The Way to Sihanouk

Riding a bicycle in Cambodia can be frightening experience, especially riding on the national highways. Maybe it is just where I have been riding, there is one road that seems to be paved. Maybe when I get closer to more populated areas the roads wont be so congested due to more roads being used. We will see.

I left Ko Kong in a drizzle, a common occurrence it seems. I rode through beautiful mountainous jungles for the whole day with some nice climbs and descents

The Cardamom Mountains.

Do you see my bike?

Amazing to see so much forest everywhere. So wild compared to Thailand.

Follow the little line.

. Getting over and down the last pass was a race because the clouds looming in the distance were threatening. Thankfully at the bottom of the hill there was a little house selling water. After getting some I made my way to little spot of forest off the road. I made sure to look out for landmines. People tell me to be careful about that but mostly I should be careful in the north of Cambodia. Anyway there was a fire not long ago it seems. I reasoned the fire would detonate the landmines. I like how I make judgements I know nothing about! Anyway, I got my tarp set up just in time because seconds later all hell broke out. I jsut stood under the tarp for like 45 minutes holding my bike up saving it from the rain. I also learned that my tarp leaks water. Good to know. The rain died down and I made gruel, seriously, I made gruel. I tried to sleep in the hammock for the night but that plan failed due to mosquito's eating me. I set my tent up eventually.

I woke up after a surprising deep sleep.

Looks so peaceful. Funny that this is in Cambodia, could easily of been taken in Canada. It seems the photo is slanting right to left, its because the ground slants from right to left.

I decided to to a short 40km ride. I was tired. I found a guesthouse that was occupied by millions of ants. I watched them troop zigzagged lines all around the floor. I had to hang my food from the ceiling since they were determined to get their teeth in everything. It thunder stormed again at night. This time I was under a roof!

And now we are at today. After leaving Srae Ambel I soon merged onto the national highway 4. It was a horrible experience I am sure I will repeat. The road was narrow and the trucks large. I opted to the gravel shoulder. It wasn't so bad with music coming from my headphones drowning out the large trucks zooming by. I eventually was able to find a route through a huge plantation that aloud me to quietly go on my way. The road was sandy and bumpy but to me that is 100 times better then a roaring highway with no shoulder. I have too many things I love at home to be just another bug on their bumper, like my dog... and my car. Just a bit over 100km I got to the city of Sihanouk. Its hard to believe this is part of Cambodia. Or maybe it is just the parts of Cambodia I saw so far. To compare would be to compare night and day.

The sun burning the mist away.

We have some real intelligent conversations together. They kept on getting closer while I was eating my breakfast.

A planted tree times infinity.

How about a summary to date eh? So far I travelled 2289km ascending 17576m. I have been riding my bike for 221.48 hours (only if I got paid for this!)

Ahh I'm getting so far away from Bangkok!

Tomorrow is going to be a hard day. I have like 4 beaches I want to explore and I need to find a new pair on sandals since my old beloved ones are still in Ko Kong. I love day offs!

Decisions, Decisions

"Be honest is good life." These are the words painted on the steps of the guesthouse. I read these words as I try to pick out a route through Cambodia. Do I go North through the Cardamom Mountains or continue southeast to the border of Vietnam. Even though the mountains guarantee adventure I am leaning towards the coast. Mostly because that was the route I had roughly drawn out in my mind before I left Canada. It doesn't matter what I choose, I will regret that I wasn't able to do both. All I can do is take everything I can out of the choice I make.

Today I got to nothing important. I got on the bike and tried to find the local beach. Trusting my trusty map I got extremely lost and ended up crossing some large puddles.

Just a little puddle. Wet shoes ensued.

After backtracking all that way I found the road. It was the obvious one that was paved I passed earlier. I found the beach and I slept. I also ate a mango and an apple if you were wondering.

