Day 147 - Off to Koh Samui

Sitting on the dock of the bay, wasting time.

Day 147 - 17th November

So we were finally leaving Phuket and after the night before's horror show, we were probably better off that way.

We loaded up into a mini van and set off for the east side of Thailand and ultimately Koh Samui.

We made the usual stops as we had coming from Bangkok to Phuket, and after indulging in a few skewers for breakfast followed by a cornetto and some mentos, we were crusing towards Koh Samui.

We had a couple of hours stop over between 12pm and 2pm, where we had a little lunch and sat passing the time away with elegant banter (HAHA) and card games. I love that you get dropped off in the middle of the sticks and you just have to trust that the locals will get you to your destination safely.

By 5:30pm, we were on the dock, waiting to board the ferry across to Koh Samui. A group of English backpackers were there too and my Dutch companions I seem to get everywhere I go (that's not a bad thing, good people the Dutch, it's just they are always there).

On the ferry, Matt passed out and Kel felt a little queasy. By the time we reached Koh Samui, I was just ready to get settled again - for one night!

The pre-arranged mini bus took us three quarters of the way around the island, dropping us off on the east side on Lamai Beach. I can compare the mini bus journey to a Thai boxing match as two sister threw a swing at each other - to be fair, the woman who hit out first did need to use the bathrrom and the driver was refusing to stop for a good 2km!

 They left us at the Sand and Sea resort whilst we walked back down and headed to Vanda House, ignoring the advice giving by the mini bus driver to walk a little further down to New Hut resort - not one of my finest moments. I mean, Vanda was nice and all, the staff were friendly and the rooms were magnificent but the New Hut was apparently huts on Lamai Beach (Don't tell Kel and Dave, for Christ sake).

We walked down the ghost town street (there was literally nothing open and it was pitch black) and stopped at a cracking little Curry place. The woman there was really great, friendly and produced some fantastic food and lemon shakes for us at a decent price. When we asked how long she'd been open, she said "Oh, 7 days."

Not bad digs.

Dave and I came back with a loud response of "Seven days?!" which made her laugh. She told us she'd lived on Samui for 25 years working in a hotel before getting slightly disillusioned with life living on an island and returned to mainland. After a few years, she returned and set up her curry place. Quite a nice feel good story for my readers and I hope she thrives here. It's definitely one to try if you're down near Lamai Beach anytime (it can be found opposite Coffee World).

Afterwards, we went back to Vanda and bid farewell to Matt. Dave, Kel and I would be going to Koh Tao in the morning.

Day 102 - Morning out with Moeuth and editing afternoon

Looking out at West Barang view! So beautiful.

Day 102 - 3rd October

Back seat rider

So a slightly overcast start to the day meant I was expecting more rain when me and Mr Moeuth headed to the reservoir. I packed up my yellow poncho and hopped on the back of his motorbike to head out.

Look at that pose.

It's amazing what you find out about people when you travel with them, and Mr Moeuth was no different. He told me he used to be a motorbike driver, taking tourist to different places before he came to work with Globalteer. He sang to me and told me how happy he was I could join him for the morning.

And what a day it was. We headed for West Baray, the reservoir where many Khmer and their family visit for special occasions and have food and enjoy the water. A fair amount of tourists go there too to tube, sleep in water side hammocks and of course to enjoy a beer or two.

Lads on tour, literally.

The trail along was a little bumpy so we had to stop half way. The rain had made it too uneven for us to make our way through.

Such a stunning place.

When we reached as far as we could go, Mr Moeuth asked if I'd like to go to his brother's house who was actually his cousin. Sure, why not I thought, so we headed back east for ten minutes or so and drove through the jungle until we reached a modest hut in the heart. Unfortunately his brother cousin wasn't at home so we changed tact and headed for his brother's house (his real brother).

The Khmer life.

The family home.

The water source to the left, the mother in law and her family inside the blue structure to the right.

