Poor me :-(

UPDATED - NOV 2010: Now with photos (from the new shiny camera). Woohoo! ;-)





A little peace and recuperation time in Kratie...

Having managed to be poorly sick in one way or another for my entire time here in Cambodia, I was in need of a bit of a rest. And where better to do that than on the banks of the Mekong river. The lovely Balcony Guesthouse and stunning views have been nearly enough to make up for the fact I’ve not been able to have a drink in over two weeks. Nearly...

The Bamboo train (now with pics!)

UPDATED - NOV 2010: Now with photos (from the new shiny camera). Woohoo! ;-)









One 8 hour boat trip later and we’re in beautiful Battenbang: home of the bamboo train! Well...I say ‘train’, in fact, it’s a simple bamboo platform with a motor on the back which hurtles down a single railway track through the countryside. Until you meet another one coming the other way. At which point, it’s ‘all change!’, dismantle, pass, re-assemble, ‘all aboard!’ and off again. Loved it!

Angkor Wat and friends. (Now with pics!)

UPDATED - NOV 2010: Now with photos (from the new shiny camera). Woohoo! ;-)





So, Patrick, me and my swollen wisdom tooth made it safely across Cambodia to Siem Reap and the land of the temples. It’s a very different city from Phnom Penh – much smaller, more tourist friendly and far prettier.

Despite managing to break my camera on the first day there (seriously, only I could manage to break my camera a day before visiting Angkor Wat...and, let me assure you, replacing it was NOT as easy as you might imagine) there are lots of pictures. However, the tinternet here is not playing nicely, so you'll all just have to wait to see them.

The cockroach ate my blog...ahem

Right, so it's now two and a half months later and I am in Cambodia with a body guard. China, Hong Kong, Thailand and Vietnam have flown by and I am now fighting off Tuk-tuks in Phnom Penh with Patrick.

I will be a good girl and fill in the gaps at some point soon. For the moment let's just say it has been the adventure I was looking for and I've loved every minute - even the ones I've hated.

Phnom Penh is interesting (and yes, I think I do mean that in the sense my art teacher used when grading my work at school). As with so many places I've seen in Asia, it's all about extremes: extremely poor alongside incredibly rich, surprisingly friendly alongside shockingly aggressive, eerily peaceful alongside amazingly hectic. It's not a city I can say I love (I'm saving that for Bejing, Hong Kong and Hanoi for the time being), but it's certainly not boring.

Yesterday's trip to the Russian Market started with intestine, blood and rice porridge (mmm!) and was followed by bargain flipflop buying. We then took a walk through the city and an accidental visit to the red light district in the evening. Today's outing was a little less... erm, not sure what the word is. We went out to the killing fields and to the prison used during the Pol Pot regime. It is not a cheerful experience - but it is a very eye-opening one. The memorial displaying skulls and bones from the thousands of victims is an image that does not need photographing to stay with you.

And on that note, we shall be making our escape tomorrow up to Siem Reap. The Palace here will have to wait until our return next week.