Today I was going to do something. I was finally going to get off my lazy bum in the too-easy-to-relax town of Siem Reap. Almost a week had gone by and the only things I’d seen of Cambodia were a couple of streets and the world famous Ankor Wat temples. Cambodia seemed like so much more. I’d caught glimpses of it in the taxi ride from Poipet to Siem Reap but today I wanted to see it in full, or at least as much could be seen on a bike in a couple of hours.
Let me just state for the record that 1.5 liters of water and a medium sized breakfast of two eggs, bacon, and toast are not enough to sustain you for a 35km bike ride in the heat of Cambodia’s afternoon sun, or rather they are just barely enough.
…
The sky was sinking to a deep azure tone as the clock struck eleven and I shakily mounted a bike for the second time this trip. Light fluffy clouds frosted the horizon and the sun glared at me from high in the heavens. Today was going to be a gorgeous day.
My feet strained against the creaking pedals of the old single speed bike I had rented from my guesthouse, each push sending me further and further into the countryside. The road out of Siem Reap was well paved and trees lined the sides giving small moments of respite from the heat as I passed through their shadows.
Unused to the kind of work I was forcing it to do my heart beat heavily in my chest. There was something magical about the air that made my body feel light and let me ignore the strain. Kilometer after kilometer disappeared underneath my wheels as I moved away from Siem Reap.
My breath seemed to be continually caught in my throat as I looked about in wonder at the people and places I was passing by. ‘This is Asia, this is what Asia feels like, this is what Asia looks like,’ I thought to myself. ‘Finally I’m experiencing what I’ve been longing for all these years.’
In the fields water buffalo lazily chewed grass as they wandered through field after field. Lush greens, deep blues, muddy reds, all shapes and forms with their edges sharpened by an unyielding sun. It was if every glorious color was being seen for the first time.
‘Silk Farm: 7km’ read a sign. Pulling underneath the shade of a roadside tree I checked the small map my guesthouse had given me. ‘If that’s 6km away and judging the distance I’ve already gone, 14km there and 14km back isn’t too bad…’ Around me the pulsed with life. ‘Yeah, 30km isn’t too bad…’
The next sign read 6km but another sign at the side of the road caught my attention. It was an unpaved pressed dirt road and the signboard read something along the lines of ‘Mehkrey –beautiful cultural sightseeing town-.’
Down an unknown road off into the countryside of a country I had never been to before to a place I had never heard of? Why not? The sign said it was only 6km…
The dirt track was pretty narrow, at its widest point a car width and a half. Smooth was not in this roads vocabulary and a lot of my attention was spent looking for potholes to avoid. When I did manage to tear my eyes from the road my eyes were transfixed by the scenery that blocked me in on all sides.
Water buffalo being herded by a stick welding girl moved under the tall waving palm trees. Houses built seemingly from the trees that grew next to them popped up in clusters of three or four, every one populated by people with big friendly smiles that happily called out ‘hello’ as I passed. Giant fields of what appeared to be rice faded off into the distant tree line. Children swam in the deep slow running irrigation ditch that bordered the left side of the road, their loud energetic laughter falling like bells on the otherwise quiet day. My heart beat wildly in my chest as I tried to take it all in.
Kilometer after kilometer passed under my wheels as I plodded along occasionally stopping for a drink of water from my quickly warming and quickly disappearing supply. ‘Maybe I should have brought more,’ I thought to myself idly.
I finally reached my turning back point. It was just after the gatehouse for Mehkrey town. The guy who was supposed to be catching tourists going in was asleep in a chair behind the booth and I didn’t feel it necessary to wake him up.
What was the town like? Well, I don’t know. I never went there.
After the gatehouse the road opened up a bit and seemed to head off into the distance so couple hundred meters past the checkpoint I stopped. Setting up my bike by the side of the road I took a minute to look around. ‘Do I really need to go to Mehkrey to see a traditional Cambodian village? Hadn’t I already seen just that on my journey to get here? Speaking of getting here, I wonder how many kilometers I’ve come…’ I said to myself.
Occasionally a bike or motorcycle with 1-3 passengers would pass me by as I stood there, waving hello as they sped on to their own destination.
I took a swig of my water. ‘Not much of this left,’ I said observing my less than half full bottle. Turning in a full circle taking a moment to absorb everything I was seeing I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself, ‘absolutely amazing.’ Then I got on my bike and turned it around.
The way back is kind of hard to describe as I don’t remember any of it clearly. The lightness that had kept my body going before was gone and instead was replaced with a heavier dose of reality. The getting there had taken quite a bit of energy and only just now was I beginning to realize how much. My legs pumped mechanically and things seemed to pass by in a blur.
After what seems like an interminable amount of time I finally reached the main road, 6, or was it 7km down. A bit down the road I saw a sign, ‘Siem Reap: 10km,’ and my spirits sank but still my legs pressed at the pedals. Thirty-five kilometers might not seem like much but when you do it in the heat of a Cambodian afternoon with only a bit of food in your stomach and 1 1½ liter bottle of water things get a little more difficult. I made a note to myself, ‘next time bring more water.’
By the time I finally pulled up to my guesthouse everything seemed hazy. I stumbled through the lobby and towards my room muttering a few words of greeting as I passed. The key to my room didn’t seem to work but finally after a minute or so of concentration something clicked and I was admitted.
The warm water of the shower brought some intelligence back to my eyes and the caked sweat, with a bit of help from soap, washed quickly away. Top needs of the moment after a shower, water and sleep.
I woke up a couple of hours later stretched diagonally across my bed with an empty bottle of water in one hand. ‘Now that was fun,’ I chuckled to myself. The clock read 5pm.
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Hehe, I could`ve told you that – “bring more water” – that was the lesson I learned bicycling to and from cape canaveral – a 100 mile ride round trip…