I arrived in Phnom Penh just over two weeks ago. At the airport I was greeted by the familiar faces of the wonderful David and Esther Allen. It was so good to see them again! Everyone should meet these two individuals, they really are something special. I am privileged to have known them for three years now, since I was 16 when decided to go to Uganda with the charity Abaana. They were my team leaders and I very much fell in love with them. You honestly could not meet two people with bigger hearts than them. They moved to Cambodia at the beginning of last year to work on the mission field. When I decided to go travelling, paying them a visit was very high up on my list and I can certainly say that it did not disappoint.

Walking out of the air conditioned building the stifling heat hit me like a wall. At 10pm it was roasting and the humidity was intense. I was soon to learn that this was only the beginning... Over the next few weeks I would constantly be hot, red-faced and sweaty... or should I say glowing. Davy and Esther welcomed me into their lovely home. After the previous few weeks in India and Nepal, I was overjoyed to now have a clean bathroom, western toilet, a proper shower, a bed with clean bed sheets and a place where bugs where not constantly attacking you. Luxury!

Over the first few days I learnt about the projects that Davy and Esther are involved with. I visited the Early Learning Day Care Centre and met the children and staff there. The centre is for babies, toddlers and preschool children; all who were absolutely beautiful. I received the most adorable welcome possible - the kids held up posters that said "Welcome Cathy to Elim" and they sang a song. Over the course of my time in Cambodia I really fell in love with these children and could very easily have taken several home with me. The staff were brilliant as well - so kind and welcoming and complete naturals with the kids. We took a trip into one of the slum villages. Here I saw the extent of the poverty that exists in Cambodia. Homes were shacks on stilts and the people clearly had nothing. The kids were dirty and they were dressed in rags, several were even naked. Yet they smiled, laughed and all they wanted to do was play. We walked around the village and David and Esther spoke to a few people in particular who they are currently trying to help. We brought a little girl to a clinic as her toe was very infected. The little girls mother brings her with her when she walks around the city all day with a cart collecting recyclable materials. I am told that she would be lucky to earn one dollar per day. The contrast between rich and poor is extensive. Many parts of Phnom Penh are very wealthy and you would struggle to believe you were even in a third world country. Fancy restaurants and expensive cars right next to slum villages and children begging on the streets.

Esther came with me to visit Tou Slang, a former school that was turned into a place of torturing and interrogation during the Khmer Rouge years. This left me feeling sick. Blood still stained the floor and the instruments of torture where on display. As where photographs of the thousands of innocent men, women and children who were all later killed in the killing fields. We travelled to the killing fields. This left me utterly speechless and disturbed. Bones and clothing still protrude from the ground and the ground is unlevelled from the hundreds of residing mass graves containing men, women, children and babies, which only a fraction of have been excavated. Those poor innocent people died for no reason. Although highly disturbing, I am glad I went as it is intrinsic to learning about the history of Cambodia and it makes you think even more of the people.

I attended two Khmer Church services and two prayer meetings during my visit. I was really inspired by the people. They are so passionate about their faith and really rely on God for everything. On the first week that I attended Church a tuk tuk, organised by Davy and Esther, brought children and a few adults from the village to church. All the kids seemed to really enjoy themselves. Proof for this was that the following week twenty five kids showed up!! Esther had a brilliant idea of giving all the children a shower when they arrived at Sunday school. Their faces when they where getting washed and when they looked at themselves in the mirror after they got their hair combed was priceless. I didn't even recognise some of the kids - such a transformation. I have fallen in love with a seven year old boy called Narin. He lives with his grandmother who is HIV positive and they are homeless. She hopes that she will find a home so that she can die with dignity. Also if they have an address then Narin can attend school. He is such a playful and affectionate young boy and it's heart breaking to think what lies ahead for him and his grandmother. Stories like this very much put many of our problems back home in perspective.

I travelled to Siem Reap to explore the famous temples. I cannot decide if the gail force winds, rain and tremendous thunder and lightning added to the experience of Angkor Wat or not. The atmosphere in and around this spectacular building was certianely eery. I got lost. Never did I think I would have been as happy to see a monk as I was at that moment, when I had gone ten minutes of wandering around outskirts of the huge ancient crumbling building without seeing a soul. The following morning I was away by 5am to watch the sunrise over Angkor Wat. This was truly incredible. I sat on a window ledge as the sun creeped up behind the temple, gradually illuminating it. Jumping onto the back of the moterbike I continued on to see a six more temples during the course of the morning and afternoon. My favourite had to be a temple called Bein Sreigh which was in the middle of the jungle. It was quite small in comparison to the others but it had beautiful engravings covering the walls. It was surrounded on all sides by a moat which had beautiul pink water lilies growing in it. I was the only person there and it felt like I had gone back in time. My moto driver (who I later discovered only had one eye) brought me to the next stop and told me it was a half hour walk up the mountain. For me, that was an hour. On my hands and knees and barefoot. There were boulders everywhere and the ground was covered by a sea of tree roots. I didn't see a single person and had no idea where I was going. I passed a sign that said that endangered animals were released here. I cautiously continued walking whilst things moved in the bushes. Eventually I reached the top where there was a man.. I asked him where the temple was to which he replied, "there is no temple - just a waterfall." He brought me to the waterfall to shower in the "holy water". Just what I needed! The rest of the temples where amazing and it was great to see more of the beautiful countryside as well.

We spent the last few days in Kep, a beautiful coastal village down south famous for its tasty crab. Davy drove the van and on the journey there was torrential rain. Davy remarked that it's like driving up to Portrush. The weather was beautiful when we got there and we had a really lovely relaxing few days soaking up the suns rays by the pool and enjoying the delicious food.

Cambodia is a truly wonderful country. For me, the main reason for this is the people. Despite a truly horrific past marred with with death, cruelty and injustice, the people are so incredibly happy and they never stop smiling! Their happiness is infectious. I totally understand why so many travellers fall in love with this country. I cannot thank Davy and Esther enough for looking after me and spoiling me during my stay. I will miss them an awful lot but look forward to seeing them in the future!