Friday 30th January

The next morning I put poor Lin through two alarms. I know, I'm so mean! The thing is, the Vietnamese hold exercise classes in the park every morning and evening and I'd told Cheryl I would try and drag myself up. Well I could have, but I was actually having a really good sleep so I dismissed my alarm and we woke up a couple hours later instead.

As it was Jeannette had been really struggling the evening before with all the pollution in Ho Chi Minh so I was right in assuming she didn't get up to exercise either. However it wasn't until I saw her at breakfast that we found out she'd also injured her foot.

Now Jeannette, Lin and I had been the ones navigating the day before and had quite a good reckoning of where we were so when taxis kept getting suggested on the way back to the hotel we kept putting them off knowing we weren't too far. It wasn't until now that we found out it had been because Cheryl had become injured while crossing the construction site with a wire slicing between her big toenail and toe cutting deep and taking much of the nail off. I wish we'd known so we didnt insist on finishing our trek. We just thought they didn't trust our judgement!

So after breakfast and checking out we made for the Mekong Delta. Driving the 3 hours to the river with just a 'happy stop' at this cool little restaurant place. It had a small bamboo bridge and on the way back to the bus Jeannette, Lin and I saw a lizard eat a grasshopper, just like that. We then all took pictures with the mermaid statue and of our group getting back on the road.

On meeting our guide Mr Nam, we got walked through the local market with him showing us different fruits and telling us what family there from. I find this quite interesting as just on this small part of the trip I've seen so many fruits that I've never even seen abroad let alone back home. One which we were all surprised with was from the peach family but looked like a baby potatoe on the outside!

We continued on through the veg part of the market and into the the seafood section. Here they have all different kinds most of which I couldn't name. Crabs, eels, frogs and even snails. Almost all the many different fish were alive, though some of the women we're in the process of filleting some of them.

As we moved down there was a poultry section. Again both dead, alive and everything in between.

Then we mostly bypassed the meat section, briefly stopping by the eggs. Here Mr Nam pointed out the normal eggs and those still with chicks inside.. this was a little disturbing as were the rats that were also part of the produce on sale.

Our last stop was at the more exotic snake section. Now this was creepy, pass, thanks very much! Mr Nam said because Tet is approaching everywhere a lot busier as people begin to prepare for the celebration.

On walking back to the river we passed a hotel where a well known Vietnamese football team were staying.. and then found out that Jeannette had seen them when she went to get her coffee and they were pretty good looking guys with different nationalities.. needless to say we made sure to pass by the coffee place but we'd missed our chance. Damn!

Anyway, moving on we boarded a boat and spent the next little while going along the Mekong river. Along the way we were given 3 different fruits to try. The potatoe looking one, a banana (there are many different kinds out here) and another from the Lychee family which we had begun seeing a lot of.

We stopped and picked up a local video crew who would be joining us for part of the day as well as 2 more tourists to make numbers up. This was a bit of a surprise and a little weird. The best we can figure there getting clips for tourism ads.

Not long after we picked them up, our group split into 2 groups to go in longboats down the river tributaries. This was nice as we saw locals kids who were excited to see us, waving and calling hello. We also saw many women doing their laundry done by the river.

We left the longboat to walk to our lunch stop at a local homestay. This was maybe just under 10minutes walk and Mr Nam spent it telling us all about the different fruits we saw growing along the way.

He also explained that the locales were stripping the trees of their leaves so that they would be tricked into blossoming for Tet. And that the water hyacinths that he had picked for Lin who loves them, are all over the Mekong to help stop erosion on the river bed and the mangrove trees help shelter the villages when the monsoon season hits.

At the local homestay most of us opted for plain boiled veg and rice rather than the set menu and enjoyed relaxing in the hammocks while the family cooked it. It was a really enjoyable hour or two as we went back and forth but soon it was time to move on as Mr Nam was telling us we still had so much to see and do.

We walked out and down to where there's a crocodile farm! Now this I wasn't expecting. If I heard right, when they reach about 5 years old there sold for meat and as much as I dislike these creatures along with many of those at the markets, I do feel sorry for them.

But then that leads to a bigger debate on the fact that I'm not a vegetarian, so how is it any different to my eating cow or sheep or pigs back home? Especially since I learnt from the group earlier in the trip that pigs are actually very bright and have the intelligence of a 2 year old child! The movie 'babe' is seeming to make more sense now!

Back on the boat once again- this time without the camera crew- we continued on to dock at this warehouse type building. Inside we learnt how they make terracotta, first getting clay from the river bed; cleaning it and making into moist slabs; then making whatever style pot before removing the mould and polishing it; and next it dries for 8 days in the furnaces to get the colour favoured by Vietnamese which is more of a cream than the red we see a lot.

The furnaces themselves are are huge and fuelled by burning rice husks. They have a huge barn which they fill every week to keep these fires going. We were able to stand in the entrance of one of the furnaces that had already been cooling for 4 days. Phew, as if the day wasn't already hot enough!

Our last stop before reaching our own homestay was at this charming house with a bonsai garden. Here Jeannette and I spent some time playing with the puppy before going to look at the python.

Now I know I've held one of these back home as a kid but it seems the older I get the more my fears grow! Luckily we didn't have the option of holding him as he's about to shed his skin. Instead we went and enjoyed some tea and fruit. Mango, people! I think we've all become a little obsessed with mango and pineapple out here. It makes me wonder why I don't make more of an effort at home as I know I like both the fresh and dried versions and have them every time I travel. I do work in a supermarket as well! Pure laziness on my part, sticking to easy foods to grab and go.

We walked to our homestay from here and Mr Nam explained that because we had been enjoying our day so much we'd gotten a little behind so we wouldn't have time to do the sunset bike ride. Instead we would get up early and do a short sunrise one in the morning.

