ourselves in the marvels of the temples, we took a 5 hour boat trip down the Mekong River to Phnom Phen, the Capital of Cambodia. The boat ride was beautiful. We passed "Floating Villages"Another crazy city! Very busy, very polluted, very populated....but very beautiful. The water front was beautiful, with the asian style architecture, parks, restaurants...and ELEPHANTS walking down the sidewalks with their keepers. We stayed in the ''Lakeside'' region. Our guest house was directly on a lake, with a lakeside patio, with lounge chairs and a restaurant. As nice as the lakeside view was, we only stayed there one night...because our room was infested with Cockroaches (who came out only at night!). During our days in Phnom Phen, we went to a few markets. They are huge, with so much to buy (always bargaining...I hate haggling!). Unfortunately, there are also a lot of children, mothers with newborns and disabled people begging for money. This has definetly been the hardest part of my trip so far...seeing the extreme poverty, and not being able to help. You just cannot give to everyone. We've been told that it is ''better'' to give to children/disabled people that are selling things (like books or postcards) because then they don't become 'dependent' on begging for money. We've also given a few children some food..so I've been picking and choosing who to 'help' and feeling overwhelmingly guilty when I have to say "No thank you" or "I'm sorry'
We also visited the ROYAL PALACE and the Silver Pagoda...incredible buildings. All gold, and beautiful structures/budah's. The Silver Pagoda houses the Emerald Budha, definetly worth it!

Our last night in Phnom Phen, we had another "creature"problem. A mouse (well, size of a rat) running around our room....discusting!

We are now in Shinokville, the southern coast of Cambodia for some Beach Time! We've opted for a more expensive room...so hopefully NO CREATURES!! Unfortunately, it's been POURING RAIN all day. It hasn't let up AT ALL...not even a light drizzle....so hopefully we'll get to enjoy some sun (or at least NO RAIN)
Will write again soon!!