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Published: January 20th 2018
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Day 10. Takeo. Saturday 20 January.
77km Away at 8am. In at 3pm.
The ride out of Phnom Penh took us past a roundabout monument commemorating Cambodian Independence. Not quite as hairy as the ride in and out into the countryside close to the Killing Fields of yesterday. I think that every day our Guide Channi has taken us along a different route to the one used in 2015 and supplied to all riders. Today was the same and we are glad of it because it is off the main roads and very enjoyable despite being on dirt roads. The guides have said they like our group because we will go anywhere and do not whinge. We get the same comments in Japan because all CTC are competent riders who enjoy the riding. One dirt track took us to a small Temple where we encountered our first pestering beggars and hawkers. One guy, without any encouragement on my part, pestered me forever to buy some joss sticks to burn in the temple. I had to get Channi to tell him to go away and as soon as Channi was out of sight he was at me again. Then in the temple
compound an old woman pestered Roger for money for food, although she didn’t look to be starving. The journey through the National Park in the late morning was lead by a local warden on a motorcycle. The park, according to the guide is a wildlife haven for all animals and took us on some sandy roads, which occasionally had the front wheel washing out a bit. It also took us through some very poor villages again with derelict looking houses and smiling children shouting ’Hello’ again and giving high fives with a chuckle. The gate to the park said it was Phnom Tamao Cattle Experimental Station, I am not sure what sort of experiments That means. Back on the Highway 2 we encountered a pair of lorry wheels in the middle of the roads with some green foliage sticking out of it then 40 metres further on a lorry cocked over at a serious angle and the axle touching the road. Roger said he saw some cock fighting this afternoon. It looks like this is a serious issue here. Just after the park there was a wide stretch of concrete road with beggars shouting at passing cars and also getting
money from them. Lunch was in what looked like a warehouse and I had pork noodles soup $1.50 and iced coffee $1. Just along the road from there were many stalls with hammocks for sale. I couldn’t resist and got one for $5, which I strapped across my handlebars. Thanks to my interpreter Haeng, who is the backmarker and bike mechanic. Not very far north of Takeo we crossed by dirt road a headland with green rice fields as far as the eye could see to the left and a lake to the right with four men swimming far out in the water. On the side of the lake were about 6 dugout boats made from Palm trees, I think. The Alice Hotel is very nice and we are up one flight of stairs with a balcony and a good handrail for drying clothes. What more can we want. A memory foam bed as well? Bingo.
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