Escaping Asia in Ban Lung: But not forgetting

February 2, 2015

Actually my first evening at Backpacker's Pad hadn't been all bad. I achieved part of my aim, and met some backpackers, and the next morning I went with them by bicycle to a crater lake just outside of Ban Lung. There was a Spanish guy whose name I don't remember, but we'll call him Juan, who was all into meditating and Buddhism and spiritualism and finding himself. Then there was a French girl named Leyna, who wore baggy pants and seemed very much like she was trying to find herself. Another from the land of frog's legs was Patrick, an older man with an endearingly cheerful manner whose lack of English made him all the more endearing. And finally there was a Canadian named Wil (with one L).

On our way to the lake I met this super-awesome Polish couple at the beginning of their bicycle tour

The lake was very nice. Although it is called a volcanic crater lake I liked the idea that it could have been formed by a meteorite impact better, and I supported my theory by the fact that it was an almost perfect circle. Surrounded by forest it was an idyllic place to spend a lazy day, periodically jumping off the dock for a swim in the refreshing water. The company was good too, but it was Wil (with one L) that I got on with best. A 24-year-old from Toronto, and a former competitive swimmer who said he was number three or four in Canada until retiring at the ripe old age of 22. Unsure exactly of what to do next he had just begun his travels and seemed suspiciously like he was trying to, well, find himself. Undeterred by his pedigree I challenged him to a swimming race, a 50 metre sprint. "But you have to give me a five second headstart" I said, perhaps indicating that I was ever-so-slightly deterred by his pedigree. He still beat me comfortably.

Juan, Patrick and Wil (with one L)(Juan's name has been changed for memory reasons)

Crazy tree by the lake, which we hiked around by the way (not so lazy actually, are we?)

We went back to our 'pad' in the afternoon but I got a headache and decided that I needed to take a walk alone. I strolled down to another, closer, lake, and took a seat to watch the sunset over its palm-fringed edges. It was nice to be alone with my thoughts again. Then an old Cambodian man walked along, and stopped to talk with me in surprisingly good English. He spoke in such kind, gentle tones that I didn't even mind being brought back to Asia again. As he spoke I thought about how, given his age (he was 70 if he was a day) he must have lived through the civil war, perhaps fought in it, and the horrific Pol Pot inspired genocide that followed it, that wiped out a fifth of the population in the 1970s. He most probably lost loved ones, likely saw suffering and hopelessness on a scale I could barely begin to imagine, and yet he spoke to me through such gentle, loving eyes. After talking for a while he said goodbye and wished me good luck, and shuffled along, leaving me to contemplate the apparent paradox of how almost everyone in the world that I meet seems to be so fundamentally good, and yet such terrible, unspeakably wicked things can happen.

Such a beautiful world, such a cruel world

Sobered by thoughts of Cambodia's troubled past I began to walk back, but along the way I noticed a sign for another guesthouse, the 'Banlung Balcony'. I knew that this was where Wil (with one L) was staying, and I wanted to hang out in Ban Lung a little longer, but not at the Backpacker's Pad, so I thought I'd go and take a look at this place in case it was nicer. Turned out that it was, it was a lovely clean and quiet establishment run by friendly people, and so I decided to move here the next day. I also bumped into Wil in the restaurant, which had a huge snooker table in it. Forgetting how bad I am at snooker I challenged him to a game. Two hours later it was over. I don't remember who won in the end, but I think we were both mighty glad to be finished.

The next day I fulfilled my promise and moved to the Balcony, and hung out some more with my new Canadian friend. For reasons that I forget we decided that it would be a good idea to play some more snooker, and consequently the day rather passed us by. During one of our long games another Canadian, JP, arrived, and joined us. By now we had lost almost an entire day of our lives to snooker, and we decided we had better get out and do something, so we rallied our collective energies, and walked around the nearer lake. Along the way we met two French girls on bicycles, Caroline and Maïté, who were doing a bicycle trip around South East Asia. These weren't your typical cycle tourists, however, as they were backpackers who had just bought cheap bikes on an impulse and strapped their backpacks to their bikes on impressively home-made racks.

They said they were trying to tidy up the cables. The Banlung Balcony can be seen in the background

Wil and JP walking around the lake. I thought it interesting the contrast between the little wooden Cambodian home on the bottom left and the tourist hotel top right

The girls joined us at the Balcony for dinner and beers in the restaurant, although we resisted the magnetic draw of the snooker table. Its a funny thing, how a couple of cute girls can make three young men forget all about snooker. One of life's mysteries, that. So I sat there drinking with the Canadians Wil (with one L) and JP, and the French girls Caroline and Maïté, and in so doing I achieved my aim of escaping from Asia. And, honestly, I quite liked that.

02/02/15 - 10km unloaded

03/02/15 - 1km

Today's ride: 1 km (1 miles)
Total: 36,777 km (22,839 miles)

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