Here we go! Today’s the day! None of us have ever been to Cambodia so this will be a new adventure for everyone. It is a rather short day of riding, only 42K to the border. Woody says it is going to be hilly and is checking to make sure I am okay. I explain to him that it isn’t the riding but the combo of heat and exotic foods. He shakes his head in agreement and says many of his customers have had the same problem. Of course I did not tell him that hated the mountain bike and wanted to throw it into the Gulf of Thailand! Today I was going to conquer the mountain bike and ride like a pro to the Cambodian border.

We started out on a very busy road with little or no shoulder. Sort of like going down I-88 but legally. And all in all, I felt quite safe...really! Motorcycles whizzing past, cars, trucks and buses, they all gave way. No honking or near misses. Just noisy! About 12K down the road we turned off into town and away from the maddening noise. Back to those quiet village streets that I love so much. And then the climbing began.

Woody said it was going to be lots of rollers and he did not exaggerate. I finally figured out that I was trying too hard on the bike. I needed to relax and let the bike roll along. I was never going to go as fast and smooth as my road bike so I was going to have to accept that fact. On the climbs, I sat back in my saddle (I still hate it) and let my legs do all the work and relax my arms. I wasn’t fast but I was much more comfortable. Hey, this is a tour and not a race.

The scenery has changed once again. We can see the Cardamon Mountains all around and the plantations are plentiful. It also seems that it has gotten a bit cleaner, too. The houses aren’t so run down with garbage all around. I guess they do not have a good garbage pick up system here because there is so much everywhere. It is kind of sad. Since the water is not good, there are plastic bottles strewn about. But out here in this mountainous countryside, the air is fresher and the waste is less.

We stop for a bit of refreshment at a roadside stand. There are several older people there and we exchange greetings of hello in Thai. It brings big smiles to their faces when we bow and say, “Sawadikha”. There is also a kindergarten school behind us and of course we had to go take pictures. They were not as fascinated with us as the others but they were just as cute.

As we got closer to the Thailand/Cambodia border, we went through several checkpoints that Woody said were set up to catch illegals. I guess we didn’t look like illegals since we just rode on through the gates. Of course I did not yell out my normal “Sawadikha” but just kept looking forward. Men with big guns are not to be messed with! Janie and I stopped at what we thought was a border sign but turned out to be the border of a town. It said border so we just assumed. Oh, well, I am sure there will be more pictures later. Turns out the border was just a few more kilometers down the road and before long we were taking pictures at the border gates.

The process took longer than I thought it would. First we had to wait for the other tour company to show up and then we could begin the passport checks. It was hard to say good-bye to Woody and Mr. Sukho. We only knew them for a few days but they were very good to us. Always ready to help and Mr. Sukho had this infectious smile and laugh. I never knew what he was saying but he was always laughing. Probably at me!

I think getting our visas for Cambodia and Vietnam in the USA was the right decision. We could have bought them here but the paper work would have been long and tedious. They do everything here on paper and carbon. Now I know where all the carbon paper went! Once through the Thai immigration, we said out final good-byes to our beloved Woody and Mr. Sukho and followed our new guide to a very plush mini bus. We loaded in and drove 1/4 mile to the official Cambodian border to fill out more papers and get the official welcome to our new country.

I thought Thailand was poor? Cambodia is absolutely dirt poor. The border reminds me of Tijuana. It is very dry and dirty. The roads are nonexistent. We opted to drive into Pailin which is only 20K away. We witness first hand the poverty level of Cambodia as our guide tells us that more than 30% of the Cambodian population makes less than one USD per day. Very sad. There is a large casino in Cambodia at the border where local poor people and Thais come to gamble. It seems the problem is the same as at home.

At the hotel Rich was able to ride his new bike to get the fit set up properly. He plans to ride one more day in the van and then venture out on his bike the following day.

Link to today’s photos

Click on Comments to leave a comment