Contrasts of Cambodia

My last night in Thailand was a good one. I stayed with a Warmshowers host about 10km from the border, in the little town of Aranyaprathet. She isn't a cyclist, but she sees so many cyclists coming through on their way to or from the border, that she just decided she needed to start taking them in. When I arrived, after being greeted by her rambunctious dogs, she helped me get settled in and provided me with this interesting bean soup, made of multiple kinds of beans, of her creation, then leaving for a little while to run errands. Before dinner, we headed to the nearby store on her scooter (my first ever time on one, and it was not as worrying as I expected), pumping up the low tire so it could get us there, where we each had a beer and shared some roasted watermelon seeds (which I couldn't seem to get the knack of eating). Afterwards we headed back for a really delicious and extensive vegetarian meal, and she scoffed when I said it was the best I'd had in Thailand. There were even banana leaves stuffed with sticky rice and pudding and cookies for dessert. She kept feeding me past the point I was full, which with the way I have lost weight, is probably something I needed. We had good conversations too, about how my state of Nebraska is dead last for tourism and our slogan of "Honestly not for everyone", which gave her great amusement, about how the roads are better in Thailand than the US and in a way, drivers are friendlier (none of which she could believe), about Thai culture, about how I apparently need to get home and have babies, about how Americans with our influence have a responsibility to figure things out, lots of things. It was a good night. I messed up my laundry by unwittingly hanging it on a dirty rack, and she felt way too bad over my mistake, but that was the only small source of stress, and I dealt with it the next day. She warned me that she wouldn't be up in the morning, and left things out to make breakfast. But I ended up getting around slowly, and by the time I headed out the door, her dogs barking at me like crazy, she got up to see me off.

The border was madness. I don't even know where to begin. I didn't have many miles to go that day, but I found it incredibly exhausting. There were huge trucks and cars and ox carts and motorcyclists, lined up for a long ways back, and this was apparently outside peak hours. As a motorcyclist or bicyclist, I learned that I was meant to weave my way through any available space to get to the front. I got in trouble a few times for not going through spaces I felt uncomfortable squeezing through, when the daring motorcyclists saw it as no problem. It was one of the more stressful experiences I have undergone, and I am not looking forward to future border crossings. Everyone seemed to know what they were doing, and I found myself the ignorant American in need of constant direction. Going into Cambodia, my passport cover I had gotten together with Rachael at the night market on our last evening in Chiang Mai became an unfortunate casualty. It was taken to scan my passport and not given back, and when I asked the agent for it, he seemed to have no clue what I was talking about. I got it for 100 baht, and despite the sentimental value (and practical protection too), it was certainly not something I was going to make a scene about. I still find it sad to have lost it though.

Cambodia came as an immediate culture shock from Thailand, in ways that Thailand from the US just wasn't. Children of 5 or 6 walking barefoot in school clothes along the side of the highway, children of 8 or 10 riding motorcycles, children doing labor and selling me alcohol at the store... Trash everywhere, even at temples. Signs of extensive poverty everywhere I looked. As I was messaging my sister trying to process, she assured me it would get better in town and further from the border. It did in some ways, reaching Sisophon felt much different from the countryside before it, but there is no escaping the reality of the poverty here. There is also no arguing the beauty of the scenery here, the bright green fields partially submerged, the water sparkling in the hot sun. Cambodia is persistently beautiful across all the countryside I have seen across most the width of the country. It contrasts so sharply with the piles of trash and signs of impoverished living in the foreground of these gorgeous landscapes.

Toward the latter half of my second day riding in Cambodia, I got the rare treat of being able to ride with a couple other cyclists. They were Korean, father and daughter, on a bike tour vacation starting from Vientiane about the same time as I started from Chiang Mai, and they, just like me, were headed to Siem Reap. But unlike me, Siem Reap was not just one step on their route, but the end of their journey. Even if we couldn't understand each other very well, and most conversation was a bit of a struggle, it was really fun riding together, and they also kept me at a good pace. He was also nice enough to buy me a soda at one stand and a coconut at another, cut open with a straw, then cracked open to scoop out the innards. I found it sad to part with them once we got to Siem Reap, after getting to experience a little time not being all on my own. But well, that is the nature of solo bike touring.

