Cambodia - sorry this has been along time coming - havent had a chance to update in a while!

Arrive in Phnom Penh at 11am after long journey from Vietnam - sweet tuk tuk driver(although he later let slip that he was in the Khmer Rouge but cant be sure?!) took us to Okay Guest House - its probably the worst guest house we've stayed in so far, shared bathroom, no tv, no hot water but only $3 each. Thought we would spend the first day exploring the capital but instead we ended up diving right in at the deep end and heading out to the Killing Fields - The Choeung Genocidal Centre. It was a boiling hot day and in the middle of the fields there was a beautiful lake which was really peaceful so it was hard to visualize the terrible crimes that took place there - 20,000 bodies were discovered there. There were signs saying to be careful because when it rained bones floated up to the surface which was quite chilling. Listened to informative audio guide about the sort of crimes that took place there. Afterwards we went to the Russian Market, very dusty on roads - were told to keep our bags on the inside the tuk tuk as area was notorious for motorbiking bag snatchers. Sian bought a gorgeous Cambodian Jade teapot in the market - really lovely but she didn't relish the idea of having to carry it in her bag for weeks! Didn't get too much sleep that night - there was someone being violently sick outside our room, thunder and lightening and babies crying. Next day go to the Independence Monument in the centre of Phnom Penh - it was in the middle of a really busy roundabout so didnt stop, just got a snap.

Then our driver dropped us of at Tuol Sleng (S-21) the notorious school turned into a prison of torture for 'enemies of the Khmer Rouge'. Spent time looking around the buildings - stained chequered white and yellow floor tiles just like I remembered seeing in photos, the rooms were mainly all bare with just a metal bed and a few items - such as shackles and chains on the bed and a photograph on the wall of the room that showed how it was found when the Vietnamese liberated Cambodia and drove the Khmer Rouge out in 1979 - 20,000 people were killed here in 4 years and only 14 survived .One of the blocks had barbed wire covering it so prisoners couldn't commit suicide. There were rooms full of mugshot photographs of the victims that the K-R took to record their crimes. We were glad we got there early as were able to walk around on our own, it was just us 2 and a Cambodian boy who was visibly upset - which really bought it home what happened there. Afterwards we went outside and met a survivor of the prison - he is one of only 2 still alive, the third one had died last month, it was really surreal to meet someone who had experienced the prison, he was a lovely man. It seemed bizarre that we could still hear the traffic going by outside and buildings had been recently developed looked over into the school.

