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Day 7 – From Battambang to Siem Reap
I was so tired when the alarm went off at 4am but had to get up as the boat was due to leave at 5am. We loaded up the van for the short drive. It was pitch dark as we were getting onto the boat. Stupidly I didn’t think of bringing my hoodie & it was bloody freezing. It was a long narrow riverboat so with only 8 of us we all had enough space to lie down which was good. I didn’t sleep but it was nice to be able to rest a while longer. We saw the sunrise which was lovely. Once it warmed up it was great. There was some lovely scenery & we saw plenty of floating villages. Ola & Ange had bought lots of food so we had breakfast & lunch on the boat too. The journey was around 7.5hrs.
We got to Siem Reap around 12.30 & started our final bike ride to Angkor Wat. We did around 35km that ended at the entrance to the temple. We were welcomed by lots of children from the school that Ola’s friends Mattias & Jenny help. We were given a tour around the temple & a glass of champagne & then were driven back to our hotel.
We went out for dinner in the Piano Bar on the corner of Pub St & had a delicious meal.
I can’t believe how quickly the week has gone. It’s been an amazing experience & I would highly recommend it to anyone thinking about doing the bike ride next year.
Day 6 – From Moung Russei to Battambang
We had a lie in today till 5.30am which was nice, met for breakfast at 6.30am & were then transferred by van to our starting point.
The start of the ride was difficult as it was on another very bumpy dirt road so my wrists were really painful but thanks to Dr Mills for putting some bandages on at our first water stop they weren’t so bad after that although we were still on a gravel road for quite some time.
The weather was fabulous & there was a little breeze so it wasn’t too hot. We stopped at a little village to eat & then continued on to the river. We got out onto a smooth road after that which was great, we picked up quite a bit of speed after that & had a really good run right into Battambang which is the third largest city in Cambodia. The traffic there was completely crazy as it is everywhere in Cambodia & I ended up walking the last 10mins to the hotel as there were vehicles coming from every direction which scared the hell out of me.
We got cleaned up which was lovely, had lunch up on the roof & then got picked up to go to the station for the bamboo train. The bamboo train is basically about 6ft by 10ft, made of bamboo with an engine & on wheels, it goes along train tracks at quite some speed, a lot faster than I expected. It was brilliant, I’m really glad we got a chance to go on it today as we’d missed it on Wednesday. When it stopped at the other end we got off for a drink. There were lots of little children playing around & climbing on the trains that were waiting for returning passengers. At one point 3 little ones that couldn’t have been more than 3 years old started pushing it, 2 at one end & I at the other. The poor little one on his own fell & almost went under it, luckily a woman ran over & picked him up. When we were returning the train with Ella, Adam, John, Jonny & Freddie wouldn’t start so they had to take an engine from another to get it going. As we were going down the tracks there was an oncoming train which they made stop & had to lift off the tracks as they didn’t want to stop the one that had broken in case they couldn’t start it again. The driver of my train got off then to help & after the train moved on he started setting fire to the bushes in 3 separate places at the side of the tracks, we didn’t know why but it looked a bit worrying. We all got back safely anyway & really enjoyed it.
Tonight we went our for pizza to the Cambodian version of Pizza Hut. It was quite amusing as we ordered 4 large pizzas between us but were told they only had 3 left, it was only 8pm so it was a bit odd that a pizzeria had run out of pizza!:-)
Back to the hotel & in bed at 10pm for a 4am start.
Blog – Day 4 – Kampong Chnang to Pursat
I really enjoyed today, we set off slightly later than previous days although we still had an early start for breakfast at the hotel. I had a lovely omelette & pineapple juice.
We set off along a main road to begin with which was quite scary as there was a fair bit of traffic. We then went onto a dirt road which was great & not too bumpy.
The weather was fabulous, warm & sunny with a little breeze so good for cycling.
The plan was to cycle to the point where we’d take a bamboo train but when we got there we were told that it could be a long wait due to the fact that 2 trains would have to pass first & they didn’t know when that would be so unfortunately we had to abandon those plans. We stopped off at a school nearby at this point & spent a bit of time with the children. They were so lovely & really excited to see us. We took lots of photos of them & they loved to look at themselves on the screen. Adam played guitar for a while which they loved as well.
When we left the school we continued on the dirt road, the countryside was beautiful. Again lots of people came out to shout hello to us. Ella & I were desperate for the loo so raced ahead but took a wrong turn, John & Ange were behind us so followed us down the wrong road, luckily Ola caught us so we had to go all the way back again.
