It's day 2 in Siem Reap, god knows how i made it onto the bus to get here, a bit of advise, if you have a 'happy pizza' make sure it's a small one and not 'extra happy'.

Took the journey up here with the guys from Phnon Penh, although i spent the entire journey asleep which was a bonus!. Again we searched the area for somewhere to stay, just as difficult as Phnom, lot's of cheap cr-p and the better places full up. The tuk tuk driver made a recommendation, after driving around for an hour it was a good choice, Aroma, just over the river, a very short walk to town, $8 with hot water, fan & sat tv, clean & tidy - a real result. **** Web went down after i had written for an hour so this is attempt no 2 - arrgghh....... how frustrating****

Anyway, onto the sightseeing and the main reason for my route across Asia - the temples of Angkor and they most certainly do not disappoint. The best way to fully appreciate and experience the temples is to get an early start. We organised 2 tuk tuk's for 05.00 to capture the sunrise. We were more or less the first to the Angkor Wat site, incredible as it was still pitch black but as the sun rose then the colosal towers started to show, with incredible colours, it seemed to stretch through all the colours of the rainbow. It's one of those magical moments when you just stand in awe at the majestic temple, amazing stature and over 900 years old. A civilisation of over a million people when there was only 50,000 in London, hard to put into words and pictures at just how amazing a sight this is. We spent around an hour & half looking around, can't believe that your allowed so much freedom to walk over the temples with hardly any restriction. They are so vast and spread out and your not bombarded with sightseers so you get space and your own time to take in the moment and reflect with your own thoughts. The next site is Angkor Thom, the largest of the sites, Bayon being the most impressive where you are surounded by hundreds of faces. As you walk round and see the detail in each piece of rock you appreciate the immense work and the sheer scale of this site which really blows your mind. There's loads of street vendors opposite here for a hearty breaky. For me the most impressive temple is Ta Prohm, which has not been cleared so is encased in part of the jungle. In fact it feels as if the jungle has muscled in and shown it's strength as enormous trees have engulfed the temple and the roots have wrapped themselves around the wall. It's as if the trees have gained control to show that nature is the strongest power but also out of respect for the sheer beauty and intricate work then the trees are gripping and saving the temple from disintergrating. This is the temple where they shot tomb raider (or so i'm told)

To cap off a great day i found a fantastic eating experience that seemed to fit in well with the theme of the day. The place was called 'dead fish', not the sort of name that inspires you to eat there?. but it is certainly 'funky' in it's own way. How do i explain this, well it's like a barn with lots of wood and corregated sheets, with a massive ceiling, the seating plan is varied, we choose sitting on the floor next to crocodiles?. The bar even sends the drinks to the table via a unique pulley system, the bizarre 'live' music went from Sinead O'Conor to Gloria Gayner in a shot adding to the surreal experience. The menu is varied, well priced with a real mix of Asian delights, not the best meal but a great experience and well worth a go with the best wine menu i have seen to date in Asia.

This afternoon to complete my magical tour of Vietnem & Cambodia i am going to see the sunset at Angkor, at the temple Phnom Bakheng which is the best vantage point, a fitting way to capture my memories on camera of a great adventure.

First thing tomorrow it's the journey to Thailand, on my own again, a difficult journey this one, 10-11 hours to Bangkok then a sleper bus straight North to Chang Mai. The journey will take nearly a full day which will be a mental test -all adds to the essence of my trip.

It will be a fews days to the next blog so i can refresh after the long journey

Bye for now