Off we went this morning for another beautiful day bicycling through the rice fields of the mighty Mekong delta! Not quite sure how Hai knew where we were going. Some of the paved paths were only the width of a sidewalk and MANY, MANY  intersections . . .

. . . on the way out of town we passed this monument in the middle of a round-about.

Most of the rice is now mechanically harvested but many of the smaller fields and those used for local family consumption are still planted and tended to by hand.

The majority of the Vietnamese people are Buddhist and part of their belief system is if you treat your relatives, both alive and dead, with respect they will look after you while on this earth and in the afterlife. A common practice is to bury relatives right out in the rice fields in well tended private little cemeteries.

Lots of domestic ducks today which are fed during the rice growing season but are released into the fields to ‘clean up the scraps’ after the rice is harvested. Their wings are clipped so they don’t fly away!

Great infrastructure on today’s ride. Most of the cement looked new!!!

Our first temple visit along the way . . .

. . . where an orchestra made up of youngsters was waiting for the arrival of a neighboring monk, from another pagoda.

 

Nicely appointed . . .

. . .  there are vendors everywhere. This woman was selling tubers of turmeric, a popular spice used in Vietnamese cooking .

Many of the little villages we passed through today had welcome signs over the road welcoming travelers. The bigger the town, the bigger the arches.

Almost time for lunch . . .the smell of grilling meat got my taste buds working overtime!!!

The little local stores are packed to the gills with merchandise. All very colorful!! Hopefully someone is keeping inventory!

Another typical rural home . . .

. . . where many times the scooters were kept inside the front door!!!

. . . ah, time for an iced coffee break . . .YUM . . .

As our group spread out during the day, Hai spent a lot of time communicating with our two van drivers and the sweep, keeping track of where everyone was. He used two phones and had a unique way of ‘attaching’ one to his ear!!

Although the temps were now in the upper 90’s, the biking was beautiful . . .

. . . as we wheeled along though endless fields of rice. There are three crops grown through the season and this one was about two weeks from being harvested.

Many of the little clusters of homes we passed have their own centralized water system with usually a little house up the top of the water tower!!!

Lunch . . . YES. Hai made sure the menu included vegetarian items for me and there were always at least two veggie/tofu dishes, many times served before the rest of the food was delivered. Huey and Bo ‘suddenly’ became vegetarians through the trip, although Huey tried to convince Hai he would like chicken or pork in his!!

Someone has to wash the dishes . . .

. . . and just like at home, someone needs to do clean up!!!

Today before we left town we would visit the Cai Rang Floating Market. We loaded up in the tour boat and headed to the market  . . .

Where Tom wondered if he might be able to cash his Bank of Zimbabwe, 1 hundred trillion dollar note!!!

It was a great experience seeing all the vendors . . .

floating restaurants . . .

and buyers, many of whom were buying veggies and meats for local restaurants.

. . .something for everyone.

Back on shore, we walked through the accompanying land based market . .  .

. . . where first we encountered the veggie section . . .

. . . soon transitioning into the fresh fish section . . .

. . .  and finely the MEAT section . . . where it looked like

. .  . every  cut of meat was available . . .

fresh I’m telling you, presented in a very clean and insect free environment . . . most locals shop everyday for  . . .

. . . everything from the hooves  . . .

. . . the the heads, and everything in between!!!

We had left the land of ‘western toilets’ (except for our hotels) and were in the land of the squatters which are enjoyed by probably 3/4 of the world’s population!!!

Once on the road, we stopped at a local noodle factory  . . . where the rice flour . . .

is mixed with water to create a slurry . . .

which is ladled onto a large cooking surface . . .

. . . and after several minutes,  is retrieved with a bamboo ‘wicket’ . . .

Watch the sweeping action above!!!

and placed on open air mats to dry  . . .

in the sun.

The dried ovals are then run through the slicer and packaged!!

Here Hai and Huey give it a try in the non-motorized mode!!! 

Back on the road we continued riding though the beautiful and lush rice fields . . .

. . . where every once in a while there was a very fancy entrance gate!

Local traffic . . .

We had hoped to get to the Vietnamese Killing Fields but ran out of time. We did have time to visit the pagoda . . .

. . . and Museum . . .

