Hello again!

The evening of the 29th we went for a budget meal from street sellers, $2 for food and a can of coke. We then went to the infamous 'Angkor What?' bar and then hopped across the road to 'Temple Bar' where we met a brother and sister called David and Sian, we had a drink and played cards with them for a while before heading back to bed.

The next day we brought a 3 day pass for the Angkor temples and decieded to rent bikes for the day and explore the closer temples. First of all we went to 'Angkor Wat' which was amazing. We then went to 'Angkor Thom' and finally to 'Ta Phrom'. On the way to 'Ta Phrom' the sky opened and we were caught in the middle of a tropical storm but we did the English proud and carried on our way telling ourselves that 'a little rain never hurt anyone' and 'i'm sure it will stop in a few minutes anyway...' By the time we actually got to 'Ta Phrom' the rain was still going strong so we waited until it cleared up a bit before exploring the ruins. 'Ta Phrom' was my favourite of the day. They had decided not to restore this temple and have left it pretty much as it was found so there are roots and trees coming out of the stone which gives the whole place a really nice feel. We eventually cycled back to our guesthouse, the whole trip was around 30km which i though was quite impressive, especially in the heat out here! (To answer Nana's question, it is around 35 degress celcius which isn't too bad but it is very humid.) That evening we had a mexican meal but headed back to the room and fell asleep at about 7pm! We had tired ourselves out!!

The next day (May 1st) we opted for a tuk-tuk and did the temples a bit further out. We went to the Roluos group and saw 'Lolei', 'Preah Ko', and 'Bakong'. These temples were intersting because they are amongst the oldest temples in the Angkor area. After those ones we went to 'East Mebon', 'Pre Rup', and 'Banteay Kdei'. That evening we went for a traditional Khmer meal which i really enjoyed. I had 'amok dt'ray' which is fish curry in coconut milk sauce baked in a banana leaf cup. We then went back to 'Angkor what?' bar where we bumped into Sian and David again and had a bucket each (so we could get a free t-shirt) we were there chatting to them for ages which was really nice.

On the 2nd we went to the temples that are furthest away from Siem Reap called 'Banteay Srei' and 'Banteay Samre' these 2 both had really intricate detailed carvings which are really beautifal. We then went back to 'Angkor Thom' as we missed a section of it on the first day and then we went to 'Angkor Wat' to watch the sunset. We had to wait around for a while but it was well worth it. The sunsets facing the temple so you get beautifal colours on the lake in front of it and reflecting on the temple itself. That evening we had a relatively early night as neither of us were really in the mood to go out or to the night market.

Today we had a nice and lazy morning. We left our room at about 12 and had a long brunch. We then went to 'Angkor Hospital for Children' where i gave blood (and got a free t-shirt in return!!) - don't worry Mum and Dad, i made sure that the needle came out of a sterilised packet! After that we then went and had a cookie and a coke to increase my sugar levels! We then did a bit of shopping. Tonight i think we are finishing off our shopping in the night market.

I am going to upload the photos from Phnom Penh and Siem Reap now. The photos of the temples might be a bit boring if you haven't been there yourselves, but i will put them up anyway.

Lots of love xxxxxxx