We were all wowed by our homestay as its quite a sight even on arrival. There's gardens to the left with different size wooden gazebo type structures the main one having hammocks lining it. Inside the front entrance to the house is very old and very impressive as well.

On reaching our room for the night, Lin, Maria, Cheryl and I freshened up a little before Sarah came to tell us we had been invited to a party near where we had had lunch. Mr Nams company was celebrating 35years and since we were the only overnight group in the area we could go and have dinner and drinks there.

The group was a little undecided on attending as we were meant to be watching our homestay family cook before eating there plus we knew we had an early start the next day. We all agreed that it was all of us or none of us but when we got told we'd be leaving at 6.30 that made the decision for us as it was earlier than we'd thought.

Cheryl is kind of amazing. I'm sure you've all got that by now. How she's fitted everything into here tiny case I've no idea- I think she's Mary Poppins in disguise. Anyway while we've all been talking she's pulled out a couple of outfits ( bearing in mind we've all only bought daypacks with us) and is telling us we need to wear dresses. Urm yeh none of us have those except her and Jeannette. Next thing you know she's made a skirt for herself out of her scarf, I'm in her new dress and Mr Nam is picking flowers for all of us girls.. well apart from Jeannette who broke the mould and chose her own... I'd expect nothing less from her :)

Not long after Cheryl and Lin worked magic with my hair to show my flowers off, the camera crew turned up again. We watched as they interviewed Sarah who did a terrific job of lying through her teeth about it being her first time in Vietnam. It was really quite amusing and bemusing in equal parts.

With the camera crew tagging along we went and learnt how to make this type of rice paper roll and then Jeannette had a go for the cameras. The only problem being she's a vegan and had to take a bite of it in front of them. Needless to say she got everyone else involved pretty quickly. I hung back not really interested in people watching me eat something new. The lady cooking knew exactly who had done what though because as soon as the cameras stopped rolling she approached me with my own roll to try. And im so grateful to her as it truly was delicious.

Back on the boat again we headed back down the river, this time watching for fireflies which seem huge! Though I've only seen them maybe once or twice before.

On approaching the party we saw it was all lit up and in the darkness of the Mekong evening it looked beautiful.

On arriving we met Mr Nam's boss and then the regional director. We were soon ushered to our own little gazebo bit, close to where the crocodiles were, to have our own little meal. We had one waiter whose english was probably some of the best we've heard from those who arnt tour guides. And better than half of those too! And then we had a mixture of different waiters bringing us so many different courses.

We started with a soup which had a quail egg in it. I admit I didn't touch the egg itself but the soup itself went on and on. By the time I'd had enough of it there was still 3/4 left. Alongside this we had bread similar to our french bread sticks but broken up to help ourselves too. The next plates were fries and meat spring rolls which i took a good half a dozen of. Then we each had a seafood plate which I didn't even attempt to touch.

I hate to say it but Sarah is completely right that you put weight on in Asia. I'm not even a huge fan of the food here but there's always so much of so many different dishes.

As we ate we could see everyone across the water having great fun and even dancing on the table. Mr Nam came to check on us once or twice and you could tell he was having a great time. We left after we finished our meal as while it was still early we had to leave before the tide changed the water levels.

Back at the homestay we were in for a really sweet but sickening surprise. Given that we had all pushed ourselves to the limit to make sure that we didn't appear rude not eating all the food that had been cooked especially for us at the party, we came back to the homestay to find that despite knowing we would be eating while out, they had still cooked for us as well!! I have never eaten so much in one sitting and I eat alot!

I really couldn't eat much of any of it, not that anyone else managed much either. We decided to get tactical and eat some off of each plate so it looked as though it had all been enjoyed. We may have also fed the dog some too...

Soon after we headed to bed and to try and save my once again dying phone I tried sleeping straight away. It actually worked quite well I think, though I did do my normal thing of waking up a lot during the night to toss and turn. But hey that's normal for me.

Saturday 31st January

The next morning I woke up to the others starting to move around. It was 5.50am and we had to be ready to bike at 6.15.

Lin braved the cold showers while I made do with wet wipes. During the day the cold shower would be appreciated but at that time in the morning it was pleasantly cool already.

Mr Nam was late arriving so as soon as he arrived we picked our bikes and set off. We did maybe a mile, mile and a half, circuit around the river in front of our homestay. Catching the sun rising quite nicely before continuing on. We saw the locales going about their lives while the children ran to say hello. One boy even ran after us grinning as he tried racing us.

Crossing back over the river we made our way through the daily market which was bustling at this early hour. We lost half the group though so Mr Nam went back to find them and while waiting an old man also cycling stopped to speak to us. His english was pretty broken but we managed to tell him where we were from and he was just so friendly and grinning ear to ear seeming so happy to meet us. It was quite a sweet moment.

Back at the homestay we had a delicious breakfast. Its the first time I've tried the jam out here and I wish I had tried it sooner. It was a strawberry one which usually I would stay away from but it was lovely.

Soon it was time to settle up and make our way back to our boat to continue our journey on the Mekong. I think everyone tipped heavily here as we had all had them do something for each of us. Like my cook making sure I got to try the rice paper roll. Or the main lady who was always darting around and helping with a smile. I know when Cheryl comes back with her husband Pete, she's planning on staying longer if possible.

All but Maria cycled out of the homestay and met the boat a few minutes down the road. We all climbed on board to await Maria's arrival. With Sarah doing karaoke while we waited.

It took awhile for Maria to arrive and when she did we realised we had a slight problem.. we we stuck!

While we had waited the tide had gone out so the next 30/40minutes were spent with us all chipping our opinions in on what should be done while the boat Captain tried a multitude of things including a tow. Noah and Mr Nam tried pushing the boat out as well... the girls all just kind watched...

