Having just left the capital, we are on the way back to the village again! We have just managed to convince an Argentinian guy to hop of the bus and visit Chi Phat, the quiet little village nearby. The same organisation that we are working for runs an ecotourism project in Chi Phat, where tourists can do a home stay and hire local guides for mountain biking and hiking. He was after a more local experience so we thought he'd like it. Hopefully we didn't lead him astray..

A few days ago we left the village in a rush decision as Aidan was feeling crook. Considering it is low season for tourists now, we decided not to book a bus and just flag one down as it goes past. We just missed one and the next bus didn't stop. We were just about to give up and try again the next day, when a shiny official looking bus decided to stop for us. We tried our luck and were stoked when the driver told us he was going to Phnom Penh. We boarded and immediately got the feeling that we had gate-crashed. Everyone was old, well-dressed and nearly all of them had reading glasses... not a typical Cambodian bus load. It turned out that the bus was carrying most of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport for a tour of the poorer provinces, including Koh Kong! They were all really amused and used the opportunity to practice their English. We were offered beers and fruit, and they even dropped us right in the middle of the city!

The next day we went to the SOS health centre to figure out what was going on in Aidan's stomach. We got to see an Australian doctor who had been living in Cambodia for the last two years. Despite Aidan being convinced that his pain was caused by the malaria prevention tablets, the doctor was convinced it was a parasite. It turned out that the doc was right. As well as some anti-biotics and anti-acid tablets, the doctor loaded us up with a few other useful tablets in case one of us became sick again. Feeling relieved that the stool test was not wasted, Aidan rested for the remainder of the weekend. Jess used the opportunity to go shopping at the markets and eat as much chocolate as she could!

To ensure that we did at least something touristy in Phnom Penh, we headed out to Wat Phnom, a beautiful hilltop temple surrounded by a lush green park in the middle of the city. The monks had a pet elephant, which seemed to have been hijacked by some locals and used to make money from tourists. The park also contained a small museum with a bit of Khmer art, culture and history which was really nice to mosey around.

We also managed to find a nice restaurant called Friends, which is managed by an NGO focused on improving the livelihood of poor and homeless children. The youth are trained to work as waitstaff, cooks and kitchenhands, and employed to manage and work in the restaurant. There was more staff than diners and the food was comparatively pricy, but the proceeds go towards a good cause and the food was ch'ngun na!