27 October 2007 - Cambodia

Day 24 - A very interesting but also very sad morning excursion to the Genocide Museum and the Killing Fields. The museum, which was the former prison and originally a school was left as it was during the time of Pol Pot's reign. It contained pictures of many of the men, women and children that were imprisoned and then later killed. The Museum also contained the equipment used for torture and the bones and clothes of those murdered. The majority of the mass graves in the Fields have been excavated but some have been left alone. Due to the heavy rainfall dislodging the mud you occasionally see clothes and bones of those buried. Again not the most pleasant of days but something that should be seen and remembered.

Day 25 - We caught a morning flight to Siem Riep which is the town nearest the temples of Angkor. We hoped to go up in a tethered balloon to see a view over Angkor Wat but unfortunately it was broken! So instead some of our group got a Tuk Tuk out to Banteay Srei, another temple, not usually visited due to the distance from the others. We also stopped at a Landmine Museum which contains many mines deactivated by a former mine layer. The museum works to raise money in order to locate and destroy landmines. In the evening we enjoyed some local Khmer chicken curry!

Day 26 - Day one of the Temple touring. We visited Angkor Thom, which is where the famous Bayon faces are located and Preah Kahn. In the afternoon we saw three more temples - Neak Pean, East Mebon and Pre Rup.

Day 27 - Second day of Temple touring. We were up for 5am to see sunrise at Angkor Wat. Unfortunately it was rather cloudy so the sunrise wasn't as impressive as we hoped. However, Angkor Wat's interior made up for the earlier disappointment. After a late breakfast we went to our final temple - Ta Prohm. Made famous for being where some of Tomb Raider was filmed. This was probably our favourite as it has been allowed to wear naturally. It had more charm and character due to the growth of algae on the stones and the way the trees grew out and through the buildings.