Phomn Penh Cambodia

We're now in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh having arrived just in time for the Bon Om Tuk Water Festival.  Its one of the biggest events in Cambodia's calender and half the population seems to have descended on the the city for the occasion!  We arrived this afternoon and managed to find a half decent guesthouse with vacancies, so we dumped our stuff in our room and went to explore the festival.  We had some tasty red curry noodles on the way, and then made our way to the riverfront where we could watch the dragon boat races.  There were loads of them, all different colours, and trying different rowing techniques in attempts to win.  As the day turned into night, lots of floating light displays on boats were paraded along the river, each with its own sound system blaring out, some better quality than others!  There was also a huge firework display which was really impressive, so we had our guy fawkes experience, sort of, maybe a few weeks late!  We sat in the Cambodian tourist boards separate 'pavillion' which was free for foreigners, so basically we were surrounded by westerners.  It felt pretty weird in a kind of 'us and them' colonial kind of way as all the locals weren't really allowed inside the pavilion.  So we only stayed for a bit, and then went to search for some dinner and an escape from the hectic crowds. 

We found a great place doing tasty Vietnamese pho soup, and they gave us cold flannels to cool down, as well as free bananas for dessert - all for only 3 dollars!  We also looked in at the Foreign Correspondents club, but again it was fully of westerners and the prices were basically the same as London, with a menu that was like a gastro pub!  Very strange contrast!  After that we wandered to a arena area where a big stage was showing performances of Cambodian singers and dancers, and it was surrounded by lots of food and clothes stalls.  It was pretty intense though, so we caught a tuk tuk back to out hostel and chilled out in a nearby bar, where i got a double vodka and orange for only 75 cents! 

So anyway, before we came to Phnom Penh, we were in Sinhoukville for about a week.  We ended up staying a bit longer than intended because I got a bad allergic reaction to some mosquito bites, and had a horrible itchy red rash all over my legs.  I was so worried about it I was going to see a local doctor to get some medication, but then Andrew suggested we call my dad, and he managed to give me a diagnosis on skype using a webcam!  Modern technology eh!  His prescription was to keep my legs elevated as much as possible, so we spent a couple of days chilling by the beach, drinking beers and relaxing - not so bad really!  Once I'd rested for a couple of days we also went on another snorkeling tour to a nearby island which was pretty undeveloped, and not touristy at all.  We stayed overnight in a really basic hut, with a free lizard in the bathroom, and snorkeled in nearby reefs over two days.  All our food was included and there were quite a few other people doing scuba diving with the same package, so we had some good chats with lots of new people from France, Belgium, Holland and Switzerland.  It was really relaxing, and all the swimming in the seawater really helped my legs.  We booked bus tickets to Pnom Penh as soon as we got back though, as we're aware we still have a lot to see in a small amount of time.

Anyway, we will upload some photos soon and give an update on Thailand as I know there is a gap for that part of our journey! Helen x