Was up and in a tuk tuk by 6am this morning. Guy in hostel was rather rude too. Super friendly when I checked in and when I told him I needed to leave no later than 6am the next day he said it would be find to check out and pay then. I had thought it would be easier to pay up front given the early departure. I went down at about 5:45am, he was there, sitting at the counter, and when I walked up to check out, he told me that 'we don't open until 6, you'll have to wait otherwise I will never get any work done.' it was more the tone of what he said than the actual words. So flight from PP to KL was with Air Asia and left on time, ... read more

Decided to mix things up this morning and head to Victory Beach for the day. I had been staying only a few minutes walk from the backpackers beach known as Occheuteal Beach which, while lovely, was a little overrun with people, hawkers and bars, caves and restaurants. Not wanting to put up with that for six hours, I jumped in a tuk tuk and went elsewhere. Victory Beach was definitely a good choice. Only a small number of restaurants, only two ladies (total) offering pedicures and massages, no kids selling stuff and significantly less tourists and people. Water also appeared cleaner too. So i spent the day there, had some lunch, some coconut, did some reading and swimming and even some napping. In the mid afternoon it started to drizzle and the sky turned rather dark, ... read more

So, I had booked the midnight direct bus to Sihanoukville. I had attempted to buy a ticket for a normal bus rather than a sleeper bus hut was told it was booked out. Mini van picked me up just after 11pm and we headed to Paramount Angkor's bus station. It was then that the fun began. The bus that showed up was NOT a sleeper, and everyone getting on it, most of whom were tourists, had paid for a sleeper bus. After realizing that they weren't going to change buses, I just got on, a ittle annoyed and feeling ripped off. But some people were beyond annoyed and were yelling at the driver and other staff and refusing to get on. It also turned out not to be a direct bus, we would all have to ... read more

Early start, with the car we had booked arriving at 7:30am. Had breakfast again though since it was free. First stop was Banteay Sambre, which consists of a central temple with four wings, hall and two libraries. It is all within a moat, which the guidebook claimed was dry but which was far from it! Frpm there it was a drive to Banteay Srei, which was overcrowded with tourists but definitely one of the more spectacular ones as far as the carvings go. Apparently it has some of the finest stone carvings seen anywhere in the world and I don't doubt it. However, the temple itself was quite small in comparison. The restoration work, which was well documented in the visitors centre to the temple (even Angkor Wat doesn't have a visitors centre!) was itself quite ... read more

We had decided to leave at 7am this morning as we wanted to cram in as many temples as possible on day one. So after a fairly average breakfast (but included) it was off with Om (our tuk tuk driver, not sure how you would spell his name). First stop was, naturally Angkor Wat. It is widely believed to be the largest religious building in the word, and was definitely the most spectacular we saw throughout the day. We probably spent a good two hours there wandering through the many levels, the library, and bas-reliefs. The Wat is now thought to have been both a temple and mausoleum for one of the kings. Like the Egyptian temples, there is a lot of imagery and symbolism on the walls and ceilings. AW is also surrounded by a ... read more