We're not sure if this is really worth blogging, as we only stayed in Phnom Penh one night. Nevertheless, and more to ensure our trail map is accurate, we hope you are briefly entertained.

As we mentioned in our last blog, the reason for the detour was to visit one of the other volunteers, Bar, who is temporarily bedridden within close proximity to one of the better Cambodian hospitals. While riding back from the local buddhist temple during the Khmer New Year, a slip on some loose gravel tipped the motorbike and Bar managed to rest her calf on the exhaust. It looked like a painful burn, and so Samat, one of the Khmer staff, advised her to squeeze blue toothpaste all over it for that cool minty feeling. It did the trick for a couple of hours, but when the pain got too great, Almog and Bar took off to the capital for some treatment. Yaara, the volunteer coordinator, had a chest infection so decided to tag along aswell.

Today is Bar's Birthday, so seeing as half of the volunteers were already in Phnom Penh, we and Shachar decided to make the trip for the celebration. As soon as we arrived we were caught up in the mad birthday preparations that Yaara and Almog, bedridden and restricted in their guesthouse, had spent hours planning. We spent the afternoon at the huge central market, until Aidan became bored and joined in with a street aerobics class. Dinner turned out to be really nice. We ate at a really fancy Italian restaurant and Bar, the injured birthday girl, really appreciated all the fuss.

We only had time for a quick stroll along the river the next day before our bus left for Thailand. What we saw was brief but good and we're looking forward to spending some more time in the capital at some point in the next few months.