We arrived to find his brother and his family relaxing beneath their house. They were very happy to see me and wanted me to look around the farm nearby, the water pump and at the kids having a game of cards for a few hundred riel. It was such a great experience to see local Khmer's doing their thing - a far cry from the pub street carnival.

Brotherly love.

Moeuth dropped me off back at Bou Savy after I treated him to a fried chicken lunch and petrol money. Say treated, it was more a thank you for his awesome tour.

I bombed into the pool for a 40 lap extravaganza before heading out to post a few postcards, grab some Amok Fish in my eating spot and then some bananas and peanut butter for snack times. I also picked up some Colgate lemon toothpaste (it was yellow, I was a moth to the flame), some new wash stuff and arguably my worst purchase since being in Asia - Durian ice cream. 

Believe me, this fruit kicks up a stink and the flavour wasn't much better either. Telling my brain it was just vanilla ice cream worked about as well as the time I tried to eat a tablespoon of cocoa powder in an attempt to prove it could be done without choking. It was for a bet!

The afternoon saw me Skyping home as the Bou Savy owner had a party behind me with his Khmer buddies (that guy is a legend). 

Blocking out their cheers, it was time to see how the gang were doing. Again, all good, plodding along which is always great to hear. I called my Nanna up and she told me that her collection of fifteen or so postcards was like a book now and that I'd called her just as she was going upstairs for her morning wash. I knew I hadn't interrupted her porridge time at 9 am. I bloody love her and miss her so much! I miss them all.

As the rain fell down, so did my ambitions of going out for dinner. It's probably a good thing, saving money. It wasn't a total loss as I met Johannes from Germany and with all people you meet travelling, he had an interesting story. He told me he'd been married 17 years and was now moving to Melbourne with his wife to start a new life. He had been to University to study archeology, so shared my enthusiasm for ancient Egyptian history. It turns out we'd both done a hot air balloon trip over the Nile! He was travelling through for two weeks coming from Bangkok and then working his way around the Asia circuit, North to South.

We toasted our meet over an Angkor beer, my first in over a week before I returned to my room to crash out for the night.

Well what can I say (as if I haven't said enough already). What a day and with only three weeks left, I am already getting the strong feeling that I am going to miss this country. Long live Cambodia!

Day 100 - I made it! A century, not out yet.

Happy 100 Days of Travelling to me!

Day 100 - 01st October

Well, 100 days since I left home. God, how the time has flown. It seems like yesterday I stepped off that plane in Beijing and thought to myself, 'I'm never going to make this!'

I've been to so many fantastic places - China (Beijing, Xi'an, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong), Vietnam (Hanoi, Sapa, Halong Bay, Phong Nha, Huè, Hoi An, Nha Trang, Dalat, Mui Ne and Ho Chi Minh) and now Cambodia (Siem Reap and Phomn Penh). I've seen some quite incredible sights, met some awesome people and you know what the great thing is? The adventure is still going!

It had been a late night on Wednesday, Skyping my brother and then Mum and Dad. Again, everyone is well and it was good to hear my bro as if he was here with me.

Over breakfast I enjoyed eggs and jam and edited my book again. It's almost ready for the volunteers to read for me so I'm pretty excited about that.

I swam forty lengths and then headed to the office for my weekly meetings. Unfortunately DK was sick so we didn't have any meetings so I headed back to Bou Savy to continuing my editing. It is sometimes a lot more difficult than actually thinking about what to put on the page. You have to be alert for any silly mistakes (there are plenty during the drafting stage) and also it is crucial that everything makes sense. Sometimes, I write so fast, I don't re-read until later and by then, I've forgot the rhythm I'm in. A writer's life aye?

My washing facilities.

I did a little laundry, Dan Millen style (a bar of soap and a sink) and hung it up to dry!

My washing line!

I felt the twinge on my foot again so gave football a miss but the other Big Willy boys showed up to win 9-8. Great stuff chaps!

After a long day of reading, I went to bed ready for a long day ahead on Friday. 8 sessions!

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Day 93 - National holiday = a day off!