Eventually another boat came and helped to get us moving. Climbing back on board we watched as a young lad and middle aged man who had been loading their fruit onto a waiting longboat finally managed to go to market with us out of the way.

We made our way down the river waving and calling out to the children on the way. And soon Mr Nam had put holes in young green coconuts for us to drink. He even broke them open for people to eat the flesh afterwards.

It was a slow journey down the river as with the water level so low we had to be careful not to ground it again. And we had to try and pass others that had. We did stop and try and help one boat out. Well our boat Captain did anyway. We didn't manage to get them moving but maybe what they did helped.. who knows?

On reaching the main artery of the Mekong again, we ran into another problem. The rudder had gotton stuck in the hyacinths so our captain had to dive down and untangle it!! Wow. We'd been teasing Sarah about having a crush on him so she played along swooning at his stripping off :)

On the move once again we made our way to the floating markets. Mr Nam told us that the bamboo sticks we saw at the bow of the boats displayed what produce their selling. And if there are a number of boats grouped together then they are owned by the same families. And you cant buy individual items here, you buy in bulk. Usually a minimum of 10 of an item but often up to 100 a time.

Our last stop before returning to Ho Chi Minh was to go and see how Coconut candy is made. Now I had never heard of this. In fact i'd never heard or imagined any of the things I was about to try. These include popped rice. Yep like popcorn but RICE; Flavoured rice crispy things (one ginger and I think the other was peanut) but not all sticky like actual 'rice krispies' are; rice whisky, which is so very strong; coconut candy which is a cross between toffee and fudge I guess; a rice wine; and a banana candy.

We had some time to look around and buy some bits if we wanted to, so I got some of the coconut candy but what I guessed was in a chocolate flavour. There were at least 5 different flavours for sell but the ladies didn't know enough english to tell me what the 2 flavours I didn't know were. I wish now after tasting the flavoured ones that I had taken the chance and just brought them. I even prefer them to the candy Duc got us hooked on at the beginning of our trip. And we all liked that.

I knew Cheryl had bought some bamboo flipflop that were scented but it was until we were back on the bus that I realise what they smelled of. Then I was jealous. Cinnamon. Glorious, cinnamon.

We arrived back in Ho Chi Minh and checked back into our hotel. Noah, Cheryl and I had agreed to meet back down in the lobby to catch a cab to the War Remnant Museum as soon as we were ready. So after Lin and I got into our room I quickly changed bags and freshened up getting downstairs just as Jeannette arrived having decided to join us after all.

At the museum we all split up and I started exploring the bottom floor before deciding it best to go to the 3rd floor and work my way down. I only spent about an hour and a half here but I was so impressed and so glad that we had rushed out to see it before it closed.

The top floor has an exhibit of photographs collected from many different photo journalists from many different nations during what the Vietnamese call the 'American aggression war'. I only read the descriptions of the pictures that spoke to me the most but there were at least 2 where it was the photographers last picture before being killed.

These pictures were so moving as were all the other exhibits. And I can't even begin to describe the heartbreaking ones of people who suffer from Agent Orange. People are still being born so disformed today, a couple of generations later that it's hard to imagine how long it will be better the effects lesson. If they ever will.

Running into Cheryl we decided to head back to the hotel as we wanted exchange our Dong for USD before the meal. Though by now Cheryl was struggling with her foot so she'd already decided to skip it.

With it being Noah and Jeannettes last evening we had planned to go to a vegetarian restaurant and then to a skybar for drinks. As with all good plans this one went awry slightly.

We met our 3 new travellers, a Canadian couple John and Sherry and another Brit, Laurie- short for Lawrence. He's from Oxford so not too far from me. Laurie came out with us and we taxied to a hugely posh mall where the skybar was and it was such a thing just to get up there. Secret little corridors and changing elevators to go higher up. I think it was something crazy like level 52!

Once we looked at the price of the drinks we realised it probably is as exclusive as it seems.. though the fact that there's a helicopter pad should have really given that away! We spent some time here enjoying the music and the amazing view of the city and listened to some crazy stories.. mostly Lauries.

Leaving the bar a bit of a mutiny took place with the outcome being that we taxied back near the hotel and ended up in a sports bar for dinner!! I spent the next little while talking to Noah and Laurie while keeping an eye on the Hull- Newcastle game!

After we settled up everyone but Jeannette and Sarah walked back to the hotel. Maria departed to the spa under the hotel while the rest of us decided to go to the hotel restaurant for another drink.. which lasted well over an hour as we talked travelling.

Sunday 1st February

Today was going to be a long boring day. We started by having breakfast and then packing up our stuff as we were to leave Vietnam and begin the Cambodia section of our trip.

Noah and Jeannette came to see us off and despite our new arrivals, we're going to be missing those two characters alot.

We had a couple of hours on a coach to reach the border where we had to get stamped out of Vietnam. What a palaver that was!!

We had to go inside a building with anywhere between 50 people and over a 100 and listen for a version of our name to be called. No loud speaker, no organisation, no nothing. It took over an hour until I was called and the place was almost empty in comparison.

Boarding the coach we travelled a short distance to then get our visa and passport checked on entry to Cambodia. This was quicker than the last but the same people ended up being last. Not nice when we had evisa's which were meant to speed the process up and it actually delayed it!

Back on the coach, again briefly, we travelled a ways down the road and then had a lunch stop. Neither Cheryl or I were taken with the choice so we choose a beer and went back outside and brought some fruit from the guy out side.. have I mentioned we love pineapple?

We sat on an old metal swing and chatted until it was time to get in the coach again. Another few hours and we reached Phnom Penh.

