Arriving late at night in Phnom Penh, the city is eerily quiet and deserted, but not so in the daytime, as I found out the next morning! Phnom Penh is a bustling place, but the wide expanse of boulevards serve to open up the city and make it a breathable and pleasant place. Visiting the killing fields, 15 km out of the centre of town is something that undoubtedly leaves it's mark, to say the least. Almost 9000 bodies have been found in mass graves here from the times of the Pol Pot regime, and you are permitted to walk amongst these graves, some of which are marked out, most of which are not. If you look closely at the ground, you can make out many small bones and shreds of clothing - a horror you ... read more

Hi everyone, and sorry for taking so long to get started! Although most of you know, my plan is to be here in Siem Reap, Cambodia volunteering with children for 12 weeks (four of which have passed) before moving on to other regions of Cambodia and Asia for a following 2 or so months. The reason I have not done this earlier is because I have been flat out since day one, and have had little time to get my head around things. The first day I arrived, after being shown my room in the Globalteer Guesthouse, I was promptly given an orientation to this place they call Siem Reap (meaning 'Siamese Defeated'- a very insulting term for the Cambodians.) It was raining heavily nonstop and didn't cease for over 24 hours (something pretty much unheard ... read more