst in Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh earlier this year, my friend Tracey and I travelled to Siem Reap to take a look around and of course to see Angkor Wat and other temples. We stayed at a lovely hotel called J7 which is ideally placed in the centre of the city and a short Tuk Tuk ride to the bars and restaurants. Our whole trip was arranged by our friend Naomi who lives in Phnom Penh but unfortunately at the last minute she was unable to come along.
After checking into our rooms we took a Tuk Tuk to Pub Street which is very popular with backpackers with local bars serving very cheap beers. Not being a beer drinker, we decided to venture a little away to find other bars and restaurants.
We found great little paved/tiled alleyways off Pub Street that housed the lovely bars and restaurants we were looking for. We ate regularly at these alleyways and I always enjoyed the food. I always found the chef was willing to amend a particular dish to make it vegan so was never going to starve!
I enjoyed a great bowl of pasta at a gorgeous Italian restaurant, avocado and tomato on sourdough toast at a health cafe, delicious sandwiches and many other great meals. 
The next morning we were up before 5am to see the sunrise over Angkor Wat. We were picked up by a driver and taken to the temple area where there were already hundreds and hundreds of visitors waiting to see the same thing as us but our guide managed to find us a great viewing point where we saw the magnificent colours of the sun rising over the temple. By this stage it was 5.30am and already thirty-five degrees!!
We walked through the temple and its grounds and both of us were even blessed by a local monk; for a small fee of course.
The next temple we visited was Angkor Thom…this is probably my favourite with its amazing intricate carved faces.
We decided after visiting Angkor Thom to take a break as both Tracey and I were so incredibly hot; the temperature had reached over forty degrees, so at 8am we drove back to our hotel.
Wow…what a find…it was sophisticated, dark and very glamorous! Deep red walls, silk lanterns hanging from the ceilings and dark wooden furniture. 
Even the bathroom was glamorous…
Miss Wong is named after a painting by Vladimir Tretchikoff of a beautiful Asian woman. I remember when we lived in Wales that my mum had bought the print and it was framed hanging in our lounge room. What a lovely memory for me to see it again.
This was not the only print in the bar, there were many; all different but in the 1930s Shanghai style. 
We ordered a glass of wine each and a few dishes including steamed shrimp har gow, dry fried mushroom pot stickers (dumplings to me) and vegetarian spring rolls (not a great photo I am afraid as it was dark and my mobile phone doesn’t take good photos without light).
Sue's Fabulous Travels 
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