Hello All,

It has been a while since we last updated... so I (Ryan) am going to give it a try.

We arrived in Phnom Penh after a 5 hour bus ride on a much nicer road than the one to Siem Reap. Bonna (Jo-Anne's son) picked us up from the bus station and gave us a ride through the city. Phnom Penh is absolutely beautiful with Khmer and French architecture scattered throughout the city. After stopping at the travel agent to get our Vietnam visa, we dropped our bags off at Jo-Anne and Bonna's family home and then went to pickup Jo-Anne from work. We stopped by a Riverfront cafe for a quick drink and talked about what we would like to do during our short visit. Later on that evening Jo-Anne and Bonna took us out to a very nice restaurant where we enjoyed some good italian food.

The next day Bonna took us to the Royal Palace, the National museum, and Tuol-Sleng (one of the many interrogation prisons during the Khmer Rogue). Bonna was born in Cambodia, and Sarah and I were extremely grateful to him explain each destination and tell his stories about Cambodia. After a nbusy morning and a short visit to the Central market we took a break to escape the afternoon heat back at the house. That night Bonna's brother had made Tom-Yam (a Thai soup) and we all indulged in a delicious Khmer dinner.

The next morning (yesterday, Saturday) Bonna took Sarah and I out to the killing fields which was one of the many mass burial sites during the Khmer Rogue. For me, this was a surreal experience. The dark history of the Khmer Rogue genocide was expressed with a display of a number of skulls and bones that were found at the fields. There were still tattered clothes of the victims partially buried next to the pits where numerous people were buried. What was even stranger for me was that the place was full of green grass, shady trees, a flowing river, and was otherwise very peaceful if I had not known what had occured there only a few decades ago.

Later our faithful driver and guide took us to the Russian market where we saw lots of silk, statues, and other Cambodian crafts. Later we picked up Jo-Anne from work and after another delicious lunch she took us to a bookshop and through some boutiques that were full of Cambodian clothing and crafts. Sarah and I wish we could both go back and shop before departing back home, but we still have two weeks to go. That night Jo-Anne again treated us to another delicious meal of steak, potatoes, and salad.

This morning we bade farewell to Jo-Anne and Bonna (we are very thankful for them hosting us during our stay in Phnom Penh) and jumped on a bus to Ho-Chi Minh City or Saigon. After a six hour bus ride we arrived and found a hotel pretty quickly. We then walked around and saw some sights including the Notre Dame Cathedral (apparently a larger percentage of Vietnamese are Catholic), and the reunification palace (where the Vietnam War symbolically ended). Tomorrow we are going on a half day tour to the Cu Chi tunnels and then will see a bit more of the city.

We plan on spending only two nights here in Saigon and then we are flying up to Danang where we will catch a bus to Hoi An. We plan on spending quite a few days in Hoi An as we are a bit tired of busing around.

To update everyone on everything else... Sarah is back to normal health, and her knee is healing nicely. I have been lucky to not have suffered any problems with the food I have eaten so far (knock on wood). We have both really enjoyed our trip so far, and we both liked Cambodia quite a bit. I would love to come back and see the temples again and experience Cambodia during the rainy season.

Thanks again for all the messages! We will post more pictures soon!

Ryan and Sarah