Koh Kong Beach

I got my spoke fixed as well. The mechanic had none of the right tools but what he did have was smarts. He couldn't take off my rear cassette nor my disc brake. So he bent the spoke so much I thought for sure it would brake. He eventually found the right bends to get it threaded through the hub. Success, I now have all spokes again.

Well tomorrow I head east. Further away from Bangkok. I have this feeling in the back of my mind always not to get to far away since I need to make it back there. I really don't want to take a bus the final days. But I still have 25 days so I shouldn't worry so much! Alright, I hope I can write again soon.

Koh Klong, Cambodia

The first thing I noticed on crossing the border was that in Cambodia they drive on the right side of the road! After about three cars zipping by me head on I started to question if my swearing under my breath was warranted. On seeing all the other vehicles going my way on the other side of the road I clued in... But lets not get ahead of ourselves.

After spending the night at the cozy guesthouse in Trat I woke and headed out the door with bike and headed down the highway towards the promised land, Cambodia. I did decide that I would use my Thailand visa to the maximum 30 days, so that means finding somewhere to sleep somewhere in between. The road was up and down, but to be honest, it wasn't that bad. Quite cruisy actually. I rode the bike 65km with lots of dips in the ocean in between. I found a cheap bungalow near the beach and hunkered down. I was thinking about spending the night on the sandy shores in my tent, but the clouds around gave me second thoughts.

In the evening, and a little in the morning.

I hope there wasn't a boat right there.

 On a side note. I met my first cycle tourists of the trip. They were a Belgium couple, maybe in there mid forties, who have been on the road for 7 months! They started their trip in Mongolia. Inspiring. They say its one of their dreams to bike in British Columbia.


In the morning it rained. Pretty hard for a moment. When it died down I continued south. The roads continued to go up and down. However, the rain caused one section of road that I decided to take to turn into some sort of sandy muddy soup. This was the result.

I think that has to be the muddiest I have ever gotten a bike. And I can get a bike pretty muddy. 

After about 20km of riding the mud would not leave.

After a long break at 711 I continued. I went up, then down. Then up, then down.

Big roads for just a bike.

 Until I hit the border! I paid them too much money and left feeling a little robbed. That feeling went away when I started fearing for my life as vehicles started heading towards me. Anyway I mentioned that. From the border its a 20km ride to Koh Kong City. You need to cross this big bridge. Everyone pays a toll, but not bicycles!

The road to Koh Kong City

And now we are up to date. Total trip distance is the magical number of 2013km. I do not hope to get to ride another, maybe half ;)

And then the sun set.

 I will stay here another day and night. I have a broken spoke which needs attending to. But mostly I just want to relax!

Three Days Later... Trat

The last time I wrote in this I remember I was sitting on Ko Sichang thinking about all the kilometers I had to cycle to get to Cambodia before my visa ran out. And here I am, about 75km from the border. Mission "almost" accomplished. I will try to recount the last three days to the best of my ability. Here is goes...

I wake up... SHIT! Its 530am and my ferry leaves at 6. I look around my cheap room and gear is lying all over the place. Of course I didn't get ready to leave last night. I am up in an instant. Things get picked up and thrown in panniers in no regular order. I am jumping on my cycle as fast as I can in about 10 minutes.  I stop in at 7/11 to grab a quick coffee and little pastry breakfast. I am back on my bike and heading towards the pier. I notice everything is still dead, there are no lights on any of the boats. I see a Thai man loading some stuff onto a boat, that can't be the ferry. I motion that I want to get on a ferry to get me off this island. He motions across the bay to another harbor... Jesus Christ! So off I am again racing with full speed. I look at my watch, 5:50, I race onto the pier and I see a boat. I still doubt that that can be the ferry. There are some Thai men aboard a boat. I say in a rushed tone "Ferry?" The look at me and point to the harbor like 100m away. They say something in Thai as I'm swearing and turning my bike around. I look at my watch, its like 2 minutes until 6. I bike, and bike, until I see the ferry. They blow the whistle and I yell something. I quickly get off my bike and carry it onto the ferry. Success!

