Temples and bugs...

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Since I last updated the blog we've managed to add a spot of volunteering into our hectic sunbathing schedule. Well, teaching children how to read and write English was a test of my patience. Plus I kept on asking them to spell words that weren't phonetically correct which was riling lisa (Primary School teacher) apparently 'watch' and 'book' are too hard?!?! That night the idyllic island turned out to be Lisa's worst nightmare. I woke up to the noise of scratching and looked at her legs which had a total of 75 bites! She massively took one for the team as I had the total of...1...on my toe.

Undeterred by this savage attack we met John, Mike and Naomi to walk to the back of the island which took about an hour. I was far from impressed when I saw the sign that warned us about the spitting cobras?! We put John at the front as Scout leader and we got there in one piece. This beach was like something out of a film or from an art gallery. In front of us was a beach with 7km of white sand, perfectly clear water and we were the only 5 people there. Stunning is not the word. After a day of sunbathing and me experiencing a hammock, for the first time I think, we left to come home as walking through the jungle in pitch black was not for me!



On Tuesday we left the others to visit a small riverside town called Kampot which had lots of quaint little coffee shops and had a bit of a French feel to it due to its colonial history. We decided to cycle to a place which was run by deaf Cambodian people and the food was amazing plus a really good community project in the local area. (Just call me Angelina!) The place we stayed at was on the river and we had use of paddle boards. After lunch we hopped on and went across the river and chatted to people in their huts along the way. Very chilled place until you find a Geko on the wall bigger than your forearm and a toad watching you whilst you brush your teeth. One night was enough in the nature. Next stop was Siem Reap, home of Angkor Wat and lots of other temples, something that I had been looking forward to in Cambodia since planning to come here. Kampot - S.R required a night bus from 8pm-8am. My idea of hell, however, we had a sleeper bus with actual beds. Unreal! Best bit was we had accidentally booked the same bus as John and Mike who we'd met on the island, so we had a lovely little sleepover in 6/7 B and 8/9 B. Well Lisa slept, I didn't, so

I arrived being a vicious little pig (a Gavin and Stacey term which has been frequently used!) due to everyone's slightly grumpy mood we decided markets, nap and dinner was the plan for day and we would leave for the temples on Saturday at 5am to see Sunrise.After getting up on time we got to the temples and it was cloudy so no sunrise for us! I was sure I had a stomach bug so walked around the vast number of temples looking like a hunched up old woman which was far from fun but I'd paid my entry and I cracked on. After 5hours of temples I was done and although I sound very unappreciative (I do have a bug, and my tummy still hurts) it really is an amazing sight and you could spend hours walking around soaking up the 12th century stone work and surrounding gardens. A lot of the temples have a mix of Hindu and Buddha influences with one temple having the Buddha's face on each side of every pillar. Lisa and Mike decided they should get snaps that included Lisa kissing the Buddha's face and picking his nose! This was lovely but as it happens the 2010 guest house with air con and a cold shower was everything I needed and more this afternoon. (Im writing this on a Sat night as everyone else has gone out and i'm home alone) 5 day Vegan yoga retreat starts tomorrow....

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