Croissants, Tree Roots & Egg Beans on Toast (La Boulangerie; Ta Prohm; English Breakfast at Rosy Guesthouse)

It sometimes takes a bit of negotiating, but it has mostly been possible to direct  hotel drivers to specific destinations of our choosing. We chose this hotel because, being slightly off the main drag, they offer a free tuk tuk service into and back from town, as long as it is within a certain range, and a mobile phone to ring the hotel and request the return journey. This has been a real Godsend, as it saves negotiating fares, and having to always have the right cash in US dollars on hand. Today's young driver was very sweet...but he was also shy and spoke little English. We speculated that he is a country boy still bit wet behind the ears where Siem Reap roads go. Whereas the other drivers will call out to a mate if they don't know an address, today's chap didn't, and instead relied on our map, and us ringing the destination. So we eventually figured out where Number 2 Street was and bought some French delicacies before heading for our last temple- Ta Prohm, my favourite of the 3 we visited due its dilapidated beauty. There are international efforts afoot to restore the Angkor runs, which is heartening, but there is something magical about Ta Prohm with its higeeldypigeeldy walls and tree roots penetrating the masonry.  I've only just learnt since arriving was used in the Lara Croft Tomb Raider movie, and perhaps even the Indian Jones ones form decades ago. This explains why Angelina Jolie's mug is on billboards all over town as the most recent celebrity. There was even pic of her handing an award to Aki Ra, the amazing Cambodian former child soldier responsible for getting the land mine removal program of the ground, whose story was well-documented at the Landline Museum which we visited yesterday. Very sobering- we needed some butterflies to recover from that one!

We've both had mild cases of the sqits (gawd knows how, as we've studiously avoided the water). Mine passed quickly (excuse the pun) after scoffing travel bug probiotics and antibiotic essential oils which I've brought in a travel pack for just such an occasion. But not before an awkward moment in the primitive ablutions of the Landline Museum and Butterfly centre out at Banteay Srei! Chris is suffering bit today, so I've dosed him up too and am encouraging him to stay hydrated. So anyway, we figured some wheaty things might gum us up a bit after eating mostly Asian food, veggies and rice and a bit of fish for me. The pastries came in handy as breakfast today , because we left early in the morning and were away from sit down food options, out at the temple.

We also nutted out the route to Rosy Guesthouse, reputed on TripAdvisor to offer the best English breakfast in Siem Reap. Sometimes egg on toast hits the spot, and they were happy to  provide the vegetarian version of their Big Breakfast, which typically means mushrooms instead of sausages and bacon. We met the owner, also from Norwich, Chris's birthplace, who moved here 13 years ago after he tired of living in England. Sporting a Motorhead T Shirt, he told us he'll be going to Perth for the weekend in April, to see Ozzie Osbourne in the  Black Sabbath reunion tour. Apparently Perth Arena is the closest concert venue to Cambodia!

I'm very grateful that we decided to buy local SIMS, as we've been able to use our phones to make bookings, phone home to speak to Bryn, and phone Chris when we've become separated at the Temples- like today at Ta Prohm, when I got caught up in an influx of guided tour groups on the one-way circuit, and -even scarier- Angkor Wat on Sunday which is ENORMOUS and there would have been no hope of finding each other without the phone!

Last afternoon and evening here in Siem Reap, so we're resting and relaxing. I'm enjoying the breeze on the balcony at Villa Indochine. I'm so glad the room has a bath...and that we found the bargain Bassaka Air flight back to Phnom Penh ($11 US each instead of $60!!!)- no more road travel and 40 minutes instead of 6 hours! We gave our last few dollars in change, and local riel which is useless outside of Cambodia, to a band of landmine-maimed musicians playing on the road to the temple, whose music was a delight. Incredible how a guy with no hands had adapted the bow of his fiddle-like instrument to his remaining stump!

Thank you Siem Reap. I like this not-too-busy funky Asian city by the river, a lot!