Well (dear diary?) getting off the plane was a little daunting, with no knowledge of what to expect, or plans of any description. As we passed down the line of officials to complete the (very quick) visa application, a friendly one wanted to practise his English. He told us that the Cambodian 'Happy New Year' was between 14-16 April, and that the best place to enjoy it was Siem Reap. At least that gave us something to aim for... After collecting luggage and passing through customs, we realised that we had been fairly optimistic in hoping for an information desk. The only desks were taxis. Luckily, they were far more used to the situation: 'You want taxi?' 'You need hotel?' We said yes to one of them and it wasn't until it was too late that we noticed the 'MOTO' on their vests... No wonder 'Only 2 dollar!!!' So we hopped on the back of a moped, with our bags between the drivers legs, and carved our way into town. The Cambodian road and traffic system is fascinating. Traffic jams occur instantaneously and at the whim of the thousands of moto drivers and cyclists. Any journey is a stop-start affair, and the Cambodians treat the whole thing with a brilliant sense of humour. (Tourists do not) One place where you can be sure of not stopping is at a junction. Here, you pick 2 vehicles driving perpendicular to your own, and pass between them by any means or speed. The same applies for pedestrian road crossing: Focus on the other side, step out, keep walking. An ingenious addition to the traffic lights are count-down timers. These let you know how long you have to wait until a green light, or how long you have to get across. Unfortunately, none of these timers appear to be synchronised, so the whole thing is fairly useless. Still it, 'has potential,' which is, I suspect, what one would read on Cambodia's school report... Arrived at the 'hotel' (having been turned down by 2 others) to find a small cafe with 'rooms upstairs.' Corridor was ominously grotty, but the room was really nice and clean with an (overactive) air-con and TV! We had decided to spend a bit more on our first room as we envisaged spending more time in our first room, getting over jet-lag etc. And it turned out that way, as we crashed out for a few hours, exhusted. After that we took a quick stroll around town to get our bearings. We quickly found that begging was as common as it is desperate. One is constantly being pinched on the elbow by young children or amputee veterans. (We later discovered that Cambodia is the most land-mined country in the world, thanks to Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge.) Many are also survivors of harsh campaigns in the Vietnam War. We took dinner at the Bali Cafe, overlooking the Tonle Sap river. At $2 per main course, we had the pick of the menu, and I wanted my fill of fried noodles. The dishes are incredibly tasty, and dubiously healthy. Still shattered, we headed back tothe room for the night. We awoke the next day around mid-day, which certainly wasn't part of the plan (?) We skipped lunch and hired a tuk-tuk to take us to the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek - the field where 17,000 Cambodians were slaughtered by Pol Pot's security force. It was a pretty hallowing experience- as you walked around the mass graves, there are piles of human bones and pieces of clothing scattered around. There is also a monument to the dead - a stupa containing thousands of exhumed skulls, arranged by gender and age. Once we left the killing grounds, our driver asked us if we wanted to go to the 'shooting range'. The guidebooks had warned us about this: As a way of supplementing their income, soldiers with an excess of ammunition have started offering tourists the chance to let off some steam with an AK-47, or a grenade launcher etc. They round up swine and cattle as your targets. It's a controvertial offer at any time, but to be asked upon exit of a monument to the genocide of 2 million people was remarkable. So, I have remarked on it. Next we went to the Tuol Sleng genocide museum. The building had previously been a school. Under Pol Pot it was transformed into Security Detention Centre S-21. 17,000 people were held there, with an average of 100 per day being transported to the killing fields. It is still recognisable as a school, as the soldiers didn't strip everything out. For example, the climbing frame and swing were kept, in order to suspend the prisoners upside down for hours. In each room are photographs of tortured victims, and an example of torture weapons or restraints. There is also an exhibition of all the mug shots of those held. We took dinner at the Goldfish Restaurant, also on the Tonle Sap river. We had fresh crab. An unexpected and uninvited guest suddenly announced his arrival to our table by scoring an 89.5 (triple back flip with perfect landing) into Alice's dish. I've never seen someone jump out of a chair so fast, or with such a piercing scream. She is still not entirely convinced that it hadnt been there the whole time. As we left, I tipped generously for the entertainment. The next day started out at the Royal Palace, which is an incredible complex, fit to rival any royal residence. The roofs are painted in gold and are easily the most spectacular buildings in the capital. Alice was deemed to be flaunting too much flesh to enter, as were almost all of the tourists trying to get in. Fortunately, and suspiciously, the guard's brother was hiring out longer clothing. Having wrapped herself in a pair of trousers fit for someone 3 times her size, she waddled in. The highlight of the palace was the silver pagoda. This is a wat which houses the Emerald Buddha, and a live sized solid gold Buddha decorated with 10,000 diamonds. The floor consists of 5000 solid silver tiles, each weighing over 1kg. Alas, as a steward so eloquently informed me: 'NO PHOTO!' Soon after, we were ushered out of the grounds, as a royal ceremony was to begin. Next, we hit the National Museum, which was well worth the visit, for the air-con if not the artefacts themselves. We left the museum with the impression that the rich history of the Khmers consisted entirely and unceasingly of the sculpting of images of the Buddha into different stones. It was interesting to see the historical progression of his representation, but there wasn't a lot to be learned. As we made our way to Wat Phnom, the central and largest public temple, we encountered a huge elephant. He (most definitely male) did not appear to have a mahoot, and was happily strolling down the only highway in the city. Alice was so excited at her first wild elephant, and I've never seen a smile so side, or sit for so long on her face. Then at the Wat we caught sight of a monkey munching on a banana skin, halfway down the steep hill that we'd climed. Having spent 5 mins trying to take an adequate photo of this rare sight, during which I surpassed the limits of my flexibility, we walked round the other side of the temple only to find dozens of the same monkeys at play, all over the grass. They were quite indifferent to our approaches, and allowed me a much more satisfactory photo op. Before dinner we purchased bus tickets to Siem Reap, at $10 each. Our Lonely Planet guide, despite an August 2006 publish date, seemed to be approximately 25% behind on the prices in Cambodia. The bus left at 6 the next day, so we went to bed. 3 nights down, 147 to go...