Well sorry it's been a couple of days since the last update, but we didn't have internet access in Sisophon last night. Things are great now in Battambang and we can now even upload photos!
OK, I should probably start a couple of days ago. We left our hotel in Siem Reap at around 7am for a ride to Sisophon, which is around 150km away. We knew that we weren't going to make the entire distance in one day, so a bus was going to pick us up after around 60km.
I know what you're thinkingt (please let me paraphrase for you): "60km in day? Wow, you guys are so soft! I mean, what sort of a challenege is this?! Show us some real riding!"
I thought the same things at first, especially along the first 10km of sealed roads. Then came the mud. And more mud. And different types of mud. Do you want to know how many types of mud there are in Cambodia? Just have a look at one of my shirts.
Not one to be ashamed of taking the odd fall, I had three nice slides during the day. Now, I'm not the most co-ordinated at the best of times, so I wasn't entirely shocked but apparently all was forgiven because of the conditions.
So as you can see, it wasn't really an easy ride and the mud was a bit of an effort. In fact, we all looked quite dirty afterwards.
To be honest, we didn't stay as a group during this section. We tried really hard, but some kept going and going and going. Mark, for example, decided to skip one of our water stops and keep riding. (Well, he didn't actually skip the stop, just miss the Australians with bikes on the side of the road)
20km later, one of the guides found Mark wandering aimlessly around a small rest stop between Siem Reap and Sisophon looking for a phone, his wallet and someone who spoke English. Thankfully, everything turned out OK and we were reunited for a pleasant and comforting bus ride into Sisophon.
Before I go on, I'd like to mention the strange driving habits that people seem to pick up in Cambodia. There are no indicators. Well, there are, but they don't seem to be used much. Instead, people just use horns - a lot. Traffic lights are most often ignored and it's sort of a give-and-take attidude towards driving: the bikes and scooters give, and the trucks, buses and cars take.
So you can be going down a street at a leisurely 15km/h on your bike, and a bus will TOOOOOOOT and then drive past at 100km/h. This is OK, because at least he tooted.
Anyway, for once we were on the upside of this equation and in one of the biggest vehicles on the road - a big bus with windows and seats, and wheels that went around without us peddling. Despite the controband smuggled on board the bus, it was almost as scary as being back on the bikes.
The bus was slipping, sliding and doing things that I find difficult to even comprehend. We asked why the roads were so bad an were told that it had a lot to do with government deals with airlines and their monopoly on transport. Whatever the reason, the bus was sideways a lot more often than I cared for (though it was quite cool!).
We arrived in Sisophon and eventually found our hotel, which was comfy and right in the middle of town. The city was much less 'touristy' than Siem Reap and infinitely better. It was small, friendly and the market was fantastic.
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The next morning (this morning, as it was) we had the final 80km to ride between Sisophon and Battambang, which is where we start the financial literacy program with CUFA. It was sealed, flat and absolute heaven to lower bodies that had become accustomed to. We also knew that this was our last ride for the trip.
It was great. A couple of people had some falls, but everyone was OK, and we made sure that everyone rode the last 15km into town together.
Once we got into town we were greeted by the CUFA staff, who we last saw on our first night in Siem Reap. They had a sign welcoming us and made sure the hotel staff weren't too disturbed by the 15 Australians covered in mud behind them.
Today the reality of Cambodia really hit home to me. I stopped with some of the other guys to have a glass of water and saw a young boy of about three or four smiling and yelling "Hello" to me from the other side of the street. I saw him, waved back and then realised that he had no arms.
His mother was with him, as was his sister. The mother's head was on the small of his back, making sure he was with her all the time. It was one of the most touching scenes I've ever seen.
I knew I'd see children missing limbs when I came to Cambodia, but I didn't realise just how it would feel. I cant' even imagine living somewhere thinking about the risk of landmines being in my playing or living area.
Until next time,
Pat
PS - I'd love to upload some more photos, but we're still having some "technical difficulties". The last one took 10 minutes.
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