The view from The Sun. Not too shabby, aye?

Day 93 - 24th September

So a day off and it's nothing to do with the rain. Hurrah! (Cheers Charlie).

Need I say more?

I had a pretty awesome noodle soup for breakfast - a pleasant change to start the day - whilst I did a little blogging and worked on my latest book ideas. Always ticking along with something new.

Afterwards, I decided to do some exercise, taking to do lengths in the pool. No one else was in there so I took advantage. It was nice to just take a few hours to do something fun. To dry off, I laid in the sun and read my book. 

Pre-sunburn.

Stupidly, I forgot my sun cream so I ended up like a lobster on my chest and legs. That'll teach me!

I set off downtown in search of some food. As I cycled, I heard a repetitive, chugging sound coming from the front of my bike. It continue for ten minutes until I reached Pub Street. A quick check revealed that I had a flat tyre! Nuts.

After calling my coordinator, Rebecca, Mr Mut came out from Globalteer with a replacement for me (he's a good man). As a thanks, I gave him $5 for his phone credit. Not quite even but it was the least I could do for his troubles.

I headed to The Sun for a Cuba Libre and then had an awesome lamb burger with mint dressing and salad. You can't beat it!

Don from Project B swung by toward 5:30 pm and he had a couple of Mango Margaritas whilst I kept him company. I found out he had lived in Singapore for a few years before moving further North to Siem Reap, where he was volunteering at the project. It's only when you sit down with people, away from the hustle and bustle that you really get to know them.

I had to shoot off at 6:15pm to get to my weekly six-a-side game over at Samakee Market. We were playing a big side in Carlton Palmer F.C. The rain had fallen so the pitch was greasy, ready for slick passes.

I scored first to make it four in four before Charlie added two more long rangers and Alex scored an audacious header over a 6ft 2 keeper. We were cruising at four - nil, playing a high tempo, so it was only understandable that we relaxed and felt tired a bit more than usual. Carlton Palmer saw this and nicked two goals back but we held out for a great win. Colin's double goal line clearance in addition to Yanni's strong defending, Boreth's great goalkeeping and Nico's tricks made it all the more a satisifying win with well deserved beers afterwards.

GET IN THERE BIG WILLY F.C.

What a day, and I relaxed for a few hours before nodding off, ready for the eight sessions at Project D on Friday!

Day 89 - Day Out with DK and more work!

Day 89 - 20th September

89 days since I left home and a new record - the longest I've ever been away from home, previously set way back in 2009 when I went to America for 88 days.

I woke up with a sore head and feeling very tired. The noodles for breakfast didn't help either. Nor did the sudden wave of heat we've been having since Friday afternoon - send the rain back!

I Skyped my brother, Jamie and his wife Holly. I was also able to see my niece, Emmy. Ah, she's a beaut. And she's so funny now. Laughing to the Yaya / Kolo Tourè song. Smiling at the computer. Trying to talk. Keeping her own head up. As you can tell, I'm one proud Uncle.

By 11, I'd met up with DK. We headed downtown and picked him up a book he can start reading as part of his English lessons with me. He chose a Lonely Planet guide of Cambodia, citing that he wanted to learn more about his own country as his reason. You've gotta love this guy!

I interviewed him about his life and found out some interesting stuff about him. You can read the interview here on my blog: http://www.aloombabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/interview-with-doum-kroem-aka-dk.html 

After a Khmer lunch, we headed back to Bou Savy. On the way, I stopped to pick up a pencil and a pad of paper to do a little illustrating on some of my children's books. I'm not a great drawer but I can create certain things that will pass the basic test.

I then relaxed for a few hours, just drawing and watching the Tottenham v.s. Crystal Palace game until I had another Skype session with my sister, Kelly and cousin, Dave. They're coming out to meet me in Thailand in November so we went through all of our plans for the two week trip. Chiang Mai, Bangkok, Phuket and Koh Samui being our main targets. It's going to be incredible!

