Day 63 29th jan
I'm awake at 01.15 03.30 and 5.50 to use the loo.... I've drunk more water than I've ever consumed in a 4 hr period and I still feel terrible.... The wet towel that's been on my head, or wrapped around my neck all night has soaked my pillow but it's fine.... It keeps the blood in my head from actually boiling.....
I have a really delicate stomach and still feel very queezy... So with this in mind we think it best to try reschedule Alan & Julia to tomorrow night now instead of tonight..... There's no way I'm going anywhere tonight !
In the end, around 11.30 we decide to venture into town.... Shiree has been carrying around some unsent postcards for weeks so we make the decision to find a post office... The journey by Tuk Tuk into town is bumpy and I feel awful.... The post office job is done quickly and the same Tuk Tuk then drops us off outside a central market in
Siem Reap.... I'm happy to be out but feel like I could be sick at any moment.... The sun is really beating down again and it's hot.... We slowly wonder around and find ourselves in the market..... It's busy and omits strong smells from the herbs, spices, fish and meat.... The smells strongest around the meat sections where a lot of the meat and fish is laid raw on the ground whilst being cut up.... People just come up and touch everything before wondering off to touch other things.... There are plenty of other stalls selling silk or shoes and I just follow Shiree around these..... Shirees taken a liking to the whole bartering thing and is soon consistently getting things for half the initial asking price..... We wonder around for hours..... I try and keep out of the sun and my fluid levels up but it's a struggle.... I feel sick all the time.....
We do find a sheltered little cafe called "Cool Corner" and stop in so Shiree can eat.... I'm off food today, but I'm happy to be sat down.... It's whilst seated here that we research a little on Polio.... Throughout our time in Asia it's been apparent that the number of disabled people in Asia is considerably higher than back at home, with Polio being one of the main causes for limb deformities. We learn that Cambodia has an estimated 3% of its population regarded as disabled which makes it one of the highest in the world.... Being regarded as disabled here means your severely disabled... Loosing a hand or a foot is not enough to place you in the "disabled" catagory....
Polio, blindness and "accident, including landmine explosions" are the three highest causes of disability here making up 80% of current cause levels... We are not sure what sort of care is provided for them if any, and the vast majority just walk/ roll the streets begging... Some have prothetic limbs, but the majority don't.. They just get by however they can.... They are often filthy and usually paraded around the streets by family members in an attempt to aid the begging return.... They are from all age groups too... There are children out on the street that can't walk properly, or have more than one limb removed.... It is awful to see, but there are so many.... You can only give money to so many before you just have to say no.
We do another tour of the market before ending up in a cafe where we receive an email reply from Alan & Julia.... They can't make tomorrow night as they leave tomorrow morning, so after some consideration we decide to stick with the original plan of meeting up tonight.... I'd like to see them both again and if it ends up being an early night then so be it... It's better than nothing.
We return to the hotel and I go to sleep......
3 hrs later I wake up feeling 90% better !! Excellent.....
Shirees decided to help me in the activity of sleeping and is still helping for a while after I've woken up....
We have an easy, relaxed afternoon before getting ready to head back into town to meet back up with Alan & Julia.... We arrive around an hour early as we'd seen fliers for a Cambodian circus and after having a chat about it, and with me now beginning to feel better again we book for tomorrow night... Our last night in Cambodia....
The Cambodian circus is performed in a theatre and judging by the other Asian theatre performances we have seen should be fantastic....
We decide to eat in the bar that we have arranged to meet the others I n and I order my first meal of the day.... I think I'm fixed.....! Chicken curry pizza was good..... However Shiree was not so happy... She had ordered a chicken caesar salad, but described it as "the worst salad she has ever had"..... But I think the Angkor Beer was ok as she ordered two....
As soon as we finish eating Alan & Julia arrive and we spend the next couple of hours just talking about what we'd both been doing since we went our separate ways in Laos. When they leave Cambodia they travel to Vietnam where they will be buying bikes and doing the journey we've just completed in reverse.... I'm so envious....
Food has pretty much fixed me so after avoiding the first few rounds i tentatively join in on a few cocktails as the night progresses.... The pub that we have met in is on a road called "Pub Street" Pub street is closed off to road traffic at night and there are a number of pubs and restaurants along both sides of the road.... The music is gradually getting louder and louder to the point that we decide to leave for a quieter bar around the corner.... The whole of pub street has a great party vib, theres lots of flashing lights with people and music everywhere and its very similar to Bangkok's Khao San Road only slightly more civilised.....
We arrive at the quieter bar and order a few more drinks.... The last time we'd met these guys was in a bowling alley in Laos and we were all pretty drunk..... Shiree and I had left on a coach the following morning and I remember feeling particularly ropey for the whole of that following day.... It would now appear that I was not the only person in Laos that had suffered that following day.... Alan & Julia had too..... She had been sick the following day, which apparently never happens and they only left there hotel room once, for an evening meal and had spent the whole day in bed watching telly....
For some odd reason they felt I may of been somewhat responsible for their amount of alcohol consumption and were on a bit of a mission to get us drunk.... Shot after flaming shot kept arriving on our table and Alan would have his "I don't know where they came from" face on whilst Julia would have her "I know full well we're they came from" face on.... They were very nice, but having eaten not long before seeing them they didn't have so much of there desired affect on me at least..... As for Shiree.... Well, anyone who knows her will no that "shots" and Shiree do not mix well..... But the girl did good and held it together....
After another couple of hours we go back to the first bar..... We had not been out in Siem Reap at night before so had no expectations, but Alan and Julia had and knew that "Pub Street" gets pretty lively as the night continues..... On our short walk we could hear music, but when we turned the corner into Pub Street the music was really pumping loud.... People where all over the road dancing.... One bar played the music, the closed off street became the dance floor, full of "bucket" fuelled dancers and it was packed... At looked brilliant ! We stayed for a little while just enjoying the vib of the place before saying our final goodbyes and heading off back to our hotel.... We finally climbed into bed and twenty to three in the morning......
It had been a funny old day.... I thought I was going to die for the first half of the day, I then eat a pizza.... Felt better, went out drinking cocktails till half two in the morning.....

The NHS have a lot to learn..... Chicken curry pizza clearly has healing qualities......