Hey,

Well we made it to Phnom Penh and checked into a guest house in a pretty grimy area but its only $3 a night each so we weren't going to complain! We only really had the afternoon left so we went for a drink down on the riverside which isnt very attractive but we were entertained by some street kids who wanted to play cards with us, although they always seemed to win! It was only when we got back to our guesthouse and tried to get a visa for vietnam that we realised that we had a problem. Basically its Cambodian new year at the moment which means you can't get anything done in a hurry. The next morning we luckily found somewhere that could process our visa and we should be on a bus to vietnam in the morning...hopefully! What's even more annoying though is that even though its new year, you cant celebrate it in Phnom Penh because all the locals go back to their home towns and everywhere in the city is dead!

We did the sight seeing yesterday although it turned into a bit of a disater as our tuktuk broke down (twice) and left us stranded for 2 hours at the killing fields south of Phnom Penh. As well as this, the royal palace which is the main attraction was closed because of new year! They celebrate for 5 days and we're really starting to not like Cambodian new year! Anyway, the killing fields and prison of Tuol Sleng musuem were both gruesome but very interesting. I didnt really no much about cambodian history before I came here but its pretty horrific! After seeing the 9000 skulls dug from mass graves as well as the torture chambers at the prison, we were all in quite a sombre mood.

So today we've been stuck here and cause there's not much to do in Phnom Penh we've just a had a pretty lazy day. We went to a market that was pretty filthy, followed by a boat trip on the Mekong River.

Overall I think we're all quite glad to be moving on to Vietnam as none of us have really felt that welcomed by the Cambodians. I wonder whether this has anything to do with their history?? Phnom Penh is a dirty smelly city so we're hoping Saigon will be a little better. Anyway, will update when we get there.

G