Leaving Phnom Penn, we headed for a comfortable hotel and a couple of days chilling on the beach at Sihanoukville. Warm seas, white sandy beaches, laid-back, hippy-style, beach-front bars and a rag-tag bunch of super-friendly locals selling massages, sarongs and a range of local hand-crafts; a real nice way to chill out at the end of the trip. We spent two pleasant, relaxing days here before retracing our steps to the Thai border. Our last night in Cambodia was spent on the floor of a schoolroom in a Buddhist monastery. We intended to camp, but the rainy season really let us have it and no one really wanted to spend what would have been a very wet night in a tent. The following day we awoke to the sound of Buddhist chanting and prayer drums; a wholly pleasant way to greet the day if it hadn't started at three in the morning. I don't mind rising early, but jeesh...

Nevertheless, greet the day we did and prepare ourselves for the Thai border, we weren't sure how this was going to go because it was the day after the coup, and a headlong rush for Bangkok. We had, we felt, done enough camping and voted as a group to ditch the final night in tents in favour of a Bangkok hotel: a good decision given the weather.