Siem Reap was incredible. I hesitate to describe it because I can not do it justice. I enjoyed it immensely, from the vegetarian only restaurant I went to, to the beautifully lit up night market with too pushy vendors. It didn't hurt that I managed to get a really fancy boutique hotel on a deal for a lower price than most the chintzy ones I've gotten in small towns. And Angkor? Damn, I've never seen anything to compare. Even the roads there, lined by tall trees, felt magical. ...A little less on the second and third time, because I messed up and didn't get my ticket and had to go back a long ways to the ticket office. But it was an enjoyable ride all the same. I only had the one day (I really should have taken another), and I took it to see Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Preah Khan, and Ta Prohm. There are so many more temples I could have seen, but I at least managed to see many of the major ones. I'm not going to rant to you about the feeling of magnitude being amongst the multitude crossing the rubber bridge to reach Angkor Wat, the incredible detail of the reliefs all around it and the stories they tell, the wonder of the Hindu complex preserved by Buddhists so long, the sickening feeling of seeing all the Buddha heads missing from such a short time ago thanks to Khmer Rouge and other pillagers, the awe of seeing another temple after another... Just go. Of all the places I have ever been that I think everyone must see, it is Angkor. ...Also, if ancient temples don't do it for you, I saw a whole bunch of monkeys on the way to Angkor Thom, including parents with a baby. Every part of the day was incredible.

The next day I rode to the small town of Stoung, with not a whole lot happening on the way or once I got there. I stayed at the only overpriced hotel in town, and probably stressed a little unduly about leaving my bike in the hotel lobby, because as I have learned recently, the hotel staff usually sleeps in the lobby. I ate baked goods for dinner and breakfast because it was too hard to find anything else. That was pretty much it.

I had thought I had brought more USD than I did (that is the de facto currency in Cambodia by the way, 1 dollar equals about 4000 Riel, which is used in a lot of transactions just as change for dollars), and realized I desperately needed an ATM. I tried to hit one in town, but for reasons I don't understand, it rejected my Pin and a bank employee was looming over me while I used it. I got out fast and immediately changed my pin, before getting the heck out of town. About halfway through the day, I stopped and got lunch at an interesting tourist spot at a lake that is apparently a popular stopping point for tour buses, with a restaurant, overpriced imported food, and various tourist goods sold. When I got to my hotel, I had one of the most humbling moments of my life. I thought I had just enough cash, so I could get my hotel, drop off my bike (they gave me ground floor so I could put it in the room, which I appreciated), and then hit an ATM for real. But torn dollars don't spend here, and a couple of my dollars were rejected. I didn't have enough to pay the $9 for my room. I was allowed to go in anyways, and run to the ATM to get the rest of what I owed. It was really kind and I felt a warmth inside that was more than just embarrassment. That evening I went to the Love Cafe, a spot run by an American, who cooked me up a veggie burger and fries, my first real taste of home. It was damn good. ...Though the image of America was made a little too complete by the annoying crazy American patron who showed up on motorcycle playing shitty music, ranting about whether he could say Jesus or needed to say Buddha, and bitching that he spoke American, not English. Yeah...great look for my country.

Most of my impression of the next day was just feeling really damn hot. At one point while I was stopped in a town, a man walked up to me  and gave me a lychee drink. It was kind of him, but it also felt awkward. I had a bad experience accepting a drink from a stranger once that turned to the worst sexual harassment of my life (don't want to talk about it), and while I am generally trusting, there's some concerns taking things from strangers. I was thirsty and hot and didn't want to be rude, so I drank it as he urged me to drink faster. He kept pointing at indeterminate things as I kept my eyes toward him, and part of me wonders if there was meant to be a grift. I ultimately paid him a fair price for the drink, because it felt better than taking it for free, which he took, and I headed on my way. My overpriced small town hotel that night in Skun had a sink whose pipe was on the floor, so all the water that drained from it likewise ended up on the floor, the bathroom smelling terrible, and also an electric water heater with exposed wires. It was pretty bad.

Yesterday I arrived at last in Phnom Penh. It was a gorgeous and restful ride with the wind at my back for once on the way to the city outskirts. It was a stressful as hell ride through increasingly thick traffic once I got there. Finally getting to the hotel and getting off the bike was a considerable relief. It was more of a relief when I talked the receptionist into letting me put my bike inside the hotel with the words, "What is the hotel's responsibility if my bike gets stolen?" It was not a relief when I told him there are stains on my sheets that look a lot like blood, and seeing them he insisted they were something else and I was worrying unduly. ...Yeah, not great.

