The Cambodian countryside we viewed from the air-con haven of our minibus heading for the Thai border was very beautiful. bright green rice fields stretching all the way to the horizon, with huge lilies on the ponds and scattered palm trees. Dotted along the roadside and on islands in the paddy fields were small wooden houses raised on stilts, in the cool dark space beneath the house people and animals rested away from the hot sun. In their dusty yards, medieval-looking wooden carts rested. There was no electricty or running water and each hut had a huge clay pot outside to collect rainwater. The people and buffalo bathed together in ponds in the rice fields. Children came running out of the huts to wave at the tourists as we rattled past.

It really was amazing and made the 14 hour bus trip to Bangkok worthwhile as we wouldnt have seen any of that if we had flown to Siem Reap and back as Siem Reap itself is much more developed - electricity and everything!

Mind you, bus travel has its downside, we had a hell of a journey from Siem Reap to the Thai border. We started off in a minibus at about 6.45am. The road is full of holes and in many places just a dirt track, you get bumped around so much it gives you a headache. Then we hit a huge traffic jam, apparantly the bridge ahead was broken. As Cambodia is one huge rice field, there are lots of bridges over various rivers and streams. We were turfed off the bus to walk across the bridge and then the minibus made its way over, precariously balancing its wheels on a plank of wood over the hole. Safely across we all piled back on.

An hour later, another bridge, another traffic jam... and this time there was no way over for the minibus as a huge truck had broken down in the middle of the bridge. We had to walk down to the marshy river and climb into very narrow, very wobbly little wooden boats. We were rowed across the river for 20 baht, but our minibus was still stuck on the other side of the bridge. So we had to climb in the back of a pick up truck along with about 15 locals. We clung on for life as we bounced over the pot holes and wished that we had red-checked Khmer scarfs like the local people to wrap around our heads to protect us from the dust and fumes.

Finally we made it to the border, made it past the poor begging children holding drugged babies that tap your pockets, and back into Thailand - thank god!