Hammocks, hamburgers and mojitos: A Cambodian Adventure

He came, he saw and he’s gone again. For one whole month I had someone to fix pipes, fight spiders and leave the toilet seat up. I must say, I do feel a little sorry for Matt - given that as VSO has now taken over my life, it’s all I talk/think and stress about. I’m not sure how varied my conversation was, but he put up with me and provided some much needed moral support and perspective. Put simply, once he’d got the hang of washing his feet before getting into bed – I really enjoyed having him here, and can’t help but feel a little forlorn that he’s gone… I know this whole thing was my idea, but that doesn’t make it any easier to say goodbye.

Still, in the month that he was here we did manage to see quite a bit of Cambodia. I took a week off, and as true Champagne Backpackers (backpacking in style) we started in Siem Reap, took in the Angkor Temples, headed down to Phnom Penh for a visit to the Tuol Sleng museum and then headed south to Kep where we whiled away a few days in various hammocks and on the beautiful beach of Rabbit Island. Rested and refreshed we headed across to Kampot for New Year and then back up to Phnom Penh before catching the bus back home. We even managed to fit in a weekend in Battambang and another in Siem Reap!

And what have we discovered about Cambodia? You will find the best burger in the Gecko Café in Battambang, some solid Mojitos across the country but particularly in Siem Reap (at a bargain Happy Hour price of $1.50) and that hammocks are very comfortable, particularly with a beer in hand and a good view. Oh, and if you do decide to moto up to the Banteay Ch’mar temple, it will take you two and a half hours each way and will give you sores – my advice? Get a share-taxi.

Anyway, here are some photos of the best bits: