Today was a great last day of our vacation!! Was going to go running this morning but then decided to sleep in! Had a nice breakfast in the hotel and then we went on our tour. We took a tuk tuk to the downtown area of Siem Reap where we met our guide and chef. They took us around the market and we saw all of the foods and goods there-- quite fascinating the array of different foods and other things available in one spot! (Their version of Costco!!) Then we walked over to an outdoor restaurant where we took a Cambodian cooking class and AND IT WAS SO MUCH FUN!!!!! There were only 6 other people on our tour! Our cooking group was Bill and I and 1 other lady, Cathy Hissink. The head chef is a Master Chef and even had the insignia tattooed to his forearm. His assistant helped us cook our meal. We made green mango salad, curry chicken with lots of amazing vegetables and rice dumplings stuffed with palm sugar for dessert. It was a blast! We did the salad first, and then the rice dumplings and then the chicken curry last. It was so enjoyable and it was cool with fans blowing on us and we got to sit and sip soda and water while they did all the cleanup. Then we all enjoyed our meal together after we finished making the food! Originally, we signed up for the class only because we didn't want to do the jeep tour-- in the heat and on the bumpy, dusty roads, etc. But WOW!! We were so glad we signed up for the class. It really was so much fun! We were presented with certificates after our class and a gift (lemon grass tea) from our assistant. After, Bill and I had our tuk tuk driver take us back to the market where we bought some of the spices and ingredients (dry) to make the recipes we learned today, at home. Plus, we bought some cute wrap around skirts and pants for the girls and "alibaba" pants for Bill and Todd. (The kind with the really low crotch! We found some for Todd that match Megan's skirt!) We bought a few other things-- I found an elephant charm for my charm bracelet to represent Cambodia and we found some things for Nan and Jeralyn and for Kristine, Alyssa and Mason! We had fun shopping, but realized we had to stop because we literally were out of money! Plus we had to make sure we saved $2 for the tuk tuk drive back to the hotel, which was clearly too far to walk.
When we got back, we relaxed for a bit, and then went to our massage. I got the deep tissue and Bill got the relaxing massage. Both were for 1 hour. Mine was a little intense, but I felt really good afterward. I have some really bad knots in my upper shoulders and under my shoulder blades that she really worked on-- hard!! After that, we went back and got ready for the farewell dinner.
They had monks come who gave a "blessing" to all the Jones group before we leave on our long trip home. Then we enjoyed h'ordeurves and cocktails (juice for Bill and I). Then we had a really nice set dinner-- no buffet, YAY!!!!!!!!! We enjoyed some really nice conversation with the people at our table-- many were interested about the church and we had some really neat conversations. A couple from the Philippines had a lot of questions and there was a man who sat by Bill who converted to Christianity from Judaism and they were having a really neat talk about the Bible and Paul!! We had the usual "Ted Jones toast" and then a one of the Financial Advisors got up and sang "It's a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong-- just how he sang it with that raspy voice and everything...It was super cool! They had a new baby granddaughter born DURING the dinner back home and were expressing their joy and gratitude for the blessings of LIFE! (He sings it at every Jones trip he goes on at the final dinner and this was his 11th time to sing that song!) We said our good-byes to all of the cool people that we met on the trip and it was a gorgeous, cooler night with a nice breeze-- no where near as hot as it has been! We walked back to our room feeling so grateful for our "wonderful world"!! Edward Jones has definitely blessed our lives in so many ways and has been such a wonderful company to work for! We have literally been blessed to see the WORLD!! This is the first trip where I've felt like I've wanted to stay longer... usually I'm totally ready to go home! But it has been so much fun and we've met so many wonderful advisors and their spouses! And, of course we are blessed with the true gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives and the knowledge we have, because of that!! I am so grateful for that! Tomorrow we get to go home and see our girls. I am excited to get back into the swing of things and get back on the wedding planning and start clicking off the "to-do" list. Megan has been busy getting things done, as well. It's starting to get exciting! Long day ahead tomorrow....
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