I checked out the local Specialized store where I got followed uncomfortably by the sales people who, even with language barriers aside, didn't seem to know too much, and suddenly offered 50% off on clothes when I was about to leave. I could use an extra pair of socks, so I said the heck with it, and got them. Then I made my way to the mall, which involved a number of problematic dead ends from Google's routing and took much longer than expected. They had a lot lf familiar imported food, but all at rather high prices. I wanted vitamins, but they cost 5x as much as in the US. After the hassle of getting there, I sucked it up and got a tuk tuk to get back to the hotel.

And today...today was a lot. I went to S21 Genocide Museum and the Killing Fields. I may talk about it here down the line. But not now. I need more time and distance before I can try to write about the atrocities I saw and learned about today. Traveling by bike often involves amazing reminders of the depth of human kindness, but today was a reminder of the depths of human depravity.

Tomorrow, tomorrow is another day.

Thailand Adventures

Well, as I imagined, I have had trouble keeping up with this blog. I am frankly amazed that in years past I was able to blog almost daily while also doing more miles most days. I was touring in the Spring and Summer so I had more daylight, but I doubt that was it. Did I just have more youthful energy to be able to spend my scarce free time on writing about my day? Who knows. But if I don't want this post to simply be about how I don't post, I should probably actually talk about my time here...

From Sukothai I rode on to Phitsanulok, almost entirely on highway, and without a whole lot to see. But I did come upon a rice field filled with cranes, and that was definitely the highlight of the ride. The afternoon and evening were interesting enough though to make up for the day's ride. I survived traffic in Phitsanulok (with some back tracking, mad dashes across intersections and the like) to arrive early at the hostel run by my Warmshowers host. No one was there when I arrived, so I sent him a message and just hung out and waited for awhile. The guy was fun, a British ex-pat who had nothing good to say about England (weather is apparently shit and everyone whines too much), and so now he lives in Thailand, speaking fluent Thai and running a hostel with his Thai wife. He showed me around the place, and on the rooftop hang out and laundry space, he introduced me to a very interesting older woman who was staying long-term in exchange for chores. She was eccentric, extremely talkative, and claimed to have two PhDs and to have lived and worked in many different countries around the world. I felt it might well be all true, and much of it might not be, and I had no way to know. My host took me with him to a sauna he frequents every day at a local temple. Then he went back, he directed me how to get to another temple that is apparently the most visited by Thai people outside Bangkok. That evening, he, the long term guest, an Australian guest, a German guest, and I all went to dinner at a restaurant, where for just 70 baht apiece we shared a considerable communal meal of numerous different dishes, mostly vegetarian. I wish I knew how to order in Thai the way he could... It was a good time. The lady talked about a great many things, from tiger farms in Laos to the unhealthy eating habits in much of the world. The German was largely quiet. The Australian hitch-hiker inquired our host about many things, mostly where he could stay for free (mosques and temples and such). And the ignorant American, me, found himself caught out feeling foolish only a few times here and there (once when I failed to recognize that the mosque across the street was a mosque). Afterwards we came back and tried some bitter herbal whiskey of our host's concoction and chatted some more. The others went out to the bar then, but I headed to bed so I could get out early for the long day to follow.

Rising early in a six person dorm and trying not to wake anyone is not the easiest trick, but I think I managed. The long-term guest was extremely kind enough to make me a big breakfast while I got ready, having also shared pasta with me the night before, saying she only did it because I was a cyclist like her father was (who apparently lived to 107). Some Dutch cyclists had arrived after I had gone to bed, having taken the train up from Bangkok, and I spent some time looking over their bikes. I would have loved to meet them, but I had miles to make. My host had offered me an alternate route through the mountains to the East, saying Ayutthaya was just like Sukothai, and there was little to see between here and there. I deliberated a lot on what to do, but ultimately decided to stick to the original route. I rode 88 miles that day, and it was largely boring. The highlight was a brief conversation with a monk outside a restroom. But when I got to Nakhon Sawan at the end of the day, I was able to ride up a steep hill (doubling the climbing I did on an otherwise very flat ride) and see a really cool temple with a great view of the town. There was an observation tower that I wanted to go in to, but when I tried, a lady spent a lot of time on her phone figuring out how to get Google to translate "Under maintenance". The ride down the hill was a blast. That night at my hotel though... Let's just say it wasn't the best place I have stayed, and leave it at that.

