CAMBODIA We resorted to taking a flight rather than doing the border crossing from Bangkok, as it is known as the "Boulevard of Broken Backsides" and takes up to 24 hours. We heard that you have to get off the bus and walk across the border with all your gear and then bribe the policemen to get into the country, we even heard a story of someone getting shot - all good fun but not really our thing, so we opted for the one hour flight instead with free food and drink and a tuk tuk waiting for us at the other side, no bribes necessary either. Call us unadventurous travellers - we dont care! We become the masters of avoiding the nastier border crossings.SIEM REAPFirst stop in Cambodia is Siem Reap which is the town next to the Temples of Angkor. Siem Reap's main purpose is clearly to serve the needs of the masses of tourists visiting the Ankor temples, the town is lined with 5-star hotels which is a bit weird and unexpected. On our visit, a few days before Christmas, all these hotels are lit up to the max with massive christmas trees outside - it is clear that Cambodia isn't the wealthiest country in the world so it appears a bit incongruous to see such an exhibition whilst the remainder of the country struggles to get by. Suppose you have to exploit the best of what you have got and when you consider the Cambodian people's pride and affection for this place - well, they bloody love it - so go ahead light it up 24/7! It also brings in the much needed tourist dollar which is great for them obviously. The hostel we were staying in was a refeshing change from some of the hovels we'd been forced to inhabit previously - Air con, sat TV, fridge (for Ankor beers), en-suite - all at out disposal all for a princely $15/£8. We are staying on the sleepy side of town away from all the big resort hotels and our guesthouse is really clean and well run. It seems to be home to all the young dudes of the town who are all tuk tuk drivers - they should end up making a fairly decent living as it's anywhere from $15 to $40 a day (depending on the negotiation skills of the tourist and which hotel they are staying in) which can go a long way in Cambodia. Our visits to the Temples of Ankor we done by hiring a tuk-tuk at $25 per day - a bargain given the scale of site. The Temples of Angkor are simply majestic. There are around 40 sites with ruins scattered over something like a 200km area, which was inhabited by a civilization of around a million people at the same time as us Anglo-Saxon muppets were still figuring out what to do with a wheel (slight exageration I know, but you get the picture). Angkor Wat is probably the most famous of the Angkor monuments: its symmetry, detail and scale are magnificent and for us architure geeks - its dimensions may represent a replica of the universe in stone, now that's some achievment eh! Our favourite site at the Angkor temples was the uncleared and unrestored ruins of Ta Prohm, where the jungle grows through and over the stones. Here we saw trees that have for centuries grown on the top of buildings (see photos), this was a truly stunning and enchanting place which expressed how nature will always triumph over anything man made. Another favourite was the Bayon, where huge stone faces are carved out of the stone and look out into the landscape beyond, truly amazing. Civilisations rise and fall and if there is one place that encapsulates this it's here; you can see how magnificent this place once was and also witness the fall into ruin and the destruction over time. It's pretty awe-inspiring and we obviously have a wonderful few days. We have taken about a million photographs, but we have only posted a few on here, we can bore you with the rest when we get home!