We had got a bus at 7:30am from Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam. The journey wasn't too bad but we had to cross the border into Cambodia. The robbing Vietnamese b******s on the bus charged us too much for our visa but said they wouldnt wait for us if we didnt do it their way.. ah well we just had to pay a bit extra. In the grand scheme of things it was probably a few quid but it was becoming so draining constantly being ripped off and you know its happening but there is nothing you can do about it. The humidity and heat in Cambodia was unbearable.

Arriving into Phnom Penh centre was mental. Not quite so bad as Hanoi in Vietnam but it was really crazy! We stayed at a guesthouse in a mental part of town and made friends with the tuk tuk drivers that would constantly ask us if we wanted to go anywhere. We went for a tradtional Amok curry by the riverside. Tyhe Amok curry was lovely and they served it in a coconut shell. Washed down with a couple of Changs (they do chang in Cambodia...I was so happy!) We went for a wander and stopped for a drink in a bar and I bumped into loads of my friends from Chiang Mai and Laos, it was so awesome seeing Graeme and Gaby, Rich and everyone else!

We knew this day was going to be draining but it was basically one of the main reasons for coming to Cambodia. We started the day off at 'The Killing Fields.' It's beyond unbelievable what happened under the Pol Pot Regime. The skulls, the bones, the clothes that they were wearing etc are all still there. It was so disturbing to think that where we were so much pain and suffering had gone on. There were so many mass graves. Thousands of people died there after being tortured. It was horrendous. Atter the killing fields we went to S21 which is the school that the Khmer Rouge turned into a prison under the Pol Pot Regime. Laura, Lisa and I decided to get a guide so we could learn more. The lady that showed us around lost her father under the regime. The cells were horrible, the pictures spoke for themselves, the suffering that went on in that place is unimaginable. There was still blood in the cells on the floor and I admit it was so disturbing I was almost sick. It's surprising how happy and lovely the Cambodians are after all their country has been through. It was a real eye opener of a day. We then went to the lake side and had a wander and Laura bumped into her friend Craig from Australia..how very random! This is such a small world.

We went to a restaurant/bar called the Lazy Gecko which was Austrlian run with some guys we had met randomly in the tailors in Hoi An. We had such a funny night with Luke and Tim..they were characters..thats for sure! We ended up in a bar called Lost and Found which seemed to be the place to be, it was so busy and we all sat on the floor on cushions playing connect four. Rock and Roll!

The next day we were off to an Orphanage. We had spoken to a local guy who worked at the Lazy Gecko as to where the best orphanage is and she suggested Sunflower Centre which was for children with H.I.V. I was really aprehensive about going as you dont know what you are going to find when you get there and I was pleasantly surprised. On the way we stopped and bought 2 huge bags of rice and some pens and books. When we arrived we were greeted by an Aussie lady who had been running the place for a couple of months. The place was clean, simple and the kids were amazing! They were the nicest kids ever, they shared, they were kind to eachother and they were so happy. It's just gut wrenching to think that they wont be around for as long as they could be due to the HIV. We started off by doing some painting with them which was great, some of them were really talented. We then played football and it was brilliant. It was the hottest, most humid day I have ever experienced in my life, so hot in fact that my arms had sweat pouring down them. Attractive. We had such a good time with the kids and I did have a favourite little boy called Jet. He was so lovely and I think he was probably one of the poorliest but he had the biggest smile ever and he kept taking my camera and taking random pictures and he was so happy. He spent most of the time cuddled up to me. It was so amazing being there. The thing that I found really shocking was that the Aussie lady told us that a lot fo the orphanages starve the children on purpose so that the kids are really skinny and then they get more donations which they just pocket anyway. it's so discusting how corrupt this country is and it was nice to go to an orphanage that was run properly and the kids were so happy and were well fed. We had a last group picture and then said our goodbyes. The orphanage was in such an awful place and there was rubbish everywhere and the people that lived in the little village lived in little tin sheds. Another eye opener.

That evening we went to Lost and Found Bar again and met up with Craig and some others and had a really funny night, once again playing Connect 4 and generally being silly. Craig and thsi other girl had come up with the idea of 'The book' which is a book that gets passed from traveller to traveller and hopefully it will end up going around the world. After going to Lost and Found Bar we ended up sitting by the river until 6am and I got bitten to s***e! I had hundreds of bites and I looked like I had some weird skin disease.

A few hours later I was on the bus to Siem Reap..... x