Well this could be a long one so here goes...the first thing to say is that whoever you are, wherever you are you MUST come to Angkor and do it soon. You see at the moment there are only a few busloads of tourists and the temples are all unspoilt - some of the stair-climbs would fail just about every helath and safety test known to man in the UK - but the Cambodian government is on about putting in escalators (!) and having a music/lights show....this would ruin the place completely. To emphasise this we left the hotel at 5.30am to get to Angkor Wat for sunrise. It was beautiful, we stood transfixed for 40 minutes before exploring the famous site. 3 hours, and tired knees later (there are sooooo many steps!) we left feeling there were probably other nooks and crannies to discover but we've got another couple of days if we want to go back. The difficulty here is describing the temples in words (especially as it's nearly 7.30pm here, we're knackered and the bars and tea are calling!!) - the pictures will have to do the talking. (On that note I think I have found an internet cafe where we may be able to upload - will keep you posted...)

The temples are spread over a pretty big geographic area so after Angkor Wat (and a very interesting conversation (in French) with a 64 year old Cambodian woman over boiled eggs and baguette breakfast - Jen's battery had already run down on her camera so she had to hot-foot it back to the hotel to get the replacement...) we jumped onto our Motos (with drivers!!) and went to the second temple - Banteay Kdei. This was in a worse state of repair but still had a number of amazing carvings and structures that were still standing after nearly 1,000 years. Opposite this is Sras Srang - the King's pool, which was more like a boating lake...unfortunately the water level was not low enough to see the village that is buried beneath it...comparisons with Ladybower however stop here...

Onward to the highlight for us so far - Ta Prohm. This is one of the famous temples, but what makes it different is that rather than restore it they have let is be taken over entirely by the jungle and the elements. Now, of course, this means most of it is in a state of disrepair, but that is the charm and the beauty of the place. As one person put it - it's as if nature was the destroyer and comforter, in the same instance the tree roots splitting walls in half, only for moss to patch up the splits like a natural bandage. There was many a photo-opportunity and a good hour or so spent wandering around this magnificent area, ended exit stage left when another busload of Japenese tourists arrived...a sign of things to come...?

After a quick spot of lunch - noodle soup is becoming a bit of a staple foodstuff - and having to ward off the incredibly irritating hawkers - 'You want 1 flute mister?' 'No', 'You want 2?' etc etc... - we visited Thommanom (small but well reconstructed site) before entering Angkor Thom - what was effectively Angkor City. By this stage we were starting to feel the heat and were tired so after a fairly half-hearted walk around the Terrace of the Elephants among others we decided to call it a day - we were pretty much all templed out!

Home by 3, quick shower (and sleep for Dan - Jen has got a new score on Erix by the way Pat - over 260,000) and out writing this dirge. Tomorrow we plan to go in later and do justice to Angkor Thom. We also plan to be there for sunset.

Keep those emails coming - connections are OK here, although they have sporadic powercuts...we are planning to be in BKK for 1st Feb and are still undecided about whether to fly or go by bus - we think it'll probably be bus due to a) it's almost certainly a propeller plane - Siem Reap airways...hmmm doesn't sound that safe to me... and b) it's c.24$ Vs, over $300. That's effectively over a week in Chiang Mai/China etc...We will be staying in BKK for 3 nights and then start the trip north into Chiang Mai and then onto Laos.

The best place to look online for info on Angkor is here for those of you who want to visualise what I can't describe!!!