. . .whee the remains of some of the 3,000 Vietnamese that were slaughtered by Pol Pot remains are kept . . .

. . . quite a moving moment.

Today would be a day off the bikes, as we bused to the local docks  . . .

. . . and boarded our boat for our ride into Cambodia, and our home for the night Phnom Pehn.

On the river we had to stop at the Vietnam immigration station to ‘check out’ of the country. I decided to check out the bathroom which was not very inviting. Maybe the ones when you are ‘entering’ the country are in better shape!!!

There were several Vietnamese customs boats ready to take off on a moments notice!!

Soon we traveled down river a bit more and came to the Cambodian Immigration station where we ‘de-boated’ and went through immigration ‘checking  into’ Cambodia..

Squatters!!!

We checked into the Royal Palace Hotel . . . which has lots of awards

and was quite nice.

We then toured Tuol Sleng Prison, known as S21, one of Pol Pot’s many prison that existing during his regime.

This one had been an elementary school . . .

and the classrooms were used as torture chambers . . . I’l spare you the details but it is safe to say it was gruesome. It is unbelievable the horror the Cambodian population suffered during his rein of terror. Nearly every family was affected in some way. Many were killed simply because they  wore eyeglasses, which Pol Pot took as a sign of some possible being an ‘intelligentsia’ and could be someone who might cause unrest by questioning his tactics and regime.

Tonight before going our to eat we visited the Famous Correspondence Club, located on the second floor of a hotel, THE local drinking spot for journalists during the Vietnam War. Great view of the waterfront.

Scanning the menu, I noticed they had Death’s Door White Bourbon which is made in Door County, WISCONSIN!!! Of course I had to have one. Very nice and it traveled well!!!

After dinner we walked back to our hotel where if you had not had enough, there was plenty more available . . . right outside the door!!!

Today we would bus to our new Cambodian starting point where we would meet our van drivers and new bikes. Our new Cambodian guide, Nak, accompanied us on the bus ride. Because of the current laws, the bikes and vans cannot be moved from country to country and our touring company, Spice Roads, needs to supply new staff and equipment in each country.

Our rest stop was a local market that specialized in insects, FOR FOOD!!! The locals also had pet tarantulas you could pose with for photos. Here is TommyH making new friends . . .

 

. . . me too, including the one almost out of view climbing up my tummy!!! (the poisonous pincers have been removed).

Huey had been here before and knew the routine. Before we left, he went over to his favorite vendor

and bought a fresh  sampling of goodies from about

four of the bowls.

Nothing was moving, all dead and FRESH!!!

Nicely presented

. . . even with a few scallions and red peppers for flavor and presentation!!!

Back on the bus Huey passed them around for everyone to sample . . . the only taker, Nak! He demoed with one of  the beetles how one had to remove the wings and the legs because they were too tought. But the thorax . . .

. . . tasty!! Made me wonder . . . whens lunch!!!

Soon we arrived at a large temple where we met up with the van and our new bikes . . .

NEW Treks, AGAIN!! Just like in Vietnam!!!

We rode around the grounds making sure everything worked OK . . .

. . . admiring the statues.

The Cambodians are big on elephants!!!

Today we would ride on ‘red road’, well packed dirt roads, which took us by schools that had just let out for lunch (no bicycles for these kids they all had scooters) . . .

. . . and by some of the other local critters . . .

. . . Hey, don’t forget about me!!!!

In most cases, mechanization has replace the water buffalo as the main ‘engine’ out in the ag fields. The motorized front units with a PTO and long steering tubes are know as the ‘Iron Buffalo’. They are used for a lot more than just in the fields, here one is moving some furniture down the road!!!

. . . don’t forget the mattresses!!!

Soon it was time for a break. It was close to 100 degrees and our guides pulled plastic containers out of the coolers that had wet, chilled, rolled up little cotton towels, just like the kind you get on some planes before dinner but these were cold. What a great idea and way to ‘freshen up’.  Down right civilized!!!

. . . oh and they had great goodies too . . .

. . . everything the American palate might want . . .

