We really have to be careful what we ask for on this bike tour because the guides are so eager to make us happy. In Bangkok, it was finding a Starbucks on the way out of town and here in Cambodia it was getting us cheese for our afternoon lunch stop. Cheese is practically non-existent in Cambodia! Because the areas we were going through today we quite rural, the hotel was to pack us a lunch. When Waht Tah asked what we wanted, we said just some bread and laughingly, some cheese. Little did we know he was going to spend the next 45 minutes trying to find cheese in Kompong Chhang. He came back a broken man and apologized profusely. We all tried to explain that it really did not matter and we really were just joking. No more joking because it gets lost in translation.

Anyway, crisis diverted and we were merging into the morning traffic and on our way to Phnom Penh. We had the option today of the short route (140K) or the long route (180K) or a semi-shot straight into Phnom Penh on Hwy. 5 (95K). We opted for the straight shot and I am so glad we did. We figured if we could pound out some kilometers before the noon hour heat began, than the less fried we would get in the afternoon. Janie and I were still smarting from sunburns acquired on the ferry boat. It is also cooler in the morning hours; if you can call 85 degrees cooler! Our biggest foe was this hellacious head wind pounding on us. Janie and I led the ride about 95% of the time, although I must admit there wasn’t much drafting because it was a head/cross wind and we couldn’t really draft to the best advantage due to the onslaught of traffic all day long.

We got to see some interesting things along the way that took our minds off the treacherous riding conditions. I just had to stop and take a picture of the makeshift gasoline stations. They were pumping gas out of 55-gallon drums! Of course there were the usual food and fruit stands along the way and an abundance of children yelling, “hello,” to us as we passed. “Hello” here is more like “Hallo” or an occasional “Hi”. There were loads of bikes on the road again and many more ox carts. Today I even saw small ponies pulling carts. I am really amazed at the whole transportation system here because vehicles take on a new meaning here in Cambodia. Back home we have nice cars and we might see a car that has more than one person in it or someone using a van to move. In Cambodia, cars, trucks, carts, bicycles are used to move anything and everything from point A to B, loading it down with as much as humanly possible. Vehicles are truly a mode of transportation. And let’s no forget to mention that the emissions coming from most of these gas powered vehicles are toxic. Thank goodness we all wear scarves so we can quickly pull them over our faces in order to block at least some of the fumes.

About 55K out we turned off the busy Hwy 5 and towards Oudong. Oudong used to be the capital of Cambodia and is home to some fantastic temples high on a mountain top. Now they say mountain tops but they are more like very large hills, not like the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. High enough though! It is usually a pretty tiring trek up to see what is at the top. I think the 55K to get here was pretty hard on us and none had the energy to go to the top. Too bad because it looked very beautiful from down below.

Immediately getting out of the bus we are approached by a group of kids wanting to talk to us. Oh, we nieve tourists. What they really wanted was money and pestered us to the point of aggravation. A young girl came up to us selling these beautiful baskets and I didn’t mind buying something from her but just out and out begging drives me nuts. That is the problem with so many of the Cambodian children. Instead of being is school, they are out on the streets coning tourist for money. They learn the art from a very early age and usually they are being “handled” by an adult, who takes 99% of the money they collect. We finally gave in and gave them a dollar just to get them to leave us alone.

We walked over to the temple steps just to see how really far up it was going to be, 509 steps straight to heaven. Whenever we encounter steps like these, Rich has to sing “Stairway to Heaven” and if you ever heard Rich sing you would understand why we ask him to stop immediately! Waht Tah asked if we minded if he didn’t go to the top and that was our chance to beg out, too. Instead we bought bananas and fed the monkeys. We had to be careful because once one money saw the bananas, all of a sudden there were 50 monkeys looking for a little morsel. Some of them would get quite mean about it and the screaming could be piercing. How could something so cute and adorable make such a noise? There were a couple mama monkeys with little babies hanging off their bellies. Those I just had to feed. Once the bananas were gone so were the monkeys and we decided to do the same.

I was feeling back to my normal self. I think the medicine helped knock out whatever bug I had contracted. I wish I had not waited so long but hindsight is alway 20/20. I still think getting acclimated to this heat played a big part in my performance, too. I decided to cycle in just regular clothes today since my seat is nice and cushy. Not sure whether that was a great decision but I had to go with it since our luggage was too hard to get to change. The pictures of me today I am sure look just lovely. Mostly I look like I peed my pants from all the sweat. Little did I realize how much black cycling shorts soak up the sweat. Oh, well, live and learn.

On the road today we passed through an area with scarecrow looking things at each house gate. Our driver explained that these were to ward off ghosts that were thought to be in the area. Also Rich stopped to take a picture of Scorpion, Fish, Snake and Frog Satay all whole! We also saw a small shop making charcoal for home cook stoves as bottled gas is almost non existent in this country.

It was not a very exciting ride today. The wind was a killer and the traffic was constant. There wasn’t much to look at and we found our noses to the grind stone counting the kilometers as they went by. Around 20K from Phnom Penh we stopped for water and decided to do just 10K more before getting in the van. The traffic in Phnom Penh is too dangerous for bicycles and especially tourists on bicycles. I was okay with that and very happy knowing I finally finished a full day of riding without getting sick. Now we need to get Rich back on the bike. I know it is killing him to sit in the van all day and take pictures of us riding. He says he is learning a lot because our driver Sah Veh speaks english and tells him about many of the sights along the way.

Phnom Penh. Oh, Lord, it is busy! The streets are jammed with traffic and people. Our driver is amazing as he weaves through the traffic and up to the door of our hotel. We are right on the river and where most of the action of Phnom Penh is located. First things first, showers and laundry. Janie turned in her laundry right away and it was back in her room before we left for dinner at 6:30 p.m. The rooms are nothing fancy but comfortable. I finally get to have a hot shower and it felt most excellent.

We went to a restaurant recommended by Lonely Planet but it was not good at all. We decided to stop for coffee in a little cafe on the way back to the hotel. Part of the profits from the sale of the cookies benefited an orphanage and I felt we had made a wise choice without knowing it beforehand. There were a lot of homeless and beggars on the street. I saw a woman standing with her child just staring at two people trying to have dinner in an outdoor cafe. Kids half clothed and dirty. Legless old people in wheel chairs. Welcome to large city poverty.

Tomorrow we are off to see the sights of old Phnom Penh and the aftermath of the Khmer Rouge regime. It was a great day for me because I am feeling back to normal, whatever normal is! Looking forward to Rich’s return on the bike as we head for Vietnam.

Ride on....

Link to today’s photos

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