Back to head office this morning for my first morning back, having been working from my hotel for the last fortnight, only to find a new resident has moved in. A rather unfriendly one foot long snake fast asleep amongst our files. Not a hazard I face every day in Brighton it must be said. A local managed to deal with the problem whilst we did what most sensible people do under these circumstances and beat a hasty retreat.

Meanwhile I have crossed over from Pub Street (The tourist bar and dining ghetto.) and am now enjoying my food with the locals at the market for about a quarter of the price charged over the road.

We have had a very good crowd of volunteers in for the past couple of weeks. The team who arrived here in Siem Reap just over a fortnight ago have had to contend with an awful lot. Teaching opportunities have been at a minimum as we have all had to pitch in to deal with the aftermath of the Typhoon. This has meant sacrificing most weekends and working hard to get the Orphanage cleaned to a suitable standard to allow the children to return, as well as being on call to the project leader to help support the kids in their temporary home, and entertaining them through so much disruption.

Sadly a number of the team have headed home this week and it has been a series of emotional farewells, and I feel we may be seeing some of them again in the near future. It will also mean nights will be a lot quieter for a while, I am sure The Temple Bar will notice the slump in takings.

Moving on I have added some extra items of furniture to my room to make it feel a little more comfy. This includes a nice wicker chair, picked up from one of the local markets. My offer of dollars in payment was waived away by the shop owner who was happy to take my ever expanding collection of local currency in exchange, and still give me some change. With rum here at $9 a bottle there are one or two additions to my minibar as well.

Out and about down the Siem Reap river yesterday to one of the more outlying temples, Phnom Krom, which stands on a hill overlooking the Tonle Sap Lake, one of the largest freshwater lakes in Asia, which though currently brimming will shrink to one fifth of this size by the end of the dry season. This area has few tourists and is full of picnicking locals, eating from roadside stands or their own supplies. The lakeside bars all have hammocks, so you can laze the day away. It makes an interesting journey as the road follows the main river from town and gives interesting perspectives of the colour of local life in the traditional homes that exist beside the swollen river.

For the last evening together our group went to the local funfair and picnic area, and rented a mat eating fresh corn on the cob, chicken, and another unidentifiable meat, accompanied by a hot plastic bag of rice. It made a delicious meal for $2. However some of the local people came over looking at our food and rubbing their stomachs. Once we had finished we wrapped up some of the remaining meat in the rice bags and handed them over. Children also appeared with big plastic sacks, taking our cans as soon as they could whether they were empty or not. These kids I am told are sent out overnight to collect, and some are not allowed home until the sack is full.