Back on the road again.

I'm back on the road again. After spending a week in Siem Reap - pretty much the first half of that was in bed, and the second half was temples - I feel fit enough to head out alone and tackle anything that may come my way. Since yesterday I can now put a little pressure on my heel, and can more or less walk normally barefoot. With flip-flops I have to modify the way I use my left foot, but it's fine. I can even run for brief periods, and exploring the temples of Angkor on three consecutive days showed no bother (although it is nice not having to get up before dawn again in order to avoid masses of Chinese tourists). In my boots tough, I still have to walk like I've crapped my pants. But I can ride with them with no bother.
 I really wouldn't have stayed so long in Siem Reap if it wasn't for the injury. The place has been taken over by tourists and feels like a Western parody of Cambodia. But for someone who is tending a broken part of their body, all the familiar choices and comforts available to me were very welcome; nachos for breakfast, steak to pay back to cows etc...
 The temples though. My, they have to be seen if you have the chance to. Put in the effort to save, and if you have the luxury of freedom I'd highly recommend coming to Cambodia for these temples alone.I was in total awe for the full three days. I've never had an experience like it. I took 1101 photographs over the course of three days. It's going to take a while to edit and sort them, but I'll upload my favourites when the time comes. Here's one to show you now, so you can get a glimmer of what I mean.

 I'm heading South now, to a hostel called 'Be There Dragons' in Battambang. The weather here is
getting blisteringly hot. It feels like it's the hottest weather I've experienced, and then I question travelling through West Africa. I suppose reality feels purer than memory. It's still bloody hot though! Glad I managed to find some 20W50 oil and I'm taking frequent breaks. But it makes for slow going. Although, sadly there's not many miles for me to cover by bike until my trip finishes. I'm heading to the southern islands where I'm hoping to find some phosphorescent plankton. I'll store my bike there as I head to Bangkok by bus to see a very good friend at the beginning of March, and then once I've taken the bus back, it's from the southern island and back to where my journey began, and will finish - Ho Chi Minh City. It's been a wonderful time. And it's time to make the most of this last month!