Day 3 Bike: Batta Bing Battambang

January 30, 2024

Pursat to Battambang

Thanks to yesterday's marathon, it meant today was only going to be a 100km day. That was the method behind the madness. This meant I could chill at the poolside in the morning and then digitize two more yearbooks over there.

That's dangerous they offer buffet breakfast to a cycle tourist with no food on the road

It happened to be the best sleep so far of the entire trip. I was obviously knackered from the long ride, and the quiet and chill conditions of the luxury hotel made for a blissful sleep.

There was something remarkable and peaceful about the hotel vibe. Everything was immaculate and ornate, and the whole thing was dripping with French colonial atmosphere. The staff were all overdoing it with the servant-like act which fits the environment but isn't really my style. Thailand is much more preferred where they treat everyone equally and naturally. It makes sense after all Thailand was never colonized.

The staff did prove enormously helpful upon checkout when they surveyed the room and found I had left my Garmin GPS behind. Sometimes it pays off when they check, it's not all about finding damages.

The day was off to a rocking start.

Much to my surprise I was actually losing weight despite the large volume of beer and other alcohol I had been consuming all trip. It didn't make any sense. There are multiple theories as to why this was. First, the local beer (Cambodia or Anchor) must be very low alcohol content, you can literally drink it like water. Second, the amount of food I was eating was much less. It's either smaller portion sizes or less fat and carbs or both. Third, all the biking was paying off. Fourth, the weather is like summer and the body naturally sweats more in hot climates.

After two massive rounds of buffet food I then went out and stocked up at the supermarkets for the road. This whole thing had to last nearly 100km.

All this for $11, the grapes alone cost $4

What I basically figured out this trip is that development is focused in the towns. This seems reasonable, after all they had more time and opportunity to recover after the Khmer Rouge fell. The countryside is not so fortunate, the effects of that brutal regime still linger include the landmines. A museum guide on a former visit told me the process of removing landmines is arduously slow and will take years.

The same thing now is happening in Ukraine with the war and there are even more unexploded landmines in that country than Cambodia. Once Ukraine wins the war, the reconstruction effort will surely need the help of Cambodians to clear landmines, in fact the beginning of this process is happening already.

Those were my thoughts while riding. The road started out interesting for the first 5km, but then the motorway kicked back in again and it got extremely boring. Just straight and flat, sometimes between 10-20km before the road even turned. And all off to the side was nothing.

What made up for this were the other bicycle riders, in particular the school children. They would go the wrong way on the road, then smile at me and wave with big thumbs up. All sorts of this going on.

The highlight of the day was a photo timed to perfection. School was just letting out for lunch and I happened to pass a minute before they set up the patrols to stop traffic and let people out.

Then it was just cycle and listen to music before the motorway finally ended and the turnoff to Battambang happened. The decision to stock up proved correct as food was scarce once again.

Once in Battambang I wasn't very impressed with the vibe of the town so decided just to stay one night and bounce.

Today's ride: 108 km (67 miles)
Total: 462 km (287 miles)

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