So it is 8:30pm on Thursday night. We have left the comfort of Mushroom Point, enjoyed a very rickety tuk tuk back into Sihanoukville to get our night bus. We were both pretty excited about this as we get a bug free, air conditioned, nights sleep and wake up in a new country. I don't know how VIP we thought this bus would be (that is how it is sold to you) but we were very much mistaken. I can't help but laugh at Matt when I look over at him all squashed into a seat designed for pretty much no one over 5ft. Him and another couple of travellers are so compact I am a little worried they will get off the side a couple of inches shorter!

But hey ho, we are in high spirits as when we do arrive at 11am tomorrow morning we get to see Nic and Winchy in Ho Chi Minh City for some museum and tunnel action. No doubt followed by a few cold beers, maybe even bust some UNO out :-)

About 20 minutes passed when we slow down for a toll road, the cool air from the 'pop up' window, providing enough natural air conditioning for any man / woman, now starts to ease off. With all the interior lights now off in the bus I (Matt) am sat / laid down on my bunk bed (top bunk) in the pitch black, relaxing into the journey. The driver comes to a stand still (to pay the toll), this illuminates the 'pop up' window which sits directly over my feet. I notice that there is not a mesh covering the gap (to stop insects etc blowing through into the bus) which I naturally thought there would be. It is at this moment Jeremy Crickets uncle decides to hope onto the roof, flirting with the window. This is the biggest cricket I have ever seen, the size of a small donkey at least. Well not quite but it makes no difference to me, he was BIG, and as already stated I am no Mr. Mears. I gave myself a little, macho pep talk in my head, 'it won't hurt me' etc. even if it does come in the window. This clearly didn't work as I was already bolt up right in my bed, inflatable pillow in hand, ready to smash this thing for 6 if he hopped in. The bus started moving again, plunging the interior back into darkness, now my worry was it would get blown through the window onto me.

It takes a good 10 minutes of me doing my best Kevin Peterson impression before I decide it's safe to lay back down. As I lay in the dark I again tell myself to man up, this is swiftly followed by me reciting 'please don't fall in' in my head. At present McManus 1 - 0 Cricket.

So a sleeper bus hey... I probably got an hour and a half sleep. Then we stopped in Phnom Penh and only by chance over heard some other westerners saying we had to get off. So we followed the crowd, collected our bags and went into the office. I overheard a guy in front having a bit of a moan because he had bought a ticket for a sleeper bus so a lie down seat. This didn't sound good. After a quick (very unhygienic toilet break) we were shown to another bus. Sleeper it wasn't for the next 10 and a half hours we would be bolt upright!! This has shattered all our illusions of the air conditioned, bug free, lovely nights sleep. You live and learn. We still have to get over the border yet...

Border crossing was fine, little bit tired but went a lot smoother than before. We got to our destination, finally. Hopped in a taxi to where we were meeting Nic and Winchy. Let the fun begin...