Phnom Penh is a busy, busy city although I am guessing that Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi are going to eclipse this when we get to Vietnam later in this trip. Compared to Bangkok it seems more shabby, more dirty, less organised and much more chaotic. Traffic rules seem to be flaunted (if indeed there are any) and again the people just live with this type of unorganised chaos without looking nervous, getting agitated or even really slowing down as they whiz about on ...

Our journey from Vientiane in Laos to Siem Reap in Cambodia saw us travel by taxi, an international rail service, an overnight sleeper train, a flight and a tuk tuk. Laos has around three kilometres of railway from the station at Thanaleng, around 13km from the centre of Vientiane to the mid-point of the Friendship Bridge that links Laos with Thailand across the Mekong River. Flags and signs proudly mark the border as the train trundles across what is, except for...