Cambodia all in one go. We crossed the border with ease and stopped for breakfast on the other side. Being in a real rush, we had to order quickly so pointed wildly at 2 baguettes and some meat dish thing saying 'sandwich'. They didn't understand and we had to get back on the bus with the baguettes unopened and a pot of meat each. At least what we thought was meat - it turned out to be just bones. 'Great, bones on toast'. Jen also got nipped at the ankles by an adorable puppy on the way out and started shouting 'no rabies' at it. We were glad to get out of there.

We arrived in Shianoukville in early evening. We couldn't check into Monkey Republic, the place that looked lush, so treated ourselves to a bit of a swanky room over the road. We had a relaxing evening and the next morning got up at 8am to check in to the hostel of dreams. We left for a boat trip first thing and met an Aussie couple of about 28, we seem to be attracting older people. We sat right next to the bar in order to get first dibs on the breakfast, before moving up to the top deck to sunbathe, The islands were beautiful, the sand strikingly white. The boat got a bit rocky, and after lunch, Wedge landed on a couple whilst navigating her way to her sunbathing spot. We got to snorkel above the coral and saw many exotic fish. Our main destination was an exclusive island where we literally had to wade through a swamp-like river, which was brown due to teatree apparently, and we had to be convinced constantly that there were no crocodiles. We trekked through the rainforest barefoot before swimming back to the boat. When we got back to shore, Jen was informed by an Italian woman that she was 'red like tomato'.

That evening we met some guys playing pool who convinced they were taking us to a super cool bar where free alcohol was available. It turned out this was actually just their veranda, where they plied us with a sawn-off bottle of $2 whisky called Boroso. It was vile, and Jen drank herself into a steady stupor before lying on the veranda floor and being used as a foot rest by one of the boys. She was adament it was the sun stroke. Sam, being a good friend offered to take her home but she declared we were going out and marched off to the beach-side bars. Here wer danced on tables without being told off, and Jen went for a late night skinny-dip which had the effect of completely sobering her up. 'Oh great, now I'm just soaking and it's 4am'.

Next day we got up and headed for an internet cafe to upload photos, where Wedge managed to leave her memory card. We ran off for the bus and actually missed it. We had to be delivered on a private tuk tuk while the bus waited, the passengers were less than impressed. It was ok though because yet again we were entertained by 'Celine Dion in Concert', no joke. We had arranged to meet Sam's friends from uni, Soph and Dave at 7pm at our designated hostel in Phnom Pehn. The traffic was horrendous though and we didn't arrive until 9.30. Wedge had a proper nark attack and declared we would get off the bus and make our own way there. Seeing as we were in the midst of a giant market, somewhere on the outskirts of the city, Jen said we definately would not. Soph and Dave were casually waiting for us outside the hostel and we all trotted off for dinner where Jen was dissapointed to recieve dried prawns.

It was great to see them and exchange travelling stories. The next day we all braced ourselves for another emotional time and headed for the Killing Fields on the outskirts of the city. Again, it was hard to glean a real impression of the horror, being based in a meadow. This soon changed when we hired a tour guide who showed us the tower of skulls - real victims of the Khmer Rouge massacre, categorised by age and gender. We felt sick to our stomaches. Jen was able to reel off many facts about the regime having read First They Killed My Father and Lucky Child, accounts of the revolution in Cambodia (1975-79) by a woman who lived through it.

We then visited S21, another relic of the revolution - a former school used to torture and kill political prisoners. There were thousands of photographs of each prisoner, young and old, male and female. Their staring eyes will be hard to forget. On a happier note, we had an enjoyable lunch at a local restaurant and wondered around the Central Market, where with our new-found compassion for the country, we all bought 'I Love Cambodia' vests.

We left early the next morning for Happy Guesthouse, Siem Reap. When we checked in, we spotted two of Jen's best friends' names at the top of the check-in list. Minutes later, Alex rounded the corner and Jen tackled her off her bike in excitement. We hadn't expected to be able to see them. That night we went out to 'Pub Street' and had our own BBQ thing where we tried crocodile and snake.

The following morning we hired bikes with Soph and Dave and made the 40km journey around the Temples of Angkor. It was extremely hot, but one of the most enjoyable days yet. It was amazing being able to explore the hugely varied, ancient temples - trees sprouting out of many of them. We took a picnic, spotted monkeys and bribed a police man to give us a private tour of Angkor Wat at sunset. He was well dodgy. That evening was Soph and Dave's birthday, and we got them a cake and sang. All six of us played drinking games and headed back to Pub Street where we bought so much alcohol we got given free T-shirts reading 'Khmer and Proud' outside the Angkor What? bar. Sam headed back to open presents with the birthday boy and girl, whilst Jen stayed on all night with Alex and Rachel, returning just in time for a bit of breakfast before our 7am bus back to Bangkok. That was the worst bus journey of our lives for several reasons. Firstly, neither of us remembered to take off our free T-shirts, so crossing the border (currently experiencing political conflict), we received a few angry glares from Thai people. Secondly, we had to get off the bus and actually trek across the border in the heat of the day, drunk as anything. And finally, the new bus was actually the mini-bus from hell, Jen was on some kind of makeshift seat and Sam was amongst the pile of baggage.

We were glad to arrive back in Khoasan Road, on familiar territory, until Wedge (not learning from our previous T-shirt mistake) was told to 'f**k off back to Cambodia'. We spent one day recooperating at the D&D Inn and thought we'd get an early night, until we returned to our room after dinner to find it was like an actual club scene. Flashing lights through the window and the latest beats reverberating through the walls. After a mediocre night's sleep we got our hair braided and asked an interested looking taxi man how much it would be to the airport. He gave a good rate so we jumped in. It turned out he had a huge crush on Jen, and kept looking at her in the back seat instead of at the road, Wedge ready to grab the steering wheel and telling him off at every opportunity. We had to bribe him with a kiss on the cheek if he promised to get us there safely. He relented and handed Jen his address and phone number for next time she was in the city 'no boyfriend, just you'. After a final opportunity to sing My Heart Will go on, we boarded our flight to Sydney.

Asia was incredible and we had the best month: beautiful, culturally enlightening with a fascinating history and lovely people.