Went to the Silver Pagoda in the grounds of the Royal Palace (we had to be covered up for respect - boiling!) Gorgeous mural along the inner wall of the court yard surrounding the pagoda, the floor was covered in 9,000 silver tiles as well as lots of artefacts that had been given to the King - emerald and diamond buddhas. Went to the Central Market afterwards (Psar Thmei), a landmark building in the capital - art deco style huge domed hall - one of the largest domes in the world. That afternoon we left Phnom Penh and got the bus to Sihanoukville (renamed Sian-akaville by us), have a Khmer massage by a blind Cambodian lady - was quite nice being massaged by someone who couldnt see all your lumps and bumps!!Sian had a foot massage by another lady, they were so lovely. That night there was a thunder storm, Ive never seen lightening like it, it was like something out of a film, completely filled the whole sky, went to look at it over the sea and there was 3 storms going on at once, didn't know where to look! The next day we booked to go on a tour - Sianakaville was on the coast of Cambodia so it had a beach which we tried to sunbath on but was quite cloudy. Luckily on the day of our island tour it was a lush day, went out to sea in a traditional long boat with a couple of other people, did some snorkelling and swimming in gorgeous water then headed to Bamboo Island, it had a proper dessert Island feel to it, there must have only been about 30 people on the whole island, stayed on one side of the island sunbathing then had BBQ Barricuda Baguette for lunch which was really good. After lunch they suggested we head across the Island to another beach, luckily it was through a Forrest so we were shaded from the sun while we walked. So glad we decided to go as when we arrived it was paradise!! We both very quickly decided that this was easily the most amazing beach either of us had ever been to, it was perfect, only a few people there, rope swing, white sand for miles, crystal clear water, it felt like we were on castaway, it couldnt really get much better!!Stayed there for a couple of hours then have to headed back to the boat, both of us feeling quite pink by this point, snorkel at other points on the way back to the mainland, lovely sunset, really good day! That night we got the night bus to Battambang (Battenberg as we liked to call it), had our first experience of being on the bottom bunk, it was so rickety, the metal above us was creaking, Sian was next to a completely shattered window that was taped up so you couldnt see anything out, it was pitch black and weird not being able to see where you were going, really disorientating! We had just managed to get comfy when this man was suddenly shouting at us that we told him we were going to Siem Reap - we said why would we say that when we werent going there - so anyway we had to quickly grab our stuff and get off the bus in the middle of the night. We had been told we had to leave our flipflops at the front of the bus and when it came to get mine I could only find one- the other one must have fallen out when other people were getting theres, noone seemed to care too much, they just laughed, it seems funny now but at 1 in the morning hobbling around with one flip flop was not cool!!! Arrive in Battambang at 6.45am - both feeling rough and looking it too! Check into a guesthouse, have showers then at 9am get tuk tuk to the Bamboo 'norry' train - Cambodias most famous rail journey - after a quick 'briefing' from the tourist police we got on the train which was basically flat 25-square-foot bamboo platform laid across a basic metal frame attached to wheels salvaged from old tanks. From what we had read we were expecting a tame journey with Cambodian children pushing us along but suddenly found ourselves hurtling down a straight narrow uneven track, you could feel every join while we thuddered along the track, we think we had abit of a rouge driver as he kept going faster and faster, you felt very exposed to the elements and obviously there were no seat belts! Really nice views of the countryside, very green! Stop at the other end, some children make us some rings and grasshoppers out of bamboo and take us for a tour of their Rice Mill and village. Get back on the train and head back, however have to stop midway for our driver to dismantle the train - as its a single track if theres another train coming in the other direction then that's the only thing to do then hop back on a minute later as if nothings happened and carry on! Then we went to Phnom Banan, a 358 step hillside Temple, the 'stunning views' recommended in Lonely Planet couldn't really be seen as alot of overgrown trees in front, was a nice temple to see though. Then we went over to Phnom Sampeau - a complex of temples - did see some lovely views there, see some Macaques monkies on the way up (on the back of mopeds) to the Golden Stupa at the summit, the ride was up a really steep hill. Head into a deep canyon which decends steeply through a natural arc to a 'lost world' of stalactites - two Angkorian warriors stand guard, I followed a monk who appeared out of nowhere into a cave and watched him prayer for a while. Half way up there were the killing caves - now a place of pilgramage - if you look up there is a natural skylight, the Khmer Rouge use this to push Cambodians to their death, when it was discovered there was hundreds of bodies piled on top of one another. Now in the cave there is a giant golden reclining buddha and a shed type house that is filled with skulls and bones of the dead. Was a very eerie place. Climb up to a view point and find a monk there. We were having what I thought was a deep conversation about cambodian society and culture when he got a call on his moblie, it was so random sitting there while he was having his conversation and it did not feel that holy after that! On the way down speak to my moped driver - he seemed to think all english people say is okie dokie, loverly jubbily and talk to each other in cockney rhyming slang, had to correct him on that one! That afternoon we had another massage by blind men and it was probably the massage I've ever had - he was proper prodding and digging me, walking on my back just how I like it, although he did have quite wandering hands, was glad I was fully clothed as didnt want to have to tell off the poor blind boy!! Leave for Siem Reap early the next morning, check into Garden Village -the most budget hostel in Siem Reap, soon discover why as our room doesnt actually have proper walls, decided to upgrade to a 6$ room that does, what luxury! Head into town and watch the Rugby World Cup Final in Temples Club - we were glad the All Blacks won and were even more pleased we could gloat to the frenchies around us afterwards stay and watch some traditional Khmer dancing. Next day we head out to the Temples - pay for a three day temple pass - our driver Gow took us to a few temples in the morning and then for something completely different we decided we wanted to go to the Flooded Forest, we think he was abit surprised as it was a 2 and a half hour journey away and he thought he was having the afternoon off-oh no no noIt was abit of a misiion to get to - first we had to travel for an hour in the tuk tuk then go on a cow and cart (or as the locals called it a cow tuk tuk) through a flooded village and then take an hours boat ride down the river to the forrest. It was a gorgeous journey, Gow came with us and he couldnt believe how much water there was - he said in the dry season we would be tilting our heads back to look up at the trees but instead we were looking down at them - there were houses where you could only see their roofs. We stopped off at the 'village shop' for a drink which was basically someones front room - the whole of their staircase was completely submerged in water, there was a lady breastfeeding and making a fishing net at the same time as you do! It was lovely as it was just us on the boat and we could just sit out the front and watch the sunset which was gorgeous - afterwards Gow told us after that he was really scared of being on the boat as he cant swim and has never left Cambodia. On the way back there were children swimming next to the cow and cart and I managed to get splashed alot by the cows tail! The next morning we were meant to get up to see the sunrise over Angkor Wat but we both slept through our alarms and Gow was waiting for us downstairs - because we had changed rooms they were banging on the wrong door for an hour thinking we were still in the old one - oops! Had to apologise to Gow who just came back a couple of hours later, went out for another day of templing - went to Takeo - one of the highest temples,Preah Khom - a very symetrical one (where we got blessed by an old women), Eastern Mebon, Neak Poan, the temple where tomb raider was filmed, Bayon - the one with all the faces of the king - where we had a random 'photoshoot' from a worker there - which worked out quite well in the end because we got photos we never would have thought to take and we're both in them and lots of other temples too. At the end of 2 days of almost solid templing we had worked ourselves up for the big dog - Angkor Wat. it was very impressive, gorgeous carvings, statues, massive moat running all around it, we were there to see the sunset although there wasnt much of one that day! We made it up at the crack of dawn the next day though- determined to see the sun rise over Angkor Wat before we left to head back to Thailand- there was abit of a situation with Gow so we had another driver take us to the balloon that we went up in to watch the sunrise, it was brilliant to see the silhouette of the worlds largest religious building from the air. Overall we loved Cambodia, the people were so smiley and friendly, the food was nice and most things were really cheap, we loved the beaches, the various modes of transport that we tried out and learning out their culture, would recommend it to anyone!!