Today was supposed to be a shorter day but it turned out to be quite a bit longer than expected due to another wrong turn by a temple. We reached a point where our support vehicle couldn’t get through so we had to turn around again & take an alternative route. I almost fell off my bike at this point as well but managed to stay upright. Even though it was longer than expected & really quite hot everyone was in good form.
When we completed the ride we hopped in the van for the last bit of our journey to the hotel in Pursat. This was the worst stretch of road I’ve ever been on, it was completely full of huge pot holes, our driver had to keep swerving to avoid them. At one point there was a section closed for road works but there were no temporary traffic lights or anyone directing the traffic so it was just a case of taking a chance, something that is the norm on all the roads I’ve been on so far in Cambodia. We stopped for a much needed ice cream & reached the hotel around 5ish.
After washing off our lovely dodgy spray tans ie. the red dust we get covered in daily we headed over to the White Elephant for dinner & I’m pleased to say I had the best meal so far which was sweet & sour fish. I steered clear of the cow penis, stir fried frog & beef intestinesJ
I have seriously aching thighs & blisters in areas I’ve never had blisters before so I’m off to apply some heat lotion & chafing gel in the hope that I’ll be in less pain tomorrow.
All in all thoroughly enjoyed the day & am looking forward to the next leg tomorrow.
Day 3 From Kampong Speu to Kampong Chhnang
Today we set off while it was still almost dark & had breakfast by a local market. As dawn broke we cycled along a straight stretch of paved road for the first 14km. We had our first stop by a lake covered with pink lily pads. It was a nice cool morning but the temperature soon heated up.
We passed through various villages all of which had a huge number of locals out waving & shouting “hello” to us. On some of our stops we took some photos of the children & they were delighted to see them back on the screen. Some are really shy & back away but most of them love to come over & are full of curiosity.
I’ve never seen so many cows just strolling along the streets, at one point we had to weave our way around them. You never really know what’s going to cross the road, it could be a cow, dog, hen, duck, there was even a couple of pigs on the side of the road today.
At one of our water stops we were shown the fruit from a cashew nut tree, there is only one nut per fruit. We also saw some mango trees & passed lots of rice fields.
The road wasn’t so bumpy today which was good for my aching wrists as they were becoming pretty painful.
When the bike ride was over for the day we went back to our hotel to clean up & then got tuk tuk’s to a shanty town which was a very interesting trip. We had a walk through the market there & took some photos of the floating village & then headed off for dinner.
I’m totally exhausted now so I’m off to recharge my batteries for another day on the road.
Day 2 From Takeo to Kampong Speu
Today was another early start at 5am. I thought I might be in pain but wasn’t bad at all as I’d smothered myself in Aloe Heat Lotion which seemed to have done the trick. The ride today was good fun, again a lot of it was on a dirt road which went through lots of villages where we were greeted by many people. It rained a little which was quite nice as it kept us cool. It stayed overcast all day which was probably a good thing as most of the roads weren’t in any shade.
I almost had a couple of collisions will fellow riders but luckily managed not to hit the ground.
After we completed over 70km we went to visit an orphanage which was run by a couple from Texas. They had over 200 children who are all HIV positive. They had 20 acres of land with many buildings for various activities for the children who all seemed really happy. We were given a tour around some of the buildings & saw some really lovely children.
Day 1 – From Kep to Takeo
We had a very early start today & set off as soon as it was bright. After our group photo & some stretches a lovely stray dog joined us for the first part of the trip along by the sea.
As I had never been on a mountain bike & hadn’t cycled at all for over 20 years I was slightly concerned but within a few minutes I realised I needn’t have been & remembered just how much I actually enjoy cycling.
It was amazing going through the villages & seeing so many locals out waving & shouting to us. We saw some of the sweetest little children all with big smiles on their faces.
I couldn’t believe how locals travel here, sometimes you see 4 or 5 people on a motorbike, all without helmets. There are people not only packed into vans but sitting on the roofs as well.
I had my first experience of a squat toilet which really wasn’t good with a dodgy tummy!
The early morning was perfect for cycling before the sun came up. We went along some regular roads & then onto a very dusty dirt road where we got absolutely covered in red dust & looked like we had very bad spray tans. In the afternoon the sun was out & it got really hot so we started to struggle a little. After completing over 90km our first ride was done & I think we all ached in various places but had had a great first day. We had reached Takeo & I was tired but happy.
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