Today we set off for Siem Reap by road. This will be done over 2 days with today covering about 200kms. There is enough room in the bus for each of us to have a window. There would not be much snoozing on the bus as the roads were fairly rough with much of it was being upgraded. We were told that travelling on Cambodia's roads could involve three types of massage – "normal" road = chicken massage, moderately bumpy road = water buffalo massage and severely bumpy = elephant massage. Our trip was a combination of all three.

It was really good to see the rural sites – the dress of the people, their housing, their modes of transport and the equipment or lack of equipment they use for farming.

The first stop was the village of Skoun known for the frying and eating of a species of the tarantula spider. In addition to the spiders. they cook up crickets, cockroaches and something that looks like a large maggot. As well as foraging for the spiders the villagers breed them in holes. It is thought they may have started eating insects during Pol Pot’s reign due to the shortage of food. We did try the spiders, which are quite bland.

Back on the road we could also see one of the other methods for catching insects. Sheets of plastic are erected with fluorescent lights behind them. These attract the insects which fall into a pool of water below the plastic. Apparently they cannot get out of the water and become tomorrows dinner. Farmers can catch about 30 to 40 Kilos of insects each night depending upon the number traps they set

Next stop was a silk farm at Santuk Village where we learned about the breeding and growing of the worms, the collection, spinning and dying of the raw silk from the cocoons and the weaving of garments. Established by an American Vietnam Vet, Bud Gibbons who wanted to do something positive for the Cambodian people. It employs locals and contributes quite a bit to the local economy.

After lunch at the Silk Farm we drove to the ruins of Sambor Pre Kuk, a 7th century and one of the oldest temple cities in SE Asia. Originally about 200 temples only half of them have survived. Having been a Khmer Rouge stronghold the area endured some heavy bombing by the US. Throughout our walk through the most important ruins we were closely followed by a group of young kids, who should all have been in school, but were trying to sell us their wares. Unfortunately for them, and us, the skies opened and we headed back to our vehicle.

Soon after the weaving we arrived at our lodgings in Kampong Thom. Our bungalow accommodation was quite rustic. We all had a nice meal at the hotel and also got to see a great sunset. Our bed was under a mosquito net and we had to deal with barking geckos throughout the night. As well as sharing the room with mosquitoes & geckoes, in the morning Anne found a scorpion in the corner of the room. Not sure if it was poisonous or not but the hotel people were quite concerned when we told them about it. Just as well we did not notice it the night before.