More temples!

The quiet American

If you've read the book or seen the film you'll understand from the picture above why we felt like we were right there during this lunch!

Christmas Day

We had a fun Christmas Eve haing a few drinks in town. We started Christmas day traditionally by eating cadbury's for breakfast - yum! After that we went to the temple where they filmed Tomb Raider. It was amazing to see how the trees have grow into and around the temple walls. I forgot to write about the big lizard on my head yesterday. As we were driving along in the tuk-tuk it felt like someone had thrown a tennis ball at the back of my head. I put my hand up to feel - thinking that it was a leaf and an enormous lizard was clinging on to my hair. In my panic it flew off on to the road - so I hope he was ok! We're going out for dinner tonight and are planning to pig out on junk and watch Christmas films this afternoon.

Amazing, amazing temples

We arrived in Siem Reap yesterday. We went to one of the most amazing sights in the world today. Ankor Wat is an enormous complex of temples each designed by a different king in a different era trying to out do one another. They are therefore very different and eme more and more extravgent. This evening we had a lovely Christmas Eve in Siem Reap. We paid a dollar a drink - at home it would have been at least 3 tims that so we were able to hae twice as much. Only joking mum! We hav to be up early tomorrow to go temple watching again! Tomorrow we go to the place where Tomb Raider was filmed.

Views from a tuk-tuk

And one of me for Gem and Mum!

Killing Fields

I have just been on the most depressing tour of my life. When Pol Pot was in power in the late 1970's he killed about 1.7 million people in Cambodia. During the Khmer Rouge regime they kept the population of the country to exactly 80,000, which they thought was the ideal number. They killed all professionals and educated people and believed by doing this they could start from 'year 0'. Today we visited the killing fields where thousands of men, women and children were taken bound and blind-folded to be beaten to death in trenches, rather than waste bullets. We then went to the school where these people were tortured and held. All their photos where taken on arrival, in order to document the process. It was such a sad place, made especially real when our tuk-tuk driver told us how his father was also killed here. It is amazing that the people here are so happy. Most people over the age of 30 have had direct experience of the events. It is very sad.

Anyway, I know this is really depressing, but as we are in the country we should know the recent history and it really does make me appreciate what we have. Tomorrow we leave Phnom Penh and go on the Siem Reap.

Photos!

Phnom Penh

We flew into Cambodia yesterday. I was expecting Phnom Penh (the capital city) to be really basic and run down but it has turned out to be a really nice city. We didn't manage to do much last night. We made it to a restaurant on the water front (after me falling over like a toddler and grazing my knee) then back to bed pretty early. We both slept so well - ready for today's marathon walk.

We have walked all over the city today. It has some really beautiful areas and some very run down parts. I am so shattered now - ready for another early night. We're going to eat at the hotel then watch TV in our room. I hope there's a nice Christmas movie to watch!

I have just tried to add photos but it is so slow here - so it'll have to be another time.

Christmas Presents and Pigging Out

We went to the Sheraton Hotel for our Christmas meal today. It was great but I really couldn't breathe very well after eating so much. Gareth on the other hand is totally infuriating. He gets full so quickly. Below is a little sequence which sums up Gareth's eating. The Sheraton is well known for its buffet - especially the mini puddings - so that you can eat as many different ones as you like, without getting full. Gareth came back with only a single tiny little creme caramel. It's all he could manage!!! Aaaargh. Why do I have to be the big pig? I ate at least 3 times as much as him. We had a little Christmas day today as we are off to Cambodia tomorrow and can't carry presents along with us. We had some really nice gifts from our familes - so thank you very much! Gareth gave me this great tea set that I've had my eye on for a while. He chose the design and I love it.