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Published: February 24th 2007
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Inside Preah Khan
A place to stand in reverence and inhale musky incence We decided to ride our bikes again after taking a little time to adjust to life in Cambodia by way of a nice break in Siem Reap. We got a one day pass to the temples of Angkor Wat. Got up before the sunrise and rode the 13km out of town to the Archeological park. To avoid the crowds we went to the furthest away temples first and worked our way back through to the temple of Angkor itself. First we visited Preah Khan, a very large ruins that was used to house over 1000 monks beginning in the 12th century A.D. Just a quick exploration of this complex took 3 hours. There is so much intricate detail in every carving.
From Preah Khan to Bayon we took a dirt path through the woods that reminded me of my Mountain Biking days. Bayon was crowded. It always is….people are arriving bus load after bus load to stand and wonder at the workmanship of these ancient Khmer people. Not so much Bayon itself but a lot of the other complexes are being massively rebuilt. This is quite unattractive to me. I get so critical of every detail of what I’m
Getting out of Siem Reap
First time I've had to sit in traffic on a bicycle seeing and the wonder of it all isn’t there. It’s then a bunch of archeologists rendition of what was and then it’s like being a Disney Land looking at the Madder Horn.
The bicycles were perfect for exploring this park which stretched at least 20km across. Other high lights were Terrace of the Leper King, Thommanon, and the base-relief’s of the ancient battles of Kuru from Hindu mythology around the first floor of Ankor Wat. We couldn’t see every thing in one day, in fact you would be hard pressed to see it all in a month. But I was impressed. The spirits of the ancient ones are easy to feel in a quiet moment in this wondrous place.
After much deliberation it was clear that the road to Phnom Penh was good and we should ride…so off we go!! We got a late start, just about noon. This made for a hot ride. 10Km out we met a Dutch couple coming into Siem Reap and they give us the okay on the road conditions and told us that the saw a Swiss couple 20km ahead of us going to P. Penh also. Boy it feels great
Entertaining the Crowd
Simon thought: "If the people are watching, why not juggle?" to be back on the bikes. And the people in the country are giving us the warmest welcome. There is one thing great about cell phones coming to all the world…. Hello is a universal word now. Along the way, we stop to rest, instantly a crowd forms. Mostly children first then young men and girls then elders. Soon the road is half blocked with people. It takes a little getting used to, but I never sensed one ill intention from anyone, just curiosity. They would go on taking to us in Khmer too wishing we could understand. There had been a lot of English speakers in Siem Reap but very few people could say a couple things to us along the road. Such beautiful people!!
The road brought many surprises, water buffalo staying cool in water up to their noses…lot’s of chickens and pigs on the backs of scooters, houses on stilts so high I wonder if the water could really ever be that much of a threat? And lots of ducks!
We did meet the Swiss couple that night when we stopped to stay at a guest house in Kampong Kadai along with 4
Studs on Bikes
Getting ready to ride together to Phenom Penh. other French cyclists going the other way to Siem Reap. We all had dinner together that night….it was fun to meet in such a small town. The next day the Swiss were out before us so we cycled separately but thought we would see each other on the road somewhere. It was a hot day I really was tired when we finished the 87km to Kampong Thom. Didn’t see the Swiss though. Such fun biking but a bit of a push each day to split the trip into 4 days. But after another long day 93km in the saddle we got to town and our Swiss friends Esther and Daniel spot us and we check into the same guest house. We Plan on going together early to finish the 75km to P. Phenh.
Riding together was great. Esther stopped to take picture quite often along the way which gives me the inspiration to do more of the same. We each drank at least 3 coconuts(the most refreshing bike break I can think of) and we found a nice little noodle shop to have lunch at.
When we got to town we went our separate ways to find a
"Hot day isn't it?"
Simon and Daniel stopping for a chat room, but decided to email and connect for dinner and a bottle of wine while we were in town. Again our bicycles turned out to be the perfect thing for this medium sized city. The traffic looked crazy at first but once you understand that nobody wants to hit you and they are pretty alert drivers then you just get out there and go for it and it’s fun! It’s mostly scooters on the road anyway. It’s easy to go the same speed as the other drivers. There are parts of P. Phenh that look very European. We chilled and juggled in the long grassy park leading up to the Independence Monument and a large rotunda that went around it.
We’ve had some fun times while stuck in the city waiting for our Lao Visas. Riding our bikes around at night when it’s cool and less trafficked has felt familiar, like being in a city in the states. We met Esther and Daniel 2 nights for dinner. One night I felt like we were at some black tie only place with the kind of service and presentation of the cuisine. That restaurant was called Friends and it trained street
kids for jobs in the high end restaurant industry. Yesterday we checked out the Ourusey market. A very tightly packed in indoor market and another side to the city.
So we are getting back on the bikes again headed North along the Mekong to Strung Treng and then the boarder with Laos. We have a week left on our Cambodia visa, just enough time to make on the bikes. Looking forward to many more “hello’s” as we zoom by the country side at 18km an hour.
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Berkeley Jewel
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Great Sites and Sights
Thanks for the update.....great mix of you, the people, the countryside, and the animals. Writing is so descriptive and your heart-felt thoughts come through loud and clear. What a comparision between temples there and those of the Mayans. Looking forward to hearing more.....