Hello hello!

Sorry its been a while - we've not been up to too much so not much to report. We ended up staying in Sinhanoukville for just over 2 weeks - its a great place, cheap and lively and lots of fun.

The first week or so consisted of sleeping, eating, swimming, partying and not a lot else. Monkey Republic was such a cool place to stay, run by 4 guys from Cambridge it was really chilled and an all round good place. Kelso and Phil came and joined us after we'd been there a week so the partying only intensified. Every night after drinking we'd end up in the sea or the pool - or both, it was really 'special'!

Our fave place to drink was a place called JJ's where we got to dance on the bar to our hearts content, while drinking cheap Mekong Whisky in buckets for $3 each - we had some fun times. Once a week there was a UV party where we wrecked both our faces and clothes with paint, photos to follow as usual - its so hard to find anywhere to upload them out here! Gemma developed a little crush on a guy in JJ's who we liked to called 'L'óreal' who was a lovely guy from Nashville Tenasse! We also met Kari, Jason and Russell who worked in the bars - but my favourite person I've met so far on this entire trip was my little friend Chan - a Sinhanoukville local with a high tolerance for alcohol and the biggest heart I've ever encountered. I think he will stay with me for a very long time - he was the campest guy I've ever met and we spent a few nights chatting away about all sorts. I feel like a better person for having met him.

We ventured out of the party town a couple of times to visit the market etc which wasnt much different from the Phnom Penh market but still good fun. Theres something about walking through a foreign market that makes you step back and think Óh my god - we're half way across the world!'

One Sunday the boys and us found a pub a little out of town that did traditional roast dinners - I dont think I have ever been so excited in my entire life! It wasnt quite my mums roast - but it was a good close second while being away from home!

We visited the local 'Seeing Hands' massage place which we'd been to in Phnom Penh which wasnt as good this time, mainly because everyone was being massaged in the same room which meant we had to get changed into these awful clothes that were a mix between surgeon outfits and pyjamas - it was still ok though!

Also in Sihanoukville there was a small cinema with one big screen and several smaller private rooms - Kelso Gemma and I watched The A Team on the big screen with just us in the cinema which was pretty cool - we had couches and big comfy seats and you can smoke - so it was good (Dont gimmie no back talk sucka!) Gemma and I also went to see Eclipse later in the week - I think I've converted her into a Twilight Fan! I have also been reading a lot out here - books about Brits that get banged up in Thailand prisons - nice feel good easy reading stories - not! But very interesting!

The funniest thing that I think of when thinking of Sihanoukville was this guy we met called Andy who was from Leeds - he ws a bit of a womaniser, and quite frankly a pain in the arse when he was drunk. Lovely guy sober though. Anyway we'd seen nd experienced his antics on several nights out and towards the end of the stay we heard from someone else that they'd seen him the night before and he'd expalined to them that he got really drunk the night before and then that morning had to drag a Cambodian prostitute out of his room by her legs. This made me laugh, I dont know why but I just find it hilarious!

Kelso and Phil went to Phnom Penh a day before us and we followed them down the next day and met up with them here at the hotel we stayed in last time we were here. Phnom Penh has been much better this time around - there is a certain charm here that I didnt see before.

Have to cut short - am being kicked out of the internet cafe - sorry! Prob a good thing as a cockraoch just went crawling along the floor - hey I am used to them now! Will write properly tomorrow when we reach Siem Reap! x