The rest of the first day was just a regular ole' day. I cycled 116km until I reached a guesthouse somewhere on the beach. I ended up sleeping on a balcony in a tent because I only wanted to pay 200 baht. I don't even think I took a photo that day.

Then there was yesterday. For some reason, unknown to me, I was super demotivated to move. Maybe it was the fact that I moved 116km yesterday, but I doubt it. But move I must do since my visa expires in three days now. I bike along the coast until I cannot bike any longer. I went 100km exactly that day and decided to call it quits on some secluded beach...parking lot. I was hoping to get to Chanthaburi but it was out of the way plus another 30km away. So I set up my sauna, I mean tent, and watched the sunset over the pacific ocean. Not a bad view!

The bed was pretty hard. But the view was stunning!

The sun then set and it was dark. I lay helpless to the heat, listening to the wind come off the ocean and stop once it hit the walls of my tent. I lay their sleeping in a puddle of my own sweat. I guess I fell asleep eventually because the next thing I remember is feeling rain drops hitting my face. I always find it amazing how quickly I can respond to a situation requiring immediate reaction from the moment I awake. I am up on my knees in a moment. I wait for confirmation of my first thought. Correct. Its raining. Shit. I rip open the zipper and rifle through my panniers. Tarp is located. I throw the tarp on my tent. The wind blows the tarp away. I run and get the tarp. I then realize I have a problem. I am sleeping on an old parking lot. It may be old but the cement remains hard as ... rock. It's raining harder. I grab a ... coconut. It will have to do for the moment. I am running around now look for heavy objects. I am glad no one saw me running around in my boxers searching an old parking lot for heavy objects. I find some rocks and secure the tarp. I jump inside and ... suffer. Now zero wind enters the tent. I sigh, and with some time passing I eventually fall asleep. Waking up to a gentle turn of colors from gray to orange.

And now there is only today. I thankfully found an amazing guesthouse for a good price after an exceptional day of riding my bike for another 116km. That's 332km in 3 days. After a night like last, you would think I would be dead tired. However, I rode my bike a crisp pace all day. I even took a couple side roads that ended up adding 30km to the expected trip.

The trip total now is 1901km.

Getting close to that yellow line of Cambodia. The think yellow shows what I did today.

Tomorrow the plan is to get to the town closest to the Cambodian border called Hak Lek. I will spend the night and depart for Cambodia in the morning. I will let you know what happens.

And now for random photos of the last couple days...enjoy.

I see that ocean quite a lot now. To me it signifies heavy head winds.

Cross the rivers mouth that feeds into the sea.

Sometimes you need to watch out. The road can just gobble you up.

Classic shot of the surly crossing yet another bridge.

My Days is Ko Sichang

The life of an island dweller is full of relaxing charm. The first thing you do is watch the sun come up, then you slowly watch it go across the sky until you are watching the sun set. Your day is now over and you got everything accomplished. Pretty hard life.

The sun setting over the Bay of Bangkok

The beach on Ko Sichang

LUNCH

It's a tough life.

Dreaming...while I'm dreaming. It keeps me going.

Phanat Nikhom to Ko Sichang

I should start this post by exclaiming that the Pacific Ocean is still there because I saw it with my own eyes. I even floated on it for fifty minutes on a passenger ferry to get to the island of Sichang. I then proceeded to swim in it after I got a room. So there, for a moment though I thought I was biking to the edge of the world!

Yesterday the headwinds continued North as I traveled South to the coast. My legs have been getting progressively tired with each day, and that headwind just doesn't help. But I made it regardless of ache and pain. I rode my bike 79km yesterday (that includes the ferry). I guess like 75km not including the ferry making the trip total to 1566km.

This is my island.

