In which we say goodbye to Thailand and enter the Wild Wild West

We arrived in Pak Chong and had to wait 7 hours for bikes to arrive. We spent most of these 7 hours asleep, before venturing out for street food. At this point I had my first experience of a deep fried banana. I do not have enough superlatives to describe this. After we’d walked up and down the line of stalls gorging on anything that didn’t look like it had fish in, it was time to pick up our bikes. 8 o’clock came and went with no sign of them, and we were worried but not surprised as we both agreed it would be a miracle if they did arrive. At last SE Asia proved us wrong and our bikes were unloaded. Phew. We rode back to hotel and fell asleep.

April 12th - Pak Chong to Huwet Saweng Waterfall Campsite

We left Pak Chong and went straight into the national park. Entry was 15 pounds each for foreigners which seemed incredibly unfair, especially as we were on bicycles! Anyway we paid up. The park was beautiful, green jungly mountains and no buildings or stalls or rubbish anywhere. We also had the excitement of maybe seeing wild elephants. This excitement was also tinged with fear of being trampled of course. At GBB in Bangkok we’d heard a lot about the hills in the national park and it turned out they hadn’t been lying. The road kicked up, and up, and up. In Thailand they haven’t really grasped the concept of the hairpin bend leading to some outrageously steep gradients. We both had to push our bikes most of the way up and it was getting really really hot. There was something to cheer us up though, as a british couple on their gap yah tried to go up the hill on a motorbike but had obviously been eating too many deep fried bananas (who can blame them?) and the motorbike couldn’t cope and started rolling back down the hill. They had a blazing row and the girlf had to walk up. Eventually we got to the viewpoint and stopped and made coffee. The viewpoint was quite underwhelming; you really couldn’t see very much. After a nice long break we turned the corner and found that we weren’t actually at the top of the hill. After ages later we got to the actual viewpoint which was spectacular.

 By this point we were both feeling shaky so we stopped at the visitors centre for some food. We asked for the least spicy option but it was still outrageously spicy. I’m a fan of spicy food but the food in areas where they’re not used to cooking for tourists is such hard work. We decided that after the hill we deserved a rest and that we would camp in the national park that night and go on an outing to see the waterfall. We arrived at the campsite which looked like some sort of centre parcs advert, a lake, lots of trees, deer roaming, wholesome children running around, adults laughing, and no camper vans. 

After paying our 50p we pitched our tent and put up the hammock. This was bliss.

 We dragged ourselves away to cycle the 10k and see the waterfall, which definitely was not worth it in the dry season. In the evening we met a teacher from a fancy private school in Singapore who was cycle touring with 10 pupils (v v heavily supported). He was really great to chat to, and definitely a future roundtheworlder. At night it was actually cold!!!!!!!!!!!! (17 degrees C)!!!!!!!! I was so happy!!!!!!! I slept in a sleeping bag!!!!!! The perks of altitude hey. We had to get up several times in the night to stop deer from getting in the tent with us.

April 13th - Huwet Waterfall to the middle of the motorway

The morning started with a glorious 42 kilometre descent. We spent the whole time on edge because of the tantalising possibility of seeing elephants round each corner. Of course we didn’t, which was really heartbreaking because we’d been to a lot of effort to go to the national park and it was the second time we’d been denied an elephant viewing. There were also elephant warning signs everywhere and dung all over the road. There were also these scary looking signs for cyclists which turned out to be needed as we saw a really nasty crash on the way down.

 Much sobered we retreated into a posh café for Thais who want to be westerners. I really wish we didn’t go into these but the coffee is always delicious and sometimes we really need some nice clean western lifestyle where things happen as you’d expect them to and nobody shouts FARANG at you and laughs. After this we were on main roads heading to the Cambodia border. After a bit of monsoon dodging we stayed a huge hotel called Sunshine Mansion, at which we were the only guests.

 For supper we walked down the hard shoulder of the motorway to eat fried rice and the family running it seemed so shocked that they had guests they treated us like queens. They put three fans pointing at different angles to our table, we had napkins, an ice bucket… They also stopped playing Thai music and started playing Ed Sheeran. After multiple selfies with various combinations of people (Mum is wanted in these even less after she cut her hair) we were allowed to leave.

April 14th - Motorway to Aranyprathet

We rode to the Cambodian border town along some very quiet roads. This was the first day of Thai new year, Songkram and it was FAB. Children lined the roads for our entire route and sprayed us with water pistols and threw buckets of water over us. It was if Thai new year had specifically been designed to please poor overheated English cyclists.

