So my second day trip on the Mekong to Cambodia was much better. Comfortable slow boat, quick and fairly easy border crossing (well for me anyway, not for a couple from Cambridge as they got refused through as the girl had pages ripped out of her passport having given it to get the Cambodia visa.) our cheaper slow boat option that supposedly had no toilet ended up being an air con mini bus that arrived quicker than the more expensive fast boat. Crazy. I had a stroll around the city when i arrived with a Canadian guy called Chris. Then had dinner with people from my hostel. Had a lovely fish Khmer curry which was served in a coconut. Was delicious. Then met Ruby who was ill in bed. We tried to catch up with as much as possible but didn't have very long. Nice to see her though!

On the 16th i did the tourist route with some of the guys from my hostel, killing fields, s21, (all very sad but incredible to see what happened and why. Its just so disturbing knowing what humans are capable of doing and that the things they will do to save themselves) went to the Russian market too and had another mouth watering dishe- noodles and vegetables in this fantastic sauce- i hope to do a cooking session here now to see what they add to make it so nice. We saw the palace too but didn't go in because the kings father died 3 months ago so they have shut half the palace down. Then we grabbed a beer and watched the world go by. Dinner was great- I took the group to street food where we spent just $3 on shrimps, rice and a beer. What a bargain. Much more enjoyable to eat something that cheap as opposed to a dish for $5 the night before. The night involved cocktails for just $2.50, djing in love bar, dancing in a club and listening to this old lady rap and sing in the middle of the room with 4 professional dancers. Good night had by all. It was am early morning for all especially when most of us only slept about 4 hours. I was nice and went to say a bye to the guys who were leaving. So I had a leisurely morning packing and showering before I set off to the bus station. Stopped off for brunch in side street and found more good food. I sure am loving the food here so far! I was in luck and timed my arrival at the bus stop perfectly with 5 minutes spare. The homestay was in Takeo Province, I was the only one that got off the bus at this stop and they dropped me in the middle of the village. There are no street names or addresses here so it was pretty challenging trying to find where I was and where I needed to be or even to ask the Tuk Tuk driver where to take me. The tuktuk driver took me to a man who spoke a little english and he kindly called the telephone number I had written down to contact the family. After the conversation on the phone they seemed to know where I needed to go, so I jumped in the tuktuk and bartered it down to $2 even though I didn't know how far the trip was! The homestay was great.

On the 18th of January I was up at 7am to say goodbye to the guys from my hostel. I decided that I was going to visit a family who offer a homestay that day, so packed my stuff and headed to the bus stop after having a fantastic noodle brunch on my way, near to Central Market. This place was massive and packed with everything including hair dressers and beauty treatments. I made it to the bus station at a perfect time, as the bus was leaving to Kampot with 5 minutes spare, so I bought a ticket to Ang Ta Som ($4.50) where the family lived (half way between PP and Kampot). It was a comfortable 2 hour bus ride. I was the only one to get off the bus at this stop so I grabbed my Lonely Planet to see if I could figure out where I was and which direction I needed to go. A tuktuk stopped by and asked where I was going. As he couldn't speak English he took me to a man selling phones across the road who was so helpful he called the telephone number I had written down as he didn't recognise the address. The tuktuk took me straight to the homestay and I was welcomed by Siphen. She is fluent in English as she has been hosting homestays for the past 10 years. Her husband, Mach, also speaks very good English which has been so useful to really understand their culture and way of life as they were able to explain a lot to me and talked to me about the Khmer regime, Pol Pot and the War. It's so crazy to think they were alive during this tragic time and that they were survivors of the war, along with their parents. The lady had 4 brothers, 1 was murdered when the Khmer realised he was a fighter pilot. They came knocking at their house 2 years after the war and they would have killed the whole family if the brother hadn't have said please just take me. They never knew what happened to him until last year, when they found his photograph in the group of people murdered in the killing fields about 15 minute walk from here. Her other brother fled the country as he realised they would have killed him too, so he set his own life up in America and is very successful. Her other brother lives here with the rest of the family. The mother live here too...she is crazy and walks around cleaning everything and anything and mumbling to herself. But an English couple who are also staying here said she had clear signs of dementia as the lady was a nurse. Sad really because there is no help for her, instead she is just driving her daughter and son-in-law crazy! So in the evening I get to eat with the family and chat about anything! At about 5-6pm, about 20-30 kids (aged 14-18) from around the village meet to have free English lessons taught by Siphen. She does this every Monday to Saturday and then her 14 year old son teaches the 3 younger children in the family from 6-7pm. He is so well behaved and extremely mature for his age. You can hold a good conversation with him, it's incredible. He also owns his own scooter...at 14 years of age! The first night here, Siphen left the three of us English lot to teach the kids. They were so good at English it was hard to know what to teach so we ended up splitting into groups and they could ask us anything. They are all so happy, friendly and full of energy it was so nice to see. You could also tell that they all wanted to learn and tried hard to practise. I was on a high after this experience, I will never forget this!

It is a great place to relax here in the day time and pull yourself away from the hustle and bustle of a big city. They also head to bed early, about 8-9pm, so it's good to catch up on sleep also! The next morning we took a tuktuk to Takeo town and went to the market. The rest of the day was spent chilling on hammocks and resting. I played with the kids again at 6pm, had a lovely refreshing cold tap shower and then tucked into some amazing curry whilst chatting to the family. I thought in a situation like this, I would feel homesick, but I haven't at all - they are so friendly and kind with a great sense of humour. I have felt safe here too, it has been a wonderful experience. Lucy and Dave are coming here tomorrow but I think I will miss them now as I am getting a lift with Mach to Kampot as he is heading there to meet an English friend from Southampton who has just built a house!