On reaching the drop off point we piled out of the bus and grabbed our belongs before making the journey to our hotel in a Tuk Tuk. For anyone who's unfamiliar with these vehicles there a type of 2 wheeled carts pulled around via motorbikes. Its the main way of getting around in Phnom Penh for tourists.

We had a while to settle in at the hotel before meeting back up for dinner. Again we travelled by tuk tuk to this nice little restaurant that must also be a hotel as it had a pool that we dined around. I'd say this place was only second to the Lantern restaurant in Hoi An.

Lawrie jumped right in, picking up where Noah left off, sharing tarantulas with Lin. Apparently they were really nice...

I was doing fine with my job of photographer until Sarah bought out a live one. Then I thought I might end up in the pool afterall!

Unfortunately Sarah still wasn't feeling well and we all decided to head back to the hotel together. But on arrival Lawrie, Lin and I went for a walk around to have a look at the area. We were all surprised at the Hummer parked on the corner by the hotel but soon we saw there were a lot of expensive trucks about. There is a very clear divide here between those who have money and those who are just surviving. And considering it seems less developed than Vietnam im surprised that it seems that much pricer.

Monday the 2nd February

Today we had the first of our Cambodian excursions. This one to the biggest killing field in Cambodia, Choeung Ek, followed by the S21 prison.

Because the genocide took place between 1975 and 1979 it's still extremely fresh and be it friends or family, everyone has lost someone to the cruel murderous reign of the Khmer Rouge. Many are the last of their families, the rest having been executed or having died from starvation or diseases which were rampant at this time.

Today they are still discovering killing fields all across the country and I knew going into the day that it would be an emotional one. It sounds bad but in most wars, right or wrong, there is a reason for them. Be it religion, power,money or more often now, hate, there's some kind of twisted reasoning to it.

With the Khmer Rouge though there was no sense to it. It was just Cambodian killing Cambodian for no other reason than they felt threatened by intellectual types. This was anyone who even looked intelligent and they would wipe out entire families so there was no one left to question them.

As we walked through the Killing field we were told of how the place had been chosen for its gruesome purpose. The fact that it was a Chinese cemetery with walls surrounding it and the locations isolation were key.

The Khmer Rouge would make out that they were taking the prisoners to a place to reunite with their families before shipping them out in the night with there hands tied and their eyes blindfolded. It began with maybe 3 trucks a month filled with up to 30 people a time but would increase to 300 a day! The idea being that they would all be killed on arrival.

They didn't use guns at all because it would be too costly with the bullets and the sound could not only draw attention to what they were doing but also incite panic in those still alive. Not to mention they wanted the people to suffer before they died.

Instead they used agriculture tools. Axes, knives, hatchets, shovels etc. And as the number of prisoners increased they used bits of the palm trees to slice the vocal cords of the prisoners so they couldn't alert anyone while they were detained until the Khmer Rouge were ready to execute them.

It was truly horrific and that's before we leant that they used chemicals such as DDT. They would scatter it on the mass graves for two reasons. The first as you would expect to cover the stench of decomposing bodies. But the second was that many of the prisoners were still alive so this would finish them off before filling the grave back in.

Shortly after learning this, we were told the thing that I think broke my heart the most. 'Please respect those who died by not stepping on their bones'.

Yes they meant this literally.

The pathway around the killing fields has not been excavation and there's pieces of bone that you can see just under the surface.

There really are no words to describe how you feel confronted with this. The closest I can come is raw. Everything from the history to the remnants of these bones left where the people fell, leaves you feeling very raw.

All of the excavation areas have friendship type bracelets covering them and we were told that in may everyone comes with gifts to wish the spirits of those lost, peace and happiness in their next life. In particular there is one tree completely decorated with the bracelets. This is a tree known to have been used to beat small children to death. The guards would tie their arms and legs and then swing them around bashing them into the tree.

Lastly we visited the tower in the center of the fields. As you look at it from a distance you can see skulls looking back at you but it actually contains 17 floors of bones all grouped by age and gender.

As you walk around it you see the skulls have coloured dots on them. These correspond to different things. i.e evidence of which tool was used to kill them, whether they were male or female or if they had evidence of medical treatment. I could only count about 11 of the 17 levels within sight. And that was overwhelming enough.

Leaving the killing fields we made our way back to Phnom Penh to visit S21 (also known asTuol Slengs) a former school that had become a prison. Many of those executed at the killing fields had come from here.

The Cambodians have left the prison in a way that touches you much like the killing fields. You see the graves of the last 12 who died here in front of cell block A which has the cells almost as they were discovered.

The floors are stained from blood in places and some of the ceilings are too. There's a bed in the middle of the room with the rusted shackles still attached. The only thing added is a picture on the left wall in each cell. These are photos of the scene as the prison was liberated. With the cells occupant strewn over the bed or on the floor after being killed.

Cell block B has the normal cells (the others being for important prisoners) which were tiny. Maybe 4ft by less than 6ft? I'm not too sure, I just know they weren't big enough to move around in. And outside still has the barbed wire that was put up after a women choose to commit suicide rather than live with the torture that was life at S21.

Cell blocks C and D have many pictures and documents inside. These depict everything from child soldiers to the many prisoners to the prison guards themselves. The Khmer Rouge documented everything. Even having the prisoners sign a register before executing them and pictures of there bodies to prove they were dead.

There were 7 known survivors from S21 though there are records showing that it's likely many more were released. Of the 7 surviving, there are now only 2 brothers left, the others having had many health issues on leaving the prison. We met one survivor on our way out, Mr Meng who does book signings at the prison to raise awareness.

In 2006 some of those responsible for the genocide were arrested. Some have since died and others are still going through the justice system. But what must be so difficult for the victims families is that the government has now made a law stating that there's to be no further questions or investigations into the Cambodian genocide or those responsible for it.