 After a day of this we arrived at the town at the Cambodian border where there was a hotel called Vélo love. We knew this was expensive but decided to check it out. We got there and it was heaven, it had a bmx track, a 50m saltwater pool and the inside was decorated as if to a cyclist’s dream. The stools in reception were bike saddles with pedals as foot rests, there were prints all over the wall, there was a bicycle storage locker room. It was all too much. Quite literally too much money, and we had to leave... By this point it was dark and Thai new year had taken a drunken turn as the streets were packed with inebriated teenagers chucking water/bottles/chalk/shouts around. Cycling through the throng was impossible and we had to push our bikes getting regularly doused. Eventually we arrived at a hotel 1/9 of the price of Velo Love. The partying went on until the early hours.

April 15th - Aranyprathet to Kranalah

We had heard the border opened at 6 and resolutely decided to arrive there as soon after 6 as possible. We actually managed to get there at 7:57 only to find out it opened at 8. A rare piece of luck for phoebeharrietrtw. The border crossing meant paying a bribe to the shameless officials. I know I’ve led a sheltered surrey life but I really find things like this very shocking. You can’t complain to the police because they are the police. We’ve heard too many horror stories about people paying lots of money/waiting for hours etc so we just paid up. After crossing the border it was immediately evident that we Weren’t in Thailand Anymore. This was especially fun as people suddenly started driving on the right. There was no sign or anything, we only noticed this because cars started coming towards us. We set off down the main road hoping to come to something but nothing. There weren’t even petrol stations, people were selling petrol in plastic bottles by the side of the road. 

We had planned to divert down some side roads and wild camp but the staggering difference to Thailand made us reconsider and we carried on down the main road until we got to a guesthouse. This guesthouse was a step down from Thai standards and we felt a bit like we were back in Morocco. It was run by a lovely family though and we had some weird food for supper, cold boiled aubergine in some kind of minty gravy. 

April 16th - Kranalah to Siem Reap

We had lots of time in hand to get to Siem Reap and so decided to explore Cambodia's back roads. We'd heard a lot about the "beautiful dirt roads" and were excited to get exploring.. The reality was a bit of a nightmare on our skinny tyres, the dirt had hardened into lots of small bumps making for a bone juddering ride. There was also nothing in these back roads. Nobody had electricity or running water, which meant no fridges, no freezers and astonishingly no food. What everybody ate I have no idea but nobody seemed to be selling anything, which made life tough for us. No cold water/cold drinks in 40+ degrees also made things really hard, especially as it's such a moral boost on rubbish roads. 

We were also committed for the long haul as there was no way off. Eventually we got to the main road just before Siem Reap and went straight into Café Buzz, a clue to the start of what Siem Reap would be like. This was air conditioned, had a freezer full of ice, and was essentially heaven. After we'd recovered we cycled the last few kilometres into Siem Reap, and might as well have landed on the surface of the moon. It was like the Faraday building on Weydon school - a spaceship arrived from another planet landing in Cambodia. It was pretty close to Guildford with the radiators on. For us, this was nice, we could buy some food, use wifi etc etc. We free camped in the tourist police station's gardens because it was really close to the temples, but then had to cycle 8km out to the middle of town to buy tickets. The ticket office had just closed, which meant we were going to have to do it again in the morning.

April 17th - A day in the ancient city of Angkor

We had a very very early start to go and get tickets and get to Angkor Wat in time for the sunrise, and it was impressive. Here's what lonely planet has to say: https://www.lonelyplanet.com/cambodia/travel-tips-and-articles/77381, far better written than I could ever do. For us, it was hard work as we cycled round which ended up being around 40k in flip flops which was a bit crazy. It was an amazing amazing place though, and so different from all the glitzy temples everywhere these days. The fact that they even managed to build it is spectacular on its own, and it mainly survived the Khmer Rouge. My favourite one was one that had been taken back over by trees. 

Bimbling around Bangkok

We arrived at Granny Bike Bed and I immediately felt like I’d finally been allowed membership to an exclusive club I'd been on a waiting list for since I was born. The kitchen was full of touring cyclists all with perfect English and we got talking straight away. Also there is no feeling like the predoublerestday feeling, luxuriating in not having to go anywhere the next day, and usually we’re in a nice place with access to food. This was the case in Granny bike bed with a 7-11 and loads of street food literally opposite. We stocked up on beer and food and had a really nice evening chatting to the others.

In the morning we woke up bright and early and went to see the Royal Palace. This was tough tourism, with outrageous temperatures and tourists packed into all the areas of shade. It was incredible though, decadent gold leaf everywhere, and lots to see. It was also full of Thai people in mourning, come to view the remains of the dead King. I’m not sure on the exact numbers but I reckon it’s about 3000 a day, and this is 6 months after his death. There were lots of children in this procession, some really young ones who all looked very sombre and serious about what they were about to go and do. 

