Hello from Phnom Penh, the captial of Cambodia!

I arrived into Phnom Penh this evening after another very long day travelling by bus. However, due to my miraculous recovery from jet-lag, I am now back to my normal self and no longer complaining about every little thing (well maybe except my mosquito bites!) Although I have only been here a few hours, the city seems very lively, with hundreds of things to see and do. We have just come back from a night market with hundreds of stalls and live music which was really fun to look around.

Not only am I in a good mood because I have managed to sleep, but also because I had such a fantastic day yesterday. Our group went out with a tour guide for the whole day, and we got to see some of the amazing temples that Siem Reap has to offer. In the morning we went to Angkor Wat, and spent several hours looking around and learning about the history of the place. The best part of this visit was being able to go up onto the 3rd floor of the temple and look down onto the ruins which was breath-taking.

From here we went onto lunch and when I ordered coonut curry, I was served it in a carved out coconut which was very impressive considering it cost US$4! The food in Cambodia is incredible, and they give you so much considering the price that maybe I won't be getting skinny afterall!!

In the afternoon we went to two more temples, the first being were the film Tomb Raider was set. Although it was recognisable from the film, a lot of it now lies in ruins and was nothing in comparison to Angkor Wat. We then went onto a temple carved with faces in the rocks (see pic) which was very cool indeed!

Even after all of that we had more to see! From here we took a trip to the largest lake in Cambodia to see the floating village. The lake was enormous, and even when we took a boat further into the middle it was like looking out to sea. It was fascinating to see how these viallge people went about their lives, with small huts accomodating a family of up to 10 people! Tourism is obviously big buisness for them, but to see the children jumping between their boat and the tourists boats to beg was quite shocking. But I have to say that the most shocking was when I turned my head to see a small girl (probably only about 4 years old) walking along the side of the boat with a snake around her neck! Although the guide reassured us that the snakes are harmless, I was off of my seat before the girl could say "one dollar for a picture?"!

After staying on the lake to watch the sunset, we returned to our hotel to spend the evening in a nearby cocktail bar. Several leathal cocktails later and one of the guys was throwing up all down the street and had to be taken home! I had such a good time dancing the night away, even if it did take us nearly half an hour to get home because we ended up playing tag with several Cambodian children.

All in all I am having an amazing time and absolutly loved Siem Reap and I am now looking forward to spending the day in Phnom Penh, where we even have the option of riding an elephant!

I hope you are all well.

Speaksoon x