This morning myself Ola and Mattias met at 6pm to go in search of breakfast for the team. Our hotel over looked the market so we didn’t have far to walk! We managed to find some bananas and baguettes which seems to have become the norm.  Once we had eaten breakfast, we were ready to start our journey from Moung Russey to Battambang.

The journey today was again very rural, and much to every ones anguish the roads were once again extremely bumpy, so much so the support vehicle and trailer had to take a few detours. We cycled through small villages stopping occasionally for water breaks and to chat with the locals. In most of the villages we have travelled through there is at least one house selling water and Cambodian snacks. At one of the places we stopped at the people who lived there recognised Ola and Frederick from the week previously when they were checking out the routes on a motorbike. They invited us all to site in there terrace, which is effectively their garden.

After about 45km of cycling on the rocky uneven dirt tracks we hit a tarmac road, the relief amongst the group was noticeable and the pace picked up significantly. We travelled roughly around a further 13km on this road before arriving in Battambang, and we went from dodging pot holes and rocks to trucks and scooters.

On the approach to Battambang, there was a distinct difference between it and all of the other places we had stayed during the week. This place had the feel of a large vibrant city, the sound of the music from weddings echoed around this City.

The food we had been eating for the last few days comprised of fairly basic traditional rice and noodle dishes, so we were quite excited to see burgers on the menu. Cheese burger and chips all round!!

As we had missed out on the Bamboo train earlier in the week we decided go on one today, but this time without the bikes!! The trains only take 4 people on each, but as we were 9 (including Frederick) we managed to convince them to take a 4 and a 5. This was great fun, and I was surprised how fast they went considering that the engine basically resembled that of a lawn mower!

Now to bed as we are up at 4am to head to Siam Reep.

This morning we managed to get an early start and set off on our journey from Pursat to Moung Russey at 6.30am. After a few kilometres of cycling down a fairly busy tarmac road we veered off onto a dirt track. Soon after we realised that we had lost our support vehicle, so stopped to call Dee the driver and try to locate them. Bizarrely the house we stopped outside had ’gang nam style’ blaring out, something I am not sure you would get away with in the UK at any time let alone 7am in the morning!!

Shortly after we were reunited with the support vehicle we stopped at a small village to load ourselves up with water and energy snacks; as we were about to start cycling down effectively what was a canal tow path and not suitable for our van and trailer. The village seemed fairly primitive as was reinforced when we were told the nearest house that had a toilet was half a kilometre away!

As we started cycling down the canal we realised that today’s surroundings were going to be completely different from those we had experienced during the days previous. The function of the canal was to irrigate the rice fields it ran through the middle of. The further we got down the canal the more remote it felt and for much of the journey you could see the horizon every which way you looked! It didn’t take us long to conclude that today’s biking wasn’t going to be easy, there was virtually no shade and the canal dirt track was extremely bumpy and uneven.

We stopped at one of the sluice gates on the canal for a water break and the sounds that were coming from the raising and lowering mechanism were phenomenal.  These eerie acoustic sounds could almost be described as the trapped voices of the people who made the sluice gates.

Along the journey I also learnt what a pineapple plant looks like and how the insects that are sold on many market stalls are caught and trapped, so not only did I have a great days biking but I’m a little bit wiser as well!

We arrived at Moung Russey at around 4pm, this was a small town with only 3 hotels no street lights or internet and very few places to eat (no menus in English so ordering dinner was fun!!)

This morning we met in the hotel restaurant for breakfast at 6.00am, and shortly after we set off on our journey to Pursat. The first part of the route was along a road busy with local children biking to school and people going about their daily business. Before long we turned off this road to once again head into the Cambodian countryside using a small dirt track.

We had decided to take a bamboo train for some of today’s journey, as some of the roads along today’s route were impassable on a bike as they were just soft sand tracks. The bamboo train is what it says on the tin essentially a piece of bamboo decking with a small petrol engine attached to it. Eventually after about 25km we arrive at the place where you can get on the bamboo trains. We had sent Frederick (Bike Ride Support) on to arrange a train for us and to speed up the process – on his arrival he was told that there were 2 trains coming at 10am. We arrived at about 9.40am which we thought was great timing as we could do a quick visit at the small school in the village. We were playing with the children at the school showing them magic tricks, playing songs with guitar and showing them how to take photographs. As the time ticked on it soon became apparent that our bamboo trains were not coming. A few calls and a couple of conversations later we realised that the bamboo train wasn’t going to happen. As there was no road beyond the village we were at we had no option but to turn around and head back the way we had come.

