As today is our last day in Cambodia let's reflect a little on this wonderful country. We have had a great time, people have been incredibly friendly and we've had lots of smiling faces with children waving and saying hello. There's loads to see and do and the food has been mostly good too. And all this in a country so corrupt that some of the people responsible for one of the worst genocides in history are still in government. A country still littered with landmines in places. A country where elections are so rigged that they engineered a power cut last time just before the results were announced...and suddenly then the ruling party had won again. A country where the opposition leader has to live in Korea as he will be arrested upon his return. ... read more

Hooray, the alarm is going off at 4.30am! I leapt out of bed, did 100 push ups, swam fifty lengths of the pool before a quick shower had me ready for our 5am pick up. Believe that and you'll believe anything. The bits about the 4.30 alarm and the 5am pick up were true though as we joined the masses en route to Angkor Wat to watch the sunrise. Probably about 1000 people were vying for the best spots in the dark. And then the wait and the slow shutter speeds and the hope that the picture will be good enough for alamy or shutterstock. And then when the sun was too bright we moved to the lake to get a shot of the temple reflected on the lake. Okay so everybody does it and probably ... read more

The day began with the worst breakfast so far. The only thing that was hot was the tea as even the coffee was stone cold. As well as the stir fry and slices of cooked eggy type things. Ah well, you can't expect the best every day. The praying mantis on the back of a dining chair was the highlight of breakfat and no I didn't try to eat it. The cockroaches in the bathroom hadn't bothered me in the night but whatever was making the chirrupping noise last night was still at it this morning. Somehow I'd slept right through so that was good. And then off to the jungle we went. Everyone was very keen on mine and Andy's rendition of the 80's classic Tight Fit hit The Lion Sleeps Tonight and kept shouting ... read more

The day began at stupid o clock but I was already awake so what the hell. Breakfast was taken at the hotel and was a vast array of different dishes. There were Vietnamese dishes as well as ham, cheesy triangles, fried eggs, fruit etc etc. As only breakfasts are included from hereonin I had a lot. We were then piled onto the backs of bicycles along with our luggage which must have been a hell of a struggle for the poor cyclists. They managed but weren't happy at how little we gave them for a tip I don't think. We then met up with other tourists, some of whom I would later form a European allegiance with and two of whom I would be quite happy to push off the boat.... One boat filled up with ... read more

When it's pitch black and you wake up and hear a noise but can't tell where it's coming from. It's the middle of the night and you reach out to make sure your sleeping partner is still there and not prowling round the room. And you realise that something is prowling on the roof making scrunchy sounds....and it's only a few feet above your head.... May as well go back to sleep. It's probably only a monkey. Hopefully. And after that we were still up at 6am to go out and take pictures and upload yesterday's blog. Someone had told us how to work the shower so we actually had hot showers before a lovely breakfast of pancakes, baguettes and fruit. And then we were off on a bike ride through groves of fruit growing such ... read more