. . and right next to our van was a durian tree, complete with fruit. Some people regard the durian as having a pleasantly sweet fragrance, whereas others find the aroma overpowering with an unpleasant odor. The smell evokes reactions from deep appreciation to intense disgust, and has been described variously as rotten onions, turpentine, and raw sewage. The persistence of its odor, which may linger for several days, has led to the fruit’s banishment from most hotels in southeast Asia. In fact, most of our hotels had fines, similar to our smoking in hotel fines, for bringing  durian on the premises!!!B

This was a typical Cambodian country house. Most are built on stilts not because of the possibility of flooding but to provide shade, allow the house to be ‘naturally air conditioned’ and allow a place for the residents to hang hammocks for sleeping during the heat of the day!

Away we went to visit the temple on the top of the hill and to have lunch!!

As we began our climb the road turned from dirt to asphalt . . . didn’t make the climbing any easier!!

Before we toured the pagoda we had a nice box lunch . . . it was very good.

Then up the stairs we went . . .and once at the top . . .

. . . had a great view of the countryside and the large temple where we ate our lunch . . . AND to the left and behind it, a HUGE Buddha!!!

Back on the road, soon we were at our home for the night, the Glorious Hotel  . . . and it was.

Nice pool . . .

. . . and sunset. Got me in the mood for . . .

 

a tini’ as we waiting

. . . for our food to cook over the ‘hot pots’ at the restaurant we ventured to in town.

The city was very active, and like most urban areas we have been in at night, come alive with LOTS of colored lights.

We decided to take a ‘tuk tuk’ back to the hotel and shared the cab . . .

. . . with David and Brian. Total cost for the ride back $1 USD / per person!!!

We started the day with a tour of the local market . . . always a fun time . . .

. . . everything is so well presented . . .

. . . even what looked like the entire digestive tract of a pig . . .

. . . including many of the organs. Not sure if you had to buy the whole thing or by the pound!!!

The vendors were very pleasant, happy to see us . . .

. . . and again, nicely presented and clean . . .

. . . even the pig heads looked like they had been scrubbed . . .

. . . then it was onto the fish section . . .

 

. . . where one could buy a fish live and have it cleaned for you, on site . . .

. . . hey, how about an eel or two for making soup???

Happy . . .

. . . Happy!!!

Back on the road on the way to Siem Reap, our home for several nights.

LOTS and LOTS of political signs in Cambodia with these two guys always included. Most of the Cambodian government are actually former Khmer Rouge military.

EVERYWHERE we went, if there were young people they all yelled ‘HELLO’. It actually got sort of tiring yelling ‘HELLO” back but they were all so friendly and happy to come look at us when we stopped.

This water buffalo looks like it is used to having it’ photo take. Posing???

We stopped at a temple for a tour and I bought emJay a nice little scarf from one of the vendors.

This temple was literally being consumed by the tree growing into it . . .

. . . the temples we would see for the next several days . . .

. . . would be in various stages of falling down or

being rebuilt.

Here was a mound being built by termites!!!

Time for lunch . . . every one got a fresh coconut full of coconut milk . . .

. . . fried rice and LOTS of fruit.

Down the road we went until be reached the city limits of Siem Reap and our home for the next several days, the Steung Siem Reap Hotel.

This morning we started our bike ride to the entrance of Angkor Wat at the visitor center where one needs to purchased admission tickets. It’s like an airport  . . . long lines!!!

Rather than take a bus tour with a guide, we would ride around the grounds on our bikes, being led and toured by our own guide, Nak. On the red roads we went to a ‘secret’ back entrance . . .

. . . the only elephants I saw in Cambodia . . .

. . . were giving rides to tourists!!

Soon we were at one of the entrances to the walled city.  Besides being  a World Natural Heritage site the area is more recently known for being the film site for much of the Tomb Raider movie. The area was deliberately left by French conservationists in the same condition as it was discovered; overgrown by strangler fig and silk-cotton trees, giving the temple a mystical and romantic appeal.

. . . we rode past the long line of buses and entered the temple area. You can see the wall on the left side of the entrance . . .

. . . which is is about 15 feet tall and 15 feet wide. We rode right on top of it and around much of the 500 acre compound.

Some areas are in better repair than others . . .

. . . many of the carvings are well preserved . . .

. . . and you can see the green fence on the right where restoration is being done.

Nak explained the intricate carvings . . .

. . . which all tell the story of Ankor Wat.