The ride to Sing Buri the next day I was able to get off the highway onto a side road along a river for awhile and that was a welcome reprieve. Other than that, it was a largely uneventful day. I was finally able to do laundry in the evening as they had coin-op washers, and a really nice balcony in the room with a clothes line to let them dry. I actually did my laundry in my jacket and rain pants (both items I have realized I have no reason to have this trip) so I could launder all my shirts and shorts.

I made a half day ride to Ayutthaya. My hotel there was a little pricy, and a little behind the times, but nice and clean. It involves walking down a very narrow passageway to get to the rooms, one my bike and I barely fit in side by side. The lady showing me to my room (I think the owner), practically scoffed at me when I asked about bringing my bike into the room, and told me I could lock it up outside. I'm not a huge fan of that, but in this case, it seemed to be in a pretty safe place. So I locked up, took just a little down time in the room, and headed out to see Ayutthaya. It's true that it may have very similar architecture to Sukothai, but it was still incredible nonetheless. I saw some amazing temples, a beautiful public park, people riding elephants (which while an interesting spectacle, is sad and majorly messed up), and lots of bird life. It was a fun several hours walking around, even if the town was not particularly walkable thanks to a moat and several other barriers. I got offered a ride by a tuk-tuk driver who insisted the walk to one temple was impossible from there. I had fun proving that wrong, if only to myself, and even if it wasn't the funnest walk. In the evening, after a long day walking around as many temples as I could, I was able to get a good vegetarian meal at a restaurant that actually had a specific vegetarian menu. It was a damn good day.

That vegetarian-catering place was not open in the morning, and neither was the restaurant attached to the hotel, so I ultimately gave up on getting a good breakfast. It was a short ride to Nakhon Nayok, but I made it longer trying some complicated routes along side roads. It's always nice to get off the highway, take rural roads where you see things you otherwise wouldn't, slices of village life, wildlife, gorgeous fields, all of that. I saw so many cranes and took a lot of pictures. I saw several monitor lizards, and failed to get any pictures. I saw interesting farm and fishing equipment. I saw a man holding a dead bird in one hand while driving his motorcycle with another. I went up a steep bridge where I got such a wide-eyed look from an old woman with a single speed bicycle who had to walk up it. I rode roads that seemed more like a bike path in the US and yet somehow had two way vehicular traffic. The last part of the day on highway was so dull compared to the early half navigating side roads. I got to the hotel early, and had to be checked in by the cleaning lady, with a bit of confusion to making the process happen, a good part of it my own damn fault when I somehow handed her the wrong bill. I felt really embarrassed and dumb to make that mistake after this much time using Baht. But hey, mistakes happen. That evening I had an interesting time getting vegetarian food. I went to one place close by and after a lot of hulabaloo got told there was nothing for me by the teenage boy who was the only one who spoke English. Then I walked quite a bit further to a bar. The first guy got me a large bottle of beer, and then I asked for food. He had to get a second person to ascertain that I indeed wanted food with help from Google translate. Then a lady showed up who spoke some English, and I showed her on my phone (because apparently I can't pronounce it worth a damn) that I'm mangsawirat, vegetarian. And so she asks, oh, so then you want fried vegetables? And rice? To which I decided, sure, yeah, that sounded great. And then she added, and french fries? We could do french fries. So I drank beer and ate fried vegetables with rice and french fries, and I was pretty damn happy.

This evening I actually made a damn 40 minute round trip walk along the highway, at dusk on the return, just to get to another place here in this little town where they were willing to serve me plain rice and fried vegetables (not that I wouldn't love something else, but that's the only thing most people seem to understand vegetarians want to eat). It's not always easy to be vegetarian... Aside from that, I have little to report about today. I rode highway. I saw some tree farms. I saw some temples. After getting settled in to the hotel I tried to walk to some sort of garden, but I incurred the ire of some dogs and the road turned to dirt and undergrowth and I wasn't entirely sure it wasn't someone's property, so I gave up. I got some taro flavored Bangkok icecream from the store, and polished off a can of Pringles and some soda to calorically supplement my dinner while writing this blog. And that rather unceremoniously brings you up to date with the present.

It's been a really fun time in Thailand these last couple weeks. It's hard to believe that time is drawing to a close. After tomorrow, I'll be headed into Cambodia. A new country and a new adventure are just around the corner.