One thing in all of this really stands out in my mind. At the time that the Khmer Rouge took control there were approximately 8 million Cambodians. By the end just 4 years later, 3 million- almost HALF of the population- had died or been killed. 20,000 were executed at Choeung Ek killing field alone.

We cannot live in the past but we must also remember what WAS and what IS. If we gloss over it because it's painful or change the station when the news comes on, then how are we going to remember and honour those that are lost to such senseless acts? How are we going to stop this from happening to us? To our friends? To our families?

Genocides are happening all over the world right now. Wars are taking place. More groups like ISIS are popping up everyday. And if you think it couldn't touch you, as a Brit I say one name to you.

Lee Rigby.

As individuals we may not be able to stop it. And we probably won't see an end to many of these situations for a long time, probably not in my lifetime at least.

But we can strive to be a voice for those who have died. We can stand as witnesses at these sites where atrocities have taken place and say, we remember. And above all, we can take every bit of joy from each day that we can and live our lives in the truest and kindest way that we know how.

This is how we honour those we have lost. So just think about this for a moment and ask yourself, are you doing your best?

After such an emotional few hours it was a relief for us all I think to finish our half day tour. We had somehow lost Sarah but our guide knew we wanted to be dropped at the river front and Sarah knows the area so we left.

Having agreed to grab lunch together we asked the guide if he knew of anywhere and he picked a good place, having us dropped just outside.

The walls inside are all covered in crayon drawings from travellers around the world. And after enjoying a lovely mango smoothie and of course a banana pancake, Lawrie, Cheryl and I proceeded to revert back to our childhoods and do our own drawings.

I'm unsure that I even remember playing with crayons as a kid. I must have been pretty young the last time I did so this was fun even if the others thought we were crazy. It was just the light we needed after the full on morning.

Back on the move we made our way down to the Palace. Wow what a place. It certainly knows how to make an impression. As did the Costa Coffee I saw on the way!! Since when are they in Asia?!?!

Anyway we were a little early for the palace as it was closed for lunch so we hung around awhile until it reopened. On entering we had a few issues with the dress code. Lin had to buy a tshirt and trousers to be able to enter and then at the ticket counter the lady tried giving her the wrong change! Lawrie and I hung back to wait for her and pretty much ended spending the day together.

We spent a little over an hour exploring the palace with its amazing colours and architecture. It was extremely hot, somewhere in the early 30's was my guess and with no breeze we gulped down our water.

Leaving the palace we agreed to get a tuk tuk to the central market. We didn't spend long here but had a wander to see what it was like. So far I prefer Vietnams markets. But both Lin and Lawrie managed to get a little souvenir at a good price, so it was a worthwhile visit.

Next we walked back to the hotel, mostly walking along the edge of a big road because as with everywhere, the bikes are all parked on the sidewalk. Along this walk we were astounded once again by the amount of money certain people in Phnom Pen have when so many are clearly living in poverty. Sarah has also told us that everyone in Phnom Pen is better off than in other areas. This is so hard to take in when you see the bad living conditions here. There is such a clear divide between those who have and those who dont. And yet they spend money on temples and billboard size signs of the king, but the people? No its fine they can suffer. It really is unimaginable.

It was pretty hot out still so when we came across a Coffee bean shop we took a very welcomed respite from the sun. All enjoying our iced drinks.. and the brain freeze that accompanied them.

Back at the hotel Sarah was waiting in the lobby trying to catch people as they came in. Since there was no dinner planned, Lawrie, Lin and I agreed to meet back down in the lobby an hour and a half later to go grab some food. We asked Sarah to pass the message on to anyone she found.

As it turned out Maria was skipping dinner as she'd been unwell all day and Cheryl's cough was worse. Sarah, John and Sherry also did their own thing so off the 3 of us went.

We got a bargain of a tuk tuk right from the hotel which was fantastic and getting dropped at the river front we decided to look at a few menus before deciding where to eat. We choose the second one we passed, Anjali!

We enjoyed this little cafe type restaurant which had an extensive menu and was pretty cheap. I wasn't taken with my main meal of stir fried veg with Khmer noodles.. mostly because the noodles were more spaghetti than noodles. But as they had samosas on their speciality menu I got two veg ones to try. I only managed to eat one of these but they were so nice. Back home there really greasy but these were cooked differently. And very hot with chilli in them. Yum.

We also liked the atmosphere here as it got busier. They had lovely art on the walls along with tiny geckos calling it home. And under there name painted on the wall they had the slogan, 'sleep till your hungry, eat till you sleep'. Good food, good people and a good atmosphere at a good price. We did well.

On leaving the restaurant we again walked down to the palace. We stopped at a stall with a women selling travel guides. Both Lin and I had toyed with the idea of buying them cheap here as then we can leave them behind without losing a lot of money. Having been quoted $4 earlier, Lins reaction was quite funny to being told $7! The lady immediately realised her mistake and straight away went down to to $3 but the damage was done.

We were quite disappointed that the palace wasn't lit up at night at all. With the amazing temple structures it could look amazing. However the billboard of the king in front of it was lit up like a christmas tree! It was very pretty down here and we walked back along the front.

There were lads playing football, with a tiny soft looking ball, families out with their kids and many other groups just sat talking. It was nice to walk along even if the pleasantness of it went hand in hand with seeing the reality of kids and entire families sleeping on the streets.

We stopped and picked up some fruit for the next day before making our way to the Ibzia rooftop bar. Here was a little like the skybar in Ho Chi Minh, in that we had to go in here, around there, and up here to get to it. But once up there it was nice and peaceful. Lin and I had a glass of sangria while Lawrie had a Dame Blanche desert.

