[£1 = 6,200 Cambodian Riel or US$1.62]

The landscape outside the window changed subtly after the border crossing. No more conical hats, no more hills. Sun-dried grasslands with wandering and somewhat emaciated cattle grazing and houses all built on stilts. It still looked hot though (luckily our air-conditioning was doing the business!)

Rocketing through Cambodia (slowing down for a short ferry crossing at Neak Luong) we reached the capital an hour ahead of schedule. I expected somewhere similar to Saigon but was surprised to see the suburbs were a lot less developed and the roads more dusty. The centre is more developed than the suburbs but still not Vietnam-standard.

The bus dropped us off at their company's offices and was then going further with the other Westerners onboard who were all part of a G Adventures tour. Kirsty tried to ask if they would drop us off at the same place as the tour group but the bus staff flatly refused. So we had to dig deep into the pile of rucksacks at the back of the bus to get our bags (with no help from the staff) before storming off the bus in a bit of a huff!

Our plan was always to walk the mile or so to the hostel area and try our luck. If it was too much to walk so far in the heat we would take a break. Some of the tuk-tuk drivers couldn't believe that we would walk but blocking out their constant babble we set off.

One persistent driver followed us for a block to tell us we were going the wrong way. Finding him impossible to ignore, we stopped walking and he showed us on his map. He seemed genuine and not at all pushy so we took him up on his offer of driving us.

Firstly though we needed an ATM for some local currency. It took three separate stops until an ATM would very kindly let us have our money. Next we needed a room which took a further couple of stops. All the while our driver was there to drive us, suggest hostels and translate for us.

After initially rejecting the room as we thought the fan was not sufficiently large (and would therefore not keep us cool enough) we settled on a room for US$10 per night. In Cambodia, although there is an official currency of Riel, people are more than happy to transact in US dollars. So you often pay in US dollar and get a mixture of riel and dollar as change using a fair but fluctuating exchange rate. As if one foreign currency wasn't confusing enough!

Our tuk-tuk driver explained that he would receive US$1 commission from the hostel and he also suggested a bus company where we could get a decent value bus to Siem Reap the day after tomorrow. Again he explained that he would get US$1 commission for each ticket and as such he was happy to drive us there and back from the hostel free of charge.

It could have been a massive scam but I think we're reasonable judges of character. He seemed honest and upfront with us (even bemoaning the number of competitors and the tourist low season) and we were happy with the service he provided. Calm, polite and friendly and he was delivering on his promises. So again we agreed to his suggestion.

On the way to the bus company he stopped to buy his 4 year old daughter a clay pot money box as he explained to us she has nowhere to save her money. We bought the bus tickets and we let him have our names as he has a friend in Siem Reap who is also a tuk-tuk driver. Finally he dropped us back at the hostel, the whole tuk-tuk experience costing US$4 including a tip and a contribution to his daughter's money box from us!

So if it was all a scam we've not lost out on much. Even if the bus is awful we'll deal with it! Part of us wishes we explored more with him the possibility of showing us around tomorrow. But part of us just wants to explore ourselves and discover whatever we discover.

After a little twiddle of thumbs (having achieved all we set out to achieve for the day thanks to Mr Tuk-tuk) we ventured out for a stroll to the riverside for a drink. Here we were accosted by a variety of street sellers mostly children from as young as 4 years old selling all sorts of paraphernalia from baskets hanging on their shoulders, the backs and shoulders of the older children already deformed from the weight. We were also approached by a number of beggars just wanting money. Sad but an everyday occurrence here. The parents sending out the children to garner more sympathy from the tourists and therefore earn more money off them.

Once refreshed we headed north towards the night market but, seeing no action, concluded it would not be on tonight. We spent a couple of hours wandering around, seeing monkeys in the street, visiting a couple of food markets with various arrays of meat, various fish and fresh fruit and visiting Wat Phnom, a Buddhist temple and the tallest religious structure in the city at 27 metres.

On the way back we found a local café where we had meat (I think it was beef…) and vegetables with noodles and a fried egg. Also had a fizzy pop. The food was so good and the whole thing cost US$4 for us both. Eat like a local, pay like a local. I vowed never to eat in a restaurant while in Cambodia! Only one thing we couldn't get and that was dessert (I'm a growing boy!) so on the corner of our street we had some banana pancakes from a bar.

The following day was excellent and so good that our meticulous planning paid off for once! After an early start we left the hostel and headed directly for the Royal Palace. Despite the fact that it was morning, it was already hot and we were in full shade-seeking mode. I understand it was 32 degrees and the lack of any wind compared with the day before made it feel a lot hotter.

When we reached the palace ignoring several tuk-tuk and motorbike taxis along the way, Kirsty was asked if she had anything to cover her shoulders. Luckily we were aware we had to dress modestly (despite the heat) and she was prepared. We even had the zip-off parts for our zip-off trousers with us just in case but our shorts were deemed sufficiently long enough. Unfortunately some other tourists were not so well prepared. Those with bare shoulders were able to buy plain white T-shirts for the duration. Those wearing garments which ended above the knee were turned away.

Following a walk around the grounds and a look inside the palace we walked the short distance to the Silver Pagoda an even more impressive building again displaying ornate Khmer architecture. I was puzzled why it was called Silver Pagoda when none of the architecture was silver. The answer lay in the floor tiles - 5,000 silver tiles each weighing one kilogram. After removing our shoes we entered and admired the various Buddha statues, many of them made of solid gold and studded with diamonds.

