Beaches, temples and bustling asian cities were in our minds eye for month three on the road. For time and money reasons we decided to drop Japan from our itineray and spend more time in Thailand and Cambodia . Quality not quantity was the focus and we decided that we want to do Japan in style at a later date. Strange choice in some ways because Thailand was somewhere neither of us had really been drawn to before the trip and Cambodia only really became possible if we sacrificed Japan. The decision proved a great one though and this part of the journey has undoubtedly opened our eyes to the delights and heartbreak that is south east asia.

First things first though. Bangkok was perhaps pretty much as expected. Steamy hot, crazy traffic, amazing shopping malls, tantilising food, cheeky, smiley tuk tuk drivers, ugly western men with Thai girlfriends, the lively khao san road and a culture that seems influenced by about everywhere. The temples and Royal Palace blew our mind though. Undoubtedly the most decadent we've seen with gold and jewels winking at you from every rooftop. As we have found with increasing regularity in asia the contrast between areas of wealth and poverty is truly stark.

After Bangkok we sought the lazy, sandy beaches and turquoise waters of Thailand's coastline that we had heard so much about. Plan A: Chill in style and celebrate our ten year anniversary of being together in beach heaven. As the photos show Plan A turned out pretty bloody perfectly! with perhaps the only twist that our beach happened to be in a place called Satun!!! Well, you can't have it all! After much reading, internet searching and chatting to fellow travellers we decided on a place we knew relatively little about! called Koh Lipe, in the deep south of Thailand and in a beautiful national marine park. The area consists of 52 beautiful islands and the kind of beaches that to be honest I thought had long gone in Thailand i.e unspoilt! I really hope it stays this way but another thing we are learning fast is the onslaught of tourism in these areas is pretty hard to resist and while I'd like to say it can only help protection and prosperity I think the reality is probably very different.

Koh Lipe is a truly beautiful place inhabited by fascinating people and though not normally one for lying on a beach for weeks on end I could have spent an eternity here. The days consisted of get up, swim in beautiful warm waters amongst brightly coloured fish, lie in sun with fresh coconut or pineapple, maybe watch a bit of cricket or read a book, snorkel amongst brightly couloured fish, lie in sun a bit more, watch blood red sun drop into the ocean at sunset, eat fresh barbecued fish, sup cocktails at very chilled bar, sleep! This was pretty much life for eight or nine days with the exception of our anniversary when we took a boat out to some of the more remote islands and found our own bit of paradise. Enough said really! Ah, only bit that wasn’t quite paradise was that I managed to step on a sea urchin mid way through the week! Unfortunately not brightly coloured just black and a cross between a jelly fish and a hedgehog!! Ouch!! Spent a few days soaking my foot in hot water and vinegar before the spikes fell out. Ah well pleasure and pain and all that!!

After Koh Lipe it was back to Bangkok for one more days sightseeing before catching our flight to Cambodia. Now this is somewhere Amanda has always wanted to see. Blown away by the film The Killing Fields and entranced by the possibility of seeing Angkor Wat we were both now really excited about our trip to Cambodia. As has happened many times on this trip though, we have been jolted by the naivety of our expectations on arriving and the depth of our understanding on leaving. In reality two weeks is hardly enough time to understand anywhere but we both think that Cambodia has affected us more than anywhere in our lives.

We knew (or thought we knew) about Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge, the killing fields, the impact of super powers playing the cruelest kind of chess in this part of south east asia and something of the continuing poverty that blighted Cambodia. We also obviously knew a little bit about the wonder of Angkor Wat and the buzz of trekking through jungle to discover lost worlds and crumbling temples. Little did we really understand though the effect all of this history has had on the most beautiful looking and warm hearted people we have ever come across. The first night all seemed hunky dory. We were greeted by warm sunshine, beautiful colonial buildings, funky looking French cafes, smiley happy people of all shapes and sizes, picture perfect monks in orange robes riding motorbikes and the kind of bustling chaos we were learning to love. We even managed to grab our first meal in a top restaurant with riverfront views and our first bottle of wine in weeks.

Next day our rose tinted spectacles were quickly muddied. It became obvious that even our humble hotel was in a heavily westernized area full of tourists, diplomats and NGO workers here in their droves and just minutes down the road were shanty towns, dirt tacks and destitute street children. Combined with a second day tour of S:21 – a prison camp where 20,000 people were brutally tortured before meeting their end at our next destination the killing fields – all was turning a little dark. Photos of thousands of frightened teenagers staring out at you just before they’re about to die, piles of bullet ridden or bludgeoned skulls and fields of shallow pits with clothes and bones still sticking out underneath your feet are images you don’t easily forget. Needless to say the road back to the hotel past street kids macabrely telling you that Pol Pot was a bad man and could they have some money for school while pointing at their barely standing homes was not an easy one.

Given all this we only have positive things to say about Cambodia though largely because of the incredible people there. Yes the corruption, inequality and impact of dirty politics and war is crushing as we saw and heard every single day but what stood out for us was the many fab, friendly and determined people we talked to who just want to make a better life for themselves. You can only really leave this place with hope in your heart because the alternative is weep and believe me I did this too! What’s more it’s a f***ing beautiful country. The countryside, rivers, beaches and temples are awe inspiring. Angkor Wat and the surrounding temples are mesmerizing at sunset, sunrise, in fact any time at all. Those moments of scrambling through haunting, intricately carved ancient temples without a soul in site and with only the jungle sounds to keep you company are ones that will live with us forever.

After the Angkor Wat area we took an amazing boat trip to Battambang through water villages and extraordinary waterscape. As we passed the numerous families living in floating homes all I can remember was the mutual look of wonderment, smiles and kids somersaulting into the water to show off. Metres yet worlds apart. In Battambang we rode the famous bamboo train through the countryside – luckily they only have one normal train a week so there was no chance of bumping into a heavier machine coming the other way! From Battambang we made our way down to southern Cambodia and the popular beach area of Sianhoukville. Lovely area with fantastic national parks and a good way to spend our last few days in Cambodia before heading back to bustling Phnom Penh and eventually Bangkok to catch our flight to a land downunder…..