Cycling through Cambodia: Phnom Penh to Siem Reap

From the Vietnamese border town of Chau Doc, we took a 4+ hour speed boat ride along the Mekong river all the way to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The boat ride seemed to last forever since we were required to make 2 relatively long stops- once at the Vietnamese border and again at the Cambodian border for passport check and visa confirmation. 

Once our boat pulled into the dock at Phnom Penh, we were warmly greeted by our two Cambodian guides and our city tour guide. After a delicious lunch, or city guide took us to two very important, yet emotionally tough sights of Khmer Rouge violence. The first was an old high school building. During the Khmer Rouge Regime (1975-1979), it was converted into a security prison where Cambodians of all walks of life were tortured, forced to confess to heinous crimes and killed. Numbers of dead were in the tens of thousands. This prison was one of more than 150 locations throughout Cambodia. The hallways and central courtyard and prison cells converted from classrooms gave the complex and eerie feel- walking around you could tell it was once a high school- a place of learning and youth, but you could also feel the violence, screams and pain that filled the space when it became S-21. 

Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum

The second sight we visited was one of the Killing Fields at Choeung Ek, just outside the city. Here, over one million Cambodians were brutally executed and buried in mass graves. Holes in the ground mark where thousands of dead were piled high. Trees were labeled where savage attacks occurred. Walking through the sight, remnants of clothing still lay buried in the clay. A central memorial filled with the victims' skulls, indicate how the people were murdered. Fractured skulls, holes and blunt force trauma all point to violent deaths. The sign board beside the tree reads: "Magic Tree. The tree was used as a tool to hang a loudspeaker which makes sound louder to avoid the moan of victims while they were being executed."

We did not do as much riding through Cambodia. The roads were tougher and the distances between cities far greater. So we stayed 2 nights in Phnom Penh and did a 40km day ride out to Ou Dong. Here we are riding away from the capital city center and out towards more country roads. 

Stopped to visit a buddhist temple, and the gardens surrounding the temple were filled with statues.

Petrol anyone?

Early evening in Phnom Penh. The riverfront promenade had an aerobics class.

The next day, on our way out we stopped at "Spider Town." Here, the guides chowed down on their favorite snack- deep fried tarantulas. Don't forget to hold a few live ones as well!
I stayed far away from all of them.

Country riding- small farms, rice fields, houses built on stilts...

...and the friendliest children you will ever meet!