Day 11 Kep We encountered some wet roads this afternoon and even a few spots on our heads as we rode into Kep, the first on this trip. It had rained overnight which made the atmosphere a bit humid and although it ONLY got up to 32 degrees, it felt more draining and I felt sluggish all day. The most part of the 102 km was on busy roads with trucks and coaches etc. which is not the most pleasant of conditions for cycling. Again we have seen pure Health and Safety at work where about four men were digging up a big hole in the busy road surrounded by three cones and a motorbike remorqu. As we approached Kep and the coast we took a dirt road which went to the coast by a large ... read more

Day 10 Phnom Penh. Rest day. A lie in today, up at 6.45 and out exploring the massive central market with Roger, Joe, Anita, Darel and Margaret. The volume of goods is massive, many of which are the same but still a good range. The fish and meat stalls are something else with monsters from the deep. We got caught up in the T shirt area and were seduced by the girls selling stuff at rock bottom prices and enjoying the banter. T shirts were $2, polo shirts $5. There were some genuine Ray Bans at $15, which Roger was tempted to buy. At the roadside we had a light lunch of rice with a small portion of chicken noodles, but not chicken as we know it. I think they take off the portion of meat ... read more

Day 7 Kampong Chhnang. 100km. Hot again dad. 32 degrees. Just out of Pursat we came across another roundabout with a massive marble vessel in the centre to signify that we are entering the stone carving area. We watched men with angle grinders and chisels carving huge blocks of stone into a variety of objects. The large Black Cambodian man roundabout yesterday was to commemorate the Indigenous man, who in folklore, found the lost club, or mace, belonging to the king. The man was a pure Moa man who had dark skin, big round eyes and big lips. On the roadside at the edge of town large pots were boiling over a wood fire containing such as sweet corn for the breakfast of passers by. A man was washing clothes in the river at one point ... read more

Day 5 Battambang Maybe 40km of cycling and 90km on water. 28 degrees with blue sky. Another great day dawns with a 6 o’clock alarm which shook me to the core after the best sleep so far. A breakfast of Cambodian soup and fresh fruit set me up for the day. Bags packed in 2 minutes - well they were never unpacked on the first place - and we were off for a 15 km run alongside the river to the boat slipway to traverse the Tonle Sap lake. The bikes were strapped to the canopy of the pontoon type boat and off we went at a great rate of knots with a massive bow wave being created. On our way out of the river we passed the first of many floating villages, which moves around ... read more

Cambodia Day3. Angkor. Up at 6am. Breakfast at 6.30 and away at 7.45. Warm, sunny start onto the chaotic roads full of litter, dust, bricks, bikes, scooters, remorques pulling all sorts of people and goods. The remorques are scooters pulling trailers with the coupling over the rear of the saddle. Whilst the roads were of potholed tarmac it got worse with pure dirt and holes which would lose a dog in and then soft sand which could make your front wheel go to places not intended. Several single tracks were also encountered with. Varying degrees of intricacy to test the best of riders. The Angkor temples were visited after buying a three day ticket for $65US. The temples were built between the 9th and 15th centuries and were then left to decay until relatively recently and ... read more