We agreed to get a tuk tuk back to the hotel and got back around 10pm. I made the quick walk to the kiwi mart to get a yogurt for breakfast as it was going to be an early enough start without having to go out for breakfast.

Arriving back at my room I found Cheryl visiting with Maria which was a nice surprise. I finally got to sleep just after midnight.

Tuesday 3rd February

Today we had to be ready and waiting in the lobby at 7.30 for another long day on a public bus. Though again these buses are like our coaches back home.

I woke up at 6am having slept better than the night before but whereas i'd had a headache niggling at the back of my head the last day or two, it was full blown now. So I dug through my many tablets for my heachache pills. Seriously the amount of medicines I have makes what I carry to work look like nothing!

Maria was going to breakfast with the others so I had the room to myself as I had the yogurt i'd picked up the night before along with an orange. As usual I was running behind in getting ready but I did make it down to the lobby dead on 7.29.

Now we would wait. Sarah briefed us on Siem Reap our next destination and passed around leaflets for things we could do with our free time. There are already some rough plans in place with Cheryl, Lawrie and I looking at Phara - an acrobatic show- tomorrow night after Ankgor Wat and sunset quad biking the following night. Apart from that I'm torn between guided scooter tours and horse riding. The horse riding is expensive for here but then still cheaper than back home. Hmmm.

The bus didn't turn up until 9am so we were a good bit behind. The next 9hrs would be broken up by just two short stops. The first was perhaps half an hour for lunch and the 2nd just 20minutes or so.

On the bus I read a little, listened to music and snoozed. Plus looked at the more rural communities we were passing. We saw a couple of processions with monks and school kids though I'm unsure what these were about.

Apart from that it was just an insight into the way people live here. The huts they live in. The garbage that seems everywhere. These people are most definitely living beneath the poverty line and in one of the brochures Sarah passed around it stated that many people are surviving on less than $0.49 a day.

To put this is perspective with the cost of things out here at the second stop I bought a pack of oreos for $1. Yes im a tourist so I was likely overcharged but another example is that my samosas, main meal and a beer last night cost just under $8. As I say there is a very clear line between the classes here and it's not a pleasant one.

Arriving at the bus drop off we grabbed our bags and Sarah put us into tuk tuks. Lawrie, Cheryl and I were in one and we did our best impression of riding into the sunset as the sun glowed a vibrant orange in the distance.

We passed shops all strung out in a rural area before finally reaching the city center where we checked into our hotel. Technically it's a guest house but I don't really see the difference. Sarah had been drilling it into us that our accommodation wouldn't be of a good standard but I think I got lucky as I didn't have any issues with my room while I know the others did.

We all agreed to meet back up to go to dinner, heading for what's known as 'pub street'. On the way we saw fireworks, later finding out it was either to do with the full moon... or the kings holiday. I've no idea which!

We ate at a great place with dancers on stage just a few feet in front of us. Its amazing how they manage to bend their fingers and feet the way they do and are so graceful too.

After the dinner I parted from the group as they headed back to the hotel. I wandered through the night market and explored all the little alleyways.

There's bars and restaurants lining the streets with shops and markets in between. Street vendors with a mix of different foods ready to go. Fresh fruit shakes; banana pancakes, fish counters and loads more. Theres lots of colour and bright lights advertising the different areas. The night market, art market etc

This was my first taste of Siem Reap coming alive and I loved it. Walking back past where we'd had dinner the street was packed with people dancing. When I managed a look, it was a fairly normal looking middle aged women who suddenly started break dancing!

I didn't stay out long after this as we had an early start the next day so after a quick trip to the market I headed back to the hotel. I might have only been out briefly but I saw enough to know I was going to enjoy the next few days. Hello, Siem Reap!

Wednesday 4th February

Wednesday morning we had all opted for the excursion to see Angkor Wat at sunrise. We all piled into the bus just before 5am and off we went.

On the way to the Temple we were told that a lot of what we were seeing was for the arrival of the king later that day. He would be having dinner nearby and spend a couple of days in the city.

Arriving at the entrance to Angkor Wat we had to have our picture taken for our tickets. This is due to an issue with people selling their multi day passes if they dont have enough time in Siem Reap to do all 3 days. Back on the bus we moved on, once again piling out to make the walk across until we were in front of the main temple.

At this point it was still dark so we agreed to all meet at at a certain time so we could enjoy the sunrise from wherever we wanted to. Lawrie and I ended up walking alongside the temple and around part of the lake.

You have lots of vendors- many of whom are kids- trying to sell you things. Most of the adults are trying to sell you coffee and because Lawrie chats to everyone he had a couple of interesting conversations. Meeting ' James Bond' and another guy who's 'name' I can't remember.

The sunrise was nice with pinks and pale orange highlights. Once this started to pass Lawrie and I took a look inside the temple and the sun was that brilliant burnt orange again as we walked back out to meet up with the group.

We then made our way back into a different part of the temple with our guide. I'll be honest I didn't think much of his english and i just didn't find him engaging enough to try and understand what he was saying a lot of the time.

After another temple we stopped for breakfast. This was nice but then again I did order the banana pancake. Not the best I've had, but come on, its good and bad all in one. How can you go wrong with that?

During the day we saw many other temples, the names I remember being Angkor Thom, The face of 1000 buddhas, Elephants terrace and Ta Prohm. We also learnt the different meanings for how a Buddha is sat. If his hands are out in front of him it means protection; one hand up means attention; both hands cupped palm up, above his lap is meditation and one hand lower and behind, symbolises pulling someone up from hell.

We did stop before the last temple and many of us got coconut drinks and then proceeded to advise Lin and Maria as they shopped while we sat watching on plastic seats in front of the stalls. Next up Sherry decided she wanted some elephant pants so we were giving her more direction than she probably ever needed or wanted!