We had a little wander around the grounds before exiting and taking a pew for a quick refreshment. Our next stop was the Central Market so again ignoring the tuk-tuk drivers, we walked towards the market. Like many places in Asia, Phnom Penh is not really set up with the pedestrian in mind. If there is any pavement it is usually chock-a-bloc with parked scooters and cars. The rest of the time you have to take your chances on the road. Despite this, we maintain walking is a great way to explore a place.

At the central market we both bought a bracelet before stopping at one of the local stalls to have some lunch. We chose some fresh spring rolls and got some drinks from another stall (guiltily ignoring the child beggar). We weren't huge fans of the spring rolls so after paying our bill we moved along to a noodle stall. Here I had some delicious fried beef noodle with a fried egg. It took a little adjustment to use a fork instead of chopsticks!

We were pretty certain we were being charged out-of-townie rates for the food which is fine. We accept this is the way it is. I just don't like the conspiratory grins that are exchanged between them when we ask how much it is.

As we were at the market, we took the opportunity to have a wander around the various clothing and knick-knack stalls and despite some, seemingly desperate, offers from vendors we came away empty-handed.

Our next destination was Tuol Sleng museum, also known as Security Prison 21 (S-21). This was one of the top secret prisons during the Khmer Rouge regime. Pol Pot was someone I remember hearing about from news programmes during the 1980s, seeing the evocative images of the mass graves full of human bones and skulls. Being (very!) young, I had no real idea of what it was all about. Hard to put into words how it felt to learn more about this horrendous time in Cambodia's (or more strictly correct Kampuchea's) history.

Much like the Vietnam War, so unbelievable to think these things were going on during the current generation's lifetime. I was walking around the prison with the thought uppermost being I just cannot imagine what it must have been like. To be imprisoned, starved, tortured to within an inch of your life and forced to sign false confessions before being taken from the prison and executed, usually battered to death in order to save on expensive bullets. And all this for doing absolutely nothing wrong.

We decided a couple of days ago we wouldn't go to the Killing Fields to see the human remains. It seemed wrong to us, disrespectful even, to take a trip to see human bones. Much better in our mind to educate ourselves about it from the prison museum. Not that we're critical of other people who go or have been.

We spent most of the afternoon at the prison, looking at the numerous arrest photographs of the condemned (the Khmer Rouge kept meticulous paperwork on all inmates including mugshots when they first arrived) knowing they died horrible deaths, reading their "confessions", seeing their signatures on these confessions and having no idea their state of mind that would compel them to sign them. We also saw the cells they were imprisoned in and the vertical barbed wire on the landings which stopped the inmates trying to jump to their deaths as an escape from the torture.

And all this less than 40 years ago. It was certainly a very moving and solemn afternoon.

Our next destination was Independence Monument built in 1958 to commemorate Cambodia's independence from France achieved in 1953 and now also a memorial to the war dead.

Finally with achy feet, sweaty bodies and on the verge of dehydration we headed back to the hostel. Along the way we walked past an outdoor barber working on the street and so I took the opportunity to get a trim. The barber was very thorough and, although I got a little scared at one point when he got the cut-throat razor out, we're both agreed he did a great job. Judge for yourselves in Kirsty's photos. And all for only 5,000 Riel (80 pence!)

At the hostel we chilled for a spell, neither of us particularly hungry. However at about 7 o'clock the tummies began to rumble and we picked out a good cause restaurant which was fortuitously just around the corner.

Despite it being after sunset, it was still a warm evening as we found our way to our restaurant called Friends. The restaurant is staffed by former street children being given a second chance and the food they serve is tapas.

We ordered some hummus, Cambodian chicken curry and zucchini and cheese fritters. One of the other tables got some extra gecko in their order as at one point the poor thing fell off the ceiling into someone's dinner. Cue pandemonium around the table as the people and the gecko were equally scared of each other!

Our food was absolutely delicious, not as cheap as it could have been but you pay a little extra and you get a little extra quality. It felt good to be doing a good deed too. We also had some amazing chocolate cheesecake and pancakes for dessert. Yum!

A momentous day followed as Kirsty was actually awake before me. She woke me up and, as I scurried to the bathroom, she fell back asleep!

We packed our bags and checked out before ordering breakfast at the hostel while we waited for our pickup (kindly included in the cost of the bus ticket - thanks again Mr Tuk-tuk). The bus was due at 8.45 but the company would send someone to pick us up at 8.15.

After just finishing ordering breakfast, a tuk-tuk driver arrived at 7.45 to collect us. Luckily we had written evidence of an 8.15 pick-up and with the lady from the hostel translating, the driver disappeared only to re-appear 5 minutes later than the agreed pick-up time to take us (just to make us sweat a little, I reckon!)

A short wait for the bus followed before we were all able to board. Many more of the other passengers were Western than I'd anticipated including a retirement age couple who we had seen before (although no words had been exchanged) boarding the train with us between Hue and Danang in Vietnam. Clearly very adventurous oldies, a glimpse into our own retirement maybe??

Despite a little anxiety, the bus was absolutely fine, nothing really to write home about. Not ultra modern but not dying either. Toilet onboard, decent air-con, decent legroom and a free bottle of water. We were going to be fine for the next 6 hours.

It's worth mentioning that Cambodia is the first country we've seen where there are many children frolicking about naked. Purely because of the heat (36 degrees today apparently). And the naked children aren't just restricted to the countryside. During our walk around yesterday, we passed a family sitting outside having lunch under a corrugated roof in the shade. Their youngest was at the end of the table splashing around in a tin bath. So cute!