DO eat something rank (part 2)

Barbecued pigs intestines.

Tried some of these off Merc's plate at a Cambodian market and they are actually surprisingly tasty. Though it is just slightly offputting when the woman pulls out the entire metre long wiggly string from the chopping board and slices it into bite-sized chunks for you.

DON'T eat a Durian

Who would have thought a fruit exists that smells like bin juice and tastes like mangoes and feet? For some unknown reason they go absolutely mad for them over here but I can smell them a mile away and they always make me gag.

It's even worse in dessert form. Steer well clear of Durian sticky rice unless you have a terrible urge to eat a solid fart.

DON'T hike to Bokor

Ever. Ever ever ever. In a million years.

If you happen to pass through Kampot on the Cambodian coast at any time please resist the urge to do a trek up to Bokor Hill Station unless you have a death wish. You used to be able to get a moto or a truck all the way up there which I imagine would have been pleasant, but now Chinese developers have closed the access road so the only way up is an absolutely hellish two-and-a-half-hour vertical climb through dirt roads and jungle.

You are literally scrambling up rocks and dirt paths in 40 degree heat covered from head to toe in sweat for what seems like an eternity. Seeing as the trip starts at 8am I made the fatal error of not having breakfast either and consequently almost fainted at one point. We lost one guy about half an hour in because he thought he was actually going to die.

After you finally, breathlessly make it to the top you are obviously expecting something fantasmical to await you..... but no. Being as it's dry season all the waterfalls are dried up so all we did was spend an hour walking around half a dozen disused buildings. Cue another two-and-a-half-hours on the way down sliding all over the place on your arse desperately trying to avoid toppling over a cliff edge.

Don't. Just Don't.

DO hire a fishing boat

Probably one of the coolest things I've done out here and ridiculously cheap to boot. We stayed on Bamboo Island off the coast of Sihanoukville for a few nights, and the little Khmer restaurant at the end does fishing trips for $5 each.

It's so quiet that it ended up being just us and the two Khmer guys setting out on this little wooden fishing boat. They take you right out to sea and you fish with hooks on fishing twine wrapped round empty water bottles and old spindles or whatever else they happen to have found to use. We stayed out for at least three hours, watching the sun go down, and when you get back to shore they barbecue whatever you've caught for you for free.

A fun trip followed by the freshest seafood you've ever eaten all for 3 quid- you can't go wrong :)

DO wear trunks that fit

And avoid being like the rank old man we saw on the beach yesterday who came straight out of the sea and into a restaurant with both of his balls hanging out of one leg. Maybe that's the look he was going for, I don't know. Either way, us and about seven other people who caught sight of it found it gross and hilarious in equal measure.

Do not be that guy.

DON'T stay near the lakeside in Phnom Penh if you are squeamish

We had an absolutely enormous spider in our bathroom the other day. Then a rat came and ate the spider. Not cool.

*little update*

I will soon be enriching your blog reading experience with the addition of some lovely photos and videos. I only realised you could actually do this the other day and as most of you know I am technologically retarded so give me sometime between a week and a year to actually get my head around it. I promise it will be worth it!

Love xx