Hello, hope you're all doing ok. Sorry it's been so long since I last wrote a blog entry! I've had a pretty busy few weeks!

Had a great 5 days in Siem Reap with Mark, we went to see sunrise at Angkor Wat which was amazing! We got a tuk tuk at 5am to the temple and sat just inside the walls of Angkor Wat to see the sunrise over the top of the temple, it was magical and needless to say I took hundreds of photos! Lots of the tourists left just after sunrise so we took the opportunity to stay and explore a peaceful Angkor Wat. The temple is incredible, the bas relief stone carvings are so detailed and depict ancient stories, I could explore the temple for hours!

After an hour looking around Angkor Wat we drove on to Bayon which is probably my favourite temple, (it is the one in the photo attached to this blog) it has hundreds of faces staring out from the rock. We then explored lots of other temples on the large outer circuit of temples (there is an outer ring and an inner ring of temples) - we got back to the hotel about 1.30 - very hot and sticky and tired out from our 4am wake up! We discovered it is very very hot and humid between 11.30 and 3pm-ish so for the next few days we hibernated in cafes and restaurants between these hours, eating and playing card games!

We enjoyed lots of $2 foot massages in the night market while watching a video about Angkor Wat on a big projector screen! And we discovered amazing Cambodian coconut curry and fish Amok - yummy!

One afternoon we went for a bike ride along a dirt track next to the river - but it turns out that road bikes with no gears and no suspension are pretty uncomfortable to ride through pot holes and big bumpy rocks! It was fun to ride through local villages through and see monks praying at the temples.

The next day we got up early and cycled 8km to Angkor Wat! We spent a few hours exploring properly and then had a well deserved danish pastry and mango smoothie in a nearby cafe! We then cycled around the inner circuit of temples - Mark was cruising along on his bike effortlessly while i was peddling twice as fast but not moving anywhere near as fast as him! It was a pretty grueling work out! But we really enjoyed the freedom of cycling between the temples at our own pace. I had no idea there were so many temples! I was really excited to explore the temple used in the Lara Croft - Tomb Raider film - and obviously I pretended to be Lara Croft - much to Mark's disapproval! I was sad to see that the temple looked like a building site (with cranes and diggers!) but they are doing conservation work so i'll let them off! That evening we met up with my friend Sarah from England who has been living in Siem Reap for 2 years and we met her lovely boyfriend Yut. We had dinner together and then buy-one-get-one-free cocktails which free popcorn! Yum!

I was sad to say goodbye to Mark the next day -we've had a great 3 weeks travelling together, it's been lots of fun! But the same day Mark left my Mum arrived in Siem Reap for a very spontaneous 12 day holiday! Yess! (We spoke on skype on the Sunday, she booked her plane ticket on the Monday and flew out on Thursday and arrived on Friday! Excellent!)

It was soooooo amazing to see Mum - it was a dream come true to be able to show mum all the amazing temples and have a taster of what i'd seen! We have had a wonderful time together, making the most of Mum's time here by going on lots of day trips! We had a few chilled out days to begin with - swimming at the hotel and exploring the markets.

We then did an excellent Cambodian cooking course to learn how to cook some traditional dishes. We made 3 dishes in the morning and then sat down for lunch and ate all our creations! We then made 3 more dishes in the afternoon and ate all of those too! We were stuffed! We learnt how to make fish Amok, coconut chicken curry, fresh spring rolls, mango salad and 2 different sweets. Can't wait to try out those dishes on people when we get back! Yum!

We also went on a day trip to a local village - 16km from Siem Reap. We booked our tours through a sustainable development tourism company and they pick local villages to help out by providing them with direct income by taking tourists there to learn about their lives and traditional skills. It was just me and mum on the trip so we were very lucky to have a private tour! We went on an Ox cart to a family's house - where we learnt how to weave roof panels for their house from palm leaves! We then helped make lunch - a local dish called Prahoc - which consisted of fish paste, lemongrass, garlic, chilli and RED ANTS! I thought they were joking when they showed us the red ants but no - in they went! We had to chop it all together and then eat it raw with a vegetable called 'Morning Glory'! We just had a small taste and then they put some on the bbq for us! Yum! I was delighted when they brought out sandwiches for us! (Sorry for being a cop out! We did try some though! The villagers were very impressed that we tried some!). After lunch we walked across the beautiful rice fields to a monastery and then to an English school and fair trade textile project (set up by the tourist company - called HUSK). Here is their website: http://www.huskcambodia.org/husk-who-we-are.html It is a wonderful, sustainable company, training local women to make toys called Softies to sell and it works with lots of other projects - please take a look. The school building had been made using plastic bottles - such a great idea!

After such a wonderful trip to the village the next day we went to visit an art centre called Artisans d' Angkor. Here is a little bit about the project:

"Artisans Angkor has developed from the ambitious belief that it is possible to revive ancient Khmer Arts & Crafts while improving the lives of thousands of people living in rural areas.

Not only has Artisans Angkor become a company dedicated to the preservation of traditional Khmer skills in silk-making, stone and wood carving, lacquering and painting, but it is also an organization committed to promote the development of individuals and secure their future by the means of education and welfare.

Today, our 1300 employees are proud to show that Cambodian handicraft is still alive and more creative than ever. By developing high quality products that express the dynamism of the Khmer culture, Artisans Angkor strives to be a timeless showcase for Cambodian crafts with pieces inspired by Angkor heritage as well as fashionable handmade clothing and decorative items that can suit contemporary lifestyles."

We were shown around all the different workshops and then taken by minibus to a silk farm 16km away. It was fascinating to see the whole process of silk production - right from the baby silk worms to the finished scarves! Amazing!

We had another great day exploring the temples and taking hundreds more photos! Then yesterday we took a day trip to Tongle Sap lake, where we took a boat to a community of houses on stilts - it was amazing to see all these houses on the lake - and even floating pig stys! We got taken in canoes to see the flooded forest - which was beautiful and serene. The boat took us right out in to the lake - where it stretched for miles and miles - it looked like the sea! A fantastic day.

So me and Mum have got 2 more days in Siem Reap - I think we're just going to relax and swim, eat, write postcards, wander the markets and maybe get a massage or two! I have sooooo loved having Mum here - such a treat! Next stop for me New Zealand (via Bangkok and Sydney!), and Mum - England (via Bangkok, Singapore and Paris!) - you could call us Globe Trotters!