I read in the Siem Reap guide of a place called Geckoo’s Nest, which has a dorm for three dollars a night. So I got on a motto and after a lot of direction asking we arrived at the “melting pot of backpackers”. After I check in I soon realize that it’s actually a melting pot of me, since I’m the only guest. It’s a nice place though, cheap and best of all has hammocks. During the next couple of weeks more people do arrive, mostly Hungarians though, since the guy who runs the place is Hungarian. To see the temples of Angkor Wat I rent a bike for three days. When the three days were over I glad not to have bought a week ticket, I don't think my ass could have taken another four days on those roads. After that I ended up visiting a floating village on a trip that some of the Hungarians had arranged. To my dismay they started doling out sweets to the kids, while the local school is in desperate need of funds for expansion. Of course I said nothing.

One night having a few beers in Angkor What? Bar I saw a sign going up saying “Volunteer English Teachers needed, Please ask at bar”. I asked and soon got sucked into the world of Schools for Children of Cambodia (www.sccambodia.org), an organization that provides free classes and resources to local kids. Safy, an Angkor Wat guide, volunteer head of the NGO in Cambodia and all round amazing guy gave me a resource pack and told me to start on Monday.

Having no previous experience, teaching is probably the most challenging thing I have ever done. The first class did not go well, some kids were hanging out of the windows shouting at other kids who just seem to be hanging around. It was pretty tough to get them to settle down. But during the second class I got into a groove and really started to enjoy myself. I did get a lot of help from the teacher I took over from and also from an Australian couple who started at the same time as me. I hope my students learnt something from me, I certainly learnt a lot. I consider my time in Siem Reap to be the highlight of my trip so far, a town that’s much more than a base for exploring the Angkor Wat temples.