We had our first day of visiting the temples today. Not Angkor Wat itself but a couple of the 200 in the area. They were magnificent. The history involved means that there are a mixture of Hindu and Buddhist influences and some are particularly spectacular. Intricate carvings, lots of meanings, the way they moved the rocks and materials huge distances using just manpower in all weathers. We had fun thinking up random photos to take among all the learning. :) An...

It took us most of the day to drive from Phnom Penh to the homestay but it was one of the most interesting journeys. Lots of motorbikes going past with interesting cargo, lots and lots of houses on stilts and stalls selling allsorts along the roadside. Lots of people watching. As we got into the country there were carts pulled by ox or buffalo as well. We stopped on the way at Tarantula Town :-/ Yes lots of live ones and also dead cooked ones to eat :-s I did...

A free day today and we all decided to head to the Royal Palace. It was very glittery and gold. Lots more info about the present King who lives there (although he wasn't home), The King's staff have fabulous outfits that they still wear today with a different colour for each day. There was also a temple with a floor made of silver and a very sparkly statue made with hundreds of diamonds. It was extremely hot again too! :-/ We weren't fit for much after ou...

An early start today to catch the public bus (wierdly our first). 7hours later after a couple of stops and a reasonable border crossing we were in Phnom Penh. We did have a fabulous moment crossing a river at the border on a ferry. People who were travelling with Intrepid (our company) were asked to get off the bus. We were all handed the brightest orange life jacket I have ever seen and told to wait among the motorbikes and foot passengers. Everyone else stayed ...