First challenge - find Georgie!! We checked in and left our bags while we went to find a tuk tuk to the airport. After finding a hotel, they called one for us, we hopped in and were on our way. It took a lot longer than expected to get there, but once we did we found George pretty quickly. We all got back in the tuk tuk to take Georgie's stuff to the hotel. The rest of the afternoon was spent wondering around the central market, where George bought her first pair of elephant trousers!! We next wondered around the town, taking a look at Wat Phnom on the way to the riverside. Once at the riverside we had a snack and some cocktails before we looked for somewhere nice to have dinner. The first taste of Cambodian food involved both Georgie and harry having pad thai!!! I had something which we think was Cambodian but not sure. We were all pretty tired and had lots of planning to do so headed back to the hotel. George fell asleep almost straight away, not surprising after her long days travelling. Harry and I tried to work out where we should all go next!

In the morning we took our time getting up, checked out of the blue kiwi guesthouse and headed to the new guesthouse. We moved into a huge room with really comfy beds. After leaving our bags there we asked for a recommendation of an English speaking tuk tuk driver. The really helpful lady on reception organised one to pick us up in 10 minutes, which we could use right up until 6pm. First stop 'T' took us to the bakery so we could get some breakfast to eat on the hour long ride to the killing fields. Before going there we stopped to book a bus, unfortunately the one we wanted was fully booked so we carried on to the fields. Our croissants were really nice so we were expecting the sandwiches we'd got for lunch to be nice as well. When we arrived we paid to enter then got audio tour guides each with headphones and a map to lead us around the site. We were there for a few hours and were really moved by the experience. The tragedy that occurred throughout Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge was horrific and hearing the stories from survivors in the grounds where millions of killings took place, made it a lot more real. Next T took us to a shooting range, for Harry to fire a machine gun - but he decided it was too expensive. We went back towards Phnom Penh, stopping on the way at the Russian market. We took a while shopping here, although the only purchase was a pair of sunglasses for Georgie! When we came out we looked for T but could only find the tuk tuk, he appeared shortly after. We went to look at the outside of the royal palace and drive past several temples. Next we went to another bus company where we booked our bus for the following day to Siem Reap. T drove us to a Wat, one that was free for us to look round. We lit incense sticks and prayed then went back to find T. It was getting later and we were all hungry so decided while we'd got a chauffeur, we'd go for dinner then get him to drop us back at the hotel. The restaurant he recommended was really good, we all had traditional Khmer curries which were amazing. Incredibly full and just as the rain started T dropped us back. We organised for him to pick us up in the morning for our bus then spent time sorting a hotel for the next night. Later on we decided we were ready for pudding, so we went on a hunt. Eventually we came across a frozen yoghurt shop so dived in, tried all the flavours then Georgie opted for plain with lots of toppings and I got chocolate with fruit and marshmallow toppings. It started raining again so we made a run for the hotel, where we decided to claim our free coffees. Back in the room we chilled and did some research for siem reap.

Our bus was leaving at 7.30am so we made sure we had food for the journey, as Mr T took us to a bakery. The bus was a long journey but nice to see the different way people lived in Cambodia compared to Vietnam and Thailand. There were loads of floating villages and houses on really high stilts. When we got to Siem Reap we got a tuk tuk to the hotel (Velkommen), checked in then went out to explore a few markets as the weather was so nice. The first one we came across was the old market, we spent ages looking around and buying a few bits including elephant trousers for both Georgie and harry. All three of us bought some vest tops ready for the beach! Just as we finished in the market it started raining... so we dove into a cafe for drinks. We tried to wait for it to stop raining, but it didn't so we had to go to look for bus and hotel options. After looking everywhere we gave up and went for dinner at Viva! a Mexican restaurant. It was really nice having different food which wasn't rice or noodles!! I had a banana pancake after which was nice, then we went to the blue pumpkin cafe to get croissants for the morning. Back at the hotel we were all pretty tired and knew we had to be up early for our day exploring Angkor Wat.

