Another long day travelling from Hong Kong to Cambodia - much of it spent sitting around at Bangkok airport but since we were flying Bangkok Airways we were able to use their lounge which provided free internet and constant drinks and nibbles. The temptation was to spend 5 hours stuffing your face - but even that palls after a while, although Roger did wage a valiant one man campaign to eat everything on offer!

The hotel is lovely - a recommendation from a colleague of Roger - very intimate and ethnic and yet with 2 pools and all mod cons! Cambodia is very hot! We ventured out early morning with our guide and driver (acquired when we took a taxi from airport) but returned to hotel for siesta over mid-day before heading out again in afternoon. The guide is called "Sim" like the card and the driver "Ra" - funnily enough they have less trouble with "Lindsay" than "Roger" which seems to be very strange to them. I am hoping that it was our names and not photos, that creased up the visa team at the airport. They sat in a line of about 7 officials and passed the passports and paperwork down from one to another accompanied by increasingly raucous laughter before they were eventually returned to us and we were allowed to proceed.

Sim took us around Angkor Thom which means "big city" and was in fact a 14th century walled and moated city of several thousands. It was deserted when the Khmer people were conquered and allowed to become totally overgrown by forest as the local people were too superstitious about spirits to clear the vegetation away. It was eventually recovered by the French and is now (along with Angkor Wat) a world heritage site with much renovation funded by the Japanese. The ruins are fabulous and very beautiful set in natural woodland with some fantastic carving. Sim explained most of it to us very well and even included an interlude on the many uses Cambodians put their scarves to. These vary from wiping sweat, rocking babies, martial arts weapon (defensive) martial arts weapon (offensive) headband, turban , preserving modesty ,to masquerading as a fashion accessory - I simply must have one!

In the afternoon we went to see Angkor Wat which was every bit as spectacular as we had hoped. We heard a bit more from Sim about the Cambodian way of life which was not too dissimilar from what we are used to. He told us how in Cambodia if a man wishes to marry a woman he has to go and live with her family for a probationary period, during which time he has to be absolutely on his best behaviour and incredibly polite and respectful of her parents, while they make their minds up as to whether he is good enough to marry their daughter. A little bit more grovelling is called for, Sion if you are to pass your assessment!

The next day we were whisked away to see Banteay Srei which was 30km northeast of Siem Reap and involved a fascinating journey through the countryside which allowed us to see everyday Cambodian life at closer quarters and there was no denying the poverty of most of the people living off the land. The temple was very old (10th century) and of particular interest because of the most incredibly intricate carving and the unusual pinkish colour of the stone. We were somewhat alarmed to witness a young American tourist being arrested by a very stern looking tourist policeman, who remained immune to his girlfriend begging to know what he had done wrong and growing agitation from other bystanders . We all had visions of his being dragged off to languish in some dreadful Cambodian prison but suddenly the policeman's face broke into a big grin as he spoke the immortal words, "April Fool!". Cue loud cheering from all.

After lunch we visited Ta Phrom which was used in both Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Lara Croft films. The temple has been totally overgrown by the jungle and has a wonderfully wild and ruined feel to it. Roger is to be praised for never once humming the Indiana Jones theme. The roots of the trees really do feel evil as they seem to be swallowing the temple buildings whole.

It's quite instructive to observe how different nationalities react to the monuments. Western tourists seem happiest with no-one else close by and tend to photograph just he buildings or, occasionally buildings with one or two people in the foreground. Chinese tourists, on the other hand love being in big groups, shouting to each other and taking up theatrical poses for group photos. The monuments seem merely to be a backdrop for this.

After that we went on a boat tour of the floating villages of Tanle Sap. Several thousand people live in houses that are either built on boats or bamboo rafts and anchored in the lake. As the waters of the lake rise and fall depending on the seasons the houses are moved to and from the shoreline. Even schools and shops were floating.

(Catherine's bit) - We are enjoying Kmer cuisine which is similar to Thai but less spicy and with a greater dependence on herbs. Our favourite dish to date is Fish Amok (you do have to be careful ordering it because Amo means stupid) and it consists of fish curry cooked in coconut milk, lemongrass, fish sauce, nuts and tamarind and served in half a coconut shell. Truly yummy!