Finally it was Lawries turn. Now by now we knew Lawrie will pretty much do anything for a laugh. Hence the elephant pants he'd brought the night before and was wearing, being bright purple. And he wanted an even more outrageous coloured top to wear with it.

As you can guess our 10minute break ended up being almost an hour but it was good fun and a break from walking in the hot sun.

The last Temple complex we visited was pretty cool being where Angelina Jolie filmed tomb raider scenes. There's no sign of this but the trees are just so entwined with the walls it's impressive in itself.

And then there was a room where you would tap your chest and the echo was out of this world. Apparently the locals believe that if you have a bad dream involving snakes then you need to come here and tap 3 times on your chest, displacing bad luck and leaving it there. Given how common snakes are here I imagine theres a lot of bad dreams!

My favourite temple of the day was the 1000 faces of Buddha. On the way there you crossed a bridge with Buddha statues lining either side. The ones on the left are good, the ones on the right are evil. Then we saw a lot of monkeys playing in the woods, many babies among them. And we even saw 2 Asian elephants being ridden in front of the complex. This is even before getting to the temple itself where you just see these huge pillars with faces on the 4 different sides. For me it was the most visually pleasing of the whole day.

Back in Siem Reap, Sarah, Lin, Lawrie, Sherry, John and I, went to get some lunch. Pizza as it so happened. We spent a good hour or so there talking and getting to know people better before Sarah took Lawrie and I to a tourist booking office.

Here Lawrie and I booked to go riding in the morning. It would be Lawries first time riding so it was pretty exciting. After having paid for this and finally having got rid of my big $100 note, we went and walked the market for a while before going back to the hotel for some down time before we were all going to Phare.

Phare is quite simply out of this world. Its a cross between theatre, acrobatics and circus all rolled into one. The show currently on was particularly appropriate as it told the story of a young girl living through the Khmer Rouge reign and trying to overcome the horrors she saw and experienced, to then live a normal life.

They act with such fierce intensity you were never in doubt of there emotions and even with very little spoken you knew exactly what was happening. And the stunts they would do were unbelievable.

The Phare began with one guy who taught 3 street kids acrobatics in the hope of giving them a better life. Today there's a school which teaches everything artistic. Music, dance, acrobatics, acting etc. It makes a huge difference to these kids whose future may be very different without it and now the troup is even performing abroad as well.

They would line up so one of them could walk across their shoulders as though they were a balance beam; stand on each other shoulders, going three high; one of the guys lifted the girls who was bent backwards (putting pretzels to shame I might add) so she was in a complete circle, hands holding her ankles and then threw her, so she looped over him like a hula hoop, stopping her before she hit the ground; and even when the guys were three high they would just let themselves fall face first as one before tucking into synchronised rolls at the last second. It was magical to watch and knowing that it's helping the community just makes it even sweeter.

After the show the acrobats come on stage too so you can go meet them. We hung back while Cheryl went down... Sarah and I soon followed.. these guys are cute and built... you can't really blame us! But they were also very nice and happy to chat. Sarah was pretty funny trying to get the right guys near each of us for pictures too. I can't wait to see the pictures, we probably look like right groupies!

After getting tuk tuks back to our hotel I went to the night market again. I just love the atmosphere. I got a nice mango shake and tried my luck at haggling a little. I did manage to get a new dress for $4. Not quite the steal I had hoped for but still half the starting price so I was pretty happy. I was also trying to keep an eye out for sunglasses because I've already killed my new pair. That's two pairs in just 3 weeks. I think I should have given myself a sunglasses allowance because I'm just dangerous where there concerned.

Thursday 5th February

Thursday morning I got up a little early so I could put just a couple of items in for laundry before going riding.

Lawrie and I met in the lobby at 8.15 figuring that would give us plenty of time to get a tuk tuk to take us the 10minutes out of town to the stables for 9am. After all the tourist office had assured us that everyone knew where it was.

Well that's the last time we trust them!

We spent 20minutes trying to find someone who knew it with no luck. We eventually had to go back to the hotel to get the address and the map of the area up on my phone to show them. We got assured by our latest tuk tuk driver that he knew where to go.. he didn't have a clue. Queue 25minutes of driving aimlessly around the city with his stopping to ask every tuk tuk driver he found. By now it was 9.20 and we were meant to be there for 9am.

We cut him loose with him waving off payment which was good as he wasn't gonna get anything much. I don't khow how we felt sorry for him but we did. He tried in his own messed up way.

We decided to try and find a tourism office that could maybe help so we started walking figuring it was unlikely that we would be riding afterall. Luckily for us we ran into one of the drivers we'd spoken to before who seemed to now know where it was.

15minutes and $3 later we arrived.

We walked into the Happy horse ranch and found the yard. They didn't even mention us being late, they just got us to sign the disclaimers and assigned our horses. Mine was LA and Lawries was Mexico. We were to ride western and I soon wished I'd requested an english saddle as I always forget how much I hate western riding until I do it.

Anyway we set off with our guide, 'Johnny Walker'. He was so friendly and his english was pretty damn good too. It made for a fun ride, with lots of laughter.

We rode through the local village, with kids waving and calling hello in surprisingly good english. Johnny told us there's a language center near by and so they all start learning english extremely early. I would say some were as young as 3 of 4.

The houses here are broken huts with rubbish along much of the landscape. I think this is the most real bit of Cambodia that we've seen. It was sad to see in many ways but the people seemed pretty cheerful given their hardships.

We rode through the rice fields and Lawrie did really well since he went from not being close to horses before to cantering along. He may not be entirely comfortable with horses but being so laid back he totally threw himself into it.

I was really surprised by LA as well as I was constantly having to hold him back as he was a speed demon. I can only imagine how fast we could have gone if we didn't have to stay behind Johnney and Aladin!

