After a crazy and confusing border crossing from Thailand, we finally entered Cambodia.

Siem Reap is a small town full of western bars and restaurants, colourful markets and massage parlours. With streets illuminated like Christmas, it's amazing how you can fall in love with a place almost immediately. Most people that come to Cambodia come to Siem Reap to visit the ancient temples of Angkor - the 8th wonder of the world.

We visited the temples of Angkor over 2 days. The temples themselves were a creative and grand masterpiece each individually designed by their respective Kings during the Khmer empire dating from the 9th to the 15th Century. The temples had laid dormant for centuries until a French botanist rediscovered this lost city in 1860. The area, some 400 square kilometres of jungle was filled with history. We visited 19 of these temples. Some of these were well preserved and some had deteriorated so much, it was hard to imagine what it once looked like.

The largest and most impressive temple is Angkor Wat, which was built in the 12th Century for King Suryavarmsn II. It's surrounded by a moat and has 3 distinct towers, the pinnacles of the temple. Climbing the central tower gave us a panoramic view of the temple grounds.

Due to the filming of Tomb Raider 13 years ago, Ta Prohm has become well known. Built in the 12th Century for King Jayavarman VII, the jungle has taken over this temple. Amongst the crumbling walls, you could easily lose yourself amongst the broken stones, dark walkways and entrances engulfed by strangler vine trees.

The "face" of Angkor has been taken from the impressive gothic temple of Bayon, which was built in the 12th Century for King Jayavarman VII. There are 54 towers decorated with the faces of Avalokiteshvara. When climbing up this temple you come across the central level to come face to face with some of the carvings.

We also visited the Land Mine Museum. The founder, Aki Ra, was a former child soldier. He was told that his parents had died before being trained as a soldier for the Khmer Rouge. He then defected to the Viet Cong. One of his duties was to lay land mines. Thousands upon thousands of land mines were laid over Cambodia during the Civil War. Some were meant to self-destruct over time, others lay live, armed waiting for a victim.

Once the war had ended, he had seen the destruction land mines could do. He decided to dedicate his life's work to disarming land mines. While searching for land mines, he and his wife found many injured children who were victim to land mines. They were either orphans or their parents were too poor to look after them so they took them in. They created the land mine museum to raise awareness and funds to look after these children.

One evening we went to the Beatocello free concert in the Kantha Bopha Children's Hospital. The cellist and founder of the hospital is a Swiss gentleman named Dr Beat Richner. He's a bit of a legend in Cambodia setting up 4 free hospitals for Cambodian children. A 5th hospital is currently under construction.

Between songs, he spoke of the blood, sweat and tears he has put into establishing these hospitals over 21 years. He began his work as a paediatrician when he was 25 years old when war broke out and since then, his dedication has been an inspiration to humanity. He receives most of his donations from the Swiss but is slowly getting donations from other countries.

Battambang is a small riverside town with quaint French colonial architecture. It has a few temples dotted around the area but its best known for the Killing Cave during the Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s.

The first night in town we visited the circus, Phare Ponlue Selpak, which is run by an organisation that train young adults in theatrics, music, art and performance as a way out of poverty. For a small fee, they performed acrobatics and dance. They were all spectacular and each person had their own unique talent.

Wanting to see the surrounding sites, we arranged a day trip. We went on a ride on the Bamboo Train (Nori) which was basically one sheet of bamboo on an engine. We whizzed along the tracks through small villages and bushland for 2km. It was quite fast even though the tracks were warped from the heat. Just over a small bridge, we had come across bamboo trains coming back. We all slowed to a halt. I thought we would simply switch trains but instead, our bamboo sheet and engine were removed, the wheels came off and hey presto, we were off the tracks. The other trains passed us and our train was reassembled.

Perched on a mountain we visited Phnom Sampeou. Here were a series of temples and caves including the infamous Killing Cave. In the 1970s, Khmer Rouge murdered about 10,000 people. Some people were thrown alive into the caves skylight but as the caves filled up, people survived the fall and died of dehydration and starvation. There was also a small entrance to the cave, when children followed their parents; they were pushed in as well. There is now a shrine here as well as a cage that stores an eerie collection of bones found in the cave. During raining season, you can still smell the stench of rotting flesh.

We headed back down the mountain and stopped in front of the bat cave. Every day around 6pm a colony of 6 million bats would exit their cave in search of food. The bats flew overhead in a flight path which lined the sky. It takes an hour for all the bats to take flight. They put on a wild sunset show.

