The image and associated crunching and chewing noises of the man sat next to me devouring his deep fried tarantula snack on the drive to Phnom Penh, is something that still makes my stomach churn as we leave the countries Capital and head north towards Siem Reap. The rich black coloured hairy eight legged 'treat' is a local delicacy of a town calked Sukon which provides the final bus stop 2 hrs prior to arrival in Phnom Penh. I wasn't aware Tarantulas were even native to South East Asia but the sheer number of these freakish spiders at each of the roadside stands, all having been caught within the local fields, is enough to suggest Arachnophobes give the area a miss!

The outskirts of Phnom Penh (pronounced Pu-Nom Pen) do not exactly entice you in, as you reach the city from the main highway NH6. Poverty is evident across Laos and Cambodia but this is different, not just lack of money but also more noticeably, not dissimilar to Delhi and it's surrounding areas, a lack of any basic hygiene standards.

The locals are content to live on or by the side of the most pungent of green coloured ponds or waterways, all full of their own rubbish and waste that make the foul smelling rivers of Bangkok look appealing. The most scruffy of primitive, stilted shacks look poised to collapse into the surrounding water and debris at any moment. Children are sat amongst the roadside rubbish and dust or playing in the muddy brown waters of the fields. Cambodia has been rebuilding slowly since the fall of the Kymer Rouge in the late seventies, but maybe they are leaving this area until last.

The city itself is a little more engaging but other than the charm of the riverside or it's obvious historical interest, there is not a huge amount to see. The impressive Bangkok like Royal Palace has wide, newly surfaced immaculately clean surrounding streets. As with any other of the capital cities in Asia and the world this paints a false picture of the condition of the majority of the cities roads and suburbs.The Riverside promenade is a hive of activity, littered with daytime street sellers or groups of men playing shuttlecock like 'keepy upy's or patsy badminton.

At night the roadside bars and restaurants all offering happy hours, are brimming full of a mix of tourists and locals. Alcohol laws are seemingly non existent, as we witnessed a father sitting having beers with his 2 sons who couldn't have been more than 8. The one lad needed both hands clutched around his half litre glass to pick it up and was trying his best to sip his way through the contents. Every 100 yards or so along the promenade, loud speakers boom out rather slow dance type music. Groups congregated in rows follow dance routines led by the front teacher. It was more like very casual Greek dancing with a routine involving a couple of steps each way and a very camp looking hand twirl. The one dance teacher was dressed for a hip hop convention and looked totally out of place with rows of old ladies shuffling along behind him!

Having seen plenty of colorful Wat's and our moped tolerance having been tested to it's limits the city didn't have anything new to offer that we hadn't already seen throughout Asia. Our concerns over 3 days being too much of a rush were soon dispersed and we packed our bags and moved on.

After what has been a tiring month travelling through Vietnam and Laos we have decided to kick back and take it easy over Christmas and New Year. With the city of Siem Reap containing a 'Pub Street' and the wonders of the temples of Angkor nearby it is as good a place as any in a sun baked Asia to spend the festive period......so

We wish you all a Very Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from Cambodia!

Sally & Paul