To say that the journey from Koh Chang to Siem Reap was a lengthy one would be an understatement. Spending half a day on a bus and having to journey through the Poi-Pet border is a daunting task at the best of times, however, mix in some travel sickness and being taken for a ride by a con-artist and you have the recipe for hell!

Poi-Pet itself can only be described as a s***-hole! Officially, it's no-man's land... neither belonging to Thailand nor to Cambodia, and for that reason alone it is a victim of it's own circumstance. With no rules or laws to abide by it has become a strip of casino's, brothel's and anything else illegal or banned from it's neighbouring countries (I would highly recommend using the Koh Kong border of the south if you can).

Having crossed the border, and having had just the most awful experience (long story involving a German who's a dense git) we boarded the government bus for another 5 hour instalment to Siem Reap. The bus was already packed with people and with the storage compartments full we angered many an individual by smacking them on their heads with our backpacks as we clambered down the isle to a pair of seats made available by an absolute gem of an individual whose sympathy for us overwhelmed him.

Having finally calmed our nerves and gotten comfortable we thanked, profusely, the gent who had made space for us. In doing so, we quickly made friends with a group of like-minded travellers: John (the legend who moved out the way for us), Sophie (The diamond he sat next to) and Simon AKA Australia AKA OZ (the token Aussie with the kindest heart of anyone we have ever met).

It seems that 5 hours on a bus with like-minded individuals forges strong bonds and upon arriving in Siem Reap we dragged John and Australia with us to our hotel (Palm Garden Lodge) which ended up being the most amazing place and more of a homestay... thanks to Mao and Da and our awesome Tuk Tuk drivers Mr Sian and Mr Lee. (Sophie sold out and booked herself into the FCC for our stay in Siem Reap, a 5 star resort not too far away... so much for slumming it ;-) )

The following day saw us doing a circular tour of the temples. Travelling backwards to avoid the rush of tourists we commenced our expedition with Angkor Wat and ended with Angkor Thom and the Bayon Ruins/Hill top sunset at a temple nearby.

Each temple in turn had a profound effect on us all. With each of the ruin's personality emanating from it's core, we all tried our level best to capture the images before us. I regret to say, however, that I do not believe that any picture can do justice to spectacles of these 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th century marvels of architecture and engineering, it really is something to be seen in person.

Exhausted from a full day's "temple adventure" we decided to change things up a little for our last day in Siem Reap and ventured out to a remote area in the mountains where a 30ft waterfall hid within the forest. We spent the day bathing in the waterfall's icy pool and messing around with the slow motion video function on Australia's camcorder whilst fighting for each breath as the powerful spray of the crashing water filled our lungs.

All tuckered out from yet another long day out we chilled in the Palm Garden Lodges bar and all prepared ourself for yet another long journey with our fellow companions... this time to Phnom Penh.