PHNOM PENH
30th: Made our way to the airport our flight was at 10.10am, we were having some breaky in a cafe when we met Gabrielle the girl we had met in Kanchanaburi (it can be a small world sometimes). The flight was only 1&1/2hrs to Phnom Penh, when we landed we got a taxi to the river front and went looking for a guesthouse, it was quite expensive along here so we went back a block from the river and found the "Dara Reang sey Hotel" we got a large room here with A/C, TV and hot water for $13 a day. The food was plain here but if you went to the river front you could get any kind of food but at a price! Our plan was to stay here for few days and take in "The Killing Fields", the National Museum and "S-21 Prison". Cambodia has come along way in the last 25yrs, when the Khmer Rouge were in power 1976-79 the country was in devastated condition over 2 million people were killed are executed during this time. By all accounts there is not one family here that did not have a member killed during this time. Over half the present population is under 18yrs of age, so to see how far it has come is amazing. Anyone who has seen the Movie "The Killing Fields" will have an idea of the horrific crimes against humanity that went on.

1st May: This morning we went too the local market "Psar Thmei" Clare bought herself a new shoulder bag as the one she got in India was getting a bit worn. We found a food stall and I had some rice, egg and veg but Clare wasn’t big on rice for breaky so we went to a restaurant for a sandwich. After we took a walk down the rivers edge to the Royal Palace, we took cover under a tree and read for awhile until the National Museum opened. The Museum is full of artifacts from the last 1300yrs a lot of them from the temples in Angkor. The building itself is beautiful and to sit in the gardens and relax after the tour was really peaceful. That night we were knackered so we just ate in our hotel and watched a movie.

2nd: We had breaky on the river front and grabbed a "Moto" (Scooter with a 2 seater trailer attached) to Choeng Ek (Killing Fields) this is 20km outside the city. This is were about 17,000 Cambodia’s were executed and buried in mass graves during the Khmer Rouge rule. You might say why would you visit such a place, to us and I would say many others the crimes that took place should never be forgotten and places like this are a reminder to the atrocities that humans are capable off, this didn’t take place hundreds of years ago it was only 25yrs which is not that long ago! You pay an entrance fee of $2 to get in, the area itself is just a large field but a large Memorial has been built in the centre this is a tall square building with glass sides that hold 8,000 skulls that have been removed from the mass graves, they are stacked on shelves from the bottom to the top of the building. There are still mass graves yet to be excavated it, we found it hard to stay long here as its upsetting trying to comprehend all the killing. What makes it harder is the way these people died and that it was babies and children as well as adults that were executed here. Bullets were not used, most of the victims were beaten to death!

We headed back to town to visit S-21 prison (Toul Sleung Museum) This was a school until the Khmer Rouge took it over to use as a political prisoner camp. Most of the people who were executed in the killing fields came from here, during its time they were 100 people dying per day there from torture, malnutrition and execution. The conditions here were beyond belief and only a dozen people are known to have got out of this prison. Even thou its an unbelievably horrific story if you are in Phnom Penh you should try and visit these places so you can get an idea what these people went through and how far they have come in so little time.

SIEM REAP
3rd May: Today we jumped on a bus to Siem Reap, this is a small city that you stay in for day tours to Angkor. To see Angkor was the main reason we visited Cambodia, As i've said before Clare and myself are not big into spending days looking at old buildings and Wats but when it comes to Angkor this goes out the window because Angkor should be added to the wonders of the world list!
When you arrive in Siem Reap the bus is surrounded by Tuk-Tuk drivers shouting and pulling at you from all angles offering to bring you to any guest house for free it can be very annoying and a bit scary, the reason for this is that everyone who visits angkor needs daily transport and for a tuk-tuk its 10$ per day so if the drivers can get you in his Tuk-tuk the chances are you will hire him for your visits to Angkor. We picked a guy and went looking for a guest house. We visited a good few and some where quite dingy or too expensive we settled for a place called "HOME SWEET HOME" this place had nice big rooms with A/C, ensite,TV and hot shower for 13$ the down side was that the owners were the most unfriendly people you could meet. Jay & Ann from Dublin had recommended a restuarant called "HOME COCKTAIL""and this was right around the corner from our G/House The food was so tasty and inexpensive that we ate all our meals here for duration of our stay. We would be happy to recommend it to anybody its on Wat Bo Rd. We had agreed with our tuk-tuk driver on 35$ for a 3 day hire it cost a bit more because one of the temples is a long way out and also we wanted to go and get our entry pass that evening. So we were collected at 4.30pm and we got our passes at 5.00pm these cost 40$ each for the 3 days, we were able to go in that evening for the last hour and watch the sun set over Angkor Wat.

4th,5th&6th: we spent the next 3 days exploring the temples in angkor some of them are breath-taking and leave you in wonder and awe. They range from 600yrs-1100yrs in age the area is around the size of NY city and as the rulers changed over the years they built there own temples and this is what angkor is today. Some of them are in total ruin others are in the process of restoration and some have been completed already. Kate (who we met in Mong Ngoi) had recommended the best ones to visit so we made out a daily program from this list. It was so hot here that we only spent 5hrs per day in Angkor (7am-1pm) but this was plenty for us. Over the next 3 days we visited Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Bayon, Baphuon,Banteay kdei, Preah khan, Pre Rup, Banteay Srei, Ta Som, East Mebon and Neak pean. All of them were amazing some more then others the way the forest had become one with some of the buildings was a sight to see.

They most have been glorious in the day, with all the people it took to run them and the villages and towns that built up around them.
Tomorrow we are heading back to Bangkok it draws us like a magnet we just love the place!