TOKIDOKI (NOMAD)

PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA 🇰🇭: WAT KOH MURALS, Part 1

Published on October 25, 2026 by jacquelinemhadelLeave a comment

These murals at Wat Koh depict the Vessantara Jataka, the story of Prince Vessantara, a previous incarnation of the Buddha celebrated for his extraordinary generosity.

The scenes follow the prince as he gives away his royal elephant, leaves the palace with his wife Maddi and their children, and lives in exile in the forest. He ultimately surrenders everything most precious to him as a test of selflessness. After his virtue is proven, his family is reunited and he returns home.

Beautifully painted in the Khmer tradition, the murals unfold like a visual storybook. Their central lesson is dāna—the Buddhist virtue of giving without attachment—although, to modern eyes, the story also raises difficult questions about sacrifice, family and the limits of generosity.

September 2026

PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA 🇰🇭: FOOD, BUDDHISM, & BROWN WATER

Published on October 24, 2026 by jacquelinemhadelLeave a comment

A very well-known Cambodian breakfast dish, Bai Sach Chrouk, grilled pork over rice, often served with pickled vegetables and a fried or boiled egg on the side. Delicious.

**A memorial stupa (chedi) at**
**Wat Botum Vatey, just south of the Royal Palace.**

Wat Botum Vatey, founded in 1442, is one of Phnom Penh’s oldest and most significant Buddhist temples, with longstanding royal connections.

**“Botum” means “lotus.”** The temple was named after the lotus pond that once surrounded it. Its full name, **Wat Botum Vatey**, is commonly translated as **“Temple of the Lotus Blossoms.”**

Tonlé Sap River
It has a healthy ecosystem and the water is brown because of a high sediment load, which is completely natural.

September 2026

PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA 🇰🇭 STREET ART: TWISTY

Published on October 23, 2026September 12, 2026 by jacquelinemhadelLeave a comment

11sep26

TOKIDOKI NOMAD TRAVEL JOURNAL: ON THE ROAD EDITION

Published on October 22, 2026 by jacquelinemhadel2 Comments

As I’ve been making my own bullet journals since 2018, journalling all of my life, hundreds of journals since being a global traveler…and friends always saying, “Make me one!” 😂 But, they really need to be your own. So, I’ve finally published my first travel journal, The “On the Road” Edition and it is 200 pages of “do your own thing and be messy about it!” You don’t even have to travel to use it. Just write. Take notes. Make lists. Be Free!

https://a.co/d/0gbnQV8P

#journal #journalling #creative #travel #writing

October 2026

PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA 🇰🇭 STREET ART: BANDANNA

Published on October 22, 2026 by jacquelinemhadelLeave a comment

11sep26

PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA 🇰🇭: ARRIVAL

Published on October 21, 2026September 8, 2026 by jacquelinemhadel1 Comment

“Decho Meas Decho Yat” statue on Sisowath Quay, along Phnom Penh’s riverfront.

Decho Meas and Decho Yat were Khmer military commanders (the title “Decho” is a traditional Cambodian military rank, roughly equivalent to “General” or “Field Marshal”).

“Symbolically, birds at windows are often associated with messages, transition, freedom, protection, or someone/something asking you to pay attention.”

My life is under construction at the moment. I don’t know what it will become yet. And in the middle of all that change, something small and alive has stopped by to remind me to look.