Hi everyone,

Spent the last 3 days seeing Angkor Wat and all the surrounding temples.

Amazing places - so huge and decorative, most still very much in a state of ruin with the passing of time and the jungle catching up with them.

It really did feel like Indian Jones and the temple of doom and also Tombraider too the buildings were so similar (think some must have been used in the filming). In one temple it was so like Disneyland that I thought around every corner I was going to find a bunch of kids queueing for the ride and over the hill ïts a small world" ride. I know this sounds silly but the two places felt at times similar and guess this must be a compliment to the diney park creators.

3 days seemed like a long time, but not only were the temples mesmerising, but also Seim Reap is a nice place, very frinedly and set up to cater for all the tourists now flocking to the area. They are building new hotels and restauarants 24 hours a day.

Now for the bad news, on day 2 of my temple visit I had quite a bad spill on the bike. Wasn't my fault at all - honest! I was goning down the main B roa to a temple 16kms out of Siem Reap, doing about 45kms I guess.....lots of littel roadside shops,petrol stations etc.....so a fair bit of moped traffic.....most pull away gentle and then ease themselves onto the road....well not this one lady.....I think she must have just had a brain dead day as didnt even think to look to see if anything was coming down the road. she pulled out without any notice straight accross the road about 10 meters in front of me. luckily I reacted quite fast and anchored the whole bike up with the front diving down, I was still going to hit her, but at less speed, so decided to lay the bike down aand me with it.......ouch........ I went sliding on the tarmac and then off into the gravel and dust side, just missing a shop!

I was pinned down by the bike, but some locals helped get it off me, which was a good thing as petrol was coming out the tank....

When I got up the lady had already gone....maybe I should have taken her out too to make her pay, but my thinking was I dont know what the traffic accident rules are and being a foreigner etc you never know.

The bike was ok (ish) a few scratches, a bent mirror, but mainly ok - this was because it didnt really hit the deck too much as I was underneath it....like the jam in the sandwich between the bike and road.

Me? well the good news was that I was being a good boy and had on my hiking boots, socks, jeans, 2 t shirts and a full face helmet.....bloody hot riding in this stuff, but I had already seen one young eurpoean girl who looked like she had lost a toe or 2 riding in a skirt and flip flops.

Still, I got damaged quite bad to be truthfull. My jeans had prtected most my legs, but a burn hole in the right kneee area meant I have lost a few layers of skin on my knee. Also my right leg got twisted under the bike and my ankle and lower leg are now bruised and black.

The helmet had some serious scratching to its front right hand side, so just remended that this would be on my face/head if I didnt have it on.

The worst of my injuries were my hands and wrists......really really painful. Basically I had all my weight and the bike on my wrists. My fingers have had 9 chucnks out of them...deepish flesh wounds about a few layers oif skin deep....they will heal and hopefully with no scaring....

But my wrists....well its day 4 since the accident now, and they have just started to go down.....they both ballooned up and looked like, you know those weighs you can by to go on wrists and ankles if you weight training, well like soimeone had implanted those under my skin. I had checked them out extenbsively and knew they were not broken, but boy never had spains like this before....they must have really taken a huge bending on the fall.....The brusing is just coming out now and its black and blue and well orange too!

After getting up I knew I had to get back to my hotel at Seim Reap to get my first aid box...a 16km ride. That was not easy with blood comign from my hands and feeling a bit feint. I made it. Good job I had the first aid kit and lots of great chemists in Seim Reap so I tooled myself up with bandages, elastoplasts, etc etc...

Spent the rest of the day and most the following day in bed, feeling sorry for myself and giving the resulting damage the best chance to heal. Only went out for food and water.

Sorry about the gruesome details, but this is main reason I havent been blogging in last 4 days or so....hands now much beetter and I am writing this from Phnom Penh on the 17th.

Been thinking about Declan my son who had a bike spill in mid November last year and how he must also have felt battered and bruised!

I am OK honest...just cut up a bit.....

Smiffy