Then it was time for United's game against Southampton. A tricky game but one we came out winning 3-2. Gotta love that Martial!

A busy weekend to end a busy week here in Siem Reap. Week 5 is imminent, and I can't wait!

Day 87 - Kids are tiring, fact!

Siem Reap by night.

Day 87 - 18th September

I over slept from a heavy night's sleep and to my surprise, it was not raining.

I picked up a banana pancake to go and shot off for the office, meeting DK and Vibol, our Tuk Tuk driver. Mr Muk (Globalteer team member) was trying to buy my phone off me. I wouldn't want to take his money plus it locks itself all the time from the heat and half the screen is cracked. Definitely not worth it.

We arrived at our school for the day. We had four morning sessions with the first two classes getting a really good grasp of the five box game and the social message it give with regards to family. It was pretty easy going and they did as they were told - their push ups were hilarious, as most have been all week.

By the time the second two sets of classes come out, I was feeling energetic, ready to put them through a good warm up before DK took the lesson. But sadly, it wasn't to be . . .

The kids are great, of course. Every one of them has a great personality and enthusiasm for sport but keeping them under control was more of a challenge then trying to keep 12 balls in three boxes (3x4 with them rolling everywhere. Yeah, I have to do that).

In the end we just had them free play and everyone had great fun. Some of the school volunteers involved themselves, including a mother and daughter combo from Australia. It's great to see everyone getting involved.

After a brief spot of lunch and script editing at Bou Savy, we went back to the same school for our afternoon sessions.

Our sessions were more tiring in the afternoon, for both us and the kids. It was hotter than it had been in the morning so every one was wearing out much quicker. But we still had fun! 

I had sand all over my shirt from the push up instruction, a wet back from the sweat and kids jumping all over me. One kids tapped me after getting off my back and pointed to his shirt. It was wet. 'This is from you,' he said before laughin with the others. I couldn't help but join him.

After the lessons ended, DK and I were glad to be resting in the back of the Tuk Tuk. An 8 lesson Friday is definitely a killer!

Love a good Ham and Cheese toastie.

I headed downtown for dinner at the Red Piano and edged ever closer to completing my second draft. 

By the ten o'clock rolled around, I was out. Maybe I am getting old?

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Day 85 - More rain, but no rain, no gain, right? RIGHT!

The dining area where I do most of my writing these days!

Day 85 - 16th September

So a quick noodle breakfast this morning and I was out the door.

We shot off to our project across town and were setting up in the rain. I am truly a believer in wet season now having witness so much rain. I thought it was just to signify when the rains came but boy have I been wrong.

The kids were full of energy and enjoyed the game of hopping between cones, as I gradually took more  away. Eventually, I had an army of kids behind me and just two in front. They both played a great game but as always there has to be just one winner.

We the taught them the lesson of the week and some kids grasped it quickly, others more slowly. Some not at all. One thing I'll always remember is from box four (Push Ups). The kids this thrusting their pelvis' into the floor is the way to do a push up and it just has me and DK in stitches.

After a slightly dryer end to the lesson, we headed off to our other project, over by the airport. This place has a big playing field so it's always fun. 

DK had to talk to the director about future sports arrangements so I took the lesson. The kids loved the warm ups, running up and down and jumping around. I then had them lined up in team A and B and they would run out in turns trying to catch the other team. DK suggested it as a good burner of energy. He wasn't wrong.

The lesson was cut short by . . . yep, more rain but we had most it anyway.

When I returned to Bou Savy, I had my Cup O Noodles and finished my admin tasks for Globalteer.

Afterwards, I headed over to teach DK more English. I tried him out reading for ten minutes so I could see what words he struggled with in some Grimm Fairy Tale books. I knew Gretel would get him!

We returned to the same NGO and DK coached the lesson of the week for them. Again the kids struggled with the push ups, all except the smallest kid. He is a foot shorter than the rest, about two years younger too but damn, can he nail a push up! Impressive stuff from a kid who normally comes to class dressed as Batman (Cape and Cowl included!) He's obviously serious about life as a crime fighter, and good on him.

