I am still trying to catch up with this diary but as you know here in Thailand we have had a Tsunami. The South and West of Thailand is in a terrible state of devastation. Luckily I am here in Bangkok safe and well. So lucky decided not to have gone to the Islands as I might not be here now. Many of the people I have met here in Thailand are or were down in Phuket and Krabi and Koh Phi Phi. I have not seen anyone I know back here yet so I just pray they are all ok. I was soooo worried about my friend Clem though as she few to Sri Lanka 23rd Dec but I emailed her as soon as I heard the news and it is on everywhere here but luckily she is fine and fled to the high ground. Anyway to continue my diary- Me and Clem arrived at the border of Cambodia at about 7.30ish and had to wait for the border to open at 8am. There are huge gates that open the border and on the Cambodian side there where 1000's of people all squashed up against the railings of the gates looked like the scenes we all saw at the Hillsborough disaster but as the gates opened all the people came running through it was mental. We crossed to Cambodia and had a bit of a nightmare trying to find transportation to take us to Siem Reap I think they thought I was some sort of idiot with the silly prices. In the end got a lift in the back of a pick-up truck sitting in the back on bags of onions and some sort of fruit. The roads were so bumpy and just made of gravel and dust and alongside the roads were signs telling you not to venture off the road due to landmines. After about an hour we arrived in a place called Sisphon where the driver told us to get in another pick-up truck so we did. We sitting in the back of this pick up truck over and hour and I kept asking when we were leaving and he said he was waiting for more people so far there were 8 of us (me and Clem being the only foreigners) so I started to go off my head slightly telling him I wanted to go now or I would get out. He kept saying no so I took me and Clems rucksacks off the back. The driver was going mad and offered to call the police if I did not pay him, but we had not moved so I told him yes get the police then he got abit hesitant and I started shouting at him to go get the police and he quickly changed his mind! Then I managed to get a lift on a truck filled with cement bags. I told the driver me and Clem would sit on top of the truck on the bags of cement as long as he went now. We were surrounded by about 20 locals at this time and I kept saying go now go now and then all the locals joined in and were all chanting "go now go now" so he did and as we were driving down the roads all the locals along the streets were waving at us as I dont think they had ever seen 2 white girls sitting on the roof of a lorry! After about 15mins the driver said if we paid more we could sit in the cabin but I protested saying we had a deal but he knew it was unsafe for us to be there so let us in the cabin and never charged us anymore. Arrived in Siem Reap and I was in such a bad mood I think it was due to the valium as I had just gone into a heavy sleep when we had arrived at the border then all the hassle getting here I was not too happy. We checked into a guest house and the tuk tuk driver offered us his services around Angkor Wat and to see the sunset there that evening so I negotiated a price which was 12usd which is a fair price. That evening we went to Phnom Bakheng and watched the sunset which was lovely and while there Clem got chatted up by some Scandanavian guy and as I was in such a bad mood agreed to go to the blind massage clinic, which was the best massage I have ever had. Then went to bed grumpy not like me at all! The next day our tuk tuk driver was there at 9am as arranged and we went around to many of the temples my favourite being Ta Prohm it was like being in another world, built around 1186. The temple is so unique it is cloaked in dabbled shadows crumbling towers and the walls are carpeted by lichen and mental porches with moss and creeping plants the root formation is something else and one of the Indiana Jones movies was made here. We visited about 20 temples in total leaving Angkor Wat till last. Angkor Wat built 1100-1175 is the largest religious structure in the world with serpents framing the esplanade over the mote it was really spectaculiar. It is one of the 7 wonders of the world and I can see why. The day was so tiring and if I never see another temple in my life it will be too soon. The next day we caught the bus to Phnom Penh where we were staying with a friend of a friend of Clems. He lived in road 334 which is like the equivalent to living in Belgravia everyone living in that street is a multi millionaire. There were police at the entrance to the road making sure that no undesirables entered! The house had a 6 foot fence around we really could not believe where we were. Julian introduced us to his servant as Miss Sarah and Miss Clem. If we needed anything then the servant would get it for us also to give her our washing which as good as all our stuff was so dirty. Guy Pratt (guitarist of Pink Floyd) and his wife and son had just left but if we wanted a lift to Sihanoukville on friday then we would be meeting up with them. Julian is the Minister of Education in Cambodia advisor. Very powerful man. His life style is like nothing I have ever seen in my life and there were women (Cambodian) visiting all hours of the day and night. Whores basically but once you begin to learn how things work here it is the men who are exploited not the women (very weird to grasp) That evening we sat around drinking cocktails and smoking weed which was great on the terrrace. There was a security guard on the entrance. The next day we went to the russian market which was amazing if only I had more room in my rucksack I could have brought so much. The market was buzzing and so colourful could easily have spent the whole day there. Then we went back to the house and had lunch then went to the Tuol Sleng Museum which in 1975 was a high school then got taken over by Pol Pots security forces and turned into a prison known as S-21. S-21 was a dtention and torture chamber where more thatn 17000 people where taken. Pictures of every person taken to this prison as a record wether they were child, women and man either before or after there execution. In some of the cells there are still the weapons used to torture these inocent people and there is still dried blood on the floors of the cells. It is the most horrific thing I have ever seen in my life. The worst being a women breast feeding her child while being electicuted. The Khmer Rouge are the most evil people on the earth. The soldiers were aged anything from 10yrs old killing there own families and friends and as examples would take inocent people and cut there chests open then with a coat hanger pull out there livers and trail them around the villiage jsut so that you got on and worked so that bullets where not wasted they used the back of pick axes. After the prison we went to the killing fields were over 8965 bodies were found in shallow graves. Some of the bones and clothes are still in the ground now and you can pull them out of the dirt. There is also a tree there that was used to throw babies against to kill them. Also a monument in the centre which is just full of scules. Anyone who was educated in any way was killed all doctors, teachers, military if you wore glasses or even if they thought you might be clever in anyway was killed. The Khmer Rouge killed 1.7million of there own people between 1975 and 1979. Luckily they were saved my the Vietnamese. Therefore there is a whole lost generation. It was inhuman. These poor poor people. So lets hope nothing like this ever happens again. I dont think the war crimes in Iraq can even compare to what happened in this country. We sepnt the remaining afternoon seeing the nice temples and monuments of the city. In the evening Julian asked where we wanted to go so we said anywhere but not too heavy so he said somewhere with no guns and not heavily prosituted so we said that sounded ok but all the bars are girlie bars and everything has a price. You can buy anything, people guns drugs, children anything goes unbelievable. The next day we headed off to Sihanoukville with Julian and 3 of his cambodian girlies (3 in abed as he put it). If you only take one girl she gets bored so you take all her friends! How bizarre! We met up with Guy and his family had a few drinks then went to Sihanoukville. It wasnot as busy as we expected but I brought 1/2 ounce of weed for 5usd bargain! The remaining time we spent on the beach and then met a ex squaddie doctor and got trashed with him. You can smoke your weed in any of the restaurants or bars and they love it the longer you stay all the other customers left at about 9.30 so we offered to pay the bill but the owner was saying no no no stay we open till you want even 5am if you want. I think the longer they are open the better they look to their neighbours! So we sat drinking cocktails and mixing the weed with all our drinks we were trashed and the poor army doctor was so wasted it was so funny. He will never forget me and Clem as long as he lives! I gave him all my weed as we were heading back to Thailand. What an unforgettable country.