CAMBODIA• TRAVEL

Total km biked: 460 kilometers

Days biked: 6 days

The road conditions in Cambodia where much better than we anticipated, especially on more major roads. The northern road from Thailand (which goes through Siem Reap) is in the process of being paved and is almost finished. We did take a very small dirt road in southern Cambodia, just before the Vietnam border. It was an amazing road, passing through small villages. However, in the afternoon it started to rain. We had heard rumors of Cambodian mud, but got to experience it firsthand. The dirt in this area is almost like clay, so when it gets wet, it gets really slippery and just sticks to your tires and clumps up around your brakes, etc. It ended up that after a short while we couldn't cycle at all. At first the roads were slippery, but we could still move. Then once the mud started to cake up around the tires, we had to start pushing. Eventually the mud got so thick that we couldn't even push for more than 50 meters before we had to stop to pull the mud and grass out of the wheel. But it was still a great day!

The weather was hot and humid, with only one day of rain near the border to Vietnam.

Coming from Thailand, the food wasn't as exciting, but still good for us (although we eat pretty much everything). There are small roadside stands selling sugar cane juice, coconut water, iced tea, water and sodas all along the main roads. Small restaurants can be found in small towns. Food is often cooked one time during the day (either lunch or dinner time) and is stored in metal pots in front of the shop for the rest of the day (and the next day or so). So usually you can just look under the lid and choose what you like. Rice is served for free in smaller, non-touristy towns, although you are usually charged for rice in touristy areas. Siem Reap and Phnom Penh have tons of restaurants with an incredible range in food type and price. You can find anything from street vendors to Mexican, French, and Italian food. No need to carry any food or more than a liter of water each.

We thought the guesthouses were pretty fancy in Cambodia, although they weren't always cheap. Even in small towns, it is possible to find a guesthouse to sleep. Although we didn't camp, the Cambodian people were so friendly and welcoming, it seems as though it would be great.

We had a general southeast Asia map we bought in Italy which was sufficient for Cambodia.

We did take a couple of buses in Cambodia. We had a friend with us who cycled from Bangkok to Saigon, so we were on a bit of a schedule to get to Saigon without missing his plane. So we decided to take the southern route from Thailand (which we heard had better scenery and roads) but we also wanted to see Angkor Wat in Siem Reap. So we took a bus from Sisophan to Siem Reap. We left our bikes and luggage at the guesthouse in Sisophan without any trouble and they didn't charge us. We also ended up taking a bus from Siem Reap to Battambang (picking up our stuff in Sisophan along the way), since we were tight on time for making it to Saigon. We were charged 4,000 riel for each bicycle.

We thought the Cambodian people were amazing in general, especially considering all of the pain and suffering in the recent past - very welcoming and kind. Also although it seems strange to put this under a "highlight", the museum at S-21 and the Killing Fields gave a greater understanding to Cambodia's violent and sad past.

After our bikes got filled with mud along the small dirt road near the Vietnam border, we ended up taking a small boat from one of the villages to the border check post after a few hours of pushing. We were able to get to the check post just before it closed. The boat ride was incredible, with the three of us, our three bikes, all of our luggage and the two village drivers. We had about an inch on each side of the rail to the top of the water and were pretty much constantly bailing the boat the hour long ride, so we didn't go under. Awesome!

The Lonely Planet for southeast Asia is outdated right now (2006), so we were surprised to easily find ATM's in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh that dispensed Cambodian riel and US dollars - no need to worry about access to money. Cambodia seems to be developing fast.

Because we are working on this website, access to the internet is always a concern for us when we travel. In Cambodia we found the access pretty slow overall, but not impossible. Just before leaving Phnom Penh we found a place on the River Road which was fast. It is near a fair trade silk shop and has a full glass front with skype stickers on the window. This place was really quick (and cool with AC).