Back on the bikes we rode some single track to avoid the roads, traffic and to have a pleasant ride to the next site.

Again, as you can see from the tree . . . the forest is trying to reclaim the temple!!!

I always get a kick out of visitors to places like this, the Grand Canyon, etc. ,etc. or any other natural or man made masterpiece. Everyone wants to have their photo taken at it. The selfie is still very much in style . . .

. . .  some even dress up in special ‘photo shoot’ attire . . .

. . . and as you can see herer, Bo jumped right in and captured a few images . . . I wonder if she is single???

. . . as I walked through one of the temples, this woman was posing for her boyfriend . . .

. . . this tree was reclaiming a wall . . .

. . . and covering some of the statues. Peek a Boo!!!!!!

This is the main temple of the complex . . .

. . . and was really very impressive. The builders hauled the stone . . .

. . . for these structures over 70 miles to the site from the quarry.

This was the high point of the temple and a VERY steep climb. We would have climbed it but there was a two block long line to get to the base and only 10 people were allowed up the stairs at a time . . .

. . . so instead we pedaled back to our hotel and sat on the veranda watching the world of Siem Reap go by while drinking 50 cent USD beers!!!

Time to head out in ‘tuk tuk’s to our . . .

. . . second floor restaurant.

Daniel, Spice Roads CEO, has joined us for several days of riding and here explains the wine list.

Nice restaurant, great food and a nice way to end the day!!

After a nice breakfast we headed toward to Banteay Srei . . .

. . our steeds were ready for us . . . and away we went,

. . . a Buddha being built in a village we biked through . . .

. . . which also had one of the many donated water source building projects we have seen along on our biking adventure. Bringing clean water to the rural area.

Happy to see us . . . or hungry!!!

Many of the animal and human statues and paintings show heads with three sides. Snakes can have many more heads heads!!!

Oh . . . it’s those guys again!!!

We are starting to see a few rice fields again today . . .

As we stop for a break . . .

Nak . . . got nostalgic. This might seem like just another local road along a lake . . .

. . . but it is very close to where Nak’s family homestead is and he helped build this road years ago . . .

. . .when he was a young child.

The Wisconsin contingent . . .

bikes are holding up GREAT. No flat tires yet!!

. . . oh yeah, it was hot in the sun!!!

. . . so off we went down the red road.

There is lots of construction in the rural areas, most being done with hand tools including mixing cement in a trough, by hand with a shovel . . .

Yes, back on the asphalt!!!

Not sure what was grown here but no irrigation involved!!!

Soon . . LUNCH!!!    OUT of the sun it was very pleasant  . . .

. . and yes, a lovely tofu salad!!!

There are not only huge Buddha statues in pagodas, temples and along the road. Many homes and businesses have one on site too . . . as did our restaurant did . . .

. . . and people always make offerings, usually food. Maybe that’s why Buddha is mostly represented as a ‘rotund’??

This was a great lunch spot and must be ‘on the list’ of approved stops. New flush toilet building with ‘western style toilets’!!!!

Soon we were at the temple . . .

. . . which was very well preserved . . .

. . . and no crowds to share it with!!!

But there was interesting statuary . .

. . . with intricate designs.

. . . and if you were hungry, how about some fruit!!!

We were soon back on the road with about 15 miles to our pick up spot. Here, I am stepping on the remains of some type lizard . . . and wearing a lot of the ‘red road’ on my sweaty calves!!!

Soon our ride for the day was done. We loaded the bikes in the van and headed back to Siem Reap . . . and 50 cent beers, again!!!

Today it was on to Battambang – by boat!!! As we exited our hotel I had to take a shot of the sign in the elevator. Looks like they are treat durian fruit as serious as bringing in weapons!!!!

Today would be another boat ride as we headed across Tonle Sap by boat. Six hours from Siem Reap to Battambang!!

We wouldn’t be the only ones out there . . .

. . .  but we had our own boat!!!

The first hour or two there was quite  bit of water traffic . . .

Then we ran into the river community that lived on house boats . . . this one looked pretty nice . . .

. .  some looked like they needed a little work but I bet it was all the owners could afford at the time . . .

