Hello again, we've moved country so todays update is from the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh. We've only been here two days but have been very pleasantly surprised that the city is much friendlier and safer than we had imagined.

We've been staying in a small guesthouse over a lake, which is a bargain at $4 a night, however it does come with a dysfunctional shower, horde of mosquitos and a free mouse! On the plus side the owners are really friendly and sat down for a few beers with us to celebrate my birthday. We learnt a lot about Cambodia today from a young chef who has been explaining about the rich-poor divide and the huge corruption problem.

Phnom Penh is a lovely city, with a real mix of buildings from corrugated iron shacks to french style appartments in gated communities. The sites are equally varied; the national museum and palace are extremely opulent whereas the Tuol Sleng genocide museum and Choueng Ek (the killing fields) were truly harrowing to visit. Tuol Sleng is a former school that was converted into the S-21 secret prison by the Khmer Rouge in the late 70's. The site shows some of the atrocities committed at this time as an interrogation and extermination centre. The experience of visiting the musuem is very hard to put into words.

Ever budget concious we tried to walk a few kilometres around the city yesterday, after a few metres we were dripping wet and later decided travelling by tuk tuk was a much better idea. The only problem with the tuk tuk is the insane traffic around, with families on motorbikes, cycle rickshaws and cars all jostling for space and driving in any direction they please. They even ignore the traffic police who appear to spend all day furiously blowing their whistles!

We've just spent a couple of hours enjoying delicious tapas in a restaurant called Friends. The proceeds from the restaurant support projects working with and educating street children, who are also trained to work in the restaurant. It was some of the best food we've had . . . . sundried tomato hummus, greek salad, marinated pork skewers with salsa and a watermelon and passionfruit smoothie. Mmmmm mmmmm