Hard Days, Easy Days

So, my second day in was a struggle. It was quite honestly one of the toughest days I have ever had in the saddle. It ended up being 68 miles with 3800 feet of climbing, far from one of my hardest days on paper, but by the time I was doing the last mountain stretch of three, I was wrecked. I think I was on the verge of heat exhaustion, needing to eat but food made me want to puke, not enough saliva to properly digest, feeling my heart in my chest, light-headed, generally feeling unable to cool down even pulling over time and again into the shade. I don't know that I have ever felt quite so much like my body was failing to be and do what it needed to. I made some major mistakes, not leaving Wichai's as soon as I should have to capitalize on the relatively cool morning, not making myself eat enough before it felt like a struggle, underestimating the way the 80% humidity affected the 90° heat, not knowing quite how much I would be climbing... Having experience doesn't always mean you won't make dumb mistakes, sometimes I think it makes it more likely because you get too confident you know what you're doing. I got through it and learned some lessons, and that's what counts.

Struggling and feeling awfully dominated a lot of the day, but it still had some highlights. I took a wrong turn that added some distance, but also took me down a quiet road that was a welcome break from the highway. Lampang was a fun little town, though I only saw a bit of it. I was amazed at how polite and safe drivers were in passing me on a winding highway up a mountain with no shoulder, way better than I've ever gotten in the US. Someone wanted to take a picture with me at a small temple at the top of a mountain where I was resting. I had an incredible ride down one of the mountains, having to slow down for a bus, and having a scary moment with some construction potholes at the end. And I got one channel in my room and spent some fun time watching infomercials at the end of the day. It was a good day really for how miserable I was for a lot of it.

The next day was easy riding. There was another mountainous stretch, but not nearly as steep and I didn't have far to go. I detoured off the highway onto a side road, riding up and down hills through jungle with hardly a car to be seen. I made a spur of the moment detour to go see a waterfall. ...Which I did not in fact see because it turns out it is accessed by boat and the boat doesn't run in the dry season because the waterfall doesn't exist during the dry season. But I only went to the visitor center to learn this after making the trek up (with a rather murderous final climb), and it turned out it was well worth it for the view, even without the waterfall. Going to the visitor center ended up quite worth it too, because I was apparently quite the spectacle and the teenage boy who was the only one who spoke English had a bunch of pictures taken with me for his "research project". I didn't begin to understand what was going on, but I smiled for the camera all the same. He also told me to come back and see the waterfall in August, which made me smile too. I got a slightly expensive (for Thai prices) hotel room in Uttaradit, and walked to a laundromat to do some much needed laundry, then finished the night with an overpriced take on "American" food.

The day after got easier still, flat and beautiful, lots of rice fields full of birds, tree covered mountains in the background. I got to see Si Satchanalai (a suggestion from Wichai I am grateful for) on my way to Sukothai. There were temples right off the road with no one there and I was able to walk their grounds in peaceful solitude. The last twenty miles or so of the day were on an almost entirely straight stretch of road, that while beautiful, became a bit monotonous. Thankfully, I was flying down it, going 14 to 15 the whole time. It's interesting not always being the slowest traffic on the road. There were a couple trucks filled with workers that I passed. One had a lady who smiled, gave me a thumbs up, and said, "Go, go fast!" as I was passing at about 20 to get around them before traffic came from the other way. I took a rest day today in historic Sukothai. I ended up paying more than I wanted again to get a private room, because I just couldn't bring myself to do a shared room with my bike knowing that I was going to leave it to explore the city today. But keeping the bike safe comes first.

As for Sukothai today, well, it's kind of an irony that in an area full of bike rentals and structured around biking through the grounds, I chose to walk around. But I think it's important to have time off the bike, especially since I have a nasty saddle sore right now, different and worse than any I've had before (and so early...). The distances weren't bad to do by foot either, and it was both a relaxing and sight-filled day. I ate a sorry breakfast of toast, crackers, and strange jam filled cookies at the hotel, but a good and very heavy lunch and dinner in effort to put some weight back on. I walked amongst ancient temples on meticulously maintained grounds while spending far too much time staring at them through my smartphone to capture pictures of them like trite trophies of travel, while watching people from all over the world do the same. I saw herds of school children on bikes zipping around the park and having a grand time. And when I was all done, I came back to my hotel room and watched some mindless television, even more mindless because I couldn't understand a word of it.

It was good. It was what I needed. And I'm ready for tomorrow and getting back in the saddle (hopefully with less soreness).