It's probably not the most beautiful island nor has it the most beautiful beaches. The thing it had going for itself was how close it was to me. But after exploring it a bit yesterday it does have its own little charm. It was inflating to jump into the ocean after such a battle to get here.

I have also decided to stay an extra day and night here. I know I am time restricted but I feel for my well being that one more day here won't be the worst idea. It just means a 100 plus km day tomorrow which wont be terrible and another big day after that. Then I will be comfortably near the border with about a day to spare to take in some of the sights.

I think I will do another post tonight to add some photos. I hope to see a sunset this evening and hopefully with that some stunning photos.

Anyway, I'll get back to nothing and enjoy it.

Nahkon Nayok to Phanat Nikhom

I am starting to question the geography of my map. I keep on riding my bike 9 plus hours a day and I still haven't reached the coast of the Bay of Bangkok. Therefore it must not exist.

I made it to the small city of Phanat Nikhom. The plan this morning was not to go as far, but I decided against that and went about another 20km. This means tomorrow I have a 50km dash Si Racha rather then a 70km.

Today the weather was hot and sunny with a moderate headwind that dampened spirits. My knees creek a little more battling through that stuff. I cannot wait for a magical tailwind!

So I ended moving my ass 104km making the total trip at 1487km. I wonder if I will be over 2000km by the time I reach the Cambodia border? Only time will tell.

As you can see it seems that the coast is near. I will follow the coastline into Cambodia. It should be amazing!

 You might sense some negativity in the above words. If you do, please understand I am behind schedule. I am riding my bike through parched agricultural land, but now its worse because I am close to Bangkok so the traffic has tripled. I am trying to keep positive thoughts rolling through my head. I really need to hit the coast. Everything will be different. Also, I pray for the day I step into Cambodia because then I wont be under such an immediate time restriction. Ahh the future seems so promising!

Going insane somewhere along the road. At least the bananas were good!

Lopburi to Nahkon Nayok

This will be just a quick and easy post. I biked 125km today making the trip total 1382km. I should be arriving on the coast tomorrow. I can't wait for small rides to different coastal towns. I have at least one more big day...which is tomorrow. However it won't be as big as today!

As you can see the hardest thing about cycle touring in Thailand is the traffic...you don't see a car for so long. You just need to get off the highways!

I am all set up to head straight south tomorrow now! Finally

Chainat to Lopburi

Why is getting out of bed so hard now? I can't help it but push the snooze like 5 times. This morning I managed to crawl out of bed at like 6:30am. I had a room on the second floor of a hotel and it was quite a scene me trying to get down by myself. Some Thai guests saw my struggles and helped me get down.

The morning was a struggle. My stomach still didn't feel 100% and I woke up with a little headache. After about 60km everything was great as the roads turned to little quiet ones in the shade. It was actually a really nice bike ride today.

I just remembered the reason the morning probably sucked so much was that the headwind was strong. Any headwind will for sure put down the moral.

Nice rural roads.

Doing what I love to do. I always stand like that. 

I finally rolled into Lopburi after 94km. The trip total is 1258km.

A little east and a little south. Battling it out until the coast!

There are hundreds of monkeys here. And I took like a hundred shots. But I'll just post one now.

Well I have a couple more days until I am soaking my feet in the sand of the Gulf of Thailand. I'll keep you updated.

Recovery in Chainat

I woke up later than usual, but that was planned. But what happened after was not in the plans at all. I get on my bike after having a 711 breakfast of canned coffee and some sort of pastry. I am riding my bike along the River Chao Phraya, the same river that flows through Bangkok, and it is super peaceful. I see a couple cycle yuppies biking along going the other direction. I nod and wave to everyone of them. I get a couple thumbs up. I am about 5 or 6 kilometers from my hotel when I start to get this super painful knot in my stomach. I immediately pull over and use a poor shops toilet. I am in a terrible state all of a sudden and I know that the only place for me today is in close proximity of a washroom. I've got to get back to my hotel. After graciously saying thank you I jump on my bike and pedal in a hurried manner all the way back to my hotel. I just made it ;)

Anyway that's why I am not biking today. I am actually quite bummed out about it because I really want to get to the coast. I only have 10 days left in Thailand and one of these days is sort of used up in a shitty way. (all these puns were deliberate)

I am currently feeling better, even though every time I walk away from the hotel I count the steps (not really). So tomorrow to Lopburi, no matter what!

