After a long wait at border control which was accessed by a rickety wooden jetty, we boarded our fast boat to phnom penh. We were not sure what was in store for us and as our boat pulled up to the pier we were impressed with what we saw. After wrestling our way through a barrage of tuk tuk drivers and and hotel reps we collected our luggage and agreed a price with a tuk tuk to take us to our hotel. This was the nicest tuk tuk yet! It was a morobike drawn carriage with some ornate woodwork around the seating! As we passed through the city we were surprised to see how well kept things were. The avenues were wide with flowers and well manicured grassy lawns dividing the lanes. The city seemed well structured and organised too.

After a quick shower and a bit of tv we headed out to get something to eat. We noticed that the first place we saw was recommended by our hotel so looked no further. What was very clear was how relaxed and friendly the Cambodians could be; the waitress was exceptionally chatty, putting her arm around Amy even touching her hair. We were tired so after dinner we headed back to our hotel for any early night. In the morning we walked to the Royal Palace passing temples and a few memorial statues on route. The palace was closed until 2, so we had a long lunch to kill the time. When we returned to the palace we discovered that it was actually shut as the king had just died and his body was being kept there! So in preparation for our visit to Angkor we looked around the Angkor museum instead which was just ok.

The following day we arranged for a tuk tuk to take us to the S21 museum and later 'The Killing Fields' (for just 13 dollars including petrol!). The S21 museum was a school which the Khmer Rouge had converted into a concentration camp. We were shown the tiny cells and instruments of torture used on the victims. The experience became even more real and harrowing as we were introduced to one the 7 S21 survivors of which about 20000 died. A gentleman of about 80 who through a translator told and showed us what he had endured during this time and how his entire family had been murdered. When we left the museum we were both lost for words and felt overwhelmed with sadness and almost disbelief. As our tuk tuk drove towards the edge of the city the manicured lawns were replaced with dusty roads and tatty shops with rusty metal roofs. 15 minutes later we were at The Killing Fields. We were handed a head set and walked around the sites where mass murders had taken place. There were still bones laying around which emerge from the ground when it rains heavily. That afternoon we headed back to the city and visited the market which was within an impressive art deco domed enclosure built during the French reign. After a rest in the hotel room we took a tuk tuk down to the river where we enjoyed a pizza and later a drink next door in the Foreign Correspondents Club.

Early the next morning a tuk tuk took us to our coach which was to take us to Siem Reap. The coach was comfortable, modern and even had a steward handing our free pastries, hot towels and water. Except for a brief period of about 5 miles where we the roads were extremely bumpy it was an enjoyable journey. We passed through traditional villages where wooden houses were built high on stilts (sometimes over 10 feet high) to protect them from flooding, we saw the usual paddie fields and rural life which most Cambodians still adopt.