We looked into tours to Preah Vihear but they all just went to the one temple so we booked a private car to pick us up at 6am, at 6.15 we started to worry. At 6.20 we asked the receptionist to ring up - driver had the wrong time and wrong hotel. So we had breakfast and set off at 6.50. It was 240km but on very good very quiet roads (once we had left Siem Reap).

The actual journey north was lovely through some of the prettiest countryside Cambodia has to offer.

As Preah Vihear was built along a ridge with a cliff on one side and a very steep slope on the other, our taxi had to drop us at the ticket booth at the bottom. We then needed to hire another mode of transport, jeep or moto. I wanted a moto but Kathryn wasn't keen so we took a jeep. It was just fabulous for me - not so good for those who suffer from Vertigo (like Kathryn). I must say I was glad to be in a jeep on the way down - it was very steep in places.

I have to admit to feeling disappointment when we first arrived and saw the small tower at the left end of a wall. How wrong could I be, it was lovely. Basically a wide raised pathway going up the ridge from building to building- ending in a small temple where a monk was taking a service. Each building was hidden from the previous one so you kept thinking you were at the top but no there was more - until you reach the top which is at very edge of the cliff. Standing there it feels as if you could see all of Cambodia one way and Thailand the other.

Koh Ker was a smaller site on the way back to Siem Reap and was just as good in a different way. It was a pyramid, which we climbed, the view from the top was again just great - the photos do not do it justice.