Hi everyone!

Sorry for the lateness of this blog, Cambodia did not have much internet!

To recap Ayesha and I split from Matt and Nicole in KL just over a week ago. Ayesha went to Langkawi with her family, Matt and Nicole travelled up Thailand and I flew to Saigon. Only got to spend the evening there but it was a very cool place, reminded me of Havana to an extent. I met the rest of my tour group who were all really cool, I shared a room with a girl my age called Yukari who was a nurse from Kyoto in Japan and taught me some Japanese phrases. The Aussies I was with and I taight her 'loser'.

We left for Phnom Penh early the next morning and had to wait for ages at the border corssing, if you want a quick crossing you have to bribe them. Cambodia is a very different country to Thailand or Vietnam, much much poorer and very rural. Also because of the Khmer Rouge 50% of the population are under 17. Phnom Penh is the capital and really cvool, lots of old colonial buildings. The next morning we went to the genocide museum, also known as S-21. It was the largest prison during the Kmer Rouge and they estimate that 20,000 people were imprisoned there and tortured. The museum was horrifically sad, particularly as our guide and all the staff have lost members of their family there. There are bloodstains on the floors and photogrpahs on the walls above the torture beds showing exactly how these people were tortured, I'm not going to write it here but it made you feel sick. One cool thing about our visit to the museum is that on the day we went one of the 7 survivors of the prison was there. Of these 7 only 3 are still alive but Mr Lath goes most days to talk to tourist, he painted the murals on the walls of building D. Amazing that a man who suffered so much is able to return to that place. It's hard to compare Auschwitz and S-21, both are horrifying in different ways and in no way does seeing one prepare you for the other.

After the museum we head out to the Killing Fields where they estimate 84,000 people are buried. These people were tortured at S-21 then killed in these fields beofre being buried in mass graves. Walking along in the ground you can see bones protruding and teeth lying around-sometimes people were just left to decompose on the surface. At the fields there is a pagoda filled with skulls from the graves that have been opened as the Khmers feel this is a better way to remember the dead. The whole thing was an incredibly moving experience, I think it makes your outlook on life change; I am very glad I did go to Camodia to see this even though it was upsetting.

Our next stop was Siam Reap. gateway to Angkor Wat. One morning we left at 4am and got the best seats in the house opposite Angkor Wat and the reflection lake to watch sunrise. Our leader said it was the best sunrise she has seen in the 8months she has been working out there. I thought it was amazing and well worth the early start. Also it is HOT there-37c during the day so its best to go early so it is cooler. we did alot of temple touring over the next few days including taking an elephant through the grounds up to the steps of the temple! we went to the jumgle temple as featured on the cover of the lonely planet and in the film Tombraider. the whole temple is pretty unstable and parts are roped off but there were loads of stupid americans jumping on the rocks pretending to be in tombraider so they got chased by the guards! Also at one of the temples I managed to bash my foot into a rock and reopen the cut that I inflicted on myself-d'oh! so the toe now looks retarded again.

I arrived in Bangkok on saturday and went to Kho San road for dinner with my friends befroe going back to our hotel to go to the roof terrace-good cocktails and an amazing view of the Bangkok skyline! It was nice to look normal again-I lost my hairbrush in Cambodia and a new one was a ridiculous amount so I haven't brushed my hair in a week. Also Cambodia is a very modest country so I had to wear baggy kaftan tops and these things that I can only describe as pantaloons-like what the genie in Aladdin wore! Combine that with no make up (attracts the wrong sort of attention) and I doubt many of you would recognise me lol. In Bangkok I have done some shopping and did a tour of Jim Thompsons house which was fun, I'd done the temples and palace before.

Flying back to London tonight and looking forward to seeing you all soon. Matt and Nicole are still travelling so keep checking the blog.

love and kisses Jess xxxxx