Now we are in a country that uses the US dollar as its main currency, even though it has no links with USA. (correct us if we are wrong!) and every other car here in Phnom Penh is a Lexus believe it or not!!!

Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia is our first stop in Cambodia. PP was considered one of the loveliest French-built cities in Indochina in the 1920s but of course during Pol Pot's regime this all changed. We managed to find a reasonable guesthouse for $10 which is steep considering what we paid in India, Malaysia etc but our room was satisfactory (it had a TV so Nick could watch Everton Vs Blackpool!).

The next day we hired a tuk tuk driver for $10 to take us to the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek. Basically, Cambodia fell to the powers of the Khmer Rouge in 1975 (Pol Pot and his guys!). The aim of Pot's regime was to try and unify Cambodia to achieve a communist/agrarian society and to do this he murdered thousands of innocent Cambodians. During his regime it was estimated that 1.7m people perished at the hands of Pol Pot.

On arrival to the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek there was nothing to suggest that heinous crimes were committed here 37 years ago...(the original buildings were knocked down when the regime was overthrown in '79). It was very harrowing seeing the mass graves knowing that the people were bludgeoned to death as the regime wanted to save their precious bullets. The orchard nowadays is a peaceful and pretty setting (we couldn't imagine what it looked like 37 years ago). What really hit home for us both was the 'killing tree', where babies were dragged from their mothers, held by their legs and bashed against the tree. Helen could almost imagine seeing the crime being carried out and wanted to leave then! To top off our visit to the Killing Fields, we visited the stupa that we saw when entering and this really hit home how many people were killed as there were 8,000 skulls piled up on top one of another with their trauma marks evident.

We were glad to leave when we found out that only one of 5 leaders of the Khmer Rouge still alive has stood trial and been found guilty of despicable war crimes against humanity. The other 4 are still in a detention centre probably enjoying their luxuries......What a testament to the despicable acts the human race can commit(!!!)

As part of our agreement with the tuk tuk driver he then took us to the Tuol Sleng Museum, or otherwise known as S-21. S-21 was previously a school until it was turned into a security prison. We got to see torture chambers, graves, cells and graphic haunting photographs of the victims who suffered at the hands of the regime. Here it was evident that the Khmer Rouge were meticulous in keeping records of their barbarism and of their victims.

When the Khmer Rouge were overthrown (Thanks to the Vietnamese, high five!) there were only seven survivors of S-21. On leaving S-21, Helen got to meet one of the seven survivors and had her photo taken with him. (She even bought his book with his autograph...a moment of history). The sad thing was that he seemed so gentle and had a friendly face - yet he had been tortured in ways unthinkable of. All Helen could think was if she ever suffered like he had, she would never be able to trust anyone again, let alone be a friendly character.

Both the Killing Fields and S-21 were the kind of places that makes you feel like a thousand people have walked all over your grave. Definitely bone-chilling!

After a very heavy day laden with barbaric history we headed to Romdeng (a NGO), a restaurant set in a beautiful colonial building run by former street youth in training. We just had to try traditional Cambodian cuisine; deep fried tarantulas (yes, the spiders!). Surprisingly, after hesitating they didn't really taste of anything but the legs were very crunchy! Not something we will be ordering anytime soon!

As Phnom Penh is very dusty, Helen wanted to get out as soon as possible before her allergy kicks in so we booked bus tickets for Siem Reap for the following morning.