It is again blusteringly hot and wonderful too hot to sunbath so I am as usual under my umbrella for short spurts so am not very brown. The humidity is colossal so everyone feels sweaty all the time but I don’t mind it’s just so lovely to be here.

Last night we went into town on a took took for a drive around and dinner. We had red curry and jasmine rice which was nice but not as nice as the fab meal last night in the posh restaurant with the river running through and sparkly lights. Then we’ve went for a walk around. There is a. Huge market and a street called pub street with a big neon sign saying pub street and a zillion little lights strung across the street. There was music coming from every bar and it was really buzzing

Today I received handmade chocs, red wine and a lovely card from my gorgeous children who are always so very thoughtful. Thank you it’s nice to be remembered especially when you feel homesick for everyone. Oh bye the way I ate two when talking to Richard and all the cocoa powder dropped onto to the sparklingly white sheets and now it looks like we have had diarrhea !! Lucky I was on Dave’s side of the bed ha ha!!

Today before dawn at 5 o’clock we went to the jungle to see some temple ruins which were awesome. How they managed to get all those stones all the way there from hundreds if miles away then to build the temples and carve them so intricately I can’t imagine and without tools, the wheel or anything mechanical !!! We also saw lots of monkeys in the jungle which are so tame and sweet.

Our guide has been telling us all about Cambodias history which is really interesting. Until 1991 it was a closed communist Khmer Rouge run country so had no dealings with the outside world. Because they thought that if people were not educated they would not be influenced or have opinions that questioned the government so would be easy to keep in their place. If anyone wanted to be more than a peasant or to make money or be educated they were taken away and tortured and killed. He saw his first European in 1996 and thought we looked very funny and when the person spoke to him he was amazed that anyone could speak a different language or have a different alphabet. Because at that time people weren’t allowed to study he used to get up at 4 in the morning for a scholar to teach him English because he thought it would change his life. It did he became the leading tour guide for a big tour company and earns quite a lot of money and tips for a Cambodia n so he can afford to live in a house with his wife and not his Inlaws which is usually the case here, our last guide in Phnom Penh was a teacher before he was a guide and earned 45 US dollars per month!!! Which he couldn’t live on so he too became a guide.

We arrived back at the hotel at lunchtime and I haven’t moved from my us bed except to go for a dip. It’s glorious

Tonight we are going for a posh meal for Mother’s Day for dave to thank me for giving him two most wonderful children. Lucky me!!! Then I expect to the market and pub street for some fun and then up again at 4.45 for another sunrise tour it is early but worth it because it’s cooler, less busy and soooo pretty then

Take care have a lovely day and don’t forget the clocks go forward!!