. . . looked like most people earned a living by something to do with the water, mostly fishing. This was a big derrick device that had  a net stretched across the boom in front and was let down into the water. When it was time to bring up the catch  . . . it was all about lever action and a fulcrum point!!!!!

Lots of color on the houses . . .

About 5 hours into the trip it was time for lunch. Nak had brought  box lunches!!!

Hand made boxes that contained lots of goodies!!!!

Unfortunately for me I had come down with a case of ‘Travelers-You Know-What’ a couple of days earlier. I had taken the anti-biotic the travel nurse had prescribed and would take it for 4 more days.  Whatever went  down came right out again. So . . . the only thing I had was the water and  the rice that was packaged in the banana leave in the lower left corner of the lunch box.

These fisherman moved their house and whole operation to wherever the fish were biting!!!

Here is a better view of the fishing contraption with the net still attached to the front boom.

. . . these folks must have needed to worry about flooding during the rainy season.

Quite the community . . .

. . . not sure what they did for fresh water??

Here’s the kids, with their uniforms on, coming home from school . . by boat!!!

This young guy may not have been allowed to use the motor, which is a long haft with an open spinning propeller on the end. You can see the prop in the boat because the motor is turned 180 degrees from the operating position.

This looked like a mosque, and it was the nicest building along the river. First of these I had seen.  AND . . . I  had only noticed one Catholic Church. Christians are definitely in the minority here.

Boys having fun . . . and probably taking a bath at the same time.

At one point the river was getting too shallow for our boat and Nak radioed ahead to get us two smaller boats to continue our trek up stream. Here is the motor of the one I was on. Everything out in the wide open . . . no safety guards on this baby.

Finally after 7 hours we landed at the closest point we could get to Battambang. There was quite a little fishing outpost along the river here but the people looked happy!!

From the beach we had an hour ride over terrible roads in two vans. Normally during the wet season the area we ere driving though is covered by 5 feet of water!!!

It felt good to get to the Stung Sangke Hotel in Battambang.

Not a good day for me . . . spent most of the day in the van.

We stayed at a jungle resort which was quite nice . . .

. . . except we had air conditioning issues in our little cabana. The staff said two women from Bangkok had stayed in it the night before and had complained about how cold the room it was, even on the lowest setting!!!

The group of Chinese in the back o this photo were evidently on vacation and up for a good time . . . they partied and partied and kept some of our riders up most of the night. I slept through the whole thing!!!

We left our cozy guesthouses behind  . . .

. . . said goodbye to the local Buddha and headed to another border crossing this time into Thailand.

Nak explained the route and what we would see along the way today.

Away we go!!!

Still time for one last snack break. The jackfuit  and fried banana was sumptuous!!

As we left the country of Cambodia the boys wanted o get one last political statement in . . . in fact three in a row . . .

Folks had told us the two most popular sign in Cambodia are that of the ruling class and signs for Ganzberg Beer. They were right. I’m not sure which one wins!!!

Soon we saw high rises on the horizon and knew we were approaching the border.

We were told Buddhist and Hindis believe in many gods, inducing the god of wealth. I guess he resides in this hotel . . . nice digs!!!

We all retrieved our personal gear off the bikes, our luggage, said goodbye to Nak and the other staff

. . . and headed across the strip of no mans land to Thailand!!!

. . right away things started looking different, starting with the roads . . .they were paved!!!

This was an interesting sight. The guy on the motorbike ahead had a passenger sitting behind him who was holding a stick that had an an IV bag attached to the top with a line running down to the driver’s arm. Eileen, who is right next to the motorcycle in the picture above, said she saw it too. Must not be able to get too far from his medicine!!!!

Tonight we would stay at the Sand Dune Beach Resort . . .quite the place!!! Not many visitors. Our new guide, Nik, told us once all the beach development had been competed, with lots of political fanfare, visitors stopped coming because the water is very rough,  turbid and the beaches not so good!!!

It certainly met our needs for the night!

In fact, it is the only hotel I have been in that had a sliding door in the shower in case you wanted to commune with nature while showering!!! Of course being on the fourth flour and facing the highway one mostly saw the four lane highway . . . and they saw you!! I was second to take a shower and TommyH had opened the door!!!

. . and they had quite the ‘tuk-tuk’ for moving guests around!!