Location: Bangkok
Miles travelled: 36009
Time Zone: GMT + 07:00
So the day came to leave Vietnam and head for Cambodia via the Mekong Delta. We started off the trip with a bus ride to Cai Be. From there we hopped on our first boat which was to take us along the Mekong through a floating market, which was made up of lots of boats all floating in the middle of the river selling all sorts. Most boats advertised their stock by hanging some samples from a tall bamboo stick at the front of the boat. After the market we went on a cruise along the river and ended up at a village where we jumped off the boat and onto bicycles for a short ride to a house where we had lunch before cycling back to the boat and heading for Vinh Long. Once at Vinh Long we got back onto a bus and then a ferry to Long Xuyen. The fellow ferry riders seemed very amused by us and kept looking at us like we were all aliens or something. The itinerary for the trip said that we'd be at our hotel for sunset i.e. 6pmish however we seemed to be running very late and only made it onto the final boat for sunset. So we sat on the top of the boat and watched sunset while chatting and having a few beers. We finally took off and got to watch a lightning storm as we headed slowly along the river towards our stop for the night at Chau Doc. We had dinner on the boat and finally got to our hotel at 9.30pm. The hotel was pretty basic and we had a horrible nights sleep as it was about 35 degrees in the room.

We caught our bus to Siem Reap and arrived to the most hassling I've ever experienced. We could barely get off the bus for the amount of Tuk-Tuk drivers that were trying to get us to take them as their driver or stay in their hotel. It took every bit of restraint I had not to shout at them but eventually we found a Tuk-Tuk who would take us to our chosen hotel. Our Tuk-Tuk driver's name was Nee and once he'd dropped us off at the hotel we arranged for him to collect us later that afternoon and bring us to the temples for sunset.

We jumped into the Tuk-Tuk at 8 the next morning and headed back to Angkor Wat for a longer stay. Its really amazing and climbing up to the top of the towers was great although not for those afraid of heights! After Angkor Wat we headed for Angkor Thom which has several temples in it as well as other wonderful structures. We saw Bayon, Baphuon, Phimeanakas and Preah Palilay temples and also the Terrace of the Elephants. After doing all that walking we grabbed some food before heading to our last stop of the day - Ta Prohm.

We headed back to the hotel for lunch and a short break before Nee collected us for another sunset trip - this time to Phnom Krom, a hill over looking Siem Reap Lake. After eventually finding our way to the top of the hill we sat and watched the sun set over the lake which was lovely. Afterwards we headed back and said our thanks and farewells to Nee who had been a great driver for the last few days. After having a few very busy days we decided to take a rest day and just relax in Siem Reap. We wandered round the market and then headed to an internet cafe to update the blog. We had a few cocktails that evening before booking our bus to Battambong for the next morning.
The bus trip to Battambong was very hot and sweaty but we finally got there and jumped on 2 motos (mopeds) to get to our hotel. We checked in and had some food and relaxed for the rest of the day. The following day we wandered round the markets and met an Irish guy who had been on our bus the day before. He informed me that the temples and the palace (the only main sights in Battambong) were both closed and so there wasn't really much to do so we just chilled out and booked our bus to Phnom Penh for the next morning.
We arrived in Phnom Penh in the afternoon and grabbed a Tuk-Tuk to our hotel. After checking in we grabbed some food and sorted out a city tour for the following day which would bring us everywhere we had wanted to go. The next morning the mini-bus picked us up and brought us to our first stop, Tuol Sleung (S-21). It was a prison and is now a genocidal museum showing photos of some of the thousands of people to have been kept there who never left and also some of the rooms where 14 bodies were found after the regime. It was pretty harrowing for first thing in the morning and really got to you...only a few of the 14,000 people who were put in there survived! After that we headed to the Killing Fields which us where the Tuol Sleung prisoners were brought to be executed. They have built a memorial to those who died there and inside you can walk around a glass tower filled with 8,000 skulls from victims whose bodies had been disinterrned. All around the memorial were the now empty mass graves where all the bodies had been found as well as land underwhich some graves still lay. Our next stop was at the Russian market in town where we had lunch in a little cafe on a corner before wandering round the market and buying a few bits and pieces. The next stop was the Royal Palace. We weren't sure what to expect but once we walked into the grounds we both just went wow at the beautful gardens and gorgeous golden edged buildings that surrounded us. Within the Royal Palace is the Silver Pagoda - so called because it is floored with solid silver tiles each weighing 1.5kg which also contains a jade buddha. Once we'd finished gazing at the buildings and fabulous surroundings we headed back to the hotel. We went up to the rooftop bar and watched an amazing sunset over the lake while having a few drinks.
The next day was our last in Cambodia so we went to both the Central and Russian markets for some last minute shopping before grabbing dinner on to roof of the hotel and packing our bags for our early flight to Bangkok. We got up at 6 and after grabbing some take-away brekkie we jumped into a Tuk-Tuk and headed for the airport. We were off to the final country on our trip - Thailand.
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