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- Day Of Food – Cambodia
- Cycling Flat Out
- Quiet Times At Angkor Wat
- On The Temple Trail
- 22,000 Kilometre Photo
- Laos By Numbers
- Lizard Days
- Cycling In Coffee Country
- Merry Christmas From Laos
- Adventures On ‘The Loop’
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Day Of Food – Cambodia
On the all important food front, it has been thoroughly enjoyable to cross into Cambodia. An abundance of fresh fruit, what we call ‘pot-luck’ dinners (where you pick what you want to eat by seeing what is in each pot) and Cambodian-style icy desserts in all but the smallest towns means we’ve rarely gone hungry. If it wasn’t for the heat regularly robbing us of our appetites, I’d have some concern about the balance of calories eaten vs burnt. – Posted by Emma
Quiet Times At Angkor Wat
Awaking at 4:45am, I silence the alarm quickly but make no move to get up. We’ve both had a restless night in our too warm hotel room with a fan that only works at the fastest, noisiest and most sleep-disturbing speed. I’m already exhausted by the thought of starting the day at this hour, let alone heading out on a sightseeing binge. “Maybe we shouldn’t go today?” I trial the words on Justin. He’s quick to agree and rolls over to go back to sleep, but I lie awake in the stifling heat and reconsider. If I give in today then I’ll have this same internal battle another morning. The words are formed before my brain can compile a counter argument. “Maybe we should?” – Posted by Emma
Laos By Numbers
We purposely slowed down in Laos, giving ourselves almost two months to cycle less than 2000km through the country. From steep climbs in the north to heat waves in the south, our cycling wasn’t without challenges, but extended breaks in Luang Prabang, Vientiane, Pakse and Don Det ensured that days off the bike outnumbered days cycling for the first time in our trip. Among our most treasured memories are the children of Laos who enthusiastically waved and shouted sabaidee whenever they spotted us cycling by, some almost falling over in the process. While we saw little wildlife in what was once the land of a million elephants we were still won over by Laos’ lazy charms. – Posted by Emma
Lizard Days
We’re woken every morning by the soft ‘splosh’ of string fishing nets hitting the water, the slightly off-beat thump of a drum being hit at the temple across the river and the comically loud ‘eh-eeerh’ emitting from a gecko through our thin bamboo walls. Rising not long after the sun has pulled up into another brilliant blue, ‘no weather’ sky, we pull pillows, sleeping mats, books and computers onto our shady hammock-adorned deck and settle in for another day of idleness. Spending our last nine days in Laos on tiny Don Det island, the already slow pulse of our journey in Laos has come to a standstill. – Posted by Emma
Merry Christmas From Laos
The second Christmas ‘on the road’ finds us taking a pause at Kingfisher Ecolodge in Laos, where we’ve stretched our budget for a few days of watching elephants and buffalo stroll across the wetlands from our secluded porch. With not even a Christmas tree or elevator-style carols to disturb the tranquillity, we suspect this would be a great place to get away from the madness of the season. We managed to sneak in a little bit of the Christmas spirit with Santa visiting our bungalow in the night, delivering food-based presents in a familiar looking red backpack. – Posted by Emma
Adventures On ‘The Loop’
Some waterfalls aren’t meant to be found. I’m looking at a wooden outrigger anchored to the concrete pier, down some steep steps at the edge of the tiny dusty settlement of Ban Phon Kham. We’ve ridden our bicycles down to the rivers edge to see if someone will take us on the hour long boat ride to Wang Fong waterfall upstream in Nam Kading national park, but the lack of security for our fully loaded bikes and windiness of the day has made Justin an unwilling partner. Its the same price for one person so he suggests I go alone. – Posted by Emma
Slow Motion Vientiane
We approach a set of traffic lights on our way to the COPE visitor centre in Vientiane and I can’t help but wonder where I last saw the familiar sequence of red, orange and green. Certainly the capital must be the only place in Laos with traffic lights. I wonder if this is a sign of modern times, but I quickly change my assessment as I pedal closer. As if the lights are an apparition, not one road user is paying them any mind. – Posted by Emma
Postcards From Luang Prabang
The pressure has been off since we reached the borders of South East Asia. As compensation against the last few months of racing against seasons and visas, we’re actively slowing down in line with the relaxed attitudes prevalent in Laos. The country’s second biggest city, which has a certain French colonial charm preserved in a central peninsula filled with guesthouses and cafes, Luang Prabang had just the right atmosphere for a week off and was a brilliant base for doing very little indeed. – Posted by Emma
Zooming Through Vietnam
The Vietnamese bus touts are convinced they’ll get business from us. “Bus to Sa Pa” they call as we tuck away our passports, re-attach helmets and roll bicycles down a short but sheer ramp from border control into Vietnam proper. “We go by bicycle,” we reply. They shake heads. “No…. you go bus.” I look the youngest and most hopeful tout in the eyes and assure him that we’re very strong. He shakes his head in response: “Sa Pa? You go by bus?” – Posted by Emma
Day Of Food – Vietnam
With just 11 days spent cycling in one of the more remote corners of Vietnam, we missed all the big cities, so didn’t have a chance to sample a wide range of the country’s kitchen skills. From our brief investigation we can report that the tang of Vietnamese fish sauce was refreshing after the sometimes oil-laden dishes of China, but some days it was difficult to find a variety of vegetables to supplement a meat heavy diet. Despite a few serious food miscommunications (rice served with noodles? just noodles?), the rice bowls of Vietnam fuelled us with enough carbs for a hilly ride to the border. – Posted by Emma