By the time we were five minutes from Bou Savy, the rain was pouring again.

Please, let this be the one!

I made a quick stop at my favourite $1 noodle cart outside the hostel and then pitched up at. Table in the lobby / dining area to finish my script for the BBC drama submission.

And it's finished. All the hard work has paid off and now a quick edit and off it goes. 

So exciting times here in Siem Reap. Loving it more every day!

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Day 81 - Script Writing and relaxing

C'mon you reds!

Day 81 - 12th September

So Dan and Abigail got up to go to a mountain at 7am. Ha, suckers.

I still woke up early to have a noodle breakfast before I commenced work on my script for a TV drama which has to be submitted to the BBC by 24th September so lots of work was required.

Dan suddenly appeared and told me his tale of being hung over and not wanting to go to the mountain in such a state. I agreed it was probably a good idea, but told him he'd risked the chance of being on the end of Abigail's wrath. He didn't seem worried, in true Dan style.

We went to Charlie's Bar for a beer before heading to The Red Piano for lunch. I had a pepperoni pizza, trying to soak up my own beer from the night before before we headed back for Dan to take another nap.

Abigail reappeared and between us we convinced Dan she was annoyed at him. That was good fun, especially Dan just sat back and didn't even look bothered. A funny guy, that Dan - it's a Dan thing.

We enjoyed an Indian together before we all headed back. 

I was delighted to catch United beat Liverpool 3-1, more so because I won £100 in the process on a bet. A double delight!

After the game finished at 3am, I fell asleep, knowing I'd have be up early again in the morning for a trip to the fishing village at 9am. It's a tough old life. 

Day 75 - Cheerio Phomn Penh

Busy morning markets in Phomn Penh!

Day 75 - 06th September

So DK and I were up early to find the market which happened to be a block around the corner from our hostel. We wandered through the various alleyways, looking at the wares the sellers were offering before we returned to 11 Backpackers Hostel.

The site map of 'The Killing Fields' at The Chuoeung Genocidal Center

I couldn't help still thinking about the brutality of the Khmer Rouge and the Pol Pot Regime. The sheer scale was shocking. It definitely something that is going to take some time to process.

The museum.

DK went to meet a friend whilst Dan, Abigail and I went to the National Cambodian Museum and then the market to find a bargain. I came away empty handed but Dan picked up a pair of shoes for his mum whilst Abigail said how they wouldn't fit her own feet because her feet were a similar size, but 'wider'. Dan and I caught each other's eye and moved on swiftly, not wishing to be drawn in to a potentially dangerous situation.

The bus collection was at 1:30pm and before I knew it, we were back on the road.

The 11 Backpacker's Hostel

Stunning countryside, despite the history.

It was a long journey, with thunderstorms, lack of air conditioning and selfies from Abigail (so many selfies). DK and I went through some English papers, with him reading to me. He's getting on really well and his pronunciation of words is getting better every day.

The bus journey back, which I've done twice now!

We arrived back in Siem Reap close to 9pm.

DK was picked up by his friend. Dan, Abigail and I went to a restaurant for a late dinner and we all looked buggered. After they'd finished 'another' Italian meal, we made our way tiredly back to Bou Savy.

It had been a great weekend, but very emotional at times. My respect levels for the Cambodian strength and courage has gone off the radar!

Day 74 - Phomn Penh and the Killing Fields

The memorial in S21 Tuol Sleng

Day 74 - 05th September

So we arrived in Phomn Penh after an eventful night on the VB bus. The drop off in the centre of town was into a square of Tuk Tuks, salesmen and women and buses, speeding by. Lots going on and lots to be excited about for the weekend.

We jumped on a $4 Tuk Tuk to our hostel and arrived at 11 Backpackers Hostel. It was right in the heart of central Phomn Penh and I was looking forward to seeing the reactions of the other three when we reached the dorm rooms.