People with motorbikes getting ferried off to the other side of the River Chao Phraya.

Ban Rai to Chai Nat

Nice bike! You see the flatness of the scenery. Beautiful I know.

 I made it to Chai Nat! Here is a big city. The biggest one I've cycled in since Suphanburi like 15 days ago. It is quite funny I must admit, but when I am in big city I long for quiet little towns, but when I am actually in these quite little towns I do sometimes miss the convenience of lets say a ... 7/11. It does feel good  though to get out of the mountains. It was an awesome experience, and I experienced a lot. Now I am ready for all these new experiences to come from the east!

How about a little summary of the ride? I got on my bike at just past 7am and I pretty much cycled until 3 in the afternoon with a couple breaks. I had a a lot of dogs chase me today. I don't know but I can't feel a little bit but hurt inside when these dogs come roaring from their driveways and chasing me down the road barking viciously just a couple feet from my fleshy calve. I try to pedal faster as the barks start to sound something like "Farang! Farang! Farang!" I pedal hard but am still mindful to keep my defense up if I have to do a swift kick to the teeth if one of them actually lunges at me with teeth erect. Thankfully that hasn't happened but I imagine as a ride away with the dog far behind that I had kicked them. Dark thoughts.

I rode just over 97km in about 7 hours and 45 min. Of course that includes the whole day of riding with all my breaks. Its kinda nice to see that you went over 10km an hour. Flat land can work wonders on your self esteem, and well, mountains can really make you seem like a big baby!

Yellow is my ride today. Tomorrow to Lopburi finally!

The total trip distance is 1150km. That's about all to say today. Other then some new sunburns today was just a good day of cycling.

Beware dogs. I'm ready for you.

Ya cycle touring is pretty hard.

The Long Road From Lam Klong Ngu National Park to Bang Rai

I woke up this morning, March 13, hot and aching. After hitting the snooze for the last time I arise like a zombie and shoved all my gear scattered about the abandoned building in the Phu Toei National Park compound into my panniers. Eating a breakfast of three mini bananas I am off up the road trying to get through the park. I know that once I get over this pass I will be descending to sea level since I am now heading away from the mountains and east to the Gulf of Thailand. My plan was to get to Chai Nat, about 110km away, however, I made it 25km to the city of Ban Rai and now sit in front of a fan at full blast. Everything was wrong this morning, my clothes were dirty to the point of worry, my legs were crippling, my arms felt numb, and my mind needed a bed and my body needed a shower. I am glad that I am here. I love to complain ;)

Eating my breakfast of a big fat watermelon I was welcomed by Mr. Sun.

My trip total now is at whopping 1053km. Its a good feeling to know that you have cycled over
1000km. Getting a hotel for the day/night seems well warranted. I also have climbed 12030m, that is too much climbing. I am glad to give my knees a break for the next couple days by sticking to the flats.

Heading East towards Lopburi for now. Leaving the mountains for a while. I should encounter some in Cambodia as well.

How about a little post from yesterday's ride. It already seems so far away. That's the thing about cycle touring. Everyday that you spend on your bike is so long that looking back just a few days ago seems like you are looking back a week. I didn't write anything about this day yesterday but I can remember a lot!

I woke up on a little shops balcony where I was waved away by glowing smiles and goodbyes. I will always remember the hospitality of this nice little Thai/Chinese couple. They let me into their home, they let a stranger sleep on their balcony and fed me a delicious Thai dinner and breakfast. They also provided me with about two glasses too much of Chang beer giving me a slight hangover when I woke at 6. Saying goodbye was hard since they really wanted me to stay another day but after telling them about my visa problems and the distance I needed to cover they let me leave.