Im back! Ok where was I? Yes Phnom Penh was definately better this time around and I'm so glad we returned and discovered that as I really didnt rate it before. One of the best things was being back in a hotel room with a flushing toilet and air con - bliss! Gemma picked up a severe case of conjunctivitus although we still can't wrk out from where - and I felt so bad for her as her eyes just swelled up so badly, she looked like she'd gone 10 rounds with Tyson - the only thing missing was the bruises! So due to this neither of us went too mad in Phnom Penh - well apart from one day when she went binge drinking all day with Will, and I went binge drinking all night with Kelso and Phil. We ended up in a Cambodian night club with very gorgeous Cambodian girls all over me - not the boys! They then took us to another club - something called The heart of Darkness or something - which was pretty cool but very much western men on the hunt for local girls. The girls took me off to the dance floor for a boogie and for a 'hunt'for some men! I just wanted to get back to Kelso and Phil where we left them at the bar lol. I eventually got myself so lost in the club that I could no longer find anyone but it didnt faze me - I just went outside and hopped on a moto to take me home - and in my drunken state decided to act like a proper khymer lady and sit side saddle which was a bit stupid when one is intoxicated 0 but much much easier than I thought it would be and ever since I have been travelling side saddle only on motobikes and looking very much the lady with my knees together and my ankles crossed ha ha!

Apart from that we took it wast in Phnom Penh. When Gemma's eyes first got bad we went to a pharmacy to get some meds - there are loads of dodgy little pharmacies out here which are nothing more than market stalls and sell you anything - but we trusted this one as it was large, air conditioned (so I thought that must be good to keep the drugs cooled right?) and the pharmacist spoke fluent english and french and seemed well educated! Wrong! After taking the drops she gave us, Gemma woke up the next day looking 10 times worse than the day before and we went to see this completely eccentric British doctor at a clinic called Dr Scott (Janet! Dr Scott! Janet! Brad! Rocky! How many of you will get that?!) who told us that none of the pharmacies are to be trusted - he had a point - the Khymer Rouge bumped off all the educated people 35 years ago and it takes more than one generation to make an experienced work force. He gave Gemma a prescription for some different eye drops and I'm happy to report they are working. I have been administering her drops around the clock as if I missed a calling to become a nurse, and SOMEHOW I have managed not to catch the infection, even though Will caught it from Gemma and spread it round his flat mates! Although I think she's still contagious so'I'm washing my hands a lot!

We spent a night in with the boys just watching films in our hotel room and enjoying the air con which was nice! The boys left for Siem Reap but Gemma and I decided to stay an extra day to make sure her eyes were ok - and we went out for an evening just the two of us which was really nice and put the world to rights! Was a lovely evening - apart from the rat that tried to climb up Gemma's leg as though it was a drainpipe! But it didnt ruin it too much!

We came to Siem Reap yesterday and have done nowt so far - we got here about 6pm and came to find the boys, and then all went out on the lash - in a really cool bar on 'Pub Street'where we bought pitchers of vodka redbull and got free tshirts - whats travelling is all about baby! Great night, Gemma and I led the other people in the bar into inappropriate dancing on our chairs and it was good fun. However - the hang over today has been horrendous - luckily we didnt plan to do much today except explore and visit the market etc so at least we didnt have to treck round the temples today - and the poor boys were up at 5.30am to catch their flight to Malaysia. We wont see them again now and I am going to really miss them. They go to Australia for a year once they've done a bit more of Asia and we've promised to all meet up when we are all back on British soil again which will be really cool!

So today Gemma and I have near enough stayed in bed the entire day - we were forced to purchase air con as we were too ill. We ventured out for food early evening and headed straight back to bed. I am really liking Seam Reap though and cannot wait to go and visit the temples tomorrow! So excited! Its a shame we dont have longer here but our visas run out on Saturday so we need to hop over to Laos - when I say hop I mean we have to get up at 5am and take a 13 hour bus journey to get there - I dont know how I am going to cope, the only thing I've ever done for 13 hours is sleep and breathe. Pray for me! Fortunately we've met a great guy called Matt from Manchester who is going to travel with us on to Laos so we are a little group again which is always nice.

Anyway, bed is calling to me so I'm going to skiddaddle. As usual I hope all is well back home - I am half way through my travel now which is fecking scary, its gone so fast! 8 weeks and I''ll be home with you all again, banging on about how sad it is to be back home and a corporate slave and a slave to materialism and blind to the beautiful other places of the world, but secretly glad to be back in the world of perfume and hair straightners and close to my friends that need me (you know who you are).

I will write again soon and bore you all with how amazing the temples are! Big love x