After a spot of breakfast, mine was an awesome Snickers pancake, DK went to meet some old school friends whilst Abigail, Dan and I went to Tuol Sleng (S21) - the facility that housed over 14,000 prisoners and only a shocking seven survived!

It was very emotional and looking at the faces of past, beaten, battered and bruised, you couldn't help feeling disgusted by members of our race. How people can do this to others is beyond me. The Pol Pot regimes were cowardly, callous and just pure evil.

There are no photos because I couldn't bring myself to show them on this blog.

A brave survivor, Bou Meng whose wife was tortured and murdered at S21.

One photo I am happy to share is of this man, Mr Bou Meng, who saw his wife tortured and murdered here, all of which he witnessed. The courage of this man is commendable and I'm proud to show him on this blog.

Dan was tired.

The Memorial Stupa, that houses the victims remains.

We all were subdued, as Jordy, Sèbastien and I had been after the museum in Ho Chi Minh. We left the prison to go forty minutes to The Chuoeung Genocidal Center or one of the Killing Fields.

This tour came with an audio guide so the experience was heightened to explain the atrocities committed on the site. Children were torn from their mothers and their skulls crushed against the 'Killing Tree'. Women were worked like animals from 4am to 12am without more than one meal a day so they couldn't feed their children properly; many were raped before being killed. The men were no different. 

The shallow impressions in the ground that looked like shell craters were their eventual graves. Bodies were tossed their and DTT was added to cover the smell of decay. The level of mass murder here was unbelievable.

The most chilling story I heard on the tour was the re-telling of the night time killings. The Khmer Rouge (Pol Pot's men) would play loud music from the 'Magic Tree' and turned on a generator to mask the screams of their victims. When they did a reconstruction, the hairs on my neck stood up.

At the end of the tour, I visited the Memorial Stupa, which housed 9,000 skulls and the ways in which they had been murdered - bayonet, bullet, axe and so on. Looking at these skulls was surreal. It felt like I was looking at movie props.

I came away feeling guilty. I don't know why, maybe because the western world had not stepped in or maybe because the killings were so savage, I really don't know, but the trip back to Phomn Penh gave me plenty of time to think.

My tequila sunrise.

In the afternoon, Dan, Abigail and I chilled out with some cocktails and burgers. It was nice to relax and reflect. We spent a good few hours, letting the world go by.

No caption required.

We found the Phomn Penh night market setting up for the evening and wandered around in search of a bargain for Abigail. We failed!

Back at the hostel, we found a smiling DK, who had been out with his friends and had enjoyed a great day. He topped his day off by beating Abigail at pool!

A tasty Khmer curry.

We went to the Noodle House for dinner. I had a Khmer red curry before attempting to find the Night Market again. Our excursion took us around the streets of Phomn Penh, with very little looking like the market. It took me half an hour before I worked out that we were miles away from it (I say miles, I mean 20 minutes or so) so we retreated back to 11 Backpackers Hostel.

It had been a long day, emotionally draining and I was looking forward to a good sleep. Within minutes, I was already gone!

Day 70 - Has it really been 70 days already?

All kitted up for the big game!

Day 70 - 01st September

So another morning had rolled around and pancakes were back on the menu for me. 

After meeting with DK, we went straight to school A. Before the lesson began, we observed a game the kids were playing. Basically, the kids had to kick a foam puck (which was a circular disc cut out from an old flip flop) against a wall or pillar so it ricocheted off and hit a pack of cards in the middle of the floor. When cards flew off from the middle the kids would pick them up. This would continue until all the cards were gone and then a count up for each card to see who had the most. 

I was tempted to jump in but they seemed in a zone and very competitive so I left them be.

Again, we ran the same drills as the day before, trying to get the kids to engage and join in. There was 20 or so of them so it was important to get their opinions on child rights collectively. The kids were really good again, and gave us food, health and fun as their rights.

Once our class was finished, we waited for another. Only four students turned up. As I scratched my head, and DK spoke in Khmer to the teacher, we quickly found out the rest of the students had joined the first session.