We visited Wat Pippitharam. We heard that monks stroll around in the late afternoon and are happy to talk to tourists to practise their English. We met a monk student who spoke almost perfect English. He told us about his studies in Buddhism and then invited us to go inside the temple. It's usually locked to avoid theft and so the monastery dogs don't go inside to pee in there. It was an enlightening experience spending time with him.

Phnom Penh is Cambodia's capital and having a population of 1.3 million it's a busy place. Phnom Penh was a thriving city under the rule of King Sihanouk until the Khmer Rouge evacuated the city in 1975. Then it became a war zone.

Cambodia is littered with killing fields, mass graves from the genocide during the Khmer Rouge regime between 1975 and 1979. But the one just outside Phnom Penh has the graves of over 17,000 innocent people that had been detained at the Tuol Sleng (S-21) prison. Most were bludgeoned to death to save on bullets.

They have excavated almost 9,000 bodies and created a shrine with bones and clothing found. But during the raining season, the soil churns up more bones and clothing. When you're walking along the paths listening to the audio commentary, you look down and notice material and bone matter beneath you. Every 3 months caretakers collect them and encase them with the other remains.

One particular grave had 116 headless corpses which belonged to accused Khmer Rouge soldiers. Another grave had over 100 women and children. The tree located next to the grave was used to kill the babies by smashing them against the tree. It now stands as a shrine.

We learnt of the gruesome history of events taken place at these killing fields. To remember those lives lost, a memorial stupa has been erected which homes over 8,000 skulls of those victims.

We walked through the museum before watching a short video. It brought tears to everyone's eyes.

Heading back towards the city centre, we visited Tuol Sleng (S-21) Museum. This is the prison which detained thousands of people before being executed in the killing fields, if they survived the torture and starvation within the prison itself. When the Khmer Rouge regime ended, archives were discovered in the building which had photographs and biographies of the victims including 4 westerners. Hundreds of victims were killed every day and out of the 14,000 detainees, only 7 survived due to being useful to the regime.

We walked around the 4 buildings. Some rooms simply had iron beds and shackles; some had small wooden and brick cells. Other rooms displayed the archives. Thousands of faces looked back at you, none of them knew of their fate. Towards the end, information on the history and the prosecution of the former Khmer Rouge leaders were shown. To date, the trial continues.

A shrine has been set up in one of the rooms. We lighted incense sticks before leaving. It's a small token to remember these victims.

On our way out, we passed a table with books for sale. Sitting behind the table was Chum Mey, one of the 7 detainees who had his life spared because he fixed typewriters for the Khmer Rouge. One of the books was his account of his 3 months of torture in S-21 "Survivor". I bought a copy and he signed it for me. He had a big smile on his face and suggested I get a photo with him. I was honoured.

For a different experience, we went to the shooting range. Here you can fire rifles, handguns, machine guns, rocket launchers and even grenades. Shiraz got into the hot seat and fired a magazine of bullets for the AK-47. It was a quick and loud experience.

We visited Wat Ounalom, which is the centre of Buddhism in Cambodia and has an eyebrow hair of the Buddha enshrined. An old man sitting outside asked us if we wanted to go in. We followed him inside. He lit some candles and gave us incense sticks to place at the foot of the Buddha. He sprayed perfume in a bowl of water and then sprinkled us with it. We had just been blessed. The rest of our journey should be a good one!

Sihanoukville is a holiday getaway with beaches lining the coastline and untouched tropical islands a stone throws away. The beach areas vary from the quiet and quaint to the backpacker night life. We chose backpacker night life. We wanted some options on where to eat and drink.

During the day, the beach was lined with lounges nestled underneath umbrellas. Restaurant staff called out to you to stop by for a drink. Locals tried to sell you trinkets and massages. By night, the lounges and umbrellas were replaced with candle lit tables and chairs. Staff tried to lure you in with their menus. Any table was the perfect location to watch the waves roll in with the sun setting in the background. Our romantic night was interrupted by beggars and locals trying to sell you fireworks which were lit on the beach.

It was a bright sunny morning when we went on our snorkelling trip. We lapped up the views and ocean breeze during our ride to Koh Preus. We jumped into the water with our snorkel gear and searched for fish amongst the coral. The water was murky so visibility was poor. We spotted a few fish but if you spend more time exercising your eyes than legs while snorkelling, time to go back.

Cruising further south we arrived at Koh Russei or otherwise known as Bamboo Island. A stunning white sanded beach awaited us. In the shade of the palm trees were colourful lounge chairs you could hire for 50c. We jumped onto the sand and looked around the bay. The bay had several boats floating around and in the distance we could see nearby islands. This was like an island paradise.

