Today started well with a traditional breakfast at the guesthouse before I embarked on a bicycle into town to make it to the Nery Kitchen by 9 am. I was quite surprised that you didn't need to book in advance but they run two classes every day so there is availability. Just like the class in Nha Trang we took to the market to pick up some ingredients for our cooking class. The market was just like any other I had seen in SE Asia already so there were no surprises until I came across these little black BBQ things in the meat section. I discovered a little later that they were Bats! There doesn't seem to be anything that won't get eaten in Cambodia!

Back at the restaurant it was me and two French girls doing the class today and we made three dishes, Fish Amok, Beef Lok Lak and fried Spring rolls. A little disappointing as I had hoped to make something I hadn't eaten before, oh well. The class was taken by two different people the owner and his wife, a little unusual but it was still good. The fish Amok was excellent and we got to eat everything we cooked. I thought the class would be a little more hands on and I also thought the owner was a little condescending at times when we walked through the market but it gets rave reviews so they must be doing something right.

After being completely stuffed, I rode back to the guest house where Tien picked me up to go to the Killing Caves, Bat Caves and Temple about 18 km outside of town. We also toured a little bit of the countryside on the route there which was like another rollercoaster from Alton Towers but enjoyable waving at all the kids shouting out hello. On arrival it cost me $2 to get in because I wasn't Cambodian. (Of course). I started to walk up the hill to the Killing Caves thinking it would be a nice leisurely walk and then sacked it and got to Moto driver to take me to the top instead! That hill was way too steep to walk since I had been so lazy for so long! We arrived at The Killing Caves and it was a huge crevice where the Khmer Rouge pushed people to their deaths and just like the Killing Fields they had a glass box with skulls inside.

Afterwards I went to the temple at the top and walked around for a bit. There seemed to be stairs everywhere without any signposts as to where they went. I believe I walked all over the top of that mountain at one point! I was a little shocked actually as two monks spoke to me as I was coming round a corner with some random steps. They asked me if I had come alone and was I afraid? I just said no, I think they asked because the steps were a little unsafe but they travel them all the time so it's no worries for them really. On the way down I made it to the bottom in time to see the Bat Cave. You cannot go inside but at about 6 pm if you are there watching you will see millions of bats all flying out of this one big crevice in the mountain. There are so many that it almost looks like smoke coming out of the hill!

I chilled out tonight, I've been so tired I think I am coming down with something yet again. Tomorrow I am headed to Siem Reap, who knows for how long but I have booked a guesthouse already on the outskirts of town, oh and it has a pool!

The photo is me on the stairs to a cavern in the middle of the mountain. You can just about make out some statues down below behind me.