"So how far are you going?" ... "Oh, well I hope like 90km." .... "Haha, you won't get that far, you have two mountains to climb!"

So off I went with a full stomach and high hopes for the day. I had some serious climbs today. And that's what I did, I climbed, slowly, but surly. The views were exceptional and the road snaked its away around and around and eventually popped out the other side where the descent was just as long and windy. It was great morning of climbing and descending! Not to much more to report on. I rode the bike for about 8 and a half hours and got 83km under my belt. It was a long, hard, and satisfying day.

Up and up I went.

Sweat in the eye is a common cycle touring problem.

With that day all done I should also write something about the 1st day of my long absence. That day was next level. I already wrote an entry so I'll just copy and paste it on here...

 March11
Everything was soaked through when I woke up. I hit the snooze to postpone the mayhem of packing and getting ready to hit the road. The snooze finishes and the alarm is off again. I think about another ten minutes. I better not. I find the cleanest clothes that I have… not much and throw them on quickly. I hunt for my headlamp which is always a difficult task. Found it. I unzip the fly and I can’t see a thing, so much condensation in the air. No its not raining, it is so foggy! Ahh oh well just something new in Thailand. I don’t worry so much about everything getting soaked because I know that it will dry when the death heat sun comes out.

The Foggy morning. I am actually still on pavement at this time!

I’m on the road now, I decide not to go get breakfast in town. I pre bought two canned coffees the evening before and I found some hot water in the ranger station to make some instant noodles. I also have some odds and ends in my panniers somewhere I think. So I’m off, after some minor climbs the road kinda stops and it turns into a sort of trail going through some plantation of sorts. I double check google maps and it says just keep on going. So I do, and after about 50km of total shit I make it to the ferry. I really can’t describe the emotions I went through today. But I will tell you in what order they had happened in. First I was like “Sweet, I’m going through this sweet little trail. I wonder when it will turn into cement.” Then I was “Man it’s been like 20km, should be cement pretty soon.” Finally “Fuck, where the hell am I!” By then I was pushing my bike up a hill for the third time. After climbing and descending, and climbing and descending, and well, you get it. I came to this really big descent to the lake that you would think sweet, I’m going downhill. But the bumps and rocks made that descent so bad that I had to really calm myself down, for my mood was so low that my bikes well being was in danger. (Not really). I honestly didn’t see any vehicles for like 97% of that 50km to the lake. 

Pavement to this. Muddy tires and legs followed.

 Anyway, I got there eventually. 50km in like 7 hours I think. Horrible timing but I got it done. The ferry ride was relaxing, I got to dry all my tent stuff. It was about 40bht to cross the lake.

Taking a break. I might of threw the bike to the ground there.

The road to the top. 

My stinky shoes.

Drying my clothes on the ferry. I am also recovering in the shade.

Me not getting breakfast was a horrible idea. My lunch was glorious though.

 I got across and immediately swam. The water was so warm. A nice little dog saw me swimming, barked at me for like 5 minutes then decided that I was no threat and start to swim with me. We became good friends for like 7 minutes, then I left. The road from the ferry is gravel, but its in a better condition. I think after 5km I came to what was heaven…or a highway. :) Great moments of jubilation filled my heart.There was even a shop and I spent a 100bht on liquids and snacks.

After the ferry swim. There is the dog who accompanied me.

I then preceded biking north, on the highway, and it was amazing. I went about 70km today. I have no internet here so I can’t check all the stats.

I am staying at a shop. After asking..well I mean acting out to about 20 different people I was looking for a place to sleep, this guy let me set my tent up on his balcony. He is a life saver, or a saver of a shitty night somewhere else. Thats about all. I guess this will be posted at a later date.