On leaving Don Det to Cambodia we paid for a VIP bus to Siem Reap… but in Asia that doesn't stand for anything different, as the experience & journey can be just as...erm…unpredictable! After paying double on the boarder for processing fees because it was Sunday & totally unnecessary quarantine checks i.e. temperature reading! we were expecting to be met by a bus the other side. However as with everything else in Asia nothing leaves until it is packed to more than double its capacity, so after a 2hr wait in 35 degree heat and 20 full plastic chairs in the aisle we were ready to go….or so we thought!! 30mins down the road we pulled over and the driver kicks everyone off the bus… Air suspension rubber bursts! Easton thought his mechanic days were over, however his skills were needed as the only thing the driver had to fix it was... wait for it... A PUNCTURE REPAIR KIT IT!!... An old inner tube from a bicycle tyre some super glue and a lighter - tools are limited in these parts of town. But wow it worked! Well it got us to the next stop where we exchanged buses at least! So after a delay of nearly 4hrs it was well passed lunch time & we were starving!! We pull into a road side café & everyone seems to be ordering chicken curry & rice…except mine came with a complimentary fried chicken foot…I nearly vomited!!

We finally arrived in Siem Reap at about 2.30am (we'd set off at 8.00am), but luckily Simon & Beck had recommended a nice place to stay - Siem Reap Temple Villa's - a cheap hotel style complex with nice gardens, great pool and beautiful large rooms! And it seemed as if most of the bus just followed our lead and also headed there (we should have asked for a recommendation discount!).

The following morning with very little sleep, as East still woke me up at 7.30am (he does it everyday regardless what time we go to bed - we're on bloody holiday…arrgh) we headed to see what the town had to offer other than Angkor Wat. To our delight the small town was nicer than we imagined - really clean with the friendliest people we'd met so far in Asia, especially considering what turmoil the country had been through with the Khmer Rouge rule only decades ago. The main restaurant/bar area was called "Pub Street" & there seemed to be special offers & deals everywhere you looked - East's favorite 50 cent beer(less than 30p! After a beautiful lunch we headed back to the hotel to make best use of the pool.

At 5.00am the following morning we had arranged to meet the same tuk-tuk, driver who had brought us to the hotel (Mr P because we could say his name properly ) - for our personal tour guide of the Angkor Wat temples. Waiting patiently with 100's of other tourist for dawn to break, I could feel little bites on my legs, but I have been attacked by so many insects this trip I wasn't sure if I was just being paranoid. It wasn't until first light that I realised I was sitting right on top of a red ants nest!! East found it very funny! Seeing the sky change from black, to purple, to orange to red over Angkor Wat was truly beautiful, especially with the reflection of the temple in the water below. However because it was a little cloudy we didn't think we'd be able to see the sun itself so we decided to head inside the grounds for a mooch around. After about 15mins we saw the huge orange ball of (the sun) coming up in the distant, so we ran back to our original spot so not to miss it coming over the top of the spires…Doh…the camera battery had died & this was probably our only chance to ever get a sunrise shot over Angkor Wat! East was frantically asking everyone if they had a Samsung battery we could borrow just to get a shot or two. Luckily we found one & it turned out to be from an English couple we'd met on the border crossing - Steph & Rod. To say thanks we'd arranged to meet them later that evening for $1 taco's & 50 cent beers…

We told our Mr P the problem with the camera & that we'd need to go back to the hotel to get a new battery. He wasn't that impressed because he knew that we wouldn't be giving him any more money, but he did it anyway. However we gave him another token instead! - The first night we arrived 4 young Aussie guys who were catching a flight early next morning gave us the rest of their ganja weed for free as obviously they couldn't take it with them. East & I are not smokers but took it anyway…and it came in handy as we gave it to Mr P to say thanks! He probably would have resold it to get the money, so of course we were his best customers & even gave us free ride around the city. It was a lovely morning viewing the temples, taking pic's & learning the history of the Khmer Empire. We viewed the main six temples: Angkor Wat, Bayon, Angkor Thom, Preah Khan, Ta Keo finishing on Easton's favorite Ta Prhom (the set of the first Tomb Raider movie!!) The jungle had over grown the temple grounds and it was amazing to see the trees coming straight up through the walls, we got some great pic's - with East being told off a couple of times for climbing the trees and ruins, but you just can't take the kid out of him! We were maybe there less time than most - about 6hrs - but to be honest it was plenty of time to see & take in everything of beauty and elegance!

After a great day we were in the mood for a few drinks, so we headed to Pub Street to meet Steph & Rod, plus Mitch (A German guy from our hotel also came with us). After beaut $1 taco's, we hit the bars with the best drinks deals - 50 cent beer for the guys & 2-4-1 cocktails for the girls! As always I was up for a bit of a dance, so up to the DJ to request some 80's classics! We all had a fantastic night & even though we hadn't planned on a late one, before we knew it it was 3.00am & we had another 8am early start the following morning - bus to next destination! After our goodbyes we'd arranged to meet up again in Sihanoukville - the Cambodian beaches!!