I’m in Siem Riep! The sky is blue, the palm trees are green, the roads are orange and the heat is crazy. It’s just incredible here. Even the airport is a thing of pure beauty! Everything is stunning.

Me and some of the kids at the Orphanage

Done a billion things already including our first lesson teaching in an orphanage where the kids are truly incredible. They all run up to you when you arrive and hold your hand. And their English is so good! They put us to shame sometimes. Their stories are so heart breaking. One of the boys came to the orphanage after his mother tried to sell him at the market.

Today a boy from the orphanage who had been missing for two months finally came back. He wouldn’t say where he had been or with who. He has memory loss and it’s thought he was living on the streets and was being exploited by men trying to make money. His sister died from starvation.

Many of the other kids were beaten by their parents. Somehow, despite everything, they are the happiest most loving kids alive. They are currently doing performances for their New Year to raise money for the orphanage…which is something they love doing.

Getting ready for some traditional Khmer dancing!

This has been a crazy couple days. Firstly I played some songs at our host family’s Khmer New Year BBQ. Such a hilarious evening! Mostly it involved a lot of very drunk Cambodian men dancing to my rendition of Taylor Swift’s You Belong with Me : ) I then managed to score a gig with Siem Riep’s most loved Band. They are pretty awesome. They play once a week at a bar in town called The Banana Leaf. If you are heading through Siem Reap you should definately stick around to listen.

Having a sing song with Siem Reaps Premier band!

A Beautifully timed fever hit me night before and I was starting to lose my voice just before I was meant to play. Thankfully after a quick warm up my voice held out but as soon as we finished I pretty much coudln’t speak…fun times. But the big excitement of the night was the city’s blackout. It decided to happen half way through my last song…..For the next hour or two the whole street was glowing with candle light. An evently and very exciting evening!

Love Jess xx

Read Jessica’s full blog and hear her music on her MYSPACE PAGE