(Part of a series of articles by Fi trawling the archives for photos taken on the tiny compact camera way back when).

Another blast from the past. Our Compact photos from Cambodia way back in January/ February. We raced to Sihanoukville to catch up with Rob & Gilly who had already been living the bum lifestyle for a good few days and had ear-marked the best spots to sleep, eat, drink and be merry. A short ride from town, Otres beach was to be our new home for a while as we kicked back and chilled out with our good mateys. Here are a few pics of our merriment:

I enjoyed Phnom Penh. Some people find it a difficult city but I found it an interesting mix of sombreness and positivity. With such a tragic recent history you can’t help wondering how each person you pass has been affected. The killing fields are eerily sat faced off within a farming/residential area surrounding by crops & rice fields. Life just goes on metres away & you can’t help wondering what is feeding the soil. On the way back towards the city we passed communities living in shacks, people working on the street, rubbish sorters. All kinds of smells, some good but mostly bad. Buses; stacked high with people. Monks clothed in orange robes with matching orange brollies, women carrying their kids in papoose. Mucky, naked little kids of 3 or 4 so tiny they might snap running around alone, playing while doing their chores, selling their wares or collecting rubbish for recycling (at a profit).

It’s a dirty city, especially when it rains, but also very endearing. The fact that life does go on despite the history and the continued hardships is humbling. We ate a beautiful meal at ‘Friends’ restaurant, a project to help develop opportunities for former street kids. As it was for a good cause we treated ourselves to a strawberry daiquiri too.

What can I say – for more detail on the history see Pauls earlier blog here. Siem Reap was bloody hot, pretty bloody magnificent & pretty bloody awesome as we were joined by the wonderful V& Colin! We also managed to hook up with Jas & Ange a lovely couple that we met in Ho Chi Minh City and in between temple exploration enjoyed many a fine bevy & nosh! At some point V probably cleaned her feet too, mucky pup!