While swimming in the shallow warm water we noticed some small fish wading around us. Despite the waves throwing them about, they never left our side. If we sat still, they would encircle us closely. We weren't sure if they were sheltering themselves from the sun or if they assumed we were rocks. When larger waves spread them out, they disappeared. Going by the giggles of the nearby girls, the fish had found a new playground.

We boarded our boat and headed to Koh Kleah for snorkelling. It was one of the smaller islands just off the coastline. The water was cool but near the coral there were pockets of warm water. The visibility was much better and here we swam with colourful fish and sea urchins.

The following day we caught a motorbike taxi to Victory Beach. We wanted to explore a different part of town. We had read that this was the Russian owned laid back area where older ex pats come to relax. After walking along the beach we realised that this is the place to literally do nothing. With no town centre or anything resembling markets or shops, the only thing to do here is eat, sleep and lay on the beach.

Kampot is a small town that runs along the Kampong Bay River. It is lined with aging French buildings and trendy restaurants littered with fairy lights and lanterns. With only a few streets in town, you could always find your way back.

We explored the small quirky streets. Some were bars and restaurants and some were shops and people's homes. One thing we noticed were the birds flying overhead. The bird calls had an unusual echo which filled the whole town. We later read that the Chinese created these rooftop rooms which simulated bird calls to lure birds in for nesting. This is how they get the nests for their bird nest soup!

Exploring out of town was an adventure. We organised a tuk tuk and our driver, Ratha, was a world of information. But since roads were under construction, dust was flying everywhere. So much in parts, we couldn't see the road ahead. We looked like bandits wearing our scarves as face masks.

We headed to the salt farms where locals were busy raking the water soaked paddies which eventually produce salt. Inside the shed nearby was a huge pile of salt. Usually the ladies bundle the salt while the men carry the sacks into the trucks to be cleaned with iodine before selling them to markets and importing them to Vietnam.

Further on, we arrived at the Phnom Chhnork caves. With over 300 steps to climb to get inside the cave, we appreciated the coolness of the limestone rocks. At the cave entrance, there was an unusual rock formation that resembled an elephant. You had to squint to see it. Inside was a small well preserved brick temple older than Angkor Wat.

Walking through the cave trail, we had to climb and crawl around the stalactite and stalagmite to view the bats flying overhead. Further on was a clear lake. Swimming was optional. After we were told of the sharp rocks, we decided to climb around it and onto a bamboo makeshift bridge to exit the cave.

Moving on, we made a quick stop at a Muslim fishing village. A small river ran through this bamboo village with many boats docked alongside the shore. A few children were outside playing. On closer inspection, they were playing with dead fish that was left on the dusty path. We left them to it.

On a long dusty road we came to the pepper farm. It was surrounded by hills covered with lush green trees and shrubs. The peppers were hand-picked and came in the black, red and white variety. Picking some of the unripened pods, the scent of fine pepper filled our senses. They claim that Kampot pepper is the best in the world!

We started to make our way to Kep. We had to board a boat to Rabbit Island for lunch. It was another paradise island, where palm trees lined the beach. Behind it were basic bungalows and sun loving tourists.

We decided to wash off all the dust by swimming in the water. While bathing ourselves I felt a burning sensation on my foot. When a lady came by and told us there are small jelly-fish in these waters, we jumped up and started to make our way back to the beach. Not the island paradise we had in mind when jumping into the water was "at your own risk".

We arrived back at Kep which is a small coastal town known for their fresh crabs. This lively market sold fresh crabs, cooked fish and various produce. We went looking for the crabs and right on the decks, crabs were hauled in by large baskets. Ladies were negotiating prices around us. We wanted to get into the action so we bought Ratha a few crabs for his family.

While walking through the durian stalls, ladies started arguing. We sensed the anger by the tone of the voices. Thinking it was going to finish, one lady threw a durian at the other lady. Lucky it missed her and landed in another stall. Hard spiky fruits like durian could cause some serious damage. We walked out of there quickly and watched the argument continue at a safe distance. No other durians were thrown but while leaving the market, we could still hear their voices. Ratha mentioned that the argument was over competing prices.

On recommendation we organised a day trip to Bokor National Park. Our guide called himself Shrek. Shrek is very popular in Cambodia. He even refers to his wife as Fiona.

