Today we set out to go to the Royal Palace only to find that it was closed over the middle of the day. A tuk-tuk driver approached us to take us on a 1-hour tour of the city. We did get a city tour but we also got talking about an orphanage that he volunteers at and ended up going to visit the orphanage. Amid this it had started to pour rain and our tuk-tuk drive was becoming less than enjoyable. We made a stop on the way to the orphanage and were told that it was impolite to arrive empty-handed and that we could take some rice. A 50kg bag of rice later we were on our way to the orphanage again.

Once we arrived at the Lighthouse Orphanage the children, playing in large puddles of water, greeted us with warm hellos. Two lovely young men showed us around the various buildings, they spoke very good English. Soon the rain became even heavier and we took refuge under a communal sheltered area and talked to the children. It was lovely to see the orphanage.

Once the rain eased our driver took us back past Houses of Parliament and embassies before delivering us back along the riverfront. We had lunch and did eventually get to see the Palace! The buildings were beautiful. I especially liked the silver pagoda once I realised that the floor was made of hundreds of tiles made from silver - most of them are covered with carpets. The golden throne room was also amazing.

Tonight we'll head back down the street for our last dinner in Phnom Penh before heading to Bali tomorrow morning.