Lyra, we found dust!

This story was posted under the categories: Big Asia Trip, Cambodia, Cycling, Cycling South-East Asia

We did it, we reached our first real destination by bike: Siem Raep, home to the temples of Angkor, famous all over the world.

We started in Bangkok and decided not to risk our lives in the heavy traffic. So we hopped on the train to Aranyaprathet, near the Cambodian border. The next day, we got up early, drove to the Cambodian border, crossed together with some half of Cambodia and set off to Sosiphon some 50 kms further east.

When you read about Cambodia, you always read about how dusty it is and how bad the road are. They are absolutely right! We followed National Highway 6, but despite the name, it feels more like riding a mountainbike trail in the belgian forest. The road is awefully bumpy and there’s red dust everywhere… wait until you see the pictures

Anyway, we made it to Sosiphon, drank a couple of liters of fresh fruit juices, went to bed early and started our next day at 6h30. Destination: Krah Lan, another 50 km further. Same dust, same bumps, fishermen doing their thing in little ponds next to the road… We arrived at Krah Lan around noon and searched for the only guesthouse in town. A smelly place, which couldn’t really give us the kind of good night rest that we needed. So after a bit of hesitation, we continued to Siem Raep, another 56 km further.

Around 17h, we arrived in Siem Raep. Tired and with an ass that felt like they had drilled screws into it. But we made it! The bikes already start to suffer from the bad roads here: Greg’s pedals are broken and everything squeeks. That’s why today we’ll set off in search of cleaning material and oil, giving our bikes a much needed fix up.

We have also taken the opportunity to follow David’s advise and make a map of our cycling trip through cambodia, vietnam, laos and thailand. Here’s a copy so you don’t have to click the link above

View Larger Map

PS/ if you don’t understand the title, you should go and see the wonderful movie The Golden Compass (which is the movie we went to see in Bangkok).