Once we reached the base of the mountain, we were told to wind down our windows; we needed to turn off the air-conditioning to give the mini-van more power. As soon as it was turned off, the scent of sweat filled the air.

It was a long and steady hour's drive up the mountain. Thankfully the roads were smooth; 6 years ago it was still a dirt road which took 4 hours by motorbike to reach.

Our first stop was to visit the Black Palace (Veang Khmao). This used to be the little summer palace of King Sihanouk. The palace was a small dilapidated building. Across the road, locals prayed to a large Buddha Temple. It stood majestically on the high side of the road.

Travelling further along the road we came to a waterfall. We followed Shrek along the slippery trail down where the water crashed into the lake. We scrambled over moss covered rocks and beneath trickling water to view the waterfall in all its' glory. When the wind blew in our direction, we had a light shower.

We drove passed the casino that was built by the Chinese and only opened last year. It was a huge bright yellow building, an eye sore in the midst of what is a beautiful national park. Accommodation for 10,000 people was still in progress.

We stopped just behind the casino and planted ourselves near a small temple. We had lunch with million dollar views. We dined with unobstructed views of the national park and the coastline of Kep below us.

We then headed onto the main attraction of Bokor National Park. Bokor Hill Station stood at 1080 metres above sea level. It was originally built by the French in the 1920's to escape the heat. In the 1970's, Khmer Rouge soldiers took over this building when they were fighting the Vietnamese. Looking more like a concrete jungle, it is currently being redeveloped as a museum.

With so much construction going on, it was hard to believe we were on top of a mountain within a national park. At one point it the national park was a contender for World Heritage status but illegal logging denied this status.

Late afternoon we had a boat trip along the Kampong Bay River. The motor was the same as an edge trimmer, it was impossible to go anywhere in a hurry. The water was calm and small bamboo huts lined the shores. We could see the sun struggling to get through the clouds above the silhouette of the mountain. We stopped 6km upstream to Shrek's home for a drink and a swim from his boat landing. Only a few people jumped in. We caught a few golden rays of sunshine before the sun disappeared.

Travelling north of the country, we arrived in Kampong Cham. When you're greeted by a gang of begging children and one tuk tuk driver you start to wonder if this is the place you want to be. With only a few hotel options, we checked into a hotel that also offered massages and karaoke. We saw many scantily clad women come in and out, was it that sort of massage?

A local working at a nearby restaurant mentioned that you can choose a woman to sit with you and pour your drinks while you're belting out your best tunes during karaoke. Sounds suspicious and with little to do in this unsavoury town, we left the following morning.

Kratie is a small riverside town where you can glimpse at the rare freshwater Mekong Irrawaddy dolphins.

On the first day we caught a boat to Koh Trong, an island just a 1km over the river. The island was surrounded by a 9km circuit, which made it perfect for cycling. We passed by many local stilt houses with families cooking food and children running around. Behind were green fields with cows nibbling at hay and grass.

We rode around the rest of the island while watching the dark clouds come in. As soon as we reached the bike shed it started to rain. We waited under the shelter with other locals. One young girl thought we were photo worthy as she took many photos of us. I'm sure it will impress her friends at school. When the rain paused, we headed to the beach port and waited for the boat.

Meanwhile, the winds picked up, sand was blowing and the water was choppy. When the boat arrived we all loaded ourselves in and tried to take off. It was no use, the winds were too strong. We had to wait it out.

When the wind eased, we tried again. While crossing over, thunder clapped and lightning struck, we were in the worst place possible during the storm especially with a corrugated iron roof. But we made it back safely.

We organised a half day trip to see the dolphins. On route we passed a sign, Dolphin Karaoke. I couldn't think of anything worse. But thankfully we kept going and arrived at the dolphin boat port.

The river was calm and with only a few boats out it was easy to spot the dolphins coming up briefly for air. But they were so fast, blink and they had already dived under again. We followed 2 dolphins swimming side by side for a while.

After dolphin spotting we drove to Sombok Mountain. 3 sets of steep stairs awaited us. The first level had accommodation for monks, the second was a meditation centre and the third was a temple. Through the trees were sweeping views of the Mekong. We spoke to a 20 year old guy who worked for a water purification company. His English was good and rather than talking about the history of the mountain or the temples, we talked about relationships. He recently broke up with his girlfriend but wanted her back. We gave him some advice until he told us that her family had more money than his family. It's a deal breaker in some cultures.

Unfortunately, our love for Cambodia had to come to an end. It's a beautiful country with warm and friendly people, an experience we will never forget. Next stop, Laos…