I went from Kratie by boat to Kampong Cham and then from there by share taxi to Siem Reap. It is the town at the Angkor temples and the base from where to explore them. It isn''t a cheap thing to do, as a 1 day pass costs $20 and I got a 3 day pass which was $40. However it was worth it and it would be stupid to go there and not pay the money to see one of the 7 man made wonders of the world!! I cycled around the mini tour the first day, motorbiked out to a far temple and round some of the grand tour on the second day and then hired a moto with driver for the third day and saw more of what I hadn't already seen, some about 14km away and then more in the main part. My moto driver also took me to visit the house of a friend who lived in a rural area in a wee wooden house. It was nice to see, though he wasn't there but his sister was.

The temples are really amazing. Any one of them would be very much visited anywhere else, and here there are so many you could run the risk of becoming blase about them. Angkor Wat is the main one and obviously stunning, however there are lots of smaller ones that are great- intricate stone carvings, majestic faces hewn in large rocks, ones where there is a beautiful tangle with nature and man's creations - the jungle's roots entwined with stone archways where the two have become one. A dance of destruction and support.

My firsty guesthouse was okay, but then I moved to the same guesthouse where Amir and Marte were staying. It was nice! The room was wooden (I was sharing with a German / Turkish Kurd girl Nurcan) and there was a communal area downstairs of a bamboo platform with hammocks and cushions on the ground. Very nice. There were quite a few single travellers and we had a nice time hanging out in the evenings. My last night there we sat up playing cards until 1.15am.

I am now back in Phnom Penh - this time staying at Number 10 (next door to number 9) and am sharing with an Australian girl called Liz. In the past month and a half I have had one night by myself! It is cheaper but quite funny when you think about it. I just phoned Nikki and we chatted for 38 minutes (to be exact) and she asked if I had been able to have sace to myself - I think I have had enough. I will soon be ready for some more, but that is more of the need to stop and process for a while. We shall see.

I am heading to the south tomorrow to Kampot and Kep then will head on to Sihanoukville and to Thailand via Koh Khong. About a week left here, or just under.