We have all decided that this trip is calculated in Tracy miles. In other words, whatever the mileage on our itinerary, add at least 30K. And on mountain bikes in this Cambodian heat it can be deadly. I have stopped drinking coffee, which is quite strong here, thinking that the acid might be what is disturbing my stomach. I am eating pretty bland, too. No eggs in the morning for me. Everyone else I want you to know is enjoying the Cambodian cuisine very much; nothing too extravagant but tasty none the same.

Today it is just Janie and I on our bikes. Jim has decided he needs a little R&R from us and Rich is recouping from yesterday’s ride and walking without his arm sling. He really wants to ride into Phnom Penh so he is going to take it easy. Jim is going to go back to bed, get a massage and do a little exploring on his own. Janie and I will ride the 29K to the temple complex, then another 20K to the next one and then a ride back in the van for lunch.

The first temple we are going to visit is called Banteay Srei. The advantage of biking to the temples is going through little visited villages along the way. Not many people venture out to this temple and even fewer stop in the small villages along the way. Our guide book says rural and they are not kidding. Most of the houses are huts; fours walls made from wood planks and thatched roofs. I wonder what they do in the rainy season because there are no doors. Everything is wide open so a breeze can get through. One of the villages we traveled through had booth after booth of baskets. I asked Waht Tah if the villagers weaved them and he said no. The baskets are imported from Vietnam or China to sell to tourists. Darn, some of them looked rather interesting.

There are signs everywhere for the Cambodian Peoples Party and I asked Waht Tah about them. He said that is the ruling party, which is very corrupt and if they want to stick a sign in front of your house, you do not oppose them or life for you will not be very pleasant. The villagers don’t care one way or the other because they are just trying to survive. Another village we passed though had signs on water pumps that were donated by different people. Most of the ones we saw were donated by USA citizens or organizations. Water is a commodity here that you cannot take for granted. The downside is that most drinking water has to come from plastic bottles and the empty containers are everywhere. There is a real garbage problem all through Cambodia. It is very sad to see all the garbage but it doesn’t seem that there is any garbage collection either. Waht Tah says it is a growing problem in Cambodia.

We finally reach the Banteay Srei temple which is 35K (not 29K) and a welcomed dismount from the bike. This “Citadel of Women” is dedicated to the goddess Shiva and is a stunning display of intricate carvings. Our guide says that they believe women built this temple because no man could ever carve such beauty! Oh, yeah! You go girls! Once again, the French rescued this gem from the jungle.

Back tracking, we began our journey to the final destination, Phnom Bo, where we would get the chance to climb the short 629 steps to the top of the mountain. There we would find remains of temples and Khmer Rouge gun placements. On the ride to the mountain, which was suppose to be only 20K and was more like another 29K, my stomach decided to re-enact the civil war. Between the heat and my stomach battle, I had to get into the van for the last 12K. When we stopped to let me in, Waht Tah took a little pre-lunch snack. Janie said I was lucky it didn’t see him eating because I would have lost it right then and there. You see in Cambodia, they eat anything, as we are learning. Waht Tah ordered up a glass of sugar cane juice and a boiled egg. Harmless enough, you say? Sure, except the egg had a little baby chick inside. Waht Tah couldn’t understand when my face drained of blood when he told me that these eggs are a real delicacy here. I guess if one grows up eating this sort of thing? I don’t know, I shouldn’t judge. All I know is that I couldn’t do it. Just as I couldn’t eat the bugs that they eat here! Our driver stopped to let us take a look at a stand selling roasted crickets, grasshoppers, water beetles and finally water bugs the size of a small horse. I chose not to get out of the van to take a look see!

I think I could really like Siem Reap. It is a small town but big enough to have some nice shopping and good restaurants. The close proximity to Angkor Wat makes this town an up and coming tourist destination. Our lunch was at a superb restaurant called Amok, where the signature dish is amok (baked fish with coconut and lemon grass in a banana leaf). I chose a wonderful Khmer sour soup that was so tasty and I was so hungry. Unfortunately my stomach did not agree. Back at the hotel room we decided that I would begin a three day regiment of antibiotics that would hopefully kill off what ever has taken hold of me. Not being able to keep anything in me is not helping my performance on the bike. Luckily tomorrow is mostly a boat ride so I will have a chance to let the meds take hold.

Janie had fallen in love with a reclining buddha statue at our hotel boutique. She was all set to buy it and two other statues when she learned that the price she thought she heard and the real price was some $1000 difference. We set off to look around for other buddhas just to see if the price was really worth it. When it came down to it, buying reclining buddha was out but she made a good purchase of the other two statues and I think she will be very happy once they are smiling at her from their new home in New Jersey.

Tomorrow we rise very early to drive 15K to catch a ferry boat but first, a nice relaxing massage and a dinner that I hope will stay with me longer than 30 minutes!

Link to today’s photos

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