I’m not ashamed to admit that I have become obsessed with learning about the countries we are planning on visiting. Simon is enduring endless minutes of phone time listening to me going on and on about things I’ve found, blogs I’ve read and vlogs I’ve been watching.

A blog that I have loved reading since before Christmas is Absolutely Lucy (http://absolutelylucy.com). The way she writes about the places she visits is beautiful, honest and massively informative (I’ve already booked one hostel based on her recommendations). Lucy has travelled to many of the places we are planning and her posts have just made me more determined to enjoy as much as we can in the time that we have.

A more recent vlog that I have been watching on youtube is Kinging it (https://www.youtube.com/user/kingingit365). Craig and Aimee are hilarious!! They remind me so much of Simon and I and the way we bounce of each other so effortlessly. Their mantra for life is ‘Rule your own world’ and we are going to thrive to achieve this throughout our ‘Megamoon’.

Learning from other peoples experiences and seeing the amazing adventures they have had is inspiring, but I also have wanted to engross myself in the history and culture of the countries we are visiting. I decided a week ago or so to read a book that has been mentioned time and time again, and I’m so glad I have. ‘First they killed my Father’ is a heartbreaking account of the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia. The author writes beautifully about the struggles of her family throughout this heartbreaking time in Cambodia’s history.

Pol Pot was the leader of a totalitarian dictatorship, his followers named the Khmer Rogue, ruled over Cambodia from 1975 to 1979 and during the rule approximately 25% of the population of Cambodia was massacred or died from poor living conditions and starvation.  The aim of the regime was to create a classless society in which there were no rich people, no poor people and no exploitation. People were driven out from their homes in the cities and forced to work in the countryside to undertake agricultural work to rid Cambodia of its links to western countries. Cambodians lost all of their human rights during the Khmer Rouge regime and I have been shocked to realise how little people know about this devastating period in Cambodian history.

I haven’t finished the book yet, it’s tough reading and I like to absorb the chapters for a while after reading them. To say I have been shocked while reading this, is an understatement, but I’m so glad that I will have a clearer picture of the very recent history of this beautiful country before we visit. Here’s a link to the book on amazon if anyone is interested (http://www.amazon.co.uk/First-They-Killed-Father-Remembers/dp/1840185198/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1457209388&sr=1-1&keywords=first+they+killed+my+father)

In the upcoming months I will carry on my research. I’m hoping to read more about the Vietnamese war before visiting Vietnam, so any book recommendations would be greatly received.