Tola and his family were incredibly welcoming and generous. I instantly felt at home. I joined extended family for evening meals, which were delicious, and I tried loads of new dishes, including snake and chickens' feet! The girls took me on a tour of the village, showed me a dance routine they'd made up, and taught me how to play 'Tiger eat cow'. I really enjoyed talking to Reaksa about Khmer traditions and ceremonies, and learning about the fantastic community work that Tola does. Although basic, the room has a fan, mirror, mosquito nets and electricity, and Sopheak even got me connected to the internet a couple of times when I needed to book onward travel or contact home. I had initial concerns about the resident spiders, but Tola and his family were very understanding - performing a sweep of the bathroom each morning to scare away any unwanted visitors! I'm really glad I experienced this and will forever be in Tola's debt for providing such great hospitality. He says I've inspired him to work harder so that one day he and his family might be able to travel too. My home is always open to each of them! For anyone looking for more information, I'll be writing a more detailed review of my time in Portibos, including lots of photos, on my blog beyondblighty.com and would be happy to answer questions about my stay :)

Roger was a great host, and his apartment was lovely. He made sure I had everything I needed and even had some guidebooks I could use for sightseeing. His apartment was spacious, clean, comfortable, close to the metro station, in a great area and also surprisingly quiet (considering it was in a busy area with lots of bars and restaurants). I highly recommend staying at Roger's place for visits to Montreal.