We decided to try and get as far as we could using the maps we had and by asking people along the road. We were disappointed that we didn’t get to use the bamboo train but it felt like a bit of an adventure trying to find a new route.

As the villages we stopped at today were all very rural, there were no public toilets along the route.  At a few points along the journey people welcomed us to use their own personal toilets. This is a typical representation of the kindness of the Cambodian people; they have nothing but would give you everything!! This whole experience has been completely humbling and once again I am reminded not to take anything in life for granted.

Eventually 72km later we arrived at our finishing point for the day. Although we were all a bit disappointed about the bamboo train, we had a great day biking and it was brilliant meeting all the kids at the school.

The rest of the team met us at the market and we set off on our journey to Kampong Chhnang. As we passed through the Cambodian countryside the sun was coming up over the paddy fields, and   the start to the day felt very serene. This was an ideal opportunity to reflect on our journey so far, debating the lifestyle of the Western world v’s the simplicity of life in Cambodia; and how we gauge happiness.

As the day progressed we cycled along dirt tracks heading further into the countryside and further away from Cambodian civilisation!! Either side of the track was surrounded by paddy fields, and farm land. During this part of our journey we had quite a few near misses with the village livestock as cows and pigs roamed around in the road. In one section we had to weave in and out of a herd of cows which made interesting photography!!

There was little shade during the latter part of today’s cycling and the 30 degree temperatures meant water stops were more frequent than they had been during the earlier part of the day. On our final stop we took shade under the canopy of a small village shop. The Cambodian villagers showed us the fruit where cashew nuts come from and I soon realised why they are so expensive.

We all enjoyed the days biking, but aching muscles and the heat meant there was an air of relief amongst the group as we reach todays finishing point.

The next part of our journey led us down a gravel track, which looked like it had been prepped ready
to one day lay tarmac. As we started to cycle down the road it began to rain………. It’s not supposed
to rain in Cambodia until June so you can imagine our surprise! Signs of inhabitance along this part
of our route were extremely sparse, and we seemed to be mainly surrounded by paddyfields and an
abundance of what seemed to be randomly placed temples!

After stopping for lunch in the next village we came, to the road turned from the flat gravel road
to a bumpy dirt track. The track was lined with small villages and the screams of hello from the day
previous resumed! Physically this was the hardest part of our journey, as we hard to work hard
to stay on the bike, going over rocks and bouncing up and down pot holes. Despite the physical
difficulties this was the most enjoyable part of the journey so far. As we passed through these small
villages the locals came out to cheer us on giving us high fives and screams of encouragement.

We stopped at a shop half way along this final stretch of our journey to buy some cold drinks. Only
to find Frederik (who is accompanying us on a motorbike and who has quickly become our chief
photographer/film maker!) having a shave in the barbers behind the shop, for the bargain price of
1000 riel which is about 15p!!

Shortly after this we had the first injury of the trip as John Mills fell of his bike whilst trying to dodge
a rogue water bottle – thankfully it was just a small graze to the knee!!

After around 75km of biking we finally arrived in our hotel in Kampong Speu. As the journey today
was slightly shorter than yesterday, we had arranged to visit a local orphanage this afternoon.
The orphanage ‘New Hope for Cambodian Children (NHCC)’ was just outside Kampong Speu and
was founded in 2006 by John and Kathy an American couple. NHCC provides care to 240 orphans
and abandoned children with HIV at this residential facility and they also provide social support to
over 1400 infected children and their affected families living in eight Cambodian provinces and the
Capital, Phnom Penh. This was a truly inspirational experience and made me realise what can be
achieved if you believe in something enough!

The start to the day was particularly special as the sun was rising over the horizon as we cycled along
the coast. A small dog decided to join the adventure and followed us for about the first 5km. He
proved to be a useful addition to the group, and managed to chase away the monkeys who looked
like they were preparing to steal our days snacks.

The tarmac coastal road soon turned into a dirt track which led us into the jungle. The red dirt track
was dusty and we soon looked like we had either had a bad spray tan or been working on a building
site for the day!!

The surroundings were so tranquil and the only noises that could be heard were the screams
of ‘hello’ from the local villagers cheering us on. The scenery was idyllic and like nothing I had seen
before, with the dirt track taking us through rice fields, mango groves, and pepper farms. 91km later
we reached the days finishing point just outside the small town of Takeo.

Today was a great start to the journey and I am excited to see what tomorrow brings!!