This may be a bit of a tetchy update. I've spent the last hour trying to upload ONE SINGLE PHOTO to put up here, and it hasn't worked. If there's one thing I'm not going to miss about the arse-end of Asia, it's the internet connection speeds. To make matters worse, all the while I've been trying to persuade one photo to wing its way across the net, I'm surrounded by Edinburgh University students. They're easy to spot, even if they hadn't been talking about the ed.ac.uk e-mail suffix. There are several foolproof signs to look out for: 1. They're posh 2. They're English. 3. They're loud. 4. They're bloody thick. Oh, how I've missed their braying exultations. The one called Archie seems to be the brains, at least he's the one the others keep asking questions of. The guy on my left has now found what he's looking for, with the help of "Aah-ch", and is relaying the latest news from somebody called "Plompy". I fear I may have to execute them. Apart from that, though... Our group arrived in Saigon (or Ho Chi Minh City) a little disgruntled that our schedule had changed slightly and we were only going to be able to spend one day there. After half a day, most of us were looking forward to leave... We had a night-time tour of the city on cyclos (basically the offspring of a bicycle and a rickshaw, and about as safe as that sounds) and a few things to do and see the next day (like visit the Viet Cong tunnels, watch a hilariously anti-American propaganda film and fire 10 rounds from an AK-47) but the Vietnamese people seem to have become less friendly as we travelled south (which is the opposite of what we were led to believe). Not sorry to be leaving the country, and it was a nice contrast to arrive in: Cambodia! The people are much friendlier, and the kids who try to sell you flutes/necklaces/bracelets/water are very witty salespersons. Even if they do see a tourist bus and flock towards it, waving their wares and shouting "Six for one dollar!" That's one other thing about Cambodia - they have their own currency, but the economy seems to run on US dollars. The ATMs here give out dollars, and all the menus and price lists are in dollars. Instead of cents, they use their own currency, so your change might be three dollars and 3000 Riel. We had two nights in Phnom Penh, and saw the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and the Killing Fields. Interesting thing about Cambodia, the people are so nice and friendly despite the horrors of their very recent history. We were shown around by our local guide here, who (of course) had lost a parent and several siblings to the Khmer Rouge guards, many of whom were brainwashed children as young as 10. Harrowing to see the pictures of the guards and inmates, then visit lots of mass graves. Then it was a bus journey to Siem Riep, and the roads in Cambodia are particularly pot-holed (it makes the turbulence on the Heathrow-Bangkok flight seem like a mild tremor). Once here we checked into the Golden Banana hotel and were greeted by the manager. Judging by the manager, the staff, most of the rest of the guests, and our waiter last night, Siem Riep must be the gay capital of Cambodia. We saw Angkor Thom yesterday (very impressive), with the big event being this morning: a trip to see the sun rise over Angkor Wat, one of the seven wonders of the world. Unfortunately this meant getting up at 4am (as Steve memorably put it, "just get one of the poofters to knock on your door") and it was actually too cloudy to see the sunrise, but Angkor Wat itself deserves its reputation. It's stunning, and it's huge. I can't really do justice to it with either words or pictures (which I hope to upload soon), so just take my word for it that it's one thing that you should see. After a trip around Angkor Wat (and breakfast) we visited another temple, where the Tomb Raider movie was partly filmed, then came back down to earth with a bump when we went to the Landmine Museum. The Cambodia Landmine Museum (www.cambodialandminemuseum.org) is a small independent place set up by a bloke called Aki Ra, who was forced to lay mines under the Khmer Rouge and later the Vietnamese army, and now works to clear them. We were given a guided tour of the various different types of landmines by a 19-year-old with quite good English. It was only five minutes into his talk that I realised his right leg is prosthetic. There is a frightening array of landmines made by countries ranging from the USA, Russia, China, Vietnam, and various other countries. All the mines in the museum (which is basically just a shack by the side of the road) have been deactivated, and there are piles of all the different types. At the current rate of clearing, Cambodia should be mine-free in about 150 years. Our guide took us outside and showed us a garden with examples of how difficult it is to see the mines. There were different kinds hidden under leaves, in trees, activated by tripwires... Then he volunteered his own story. He was 8 when he went into the jungle with his brother and sister. He was walking first, his siblings following about a metre behind him. He stepped on an anti-personnel mine, and the next thing he knew was waking up in hospital in Siem Riep minus a leg and with his left foot mangled. His brother and sister were killed instantly by the explosion. I'm not usually overly sentimental about such things, but listening to him calmly re-telling his story for what must have been the umpteenth time that day was particularly moving. Two or three people die every day in Cambodia from stepping on landmines. There are a few charities helping to train and fund local people to clear them, but it's going to take a long time. On the wall was a list of the 41 countries which haven't signed up for the international treaty banning landmines (Vietnam, Pakistan, India, Israel, the USA and many more). It's frightening to see the effect they have years after the reason for laying them has vanished. Oh well, the Great Indochina Loop is nearly finished. We return to Bangkok tomorrow and have a final meal before parting ways. It's going to be strange, but there are a few people who'll still be around Bangkok for a couple of days, and I've arranged to meet up with some folk in Australia and New Zealand. This stage of the hedgehog's travels is nearly over, and a new one is about to begin...