22
February, Kampong Kdei to Siem Reap, 62km
Palm Garden Lodge 36,000KHR ($9)
(breakfast included)
Today was
our last day on the bikes and despite the heat and the nostalgia it was a good
one.* We began this trip in Turkey on May 1. We cycled 4689km in Turkey, 821km
in Laos, 3368km in Vietnam and 500km in Cambodia – 9378km in total. Such an
amazing coincidence to find that we cycled exactly the same distance in Turkey
as we did in Indochine. (Truth be told ... when I added the Indochine kms together
I was 9km shy of the Turkey total. I had planned to add 10 unrecorded kms to the
Indochine total – short distances we pottered in small towns. Instead, I added
9km and hope you will not feel it unreasonable, therefore, if I claim to have
done exactly the same distance on the two legs of our adventure.) We began our
morning by paying a quick visit to a Khmer era bridge, built sometime between
1181 and 1220, in Kampong Kdei. The bridge is the longest of 22 bridges built
on a road linking the capital of Angkor with the southeast provinces of the
Khmer empire. Then it was another flat, hot ride past stilted houses and
peaceful pagodas and street vendors and bathing buffalo.
* After a few days in Siem Reap visiting the
famous Angkor Wat and other Khmer empire temples, we head for Thailand for a
week or so, then for China where we will travel by public transport.
Khmer Empire bridge - Kampong Kdei
Khmer Empire bridge - Kampong Kdei
Between Kampong Kdei and Siem Reap
Between Kampong Kdei and Siem Reap
Between Kampong Kdei and Siem Reap
Between Kampong Kdei and Siem Reap
Between Kampong Kdei and Siem Reap
Between Kampong Kdei and Siem Reap - grave
Between Kampong Kdei and Siem Reap - pagoda
Between Kampong Kdei and Siem Reap - pagoda
Between Kampong Kdei and Siem Reap
Between Kampong Kdei and Siem Reap