So we had a mini session with the four students and had lots of funny moments, dropping the ball, balls hitting me in the face and so on.

By the afternoon, we returned to project B and some of the kids recognised me and greeted me warmly. It's always a bit easy when you are familiar with the kids because you don't have to start over again with the nervousness and reluctance to talk to me as an outsider.

The rain crashed down again shortly after and we wrapped up the session.

My sports manager, Charlie had signed me up for eight weeks to play for his football team so we had a kickabout on AstroTurf against a Khmer team at 7pm. Damn those Khmer can run. We lost 7-3 but it was an unlucky defeat. We switched off a couple of times which cost us, but I can see I'm going to enjoy playing with this team.

It had been a long day and I crashed out basically when I got back and I'd had. Brief conversation with Dan and Abigail in the lobby area of Bou Savy. Ah, what a day, but I'm loving every second!

Special note: Today is the 3rd wedding anniversary of my brother, Jamie (J) and his wife Holly (Holza). Congratulations to you guys, enjoy and have a great day!

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Day 67 - Sunrise and Angkor Wat

My 4:30 am game face.

Day 67 - 29th August

My first full weekend in Cambodia. Another day, another dollar as they say - well it is here as everything is literally a dollar!

It was 4:15 am, a time I knew only too well from my travels around Asia. Instead of greeting it like an old friend, I stuck two fingers up and rolled over with my duvet, until my alarm eventually woke me at 4:30am.

The younguns.

I met Dan and Abigail outside in the dark at 5am and Mr Barang, our Goobalteer Tuk Tuk driver collected us for the day. After a brief five or six kilometre drive, we arrived at the Angkor Wat ticket station. An exchange of $20 dollars and a photograph for ID on the ticket was the price to pay to get in.

Stunning place. No wonder it's claimed as the 7th wonder of the world.

Shortly after, we went to Angkor Wat, the main temple on this mammoth 400km2 site and waited with hundreds, even thousands of others for the sun to come up. It was quite a sight, perhaps not as spectacular as my hot air balloon over the Nile at sunrise but definitely something I will remember from the trip.

After sunrise.

Trying to be artistic. I think it works.

It really is amazing to stand before this place. The picture do it no justice.

We walked through the temples, marvelling at the architecture and the sheer scale of some of the rooms and corridors. It really was something to behold. For the first time, words cannot describe this site so I'll let the pictures do the talking.

It's a huge, complex maze of corridors, courtyards and towers.

The back entrance to Angkor Wat temple.

After visiting Angkor Wat, we went to Angkor Thom and the stunning Bayon temple, which was a larger site and we were able to climb to the top for some awesome photos. 

Group shot!

At Angkor Thom site at the Bayon Temple. Look at that tan!

The bridge entrance to Angkor Thom

Again, incredible and mind blowing stuff at the Bayon Temple.

The smiley face.

The incredible Baphuon Temple.

From inside the courtyard.

View from the top of Baphuon Temple, it was quite the hike up those steps.

Mr Barang, our loyal Tuk Tuk driver. What a great guy!

Ta Prohm was another magnificent site, the detail on these temples is beautiful.

The 'Tomb Raider' temple and me!

Now the group picture!

The famous tree on the other side.

When we returned to Siem Reap around lunchtime, I went to work on more sports articles. What should have taken an hour took six. I was so engrossed I lost track of time. I managed to write the articles to a standard I was happy with. Just six more published and they start paying me! 

Abigail, Dan and I headed out and found Little India, a nice spot on the Main Street for curry. My non-vegetarian Thali (I assume that is just a meat Thali then) was delicious and at only $5 with a drink, it was a bargain.

We all headed back for a night swim before getting an early night. It had been a truly long day.

Special note - Mr Barang, our Tuk Tuk driver: thank you very much for an awesome day, you really did make it much easier and convenient to get around and your patience in waiting hours for us was much appreciated. A definite recommendation to anyone going to Siem Reap.