Cambodia

Unfortunately, I have the bad luck of leaving my memory card and usb adapter everywhere I plug it into an internet cafe (like last year in Rome.) So, right now I can't upload any photos.

Spent one day in Kuala Lumpor, Malaysia. Very clean. Saw the Petronas towers (were the tallest in the world until a few years ago.) Also saw the nicest mall I've ever seen and visited the banana republic.

CAMBODIA---was amazing. Very expensive. Had to buy a visa to come in and pay a $25 tax to leave the country. We had no concrete plans when we got there and just relied on everyone to take us around. They use the US dollar. Spent two days trekking around the temples of Angkor. Amazing. It was terribly hot. We met a driver (he rides a scooter and pulls us in a cart) named Aun. Very nice man. He was with us for two full days, drove us everywhere and waited for us at every stop. Cost $37 for both days, inluding a big tip and taking us to the aiport. It was a steal of a deal.

Woke up at 4:30, saw the sun rise over AngkorWatt. Had a terrible breakfast.

AUn drove us (max about 30 mph) out to a small village over bumping dirt roads. Took us an hour to get to the village. Then Rob and I got on the back of scooters driven by young guys that looked about 14. They drove us over bumpier and mudder dirt roads where cars could never have made it. We bounced for 30 min (i've got blisters in seven places on both hands from gripping the bike so hard as to not be bucked off.) Arrived at a small canal, got in a boat and went 30 more minutes until we arrived at a floating village. Would have been floating at any other time of the year, but we came when it was dry. Looked exactly like a set from Water World. Houses all up 20-30 feet on stilts. Walked through the village, bombarded with children with no shoes and shirts, asking us to buy notebooks and pencils for their school. I think we were getting scammed, but we couldn't resist.

Everyone in Cambodia lives in bamboo huts, kids have no shoes, no shirts, lots of bicycles, some scooters with atleast a family of 3-4 on each one. dirt roads, even in the big city. No seven elvens (they are everywhere in thailand). Children selling things everywhere.

We were at an outdoor market and a VERY small boy with no shirt and shoes came and held my hand. Drug me to the store and pointed at bottles of formula. I don't believe in supporting parents who force their children to peddle and work the streets, but I could not resist these kids. I had to leave Cambodia because I literally was buying everything they sold and giving away my money. Kids were everywhere.

Flew back to Malaysia for a day.

THen to Southern Thailand. For the first time we are staying in nice places. Staying tonight on a n island 30 km off the coast of Thailand called Ko Phi Phi. Bungalow with glass walls that has a full panoramic view of the bay and ocean. Pool that looks like it falls off a cliff into the sea. Amazing. Breathtaking. $45 a night. That is way up from the usual $8-20 we've been paying.

Coca light is NOT the same as diet coke, by the way.

Meeting tons of tourists, mostly European. Lots of people backpacking for 6 months to a year. Yikes!