A bit of culture....

This weekend we went to Phnom Penh and stayed with Danny, another Education volunteer working at The Ministry of Education. It felt a bit like visiting our rich relatives in the city and Danny spoilt us lots which was lovely. I had my first hot shower in 3 months and as the mornings here can be quite fresh, it was amazing! We spent a lot of the time shopping for Xmas. Here is our shopping list which may look odd but makes sense to us!

• Baked beans (for our Xmas morning fry up)
• Sparkling wine (a complete luxery!)
• flour (to make pancakes)
• rum (for Sam)
• cheese (of course! I don't know how I'm going to hold back until Xmas day...)
• balsamic vinegar
• olive oil
• red wine

We feel really happy and it'll make Xmas day that little bit speacial if you have some nice alcohol and a few treats that you miss. (Who'd have thought balsamic vinegar would be missed so much?)

The rest of the time in PP we spent sightseeing and dancing at the VSO party.

Buddha in the garden at the National Museum

The National Museum

Flowers for sale at one of the many markets in PP

The New Market

Watching a gig: The Mekong Pirates who sang in French and Kmai, really fun

Playing games at the VSO welcome party. Me and Sam were enthusiastic but nowhere near the target!

A pagoda at the Royal Palace

The Kmai Buddhist version of the Ramayana painted on the walls surrounding the palace.

The Royal Palace