Battambang to Pailin: Through the Cambodian countryside

January 4, 2017

I left the hotel at 6:15 am after a breakfast of in-room coffee and yesterday's bread. I hadn't seen the Australian family at all yesterday, and their bikes were gone. I'm not sure what's up. They were looking into renting motorbikes yesterday, and planned to bus it to Phnom Phen today. Their bikes were gone when I returned to the hotel yesterday around 2 pm. Maybe they left, but when I settled my bill, the hotel staff asked if I was paying for all 3 rooms. I'll probably never know what they did.

Wat Sangker, leaving Battambang. This is one of the more interesting entry arches I've seen.

Today's ride was aimed to get me near the border crossing back into Thailand. There isn't much between Pailin, where I am now, and the border, other than some casinos for Thais interested in gambling. There also isn't much between Pailin and Battambang. Except some caves. I rode past the Killing Caves, where Pol Pot's army forced people down a hole and the bodies collected. It's a tourist spot now, one of the ones I skipped in Battambang.

There are also a lot of small towns, but only one guest house that I'm aware of. I went right past the location and didn't notice it. Either I'm not too observant or the sign was only in Khmer. Or I was looking at something on the other side of the road. So I pedaled on to Pailin. By the way, that's pronounced like "pie" or maybe 3.1415926, not like the former governor of Alaska.

Rice drying operation. It's a family affair.

It was a little disconcerting to see the signs about landmines right where people are living. At least the sign says they've been cleared.

Cassava drying on the road. Sometimes I need to share the shoulder.

This wouldn't be a proper journal entry if I didn't complain about the heat. It wasn't bad leaving Battambang at 6:15, but it did heat up and my Garmin was showing temps over 100 F. I had my first drink stop at 15 miles, and then made a plan to stop every 10 miles. It worked pretty well, and I had a sugary almost-cold drink at 25, 35, and 43 miles. As I arrived in Pailin, I came to the entry of a large wat with a small market outside. I bought some dried fruit, and tried to buy a cold drink. The vendor asked for $1 for the can of a local coconut drink, twice the price I'd been paying all morning. I said no, and then she changed it to 2 cans for $1, but the second can was a lychee drink I find too sweet. The guy who sold me the dried fruit came by, and I was able to get the one can for 2000 riel, which is 50 cents, the correct price.

Next to the street near the entrance to the wat at Pailin. I think he looks a bit like Elvis. There is another way up on the hill.

I went on and found the Bamboo Guest House, 3 km south of town. I have a little bungalow with AC, hot shower, fridge and water for $15. There is a swimming pool, which I used for a quick dip. There seemed to be someone who's job was to watch me use the pool. The guest house is not very convenient to anything, but has a restaurant with very good reviews, but is pricey for the local market. I had lunch there, a pork omelet, since I was craving eggs, and expect to eat dinner there. They tell me it opens at 6:30 for breakfast, so I hope I can get a bite there in the morning, too.

Today's ride: 89 km (55 miles)
Total: 2,296 km (1,426 miles)

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