March 4, 2020
Day 11 - The Olive Branch
Anlong Veng to Sangkha Thailand
I couldn't sleep at all last night. I was pacing around like a madman, ranting and raving to all my friends on facebook about what was going on due to the coronavirus. Eventually I smartened up and shut down facebook while switching to a meditation podcast. The podcast instructed us to take deep breaths, focus on the breathing and body sensations, and let go of all negative thoughts. They said this breathing reflects change, things go in and out. Life is in a state of flux. This was immediately helpful and I slept after that.
Today I would be on a mission to reach that Thai border. The reason was very simple, there was an excellent school that I had applied for in Malaysia and they wanted to set up an online interview at a specific time. But the internet in Cambodia was woefully inadequate so I wanted to try instead on the Thai side of the border.
I left early enough to leave some time, but realized I had miscalculated and that Malaysia time is actually one hour ahead of this timezone. This was going to be a problem. So I then pushed to the border as hard as I possibly could.
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The border was a very simple affair which was nice. First of all the guy selling water and Coke at a nearby stall said, "Hey brother what's up" and proved to enormously helpful in exchanging the last of my Cambodian Rials for Thai baht. Cambodian exit procedures were super easy, just get stamped out and I didn't have to pay anything.
On the Thai side the immigration guy was very thorough and strict with the rules. These seem to limit the number of border runs you can do per year, but I anticipated this and actually spent a fair chunk of time in Cambodia. I also used two different border checkpoints so it wasn't like I was purposely trying to get more time on a Thai tourist visa. Eventually he let me in and the stamp went thud for another 30 days.
Once on the other side of the border, time was against me and I needed to find a coffee shop fast to get set up. That happened soon enough and those interviewing in Malaysia seemed to like the backdrop with the forest behind. The interview itself went very well and it is very promising the result on this. Nothing was decided on the spot, but I had a great feeling about it. Ideally a decision would be made as soon as possible, certainly on this bike tour. Everything they said had a very good vibe to it.
Once that was finished, I set off and immediately the road descended out of the mountains and I flew down the hills and hit the fastest speeds of the trip. It was very meaningful because this was freedom and the timing couldn't have been any more appropriate.
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The Dangrek mountains are actually the edge of the Isaan plateau in Thailand. Unfortunately it meant the descents were short-lived and eventually changed to rolling hills and then flat again. The roads got more and more networked and built up once past the border area and it didn't take long at all before things got developed again. I then found a hotel and crashed. I was flat out exhausted.
Today's ride: 67 km (42 miles)
Total: 1,042 km (647 miles)
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