Biking through rural villages of Cambodia through rice fields and farms while getting a taste of Cambodian life. We met at their office in Siem Reap, Grasshopper Adventures, and set out on our way with our tour guide Bota. Bota is a national cycling champion and full of information to share and stories. We made stops all along the way of our 25km ride which made it not seem so far and with weather so brutal hot the stops were great for water breaks. Our first stop was a village market where we tasted many foods (nun pun, nun long, akow and others) I didn’t try a couple of things but Megan was all in. We saw that they have a lottery in Cambodia and we thought that was interesting, the children were just adorable watching with their moms. One little boy in squeaky shoes was quite happy to make his shoes make sounds. We see so many with no clothes or partially dressed and then like this little guy he was all decked out in squeaky shoes. The scooters here are constant and everywhere and you see parents riding with small children just holding onto them. Sometimes a whole family on one scooter. The driving here with really no rules makes for interesting things to watch and basically it is frightening.
From the village market we turned on orange clay streets with rice fields and banana, papaya and other tropical trees and rode by homes various homes some on stilts with a thatch roof and some more modern concrete homes. The children waved and smiled so happily as we passed by on our bikes. Our stops included a rice machine at a home, fish farm, duck farm, pig farm, crocodile farm, and a Buddhist temple. Our tour guide actually lived in that temple for 5 years when his parents died so he told us all about the rules and how helpful it is to those that have nothing at all. There was also a small cafe where we were able to enjoy iced coffee or coconut and some more local snacks (fresh spring roll, Logan and others). The cafe was a roadside stand with a roof and in the back was a school area set up with desks and a board. I had my first Asian toilet experience here and I hope my last.
Our group was small and it was just a fun day. We had an older couple from Australia and a girl Megan had met in Vietnam had arrived in Cambodia so she joined us as well, her name was Katie. The day was perfect out with blue skies and even though hot out it was perfect.
Seeing rural Cambodia was truly a delight and had a way of really immersing me into a different world. I didn’t feel like a tourist at all and felt so much a part of where I was. So much beauty here, nature and people. Grateful to be able to be more aware. It opens up perspective and life.
Lean Into The Jouney 