Today has been one of the most harrowing and depressing of the trip so far. Phnom Penh is one of those places I wasn't too excited about visiting but we felt we had to include it on the itinerary so we could fill in some of the blanks about the Khmer Rouge period. Our hotel is conveniently situated in an area close to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, so today we took a short walk to go behind the walls. Those of a similar age to us will remember growing up watc...

Crossing the border from Thailand to Cambodia was to be the first time we had entered a new country overland. Research had indicated that crossing from Thailand to Cambodia via the Poipet crossing was fraught with frustrations due to the number of scamming opportunities, so we opted to go via the crossing point at Daung/Ban Packard. This is generally a much quieter crossing so it promised to be an easier procedure. Our first challenge in Chanthaburi was to loc...

We couldn't leave Thailand without checking out one of the islands. Well, it just wouldn't be right, would it? We decided to opt for Ko Chang as it was just a hop away from our next stop, Cambodia, and we could take a bus all the way from Bangkok.....so that helped to swing it. As you look a the map of Thailand we are down the peninsula on the right, at the very bottom of Thailand. The island is less well known than those on the "left leg" - Phuket, Ko Samui ...

We jumped in with both feet (not literally) at the possibility of visiting Inle Lake. A days minibus ride from Bagan we decided to opt for the daytime journey this time to see more of the Myanmar countryside. We weren't disappointed. The journey took us from the arid plains and dry homesteads of Bagan through mountain roads and hairpin bends until we finally arrived 8 hours later in Nyaung Shwe, on the edge of Inle Lake. The town bustles with backpackers alth...

This morning we were up before daybreak to ensure we were at the jetty in time for the 7am Mandalay to Bagan sailing. After waking the hotel staff who always seem to sleep in the lobby, we piled all our luggage, including Percy Prawn (who we'd bought in Yangon), into the taxi. We were in good time and were soon aboard the three decked boat, ready for our adventure on the AyeWaddy river. The journey took us down the wide river alongside banks with small bamboo...