Day 42 - our fourth and last day in Cambodia with a common thread - rice. - Trial by fire: new bike, first tour, first time in Asia

December 6, 2024

Day 42 - our fourth and last day in Cambodia with a common thread - rice.

I'm now sitting at a banh my stall about 90 km from Ho Chi Minh. Sorry to disappoint all of you eager blog readers but it proved almost impossible to do the blog last night due to heavy internet traffic. Hence the delay.

Yesterday started as days start and end here: out on the verandah watching the comings and goings on the Mekong.

Winston set off early, but I left Kratie later than I hoped. It was a lovely couple of km along the Mekong to start on a tree-lined street of mainly Government buildings.

In the distance I spotted a bridge over the river. Before I reached it, however, I got mixed up in a Buddhist procession and only just managed to pass before they turned.

A little later I passed a watermelon seller and decided to flag him down to buy one - 2000 riel well spent.

I crossed a bridge as the big new bridge got closer. A couple of teenage girls posed for a photo and I admired many houses I passed.

And then I reached it - another piece of Chinese construction.

It won't be long before the occupants can sell this house as one with commanding views of the bridge.

The cycling was terrific, the road surface good and the traffic moderate. There was plenty to see in the first 40 km before the road veered from the Mekong.

We were a similar distance from both Phnom Penh and Ho Chi Minh.

We passed rice drying for most of the day.

What more do you need apart from a power pole, a mango tree, a house and some cows?

What more do you need? A mango tree, perhaps.

That's how much we paid for our Cambodian internet.

A big surprise was passing through a small region that seemed predominantly Islamic. First there was one mosque, then another, then an Islamic school and, to cap it off, girls on motor scooters, who were only too keen to wave and say hello. Their parents would not have been pleased with the "I love you", but I appreciated it!

It wasn't all too long before normality was restored.

There was a forest reserve at the spot where we left the Mekong. It was an oasis.

The ride for the next 30 odd km had plenty of eye-catching stuff.

Unusual decorations - egg shells on what looks like yucca

She was friendly, but her dog was suspicious

As the intensity of rice production and processing grew, we came across a region with many nurseries producing trees like coffee, mango and guava.

You wouldn't cut a worm with that sickle.

We both stopped, for a rest and a bite to eat, in a disheveled little village with a butcher's shop on a corner near a roundabout.

A young bloke, who spoke a little English, got his mum to cook what I wanted.

We turned off the highway a little further on and got excellent cycling for 25 km until meeting the highway again.

Rice, from the temple gate to the temple.

The decision, upon getting back on the highway, was how far to go towards the border. We decided to get reasonably close so I went ahead, aiming at places almost at the border. Everything changed very fast. It got grubbier and grubbier and most places appeared to be Chinese.

This is not a good spot - the lake, that is. We suspect the building accommodates factory workers.

I thought that I had made a mistake coming this far until things looked somewhat more respectable.

I went to several hotels enquiring about accommodation but was not prepared to pay the asking price US$50-100. Keep in mind that this is Cambodia. I told those at XaMat Hotel and Casino that I had looked forward to a night of gambling and thus expected cheap accommodation. They directed me to move on as I scanned the internet for the next place.0

Would you pay more than a dollar to stay here?

Eventually, I headed to Paris II Guesthouse, a devilish place to find on a stony, rutted and dusty goat track. The signage didn't help as I stared into the sun.

We walked into town for dinner via a dark lane hosting a wedding where the music competed with a generator.

We ate at a very strange place that had a lot of lanterns and even a night club.

Who wouldn't want to see this lantern display?

Back at our abode we listened to a barrage of fireworks - the wedding, no doubt. Tomorrow Vietnam and, hopefully, getting within easy reach of Ho Chi Minh city.

Today's ride: 124 km (77 miles)
Total: 2,544 km (1,580 miles)

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