Cambodia:

Hope everyone had a great new year, when i last left u all i was preparing for new years in Kanchanaburi.....which was def an experience in itself! first went for nice indian meal, followed by few drinks in english bar, then got dragged in to this bar further along the strip by like 5 thai girls, looking at the place we thought yeah looks fine, just a normal bar, wasnt untill 2mins later and the thai girls were literally throwing themselves at us, got chatting to a few of the guys there and the place was pretty much a brothal.......jokes! we soon left! We ended the night in a thai bar, playing authentic thai music......v nice!

Next day we saw the famous bridge, from the film bridge on the river kwai, then decided to roll on back to bangkok......there we enjoyed checking in to some dingy hostel (we were only gonna be there to sleep, so didnt bother with any luxuries! literally room with 2 beds in it! We then headed along the river on the boat, and took a ride on the sky train to siam square......very very western here, could have been oxford street or leicester square - massive massive shopping malls!

Following day we woke up real early to catch the 5.30am bus from bangkok to the cambodian border.....on arrival we got a tuk tuk to the border, but the driver took us to 2 seperate dodgy visa places, took us ages to get the message accross that we didnt want there expensive visa, we want the one from the official office! finally we got our visa and walked in to Poipet (we are in cambodia!) v v scary place, walking down the main dusty high street we tried to find the bus station, but everyone was starring at us (being the only westerners around), and asking to give us a lift here, there and everywhere, literally hundreds of toyota camry's.....seriosuly everyone has one of these here! finally after walking 2km with a few cambodians in tow we arrived at the bus station to see it was closed 2nd jan??!! anyway we decided to strike a deal with one of the cars to take us to siem reap, which cost $30 and took just over 2 hours, not bad considering the book sais $50 and takes 4hrs! oh god, just remembering the shocking road that took us there, no tarmac, just gravel, bouldered, holey track, with countless bridges that werent finsihed yet! lucky it wasnt rainy season otherwise we would never have made it! We soon arrived in Seam Reap and made for a local guest house - bit of a sore backside thou! Then we spent the afternoon chilling out and eating food at the local restaurants! this place is very touristy - with americans everywhere over for there 2 week holidays...to cambodia??!! much prefer to be on a beach somewhere! Saying that Seam Reap is a lovely place, lots of cuisine to choose from and freindly faces everywhere.......thou the tuk tuk drivers are starting to get annoying, seriously they dont quit asking, even when your having your dinner in a restaurant!

Next few days we visited the angkor temples on bike, which was a very hot mission, must have cycled like 25/30k that day in 35 degree heat! lots of water needed! temples were ok, not everything theyd been cracked up to be to be honest! Other day we had a day of rest, read lots in the hammocks at our guest house, oh and hit the gym and swimming pool in the afternoon! hell yeah gotta keep the guns in shape! managed to tip up to a posh hotel and asked to use there facilities for the day, they took one glance at the tricep sparx and they let us in $5 for as long as we wanted.......ideal! Also brought a Krama, those multi functional scarfs, that can do pretty much anything, u will see me busting this out in photos soon!

By the way sorry if im not being too accurate with my days/times, those travellers out there will know how it feels with each day rolling in to the next, u loose track of where u were 24hrs ago, even 12hrs ago at times!

Right then we rolled on to Phnom Penh, capital of Cam, which was alright, too busy and out of control for me....lots of street beggers and people trying to flog u stuff! thou i did find the killing fields and the Tuel Long School v interesting this was where countless cambodians were tortured and eventually killed during the Pol Pot era of the Khmer Rouge! Tragic tragic, heartmelting stuff, that truelly chills you to your bones when u imagine all this annarchy happened but a couple of decades ago! Have picked up a book telling the story of what happened from a young girls perspective, is a brilliant read, and cant take my eyes of the pages! and thats me - i dont normally read!

Anyway we have now arrived in Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City, and met some cool people, so gonna go have dinner with them and chill out with a few beers!

In summary Cambodia, was a country im glad i visited, as got to see how little people have/survive on, every day seems like a constant stuggle for these people, they are still wearing the effects of the tragic khmer rouge campaign all over there faces and bodies, so so many are still fighting starvation - u guys think im thin, dudes......im like homer simpson out here! I do however look forward to Vietnam, as everyone we have spoken to out here raves about how good this place is........time to experience!

Love to you all and keep the messages coming...

If you want to share something more personal with me (im predicting your undying love for me), then my email is [email protected] or facebook.......

xxRicardoxx