Our last day on the beach and a good time to reflect on the past three weeks.
As far as our time in Southeast Asia goes, we feel we might just have saved the best until last. Cambodia has a bit of everything; from verdant National Parks to deserted tropical islands, from big, bustling Cities like Phnom Penh to curious out of the way places like Kep. Then there's the incomparable temples of Angkor, surely the jewel in the Khmer crown.
I recently wrote about how impressed we'd been with the Vietnamese people. How they'd recovered admirably from the hardship of war and transformed their land into a thriving, fascinating destination.
Well, if any nation has had it tougher than Vietnam in this neck of the woods it has to be Cambodia. Almost a quarter of the population lost their lives in the Khmer Rouge genocide, yet here we are 30 years later surrounded by the most happy go lucky folk we've met anywhere on our travels.
It's quite humbling in a way. You'd expect that with all the crap and abuse they've had to put up with they'd be a punch-drunk, tormented lot. But in effect, it's the opposite that's true; everyone just wants to kick on now and make the very most of their amazing country.
Of course it's not all a bed of roses. The poverty here is tangible, beggars and street kids are everywhere, and the shocking number of amputees serve as a grim reminder of recent violent times.
Given time though, you get the impression Cambodia and it's lovely, welcoming people could really hit the tourist jackpot. God knows, they deserve it.
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