Cycling The Road Less Travelled

Many of you have probably noticed that there is about a thousand photos of me for every photo of Spiros on this website. Let me explain. Spiros takes beautiful photos, I on the other hand, do not. In fact, I am completely inept. Ok, I have managed to fluke off the occasional nice photo, but only after considerable patience and coaching on his part.

Here is a series to demonstrate my point. I wanted to get a shot of him cycling next to one of the elephants in Angkor. Here are the miserable results:

Didn’t wait long enough for him to catch up to the elephant.

Cut off the elephant.

Motorist got in the way.

Not sure what happened here.

Just plain bad.

So you see, it is not that we don’t have photos of him, it’s simply that 98% of the photos I have taken…well…suck.

It appears that Spiros was attacked by a tiger while cycling in Angkor Wat. Not too worry though, he’s ok. He was able to fight off the wild beast quite easily with his bare hands and managed to escape relatively unscathed. The proof you ask? Here you go: photo evidence of the beast’s vicious attack. Now, I realize some of you might be sitting there thinking: “Umm…those just look like minor scratches from a bicycle chain-ring”. But nope, he has assured all the children and ladies working at the Wats that have asked about his wound that it was in fact a tiger, a vicious bloodthirsty tiger. Nobody has believed him yet but it always gets a chuckle, not to mention the occasional “Oh Mista’, you so strong” to which he promptly replies: “Why yes, yes I am”.

We have a new friend. The past few nights, this little fellah has been keeping us company. He lives in the air conditioner in our hotel room. Every night he comes out and does frantic laps around the room. Geckoes aren’t new at this stage in the game but we’ve spent a few nights here, long enough to become enamored with this little guy and his compulsive ways. We’re actually gonna miss him. We named him “dog”.

One of the most spectacular sites in Southeast Asia are the Temples of Angkor. Dating back many hundreds of years, these jungle fortresses are as impressive as the Pyramids in Giza or the Colosseum in Rome. I’ve been sitting at the computer for a long while now, trying to find some way to describe them but I’m having a very difficult time. I could throw some adjectives like “majestic”, “stunning” and “awe-inspiring”, but that just wouldn’t do them justice. I could tell you that I could easily spend hours staring at the beautiful, serene faces of Bayon, but that simply wouldn’t do either. How could I possibly describe the delicate detail of Banteay Srei? I’ll have to let the photos do the talking for me (more photos in the gallery). With that said, a photo cannot capture the grandeur or beauty of such a place.

Most people see the temples by taking a tour bus, taxi, moto or tuk-tuk from Siem Reap. Would you be surprised to hear that we think the most enchanting way to see them is on bicycle?

From Phnom Penh we pedaled our way too Siem Reap through Kompang Cham and Kompang Thom. Cambodia’s reputation for horrible roads seems to be slowly becoming a thing of the past. A few years back, this stretch of road was unpaved, a dust bowl in the dry season, a mud bath in the wet season. Except for a small but brutal section, almost the entire length is now paved making for relatively easy and fast cycling. The landscape is almost completely flat but what the ride lacks in natural beauty, it makes up for with interesting villages and the friendly faces you see along the way. We stopped countless times along the route to talk to people, play with kids, take photos or to sneak a peak at one of the many weddings we passed. Countless tour buses fly by here without stopping, it’s a shame. We really enjoyed the three days it took us to get to Siem Reap.

Unfortunately, Cambodia’s recent history is one that is shocking, dark and horrific. Years of civil war along with conflicts in neighboring countries have brought much destruction and suffering to the country.

Today, we decided to go see the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek. Between the years of 1975 and 1978, the Kmer Rouge massacred over 17,000 people at this extermination camp. Many of the victims were bludgeoned to death to avoid wasting bullets. One hundred twenty nine mass graves were found. Over 8000 skulls, arranged by sex and age, are kept behind glass in the Memorial Stupa. It’s a powerful reminder of the atrocities that took place here. Also in the Stupa is a pile of tattered clothes. On the very top was a shirt or a dress with red and blue butterflies; it made me think of a little girl or young woman who must have felt very pretty wearing it. Sometimes it’s not the most obvious things that strike you the most when visiting such a place.

We struggled to make sense of it all, something to explain the horrors that took place in this field. There is none. It’s humanity at its worse.

Later the same day, we went to the Tuol Sleng Museum in Phnom Penh. The building was a high school before the Kmer Rouge turned it into a prison. What was once an institution for learning had become a place of imprisonment and torture. It is now a museum and grim reminder of the atrocities that took place here just a short while ago. The walls are lined with photos depicting torture and broken bodies. You get a small sense of the magnitude of this crime when you look at the endless sea of mug shots. When we looked at these images, we couldn’t help but think that had we been born in Cambodia, we could have been two of the frightened faces in those pictures. How could this have happened in our lifetime?

We left the museum in silence. We didn’t speak for a long time, both of us reeling from the images we had just seen. What can you say? How do you make sense of that? As we walked back, we kept looking at the older faces we passed on the street. What atrocities have they seen? How did they manage to survive? How many family members did they loose? Were they a Kmer Rouge combatant? As difficult and disturbing as it is, we do recommend visiting both these places. It’s important to remember these events if we are to prevent them from ever happening again.

