My day started with commuters at the Flying Coffee Bean, Brighton station.
Followed by a pilgrimage to Waterstones specifically to sniff books, drink coffee and sketch out of that window.
Can you believe someone had already nicked the table. What’s more, he was ‘reading’* of all thing. Outrageous!
*I very much approve of reading, just not in my seat.
A damp day at the Trading Post Coffee Roasters, Brighton, UK. Damn fine cup of coffee.
Whilst the temperatures in the UK teeter above freezing, I’m warming myself up by remembering lying in a hammock, sipping juice from a huge freshly plucked coconut by the tiny island of Hon Mot, a year ago today.
The island is connected to Phu Quoc by the wobbly ‘monkey bridge’, just visible in the far right of the sketch.
Pasty legs and wonky feet are all you need to make life sweet
In between slaughtering chickens, the charismatic café owner gave these two fishermen (presumably her sons) a right ear-bending every time they stopped work to watch me sketch!
No pressure!
This time last year I was touring the temples at Angkor in Cambodia, which had been a dream of mine for a long time.
The temples date from the 9th Century and cover a surprisingly large area. My first stop was Angkor Wat, the biggest and most well known.
My favourite was Bayon, an eerie forest of multi-faced Buddha’s who stare silently past you.
Then came the Banyan trees in Ta Prohm, aka the Tomb Raider Temple.
Fans may recognise the first tree from the movie – sadly minus Lara Croft. It was early, so I had half an hour pretty much alone, before the non-stop stream of tour groups lined up for their photo opportunity.
I had to abandon the final tree when I nearly passed out from the heat! Having drunk my own body weight in water, I knew lack of salts was my problem.
Disoriented, I gorged on an entire pineapple from a street seller, before flopping into the tuktuk all templed out. 
Even in the endless deluge of monsoon season, the ancient town, and UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hoi An is awash with colour.
When I visited this time last year, we spent the days wading through puddles, wandering through the lantern filled shops and of course, getting measured at the tailors.
View from Hoi An Roastery, Japanese Bridge
It’s common for Hoi An to suffer flooding, but that week, the waters of the Thu Bon river stayed safely between the river banks, just teetering on the verge of overflowing.
The only way to drip dry, was to consume huge amounts of strong, smoky, sugar-rich Vietnamese coffee in the various Hoi An Roastery’s scattered around the town.
So full I could pop! Hope you are having a very merry Christmas.
Castellers de la Vila de Gràcia teaching children to build human castles at the Jardins de Frederica Montsen, Barcelona.
An avant-garde moment at the cubist, Grand Cafe Orient, Prague.
The cafe is on the second floor of the House at the Black Madonna. Originally built as a department store, it now hosts two gorgeous cafe’s, the Czech Cubism exhibition and the most stunning staircase.
David Černý’s brown-nosers is hidden away in the back garden of the quirky Futura gallery in Prague. There is a special treat inside each bum-hole!
From backsides, onwards to Černý’s pulsating foam and metal embryo sculpture, which clings to a drainpipe in Stare Mesto. You can just see it throbbing in the dimness, across the square from the cosy Tricafe.
I love David Černy’s satiric sculpture of King Wenceslas on his upside down dead horse, which dangles proudly from the Art Nouveau dome in the Lucerna Palace shopping centre. Very statesmanlike. The lolling tongue is a particularly nice touch!
cmoorelife 