After visiting the palace we went in search of a bike shop to fix Mum’s broken derailleur. This was a total nightmare in the boiling hot city full of big roads with apparently no traffic laws. Drive on the left? Mostly. One way streets? Whatever. Indicating? I don’t think so. Eventually we found the bike shop and they didn’t have the part and had to order it in and we had to come back tomorrow. On the way back to the hostel we bumped into Louis who had arrived to stay. Having spent three days Thinking On My Sins (as mum wouldn’t talk to me) I was all ready to be a nice person. Unfortunately that proved impossible as he said a lot of things I found incredibly irritating. We told him we’d been to the Palace and he said he wasn’t in to all that “f***ing touristy stuff” which is ridiculous as it was built in 1782 when Thailand was Siam, and it's got a lot of history. He suggested we go shopping instead. 

At this point Alice and Benoit, who we’d met a few days ago arrived. They are French cycle tourists travelling the world on vélo couchés, had been on the road for 20 months and were ending their trip in Bangkok. Their trip had ended in heartbreak as Benoit’s bike had broken 120 kilometres before Bangkok and they’d had to get a lift. They were really really upset about this and so was I, the thought of being robbed of the moment of finishing, without knowing you were going to be robbed of this was terrible. The one silver lining for me was that we got to spend time with them, as they are really really really lovely! Here is their blog. https://entransat.wordpress.com. It's in French which is specially good for those of us who need to practise for Erasmus.

The next morning Mum woke up and went to watch the sunrise at one of the temples. She says it was fun but the effect was slightly ruined by the temple being covered in scaffolding. 

Anyway she could gloat all day and make me feel lazy so that was nice for her. After this we went on a boat trip around the canals. 

This was really nice as there was a nice cool breeze from the water and we got a really interesting view of Bangkok. Our boat was very long and skinny with the engine sticking out the back on a pole. At one point we stopped and the floating market came alongside us and tried to persuade us to buy a beer for our driver. Was she mad? At regular intervals the driver had to climb up to the bow of the boat because the spinnaker (garland of flowers) was dragging in the water. After this boat trip we went and had a very delicious coffee on a waterfront café. This was specially fab for Flopsy (who’d been allowed to come on the boat trip as a treat) because the tap in the bathroom was the first friend she’s had for ages. Look how cute they are. (can you tell we’re going a bit crazy).

After the boat trip I went to find my college friend Rachel who was in Bangkok by some amazing coincidence. We had a great time and I saw a completely different Bangkok, full of bars and beer and youths. I was a bit worried that I’d forgotten how to socialise with groups of youths but it all came flooding back. It was great to see her and hear all about her travels (some pretty hardcore stuff in Nepal) and be young and normal for a bit. I even brushed my hair. 

While I was doing this Mum went and got her bike fixed and then went out for dinner with Wim, a Belgian cyclist who’d arrived at GBB and was the bicycling officer for Bruges. It’s a shame he hadn’t arrived the day before as he was a big classics fan and we could have watched Paris Roubaix. Louis obviously “couldn’t give two hoots” about Paris Roubaix and although the others were less rude as I tried to muster some enthusiasm for a group viewing of the illegal stream, it seems that cycle tourers and cycling fans are a venn diagram with a very tiny middle.

 In the morning we went to catch a train out of Bangkok to the national park. I was really looking forward to the train journey as I thought we’d be able to get some sleep. Famous last words. At the ticket office they only had third class standing tickets left, but I thought it would be like in the UK when you can always get a seat after Exeter. It then turns out that our bikes had to go as cargo, and we had to take them to a different train to be shipped. We also had to take all our bags off and ship them as well. It then turned out that while we would be arriving at 1pm, our bikes would be arriving at 8pm… We got on the train and two soldiers gave up their seats. Great we thought, as we settled down. The train filled up, and filled up, and filled up, and we were feeling very lucky that we’d be given these seats. About 10 minutes later a family arrived and kicked us out. Whether they’d booked the seats or just knew we were weak we’ll never know, but we dutifully moved. Unfortunetly there was nowhere to move. There was no space in-between the bodies. I had no choice but to stand with one foot either side a woman sitting on the ground’s leg. My feet were actually touching her leg in a sort of sandwich. Sadly as touring cyclists we could only maintain a standing position for about half an hour, and after that we just sat down. I was now inbetween the woman’s legs so that was nice for both of us. Eventually we arrived in the national park! Here's a taster for next time on phoebeharrietrtw