Category: Cambodia 柬埔寨

11 January 2014

Slap the Belgian! No more Slapping?

This section from Neak Loeang to Phnom Penh is the thirty-first instalment of my bicycle ride from Yunnan to Cambodia – if all goes according to plan. Titled “Slap the Belgian!”, it is simultaneously published on Crazyguyonabike.com, where you’ll find a map with the itinerary and many other bicycle diaries by me and others. I hope you’ll enjoy.

We were supposed to leave around 6 and get into Phnom Penh well before the day had a chance to get hot. But we’re feeling sleepier than ever and in the end we’re not on the road before 9.

A disappointing Cambodian version of Banh Mi, the stuffed baguettes I liked so much in Vietnam, has to serve for breakfast before we hit the ferry across the Mekong. The ferry only cost a few hundred and will probably cease to exist in the near future as the Cambodians are in the process of constructing a large bridge across the river.

Taking the ferry across the Mekong. Those who didn't manage to squeeze onto the platform are left on shore for the next ferry.
Taking the ferry across the Mekong. Those who didn’t manage to squeeze onto the platform are left on shore for the next ferry.

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10 January 2014

Slap the Belgian! Mister Long Man

This section from Bavet to Neak Loeang is the thirtieth instalment of my bicycle ride from Yunnan to Cambodia – if all goes according to plan. Titled “Slap the Belgian!”, it is simultaneously published on Crazyguyonabike.com, where you’ll find a map with the itinerary and many other bicycle diaries by me and others. I hope you’ll enjoy.

Waking up is hard. We haven’t done all that much yesterday but we feel like sheets of paper under a massive paperweight, only flapping at the edge in the cold air-con flow. The prospect of some Vietnamese pho at the stall next door finally persuades us to lift our lazy legs out of the bed, pack and get out. The pho is delicious and at 3000 Riel (€ 0.50), it is even a little cheaper than the average in Vietnam. It will be our last cheap meal.

Signs like this are up in front of nearly every building. The Cambodian people like to party.
Signs like this are up in front of nearly every building. The Cambodian people like to party.

Because we want to be in Phnom Penh as soon as possible, it looks like we’ve a long day ahead. If we make it to Neak Loeang today, we’ve only a 60-something kilometre trip left for tomorrow. But that means pedalling another century today. The Tutin is getting used to it. (more…)

9 January 2014

Slap the Belgian! Confusing Cambodia

This section from Saigon to Bavet is the twenty-ninth instalment of my bicycle ride from Yunnan to Cambodia – if all goes according to plan. Titled “Slap the Belgian!”, it is simultaneously published on Crazyguyonabike.com, where you’ll find a map with the itinerary and many other bicycle diaries by me and others. I hope you’ll enjoy.

Finally, the big day breaks. The visa time’s up, we’re well rested and we’re going to Cambodia! A country I’ve heard much good about but haven’t been able to visit, despite coming very close a couple of times on my trips. We don’t know what to expect. And when the senses are devoid of impulses, the brain makes up its own chatter and noise. Here’s the product of the fantasies running amok in the fragile shells that bob around on our shoulders:

A nap during the hottest hour of the day
A nap during the hottest hour of the day. Picture doesn’t follow the text.

Cambodia’s a mix between Thailand and Vietnam with a little Lao poverty tossed in. It’s flat and hot but food is great, much like food in the Mekong delta is awesome. Also, because of the poverty, it’s a relatively cheap place, but some inflation and corruption certainly make for elevated prices. Yet they do not exceed the prices of Vietnam’s megacities, where a nourishing noodle soup costs $ 1.5 and freshly pressed juice goes for $ 0.75. The people, not belonging to the strain known as homo Sinensis, are less competitive and scheming than the Vietnamese, and rather friendly if a bit resigned as to their lot.

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