Hello allWell this is our final post after 5 months away, thank you so much for taking the time to find out about our adventures and we look forward to seeing you all on our return.On Monday 5th we took an early morning bus from HCMC to Phnom Penh the capital of Cambodia. On arriving we had a cyclo tour of the city. A cyclo is a seat on wheels that is pushed by a guide on a bicycle. It was a great way to see the city, especially since all our cyclo guides worked for a charity. They were all homeless and had come to the city to try and earn some money. The charity loans them the cyclo whilst they work for a month. It was very sad, as they slept at night in the cyclo. If you want to know more info about the charity see their website www.cyclo.org.ukOne of the sights we stopped to view on our way round the city was the Independence monument. The building represents the country's independence from the Khmer Rouge and the leader Pol Pot. The regime tortured and killed millions of people during the 1970s. The Cambodian population is still suffering from the effects of the death of nearly a whole education generation. Over 50% of the population is under 30 years old, 30% is under 18. In the evening we had dinner at a restaurant run in conjunction with an orphanage. The restaurant is used as a training facility for some of the older pupils. They are taught to be chefs, waiters etc. Twice a week the younger children perform traditional dances and music that they learn in school. They thoroughly enjoyed it and the restaurant was a very smiling and happy place; considering some of the suffering the children had already endured at such a young age. Most had lost their parents due to HIV or the Khmer Rouge. The next day we visited the Genocide museum which is housed inside the original school that was hijacked by the Khmer Rouge and used as a prison. Here they tortured many thousands of people before taking them to the fields outside the city where they were brutally murdered. This is known as the Killing fields. We walked around this area and looked at the memorial constructed to house many of the thousands of skulls that were found after the collapse of the regime. For lunch we went to the Friends project restaurant, a symbol of the country moving forward and thinking about the future. This restaurant is also a training project for young people and once again the food was lovely, and you knew you were contributing to a good cause.We walked around the city taking in all the sights such as the palace and the King's residence, which also houses the silver pagoda and the golden Buddha.We drove on to Siem Reap and which is city nearest to the world famous temples of Angkor. We visited several of the temples over the next few days, including the temple from the film 'Tomb Raider' with Angelina Jolie. The temples were built during the 8-11th centuries, but were abandoned for 300 years, so most are ruins of their former selves. The 'Tomb Raider' temple is also called Jungle Temple due to the way the trees have entwined themselves through the building, completely taking over. A really wonderful sight.On Friday we also visited a carving school for disabled adults. Here the adults are trained in one discipline such as silk painting, wood or stone carving. They are taught how to make the tools and perfect the art before moving back to their countryside homes to continue their practice and hopefully earn a living, with continued support from the school.After this we visited an orphanage. It was a very moving experience as the children have absolutely nothing. It is a very poor orphanage that gets little to no external support. We took a huge bag of rice and some toys and clothes. The children, and the mother, were so thrilled. We will be sending the orphanage a box of goods in the next few weeks, they desperately need clothes, so if you have anything you would like to donate then please give it to us when you next see us.From Siem Reap we took a very cramped boat across the lake and along the river to Battambang. The boat took us past many floating villages, whole communities of people living on the water. The poverty was very noticeable. We stopped off for the toilet, also known as a hole in the floor to the river below! But to get to the toilet we had to climb over some very rickety cages which contained over 200 crocodiles! It was unbelievable and very unsafe! The owner was breading them to sell them to China for fashion and medicinal purposes.Battanbang was a stop off point on our long journey to Thailand, eventually stopping in Bangkok. We toured the city taking in the Grand Palace which included the Emerald Buddah (which is actually Jade, not Emerald, much less exciting!) and the temple Wat Poh which houses the enormous Reclining Buddah. This gold painted Buddha lies on his side and encompasses the huge ballroom. We enjoyed our last day with the group and said goodbye to everyone before flying home the next day. We look forward to seeing you all as soon as we can. Thanks again for all your lovely messages.

Mair and Adam x