There is a motorbike and driver somewhere underneath all those packages.

Sandals do come in elephant size.

The only thing odd about these two pictures is the number of live chickens. There are usually twice as many.

No comment necessary. (The poor piggies are alive btw).

After our stay in Ho Chi Minh City, we spent a few days in the Mekong Delta area. We enjoyed the market in My Tho and liked Chau Doc, the cycling was a bit disappointing though. The area was more developed then we expected, so while we occasionally got a peak of emerald green rice paddies, we spent most of our riding time trying to avoid the fumes and heavy traffic. Luckily, Mel and Jesse’s wonderful company, the festivities and colors of Tet and the countless hours we spent sucking back mango shakes more then made up for it.

Vietnam is a fascinating place. There a tons of things to see and do, lots of history, beautiful landscapes and there is always something interesting going on to catch your eye. We’ve really enjoyed our stay but in all honesty we wouldn’t rank it highly as a cycling destination, at least not if you intend to cycle the whole way. While it can be very exciting, the busy streets and the constant honking eventually take their toll; you end up spending too much of your energy avoiding the vehicles whizzing by instead of enjoying the ride.

With that we say “Good Night Vietnam” and “Good Morning” to the 26th country on our tour: Cambodia. In 2006, we spent a short 4 days in Angkor Wat and the Ton Le Sap Lake area. We loved Angkor and were so touched by the friendliness and the spirit of the people that we decided we would come back one day, hopefully on bikes. Here is our chance.

What does one do when cycling on a relatively boring stretch of road in Vietnam? Well, you count the number of motorbikes that whizz by you of course. Spiros counted a total of 500 motorbikes in a half hour span, not counting those going in the opposite direction. Keep in mind that was just a regular day. If you multiply that over 19 riding days, with an average of 5 hours of riding per day, that works out to a whopping 95,000 motorbikes, give or take a few thousand of course. Yikes, that’s a lot of motorbikes!

Tet (Lunar New Year) is the biggest and most important festival in Vietnam. This year it fell on January 26th which meant we got to see the celebrations. The days leading up to Tet were awesome. The markets were bustling even more then usual and the streets were brimming with flower markets; a brilliant sea of bright yellow, orange and green. Homes, hotels, and restaurants were brightly decorated and motorists balanced several pots of flowers and kumquat trees on their bikes. Quite a sight. New Year’s Eve was celebrated with music and fireworks and on the following days we were treated to dragon and lion dances and other traditional ceremonies. What more could we ask for?

Tet is a great time to be in Vietnam. Just one word of note though. If you do plan on traveling in Vietnam during this time, you will need to take into account that many businesses are closed and most people go home to be with family so finding accommodations and arranging for transport can be more difficult then usual. We were also told that the roads would be much quieter for a few days after the 26th, but we didn’t notice a significant difference. There may have been a slight decline in honking and few thousand less motorbikes on the road but that is just a drop in the bucket.

I admit it; this is a completely gratuitous blog. I have absolutely nothing to say, it serves no real purpose. I just really, really, really wanted to post this photo. Isn’t she gorgeous?! Don’t you just want to hug her? We found her selling vegetables and fruit in the market in My Tho. When Spiros asked if he could take her picture, she just laughed and nodded. The more photos he took and the closer he got, the more she laughed. She’s all of 4 feet tall (if that) with a smile that could melt the heart of the biggest grouch; that deserves at least one pic, don’t ya’ think? No, you’re right; she deserves a whole photo shoot.

We’ve spent a few days in Uncle Ho’s crowded and chaotic city. It ain’t pretty by any stretch of the imagination but somehow, through the traffic, pollution and the tangled mess of electrical wires, it does have some charm. It’s the kind of charm that comes from lively markets, street food stalls, endless streams of motorbikes and the novelty of occasionally having to dodge a live chicken scurrying across the sidewalk. It’s organized…well, maybe not so organized, chaos. It hasn’t won me over the way seedy, filthy, decrepit Cairo did (sigh…Cairo), but it’s not a bad spot to spend a few days.

One of the most unforgettable experiences for you, the tourist in Ho Chi Minh City, is the simple act of crossing the street. It’s crazy; it’s adrenalin filled and it will no doubt be the subject of many a tale when you get back home. Imagine gazillion motorbikes, bicycles, tuk-tuks and cars weaving in and out on the street, criss-crossing each other in a way that baffles western sensibilities. At first, you patiently wait for the light to change or for some kind of break in the traffic. You soon realize by watching locals that that is not really how it works here; they just cross. So, you take a deep breath and step onto the street, despite your instincts not to, despite the fact that your head is saying: “Uhh…what are you doing? Are you trying to get yourself killed! Stop you idiot!”. Next, you slowly and steadily walk across as cyclists and motorbikes make their way around you. You’re careful to avoid sudden unexpected movements (that would be bad) and keep in mind that cars and buses will not slow down or stop for you (staying in one piece is your problem). You reach the curb, thrilled and shocked that you made it. “Is it Dangerous? Are you taking your life into your own hands?” Well, yes but you do eventually get used to it. In an odd way, it’s kinda like a dance; we’re calling it the “Ho Chi Minh City Shuffle”.