Day 9 – Making our way to Vietnam – Adventures of a middle aged mountain biker

#cambodia #vietnam #travel #adventure

After two days in Phnom Penh it was time to leave. Too soon in my opinion, I’ve really enjoyed this city. I think we were all a little surprised by it. On the drive in, in the dark, it seemed like a complex mix of corrugated dwellings and wooden structures, a hive of activity, with people eating their dinner or relaxing in hammocks in their shops and/or living areas. All this taking place literally at the side of the road. A ridiculously busy road too. Scooters everywhere, going in all directions on both sides of the road, in between and around all the other cars, buses and lorries. But these dwellings/shops were right on the road, no pavement to speak of. It seemed like pandemonium and a little daunting.

However, after we had arrived at our hotel and had our usual quick change, we went out to dinner and what an atmosphere this place has. We were all looking forward to exploring it in daylight and it didn’t disappoint.

So it could be partly due to enjoying our stay so much, that the next 2 hours bus and then 50km cycle ride, out of the city was so dull. It could also be that we were on a main road and the views were not the best we’ve seen so far. The towns were more industrial and the traffic fumes were horrible. And if I’m honest, I’m getting quite sick of all this tarmac. I’m a mountain biker, and no amount of beautiful views take away the fact that I’ve spent way too long on road. I need some dirt!

The border crossing was also a bit of non-event after the previous crossing from Thailand to Cambodia (it only took an hour :bloke). I did find the traffic highly entertaining though (you can really see the inspiration for bladerunner and many elements of star wars – like pod racer noises, helmets and markets and workshop stuff. Anakin was a cambodian refugee in viet! :bloke) – You have no idea how much you can carry on the back of a scooter if you put your mind to it (as much as a 44 tonne truck in Europe :bloke). Unfortunately they won’t let you take pics at the border crossings, so I didn’t get any. One of the best of the day was a scooter carrying a brand new scooter on the pillion! These guys and girls got skills!!

It turned out to be a day of two halfs, or two thirds and a third to be more precise. After clearing the border, we jumped on our new bikes (Omg, 2001 just called – it wants it’s bikes back :bloke) and we’re immediately thrown in to some amazing countryside and villages. The roads are much narrower here and the villages are packed. There are literally people everywhere. 97 million of them apparently.