Update-Day Seven

Hmmm ...I wish I could report on the quality of the breakfast, but sadly it didn't happen for me this morning ( see yesterday's update an draw your own conclusions why!)

However after the restorative powers of Boots re hydration salts and a packet of Nurofen express and I was ready with all my cycling buddies for the off.

We negotiated the streets of Siem Reap, a town like so many other south east Asian cities with 5 star hotels and little food shacks side by side, tour buses and thanks to its world heritage site up the road, a true confluence of the worlds nationalities.And continually growing - we must have passed four or five large hotel blocks under construction.

After seven miles we stopped for our first temple - the fusion of nature and 1200 AD temple brought to fame by the Tomb Raider films. Nak guided us round, but i think a theme for us all day was one of tiredness,  in the heat. The fact that Angkor Wat was a bit of an 'added extra' to the main events of a trip meant that I for one perhaps didn't give it the full attention is really merits.

As we cycle from the first  to the second temple we called a halt to mark a significant milestone - the 200 mile cycled marker. How convenient that 800 years ago they thought to build a small temple at that exact point! I definite photo opportunity:

Then on to the Bayonne temple with beautiful female heads and after lunch at the Angkor Wat Cafe (full marks to Peter for ordering a hair of the dog beer) and finally Angkor Wat itself! With tired legs and minds I'm not sure we could really take in this extraordinary place. And the only good thing about the hoards of incessant tourists was that there were so many of them they actually created a welcome breeze as they walked past when we had stopped to hear Nak's explanations

After good 2 hours of pure unadulterated sightseeing its back on Super Sat 2 for the last time and we cycle back to the hotel in town,where I feel a real pang of sadness as the saddle and bar ends come off the bike. Done. Finito. The challenge is over. Official stats to follow, but can't quite believe we've made the course of nearly 330km.

Dinner this evening at a tradition Khmer show of traditional dances. Good entertainment which only served to make us realise how much work the children in the orphanage had gone to to present the same dances to us. And if were Strictly come Dancing I think the pros would have scored SE-VEN, while the kids would have got a 9 at the very least.

On the bus Nak and Hai say their goodbyes as the party starts to peel off to go their separate ways: Peter to Bangkok, Crisipin to Burma, Nak to Phnom Phen and Hai back to Saigon.

Can it really all be coming to an end? We've only been here for a week, but have bonded so closely through our experiences in that time it feels so much longer.

As I write we're heading off for a drink, but I don't think/hope it'll quite as gargantuan an evening as last night. We have a long, long day of travel tomorrow.....