Dirty monkey ...

Our visit to the temples of Angkor Wat was every bit as amazing as we'd anticipated - even if the dining habits of the resident temple monkeys left something to be desired ...

In all honesty I thought we'd already seen enough temples already to last us a lifetime, but even so we managed to spend 2 long hard days clambering up and down the most impressive ancient architecture you could hope to find anywhere. You can see some of the many, many photos I took by clicking here.



We based ourselves in Siem Reap, which innevitably had many of the hallmarks of a tourist trap (hawkers, strips of restaurants & bars) but still gave us an interesting insight into life in Cambodia.

Again it was automotive matters that stood out, the road rules being much the same as in Vietnam, but with a couple of interesting additions;

Firstly, the petrol station forecourt sliproad. Upon encountering one of the rare "Esso style" forecourts on a corner you wish to turn at, it is standard practice to cut the corner through the station. In fact I didn't see a single vehicle use the alternative road route.

Of course this is made far easier by the second notable difference - almost no-one uses forecourt petrol stations to buy fuel. The norm in Cambodia is to pull up at one of the many stalls selling whisky bottles full of pee-coloured liquid, and tip it into your moped filling tank. I'd guess there must be some sort of price advantage ...

After just a few short days we left Cambodia to head for a rendezvous with some pals from the UK in Bangkok. Like idiots we decided to save some money and take the bus. I think I'll just show you the photo I took from the bus window and let your imaginations do the rest ...



I've added a few new beers to the list - 2 from Cambodia - Angkor the official national brew and the rather nicer Anchor. It all made for rather confusing bar orders after a few had been consumed ...