Cambodge...

When we put the bike together Rich forgot to say the other major thing that had gone wrong. My cycle computer decided that it did not want to work. I had not realised just how much I relied on the thing to keep me on track. It is demoralising knowing you have a 60-70 mile ride but far worse when you have no idea where you are in that ride!! For the last three days I have been driving Rich up the wall with the dreaded question 'how far have we gone'?

Whilst walking around the border town yesterday we happened to see a bike shop, with a Specialized bike in the window. We are sad people and had to rush in and have a look around, as if we are going to find anything we need in a small border town bike shop. Well low and behold, I shall bite my tongue as there was my model of computer sat winking at me from the cabinet.

Well, when Rich started to fit the new computer on the bike, we trialed it on my fittings as it has an extra long wire, blow me if it did not jump start my computer into working, so now we have an extra one. Clever Rich came up with an idea of mounting it on the bike and using it as a KM not miles computer, so now we have three computers on the bike 'just in case'.

While we think the roads in Thailand are fantastic with great hard shoulders on all roads for the slower moving motos, bikes and others on the road, the driving has a lot to be desired!! On the 2nd day in the space of 15 miles we saw two crashed cars (on straight roads with no other vehicles involved) and witnessed a pick up stacked high with chickens career off the road up ahead of us and roll down the bank! We raced up the road and offered help but they were already on the phone calling for back up, I did not look too hard at the chickens that were all over the place, suffice to say Rich is steering clear of eating chicken for a while!

With the early rising, quick road surface, flat terrain and eagerness to get out of the heat we have been finishing our rides by mid to late morning, giving us lots of time to hand wash our clothes and get them out in the sun to dry, have a mooch around town and spend time on the web. Rich found lots of info about the border crossing which we have since found out has changed, so, just in case anyone stumbles across our blog looking for info on the Aranyanprathet and Poipet border crossing read on.

The border opens at 7am, by 6.30am there were small queue's waiting at immigration in the allotted railed lines, a bit like cows waiting to be milked. At 7am there was a massive rush to get through the double doors and in to the right queue. Foreigners was of course the longest and slowest line. While I was inside getting out of Thailand Rich was outside with the bike, he had walked down the road and was waiting at the barrier. Once I was through we swapped as I was unable to get his passport stamped, unsurprisingly. With both passports stamped we walked the bike through the barrier into no man's land.... this is a very busy place, people everywhere and huge casinos looming.

We walked across the bridge and was told right-side right-side, we have travelled over 2500 miles and this will be the first time we have cycled on the right side of the road. Anyway we walked towards the Cambodian archway with Ankor Wat pineapple turrets on top, we were looking out for a port-a-cabin with a little window at the side as this is what we had read was the visa office. In fact we were directed to a brand new building with border guards saying visa,visa, just to the right of the archway. It was a simple process of filling out the quick form and handing over $20 and 100 baht. The 100 baht is for 'express service', else you will have to pick up your passport in Phnom Pen, as we are not going there we had to pay up. Once the visa had been processed (3 mins) we were free to head out to immigration which is further on, holding back the tuk tuk drivers and moto mafia. Filling in arrival cards and getting the visa stamped was the last in a simple process of getting across the border. As we walked out into Cambodia we were expecting it to be a maelstrom of bustle with pushy moto mafia and crooked money exchangers. However we only had 1 tuk tuk driver offer us a lift to which we simply said no thanks and got on the bike a rode away, I think that was answer enough!

The road out of town has at long last been paved, when I last came in 2003 it was a very long bumpy dusty ride from Poipet to Siem Reap. I was dreading this part of the trip as I remembered what the road was like, but to my surprise we cruised along at 15mph and arrived in Sisophon at around 10am, With aching cheaks from all the smiling and shouts of hello. We spent the following 45 mins looking for the Golden Crown Guest House, as the other hotels were near to a karaoke brothel and we have been traumatised enough by them!!