We stopped for photos and spent 2hours enjoying ourselves before heading back to the stables. We both tipped Johnney well partly because they had been so good about us being late but also because his being our guide, made this ride for us. They all left before Lawrie and I, so we spent a few minutes saying hello to the rest of the horses and the dog too before heading to the road to find a tuk tuk.

Back in town we went and got some lunch and again wandered the markets awhile before taking a few hours to relax at the hotel before quad biking.

This is something I've already wanted to try but as with all this vehicle related, I don't really trust myself to be in charge of them! But Lawrie had does his part so now it was my turn.

We got picked up at 4.20 and picked Cheryl up on the way. On arriving we had to sign our life away again before doing a test drive. I really thought I may have failed as going slowly I was really jerky but luckily we all passed so we sorted out our stuff and set off with our two guides on their bikes. I went in the middle and followed behind Cheryl with Lawrie behind.

I've got to say this is my first time driving in asia and I did not like it. There were a lot of vehicles and people on the road to dodge so it wasn't much fun while trying to get the hang of the quads.

Once we got onto the quieter dust roads I started to relax and enjoy the experience more. We pulled off into a field and had the sun starting to change colour again.

The local cows were being brought in and there was a barley standing house opposite. And by house I mean a hut on stilts missing panels in the wall.

We continued on. This time with Lawrie upfront with me behind Cheryl. I never knew quads could go that fast but within a mintue or two Lawrie was well out of sight. By now I was feeling more confident and would drop back slightly to then be able to go faster for a stretch and I enjoyed going up and down over the terrain. We had to go through a huge muddy and waterlogged ditch and considering the water I really shouldn't have enjoyed it but I did. All the while the sun was infront of us, blazing orange despite all the dust and haze that we were creating as we sped along.

After about 15 or 20 minutes we caught up with Lawrie and the guide he had gone off with. He had been enjoying himself thats for sure! We took a load of pictures as the sunset and had a laugh before it was time to go back to the quad center. I asked to go in front of Cheryl this time but they tag teamed me into going upfront and setting the pace.

The roads were still busy but this time with cattle and people walking more than vechiles, though they were about too. I tried doging as best I could and as soon as I got a straight bit I would push the accelarter a bit more. I didn't come close to the speeds Lawrie did because it was to dangerous on the roads but I got such a rush I can't wait to go again and let rip. That said the guides were on dirt bikes and I would have loved to just hop on for a crazy spin in the fields. I do love a bit of speed!

Far too soon we were back at the center and it was time to head home. I was majorally pumped and if it wasn't so hot I may have actually gone running to burn off some energy. Luckily for me the temputure doesn't drop much in the evenings in Siem Reap :)

By the time we got back Lin was ready for dinner. We would have joined her - or Cheryl who said about happy hour at her hotel- but we were desperate for a shower and change of clothes. I'm pretty sure we were coved in actual s*** going through all those fields, water and the road itself.

Instead Lawrie and I met up 40mins or so later and headed to pub street. We ate at a nice restruraunt on the crossroads of the 4 main tourist streets before moving on to a cocktail bar for a drink. All the while swapping retail horrow stories (Lawrie works at Waitrose)

One really bizaar thing that came up that evening was that he knew the pickup line that a guy tried on one of the group when I was in Canada! I always remember because we were all wondering how anyone could fall for it (I mean really, 'describe a box to me'?!?) but Lawrie assures me that it really does work if done right. I find this pretty depressing really and feel disappointed in my gender if it's true.

After our drinks we set out on a mission to find Lawrie his top so he could wear it the next day for everyone to see before heading home. We found a brilliant yellow/orange one but it was too small, finally settling on a red and off white one. At the same place I ended up getting another top- yeh I know, I so need it. Plus we got a good price with 'ladyboy Lawrie'!

It turns out that was the stall where Lawrie had gotton his pants and aquired a 'girlfriend' after we arrived in Siem Reap. On the way back we came across her on the stall next door. She was supper cute and I just wanted to take her home. Plus watching her punch Lawrie in the arm as they argued over which canvas he should buy for 'their home' was pretty amusing!

We got back to the hotel at about 11pm and I still had to pack up ready to leave at 7am to head to Thailand. What an amazing day though. Definitely one of my highlights.

Friday 6th February
Friday morning we were to be picked up at 7am to make the long journey from Siem Reap to Bangkok. Lawrie and I sat in the back and chatted most of the way to the border.
Here we had to stamp out of Cambodia before entering Thailand. This took an hour while we stood shoulder to shoulder with dozens of people with our backpacks on and temperatures in the mid 30's. To say we were glad to finally make it through is an understatement. One thing thats interesting is to see the crazy loads people are taking across the border. I've no idea how they even move them let alone across there!
After briefly stopping we continued on foot through the no-mans land until we reached the Thai checkpoint. Here we did more standing but at least we were inside and had fans trying to cool us. After this we walked out onto the road and waited for our new van.
Another 5 hours or so and we reached Bangkok. Its as big as I was expecting though perhaps not as modern looking. Though this could just be the small part we saw on the way to our hotel in the backpackers district.
After checking in we had a little over an hour before Lawries leaving meal. For this,Sarah took us down through the market to a nice restaurant in the same area. They had a giant Buddha statue and the food was pretty good too.
After the meal everyone was tired so we walked back to the hotel before Lawrie and I went to find him a souvenir for his short time in Thailand. He ended up getting a monkey mask and then proceeded to show me where he had wandered early. Well, he tried. The river front part was closed off now.
On going back to the hotel I said goodbye to Lawrie. I have to admit I'm going to miss him, he's a very fun and easy person to spend time with. Not your typical 19year old brit and I can't wait to see what he does with his life.