A Bridge no have

Ferry, originally uploaded by rob-gizzy.

Our trip from Sihanoukville to the Thai Border - Hat Lek was an interesting one, to say the least! We had four crossings, one bridge was completed, but our bus didn't go over it, so we had to cross the bridge per foot, another bridge wasn't built, and we had to cross via this 'ferry', all in all adventure. We got to the Thai border- and to Trat by 4 pm, where we spent the night and took the flight to Bangkok the next morning. Last weekend in Bangkok for some shopping before going home!

Bamboo Island

Bamboo Island, originally uploaded by rob-gizzy.

Yesterday we took a boat trip to Bamboo Island where we could relax and snorkel. There weren't that many fishes, but some GIANT sea urchins with huge spikes, yikes! Besides that we just relaxed on the beach and took the boat back late afternoon. We then 'lounged' with a few Caipirinha cocktails (around 1 euro each), and enjoyed some seafood barbeque. Tomorrow we take the boat to Hat Lek - to the Thai border and will head on to Trat where we catch our flight to Bangkok on Saturday morning. Our beach days are coming to a close, but we still have a whole afternoon of sun, sea, grilled prawns and cocktails ahead :).

Serendipity Beach, Sihanoukville

Serendipity Beach, Sihanoukville
Originally uploaded by rob-gizzy

We arrived in Sihanoukville yesterday, a 4-hour bus ride from Phnom Penh. Our first bungalow, Malibu Bungalows wasn't in a good location so we took a moto to Serendipity and found a bungalow at Coaster's- at the end of Serendipity Beach (nice and quiet compared to the rest of the beach). The went to the market this morning, but that had burned down last week - so we just walked around and took a tuk-tuk back. This afternoon we're chilling on the beach and ordering some grilled, giant prawns, yum!

Bugs as snacks

Bugs as snacks, originally uploaded by rob-gizzy.

Rob had some of these delicious insects........he's so brave!
We've now been in Phnom Penh for a couple of days, and saw the main sights, Royal Palace & Silver Pagoda & Central Market yesterday. Today we visited the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and the Killing Fields of Choeng Ek, 12 km from Phnom Penh. It was depressing to see what human beings can do to one another, totally insane.
Tomorrow we're off to the coast - Sihanoukville - to soak up some sun and relax for a few days.

Children at Orphanage

Children at Orphanage
Originally uploaded by rob-gizzy

These are the kids at the Orphanage Mr. Tee works for - we just gave them some sacks of rice and they came out to thank us. They're all very sweet kids, trying hard to learn English so they can have a job in the tourist industry when they're older......

Monks at Angkor Wat

Monk at Angkor Wat
Originally uploaded by rob-gizzy

AAAAH....ANGKOR WAT.....is absolutely spectacular! We saw a lot of Wats- but this is definitely the cherry on the icecream. We throughly enjoyed our stay in Siem Reap, and loved the Ta Phrom hotel in the center right near Pub Street. We saw many of the temples and spent the last day at the museum, market and finally decided to go back to Angkor Wat for the sunset. Then our journey headed off to Battambang - 8 hours by boat (and we're not talking luxury boat or anything, I mean wooden benches). But we enjoyed the trip - and Mr. Tee (Charles's Cambodian brother) picked us up at the dock, with a sign "Welcome Rob & Ghislaine", so sweet!

Le Grand Cafe, Siem Reap

Le Grand Cafe, Siem Reap
Originally uploaded by rob-gizzy

Finally in Cambodia! Had a VERY good flight from Amsterdam to Bangkok since we were both upgraded to Business Class, which meant we arrived well-rested in Bangkok - and took our connecting flight to Siem Reap a few hours later. Our airport pick-up didn't arrive (seems they didn't get our booking), so we needed to find another place to stay. We're at the Ta Phrom hotel right in the heart of Siem Reap (near PUB street). Tomorrow we'll visit Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom & Bayon. First impressions: really great, and such friendly people!