Some random notes to get a glimpse of the prices here:

• beer in bar: 0.5 - 1.5$

• 24-case'o'beer: 16$

• guesthouse, 2 bed room: 4 - 13$

• "simple food": 1.5$ - 2.5$

• a restaurant meal: 3.5$ -

• 150km in a taxi: $35

• bus ticket for the same: 7$

• rent a scooter for a day: 5$

Spent a few days in Phnom Pehn. The city was ok, but a few days is enough. One for the National Museum and the Royal Palace and one for the horrors of Khmer Rouge. The amount of air pollution and noise started to get to us and we wanted a break from it all.

And so yesterday we arrived to Sihanoukville - Costa del Sol of Cambodia.. not really. Can't really compare them, but it's a beach resort anyway. Makes me really appreciate the beautiful beaches of Montezuma and Samara in Costa Rica. The ones here are relatively crowded (at least on weekends), dirty and full of beggars.

We were both ready to quit already today and move forward but then we decided to hire a boat to take us to a secluded beach. We first went to snorkle a bit around some nice corals and then moved to a beach resort that was prepped for a party tonight. I'm guessing the island's name was Koh Kaip or something. Didn't stay there for too long, but still we both got really badly sunburned.. aww, how I really hate sunburns. Now my right arm is fckd, and my back entirely scorched.

But I guess we're still heading back to that beach for that party tonight :). That'll be the last one this time in Cambodia.

Second full day at Siem Reap started - like the days of so many other tourists - at 5AM with a tuktuk-drive to see sunrise at Angkor Wat. Place was already packed at that time. After eating breakfast in a food stall inside Angkor Thom, we saw Bayon, the weirdest of the Temples, Ta Prohm - also known as The Tombraider Temple - and several other magnificent structures.

The whole area is enormous and after a short while we're already suffering temple-fatigue, a variation of church-fatigue that everyone who's been church-sightseeing in Europe knows.

Now I'm tired. We promised to drink with out tuktuk-driver today, but I'm not sure if I have the strength :)

Entering Cambodia was a shock.. in a positive way. Arriving to the border 10 minutes before it was closing, we were greeted with shining hotels and casinos, something that was not surprising after reading Amit Gilboa's "Off the Rails in Phnom Pehn", but remarkable still. After we paid the very helpful border guards 1000 bath for a visa (20USD, so use dollars if you have any), we haggled a taxi to Siem Reap for 35USD.

After a three hour drive in total darkness evading pedestrians, stray dogs and huge trucks on a dirtroad that was in truly awful shape, we arrived to Siem Reap, the basic destination for anyone wanting to visit Angor Wat. We took a tuktuk to a hostel in the centre and after leaving our bags ventured out to get something to eat. The 'Bar street' in Siem Reap was quite packed even though it's not season.

A tip to anyone travelling to Cambodia from Bangkok: Don't use the basic tourist busses from Khao San. Take a public bus from Mo Chit to the border town. It costs around 215 bath (4e) + tuktuk to the border + taxi to Siem Reap, so it's a bit more expensive, but saves you time as the 'scam busses'take 12h to reach Siem Reap, and as the name suggests, they tend to scam tourists on visa costs, etc..

Now I'll have to stop this nonsense and return to the streets. Still a lot more to see in this town and even more in Angor Wat, which we'll probably visit tomorrow.

Stopping by at Khao San road - the notorious travellerghetto in Bangkok. We'll be catching a bus today to try and reach the border.

Last night I broke my arm, while climbing down from my bed on the train from Malaysia. Hurts like hell. Probably just a spasm, but will surely annoy me for a few days.

Khao San seems interesting as a money wasting target. Perhaps we'll stop here on our way back and buy some traditional traveller garbage - like a T-shirt that has a picture of a married couple and the text "Game Over".. not sure if Aino would appreciate it :)

My first trip to HK is now over and I have to admit that the four days I spent there have left a positive feeling about the metropolis: prices are cheap, people are nice, there's a lot to see and moving about is easy.

Stayed at Chung King mansions, a block full of hostels in Tsim Sha Tsui (Kowloon). Stay was cheap, with a night in a four bed dorm w/ shower costing 90 HK$ (~7e). Also got the chance to talk spanish with Oscar, an Argentine football star who played for his country against other youngsters and met a South Korean girl who is applying for the same school as I am (TAIK)... small world, eh?

Head to Wan Chai or NE Kowloon for electronics, Tsim Sha Tsui for lodging or museums and the Peak to get a nice view over the central part of the SAR.

Luckily I get to go to HK again on my way back. Maybe I'll have time to see the world's largest sitting Buddha.