We met San at 8am in the hotel lobby then jumped in his minivan. We first stopped at the ticket office to have our photos taken and passes printed. It was such a busy day I can't remember the order we visited all the temples but here's a few of the best ones. All of them involved walking up hundreds of steep steps and all the way around to appreciate the time and effort which had gone into building them. The smiling faces temple was fab to look around and San showed us some great picture spots to get as many faces as possible in one photo! The elephant terrace was a big flat space with elephant carvings surrounding the temple. It was a boiling hot day so walking up to the top of baboon temple was a challenge, but the views were definitely worth it. Angkor Thom was large and we found a lucky crab while walking around, which San kindly returned to the water. To and from this temple we took a back route which was through the jungle and with no other tourists - the peace and quiet was amazing. As we were heading out of the Angkor area San pulled over for us to see some monkeys up close by - this was a highlight for George as she was hoping we'd see some! San took us to a local restaurant for lunch which we were surprised was only $10 for all four of us! After lunch we spent the afternoon exploring and learning all about the history of Angkor Wat. We saw yet more monkeys, Buddhas, steps and stone carvings. San was very knowledgable and it took ages to look around as this is the largest religious building in the world. He showed us a spot in the temple where we lent our back against the wall, made a wish then beat our chest 3-5 times to send the wish to the gods. When beating our chest it echoed throughout the tunnel as if they heard our wishes. We took some final photos of the incredible reflection of Angkor Wat in the lake then headed back to the minivan. After a tiring day we watched a DVD back at the hotel, then wondered into town along the river to have a cheap dinner, which was actually really nice! Afterwards we just got a tuk tuk back to the hotel and watched an interesting film about the khmer rouge and the killing fields.

In the morning we were all shattered so decided to have a lie in. When we were eventually ready we walked into siem reap town to book our bus to Bangkok. We also had lunch, looked around a few markets and picked up some snacks from the supermarket. Back at the hotel we did some research in the afternoon and played a few card games before heading back into Siem Reap to attack the night market! The night market was way bigger than we expected, so it took forever to get round. We were in our bartering element, buying loads of presents and bits, it was so much fun! After the market the far side of the river was done we went for a BBQ dinner at a place Georgie had found the previous night. We all chose a noodle dish each then some meats we wanted to be BBQ'd, the skewers were our favourites. Very full after dinner we needed to walk it off in another part of the night market, which was way bigger than it originally looked. We bought quite a bit between us in here as well and having great fun bartering the sales women down to a reasonable price! Happy with our purchases we got a tuk tuk back to the hotel then went to bed - I was really excited for my birthday the next day!!!

We woke up quite early and Georgie gave me some cards and pressies from home to open. Harry and Georgie had also bought me little presents from the market the night before, which was nice. I had some lovely cards from grandma, auntie Ann and uncle al, Paul and mum and dad. Mum and dad had also got me some pressies including perfume, knickers and chocolate! The perfect birthday presents :) after opening them and getting ready we walked into siem reap town, accompanied by Georgie singing me happy birthday!! We went for an amazing breakfast at The Blue Pumpkin, where we lay on comfy white sofas with trays over us to rest our plates on while we ate. Harry and I had English style breakfasts with eggs and bacon, while Georgie opted for a healthier toast with pineapple jam. After we'd finished the waitress kindly bought me a passion fruit and chocolate moose cake with candles on top, while singing happy birthday. After breakfast we went to the markets to have a shop around, I bought a birthday ring! We had iced coffees at an Irish bar as it was so hot, then carried on looking around different parts of siem reap. It was so hot by 2pm we decided to walk back to the hotel so that we could Skype mum and dad. We chilled at the hotel for a bit then headed back into the town, on the way we picked up a snack from the pizza company. We went to a place we'd found in the market so we could get our nails done. We had some really nice designs and it took them nearly two hours to do our nails! Harry had a massage while he was waiting. As it was dark we walked back to pub street where we found a nice restaurant for dinner. We sat upstairs, which we had to ourselves. The views over the street were nice and the live musicians were a great accompaniment to dinner. Georgie and I got started on some yummy cocktails then ordered food. Harry and I had pizzas and George had a club sandwich. After a few cocktails and a birthday tequila shot we left the restaurant to go on an elephant trouser hunt - as we still wanted to buy a couple pairs before leaving for Thailand. We also bought some food for breakfast and the journey, before walking back to the hotel.

The 1st of September meant that we could go into Thailand to have the maximum amount of visa time. We got up really early to get the bus to Bangkok. When we came to check out we didn't have enough to pay cash so I had to cycle to the nearest cash point to get money out! After that little rush the minivan picked us up then dropped us at the bus. It took three hours to get to the border, then we crossed with luckily no problems. We then waited a while for a minibus to take us to Bangkok. While waiting we found there was free ice cream at a market nearby so Georgie and I ran to get some for the three of us. A really kind thai man pushed in front of the kids to get us some then we headed back to the bus stop just in time to get in the minivan. The journey to Bangkok took forever, meaning we didn't get there until 5.55pm! I ran into a tour agent where I managed to book us on a bus straight away. Harry grabbed us all pad thai off the street and some water, then the owner walked us to the bus stop, so we hopped on. It was an overnight bus to Surat Thani, which stopped once at a gross service station, where we first celebrated Georgie's birthday! We then got off again to wait for two hours to be transferred to the ferry. We spent the time watching the stray dogs and Georgie opened her presents! Eventually, by some luck we arrived on koh samui island around 12 noon, ready to hit the beach!