Funny place that Sokimex GH in Stoung. Looks like so many guesthouses here - some sort of sales business with rooms on the upper floors. Sokimex does actually combine a furniture shop and a restaurant on the ground floor - quite funny having your food in a show room. They do serve only set meals and last night I was given a fish stew with rice and man, was that good! This morning it was the to- be-expected noodle soup which is called Koi Tio here. And man, was that good again.... The room itself was ok but very worn with just "cold" water but the large communal terrace made up for it. In particular as I got to talk to some of the Cambodian and Vietnamese workers residing there for a longer period. Exactly the experience I am after.
The ride today: It had rained heavily last night which made for a dust free start and the clouds luckily remained in the sky more or less all day with just some short sunny spells. What a pleasant ride, in particular once the wind shifted to northeasterly just before noon, basically as I arrived in Kampong Thom, my anticipated destination. I like Kampong Thom but it was still before noon and I was not only keen to take advantage of the great cycling cycling conditions but I strongly believe you are better off cycling with generating your own cooling than walking around a dusty Cambodian town in the current humidity all afternoon. So a quick look at google maps told me the next place with accommodation was Kampong Thmor (aka Kampong Thma), where I will leave Highway 6 for the more rural #71 towards Kampong Cham on the Mekong.
Those last 40 km were as good as it gets. I love pressing 300+ watts for a while every now and then. The tailwind certainly helped and fired me down to my destination in far less than 2 hours and on arrival I quickly decided on the Thmor Da 2 Guesthouse, called Kampongthmor Thmorda Guest House on google maps. As usual I asked for a fan room with two windows and got it for 6 $. I would almost say the best room I had during this trip: Spacious, bright room with a view over the town center, decent hot shower and a really nice Khmer restaurant next door. Thumbs up!
It´s that expectation thing again. If you sit at home and look at the map you will realize the road between Siem Reap is THE major traffic arteria in Cambodia connecting the major tourist hub with the capital. Two probably even three difficult days was my first thought when I did my planning, in particular after having been on it in 2012, just going the other way. Conclusion? The best two days of cycling I had in the country.
No plastic chairs for you, Jan! What made me laugh: The owner on the right has decided mangement by walkie-talkie is the latest thing. She is just broadcasting to some of her staff who is standing right behind me
You can only keep your fingers crossed one of these truck drivers doesn´t throw his vehicle over when you are around. The good news: The damaged load were predominantly cigarettes
I guess I mentioned my preference for taking photos of people at work. Today I was lucky twice. First I came across this huge brickworks where the only mechanical participation is the modelling and cutting of the clay...
My new favourite electrolyte drink. Almost as nice as the 100plus in Malaysia. Just a quick info on the prices: A small bottle of water will be 500 Riel, possibly 1000 if it is refrigerated. Any softdrink, electrolyte and hot coffee (with free tea) cost me 2000 Riel. A can of the three popular beers (Angkor, Anchor and Cambodia) costs 2000, on prime locations 2500 Riel. The small bottles are considerably more expensive and are 4000 Riel or 1 US$
