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Hi Everyone! Well sorry this has taken soooo long to add, however internet connections in Thailand weren't great and to be honest we didn't want to spend any time sat indoors on a computer-too much to see and do! Cambodia was fascinating. We went to Phnom Penh first and went to see the horrible S-21 prison and Killing Fields. Needless to say we were shocked by the atrocities that took place in such a beautiful part of the world. Cambodians are very patriotic however and wish to move on from the genocide which was worse than Nazi Germany. Everyone we spoke to had known a family member who was killed or tortured. Other than that-great city with a lovely waterfront, impressive Palace and really good curries! Next we went to Siem Reap which is the base to see the Temples of Angkor. Such a strange feeling moving from quite depressing parts of Phnom Penh to breathtaking Angkor-total contrast. The temples were superb, as you can see from our pictures. People still live in and around the Temples which have stood for upto a thousand years. We spent three days with a great tour guide tuc tuc driver named,'Ricky!' Very Khmer! He also took us to see a floating village which was great, although I don't fancy moving into one of their houses it was brilliant how you see how people can adapt and cope with no electricity, gas, running water etc. They keep their livestock hanging underneath their homes and live above in wooden huts balanced precariously on stilts. They even had a floating school which I was rather impressed with-all kids also had great school uniform with crisp clean white shirts (tucked in) and navy blue shorts or skirts! We then moved onto Bangkok and spent four days hanging around Koah San Road-we have never seen so many people with dreadlocks! The street food (Pad Thai noodles) was yummy and the Samsong whiskey was strong! We went to have a look at the red light district and decided not to stay there for long-its not nice to see fat Western men with young pretty Thai girls! We also visited the Royal Palace which was stunning-better than the one in Cambodia (we didn't mention that though as there is a little tension between the two countries)!From there we moved onto Phuket in order to catch the ferry across to Phi Phi. We stayed in Phuket for two nights and although it had an amazing beach, the main street was pretty much like a street from Magaluf but with open air strip clubs and American Sailors-random I know! It was an experience to say the least! Then onto fabulous Phi Phi-our favourite place at that point. Absolutely beautiful place with a real 'backpacker vibe' (trippy hippy I know)! Small village with nice bars (look up Reggae Bar) and restaraunts and a great beach which literally took our breath away when we saw it for the first time. Crystal clear water, white sand-just wait until we manage to get the pictures uploaded! We stayed on Phi Phi for 5 days, but wish we stayed longer as it was so nice. We hired a long boat for the day and went to see the famous Maya Beach (the one used in the film 'The Beach') which is good as you would expect it to be-tropical paradise. We were taken to a lagoon found in the middle of the ocean and visited Monkey Beach where there is a family of monkeys living right on the beach! Phi Phi really is the paradise you would expect from Thailand. We then moved to Ko Lanta which is a really small island with just a nice beach and resort hotels, then went to Krabi to catch the bus across mainland Thailand to travel around the Eastern Islands. We completed our PADI scuba course on Koh Tao and had such a good time there. We would like to visit the island again as all our time was taken up with diving we didnt get much chance to see the rest of the island-it seemed to be similar to Phi Phi, relaxing with a good atmosphere. We then moved to Ko Phangnan which is where the full moon parties are held-unfortunately we missed the party by a few days due to diving but the island was still good to visit. The beach is great and the town quite nice considering it gets covered in neon paint every month! We then went to Ko Samui and it rained! For three whole days straight! So we watched a few (copied) DVDs, I went to a beauty spa and James went to the gym! Although Ko Samui has a great beach we did feel it has been tainted a little by the tourism trade-it hasn't been ruined by any means but the shop keepers were quite pushy (especially the suit sellers) and seem to be interested in what money they can make now rather than thinking about the reputation of their country-it will put people off visiting in the future. Im going to sign off now-and we promise to add another blog very soon. To follow-Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and then Australia!XXX
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