Back in the capital, and generally not getting up to much

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Saturday 1st July

Paul - Didn't do much today. Decided that as England were playing tonight we would have another lazy day in Phnom Penh before catching the bus to Battambang. Had a stroll along the river front before a lovely dinner in a restaurant along there. Our waitor informed us that the Cambodian people were so grateful that their country was finally being visited by tourists. He kept thanking us over and over again which was kind of bizarre. I wasn't sure whether he was just trying really hard for a tip.

Laura - The waitor was lovely, Paul is too cynical! I had a great conversation with him about tourism and how it's changing the country, and apparently even making it more democratic. He was excellent at speaking English and really made an effort so he deserved his tip!

Paul - Went to the same bar to watch the England game, complete with a ridiculous amount of English expats all dressed up in full England kit complete with socks. Laura and I found this most amusing. Poor game but then again what did I expect? I can imagine it was very dull if you weren't English. Funniest moment was Ronaldo bringing Rooney's stamp to the ref's attention... bet it'll be a fun start to the season at Old Trafford!! A good night in the bar though with some lovely drunken English guys partying away the evening!


Sunday 2nd July

Paul - Lovely day in which we did nothing at all. Booked our bus to Battambang for tomorrow and strolled around the city. I wanted to swap some of our books for another book but couldn't find anywhere. So I'm stuck without a novel for the bus ride tomorrow. I'm sure you all feel very sorry for me.

And that's that. Looking forward to our boat trip up to Siem Reap from Battambang. Apparently it's spectacular!

Laura - Paul is playing down how active our day was. He's forgotten to mention that we managed to squeeze in a viewing of Charlie's Angels and Britney and Kevin Chaotic on cable TV. We even managed a trip to the supermarket to buy snacks for tomorrow's bus journey. And we saw the set up for Phnom Penh's version of Leed's Festival, unfortunately no Fightstar though.

We're saving our cultural adventures for Siem Reap...

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Comments

[Mum]

Pleased you didnt have a stomach bug Laura - not nice - well it seems you are really worked off your feet, I dont know how you manage to keep up the pace - we are baking at the moment in England and commiserating over the loss of the English team - never mind too much else going on in the world to be too worried. Continue to have a brialliant time - speak to you again soon.

[Worried Mother]

As if those dogs can differentiate between a local and a tourist - i would keep well away from them - i thought the picture of that hotel was the one you were staying in for a minute - thought it looked a little seedy to say the least.