Cycling |

Pattani

Tue, 31 Jan 2023 23:43:22 +0700

I got on the road around 6:30am, with some light drizzle. There was a little traffic out of town, but I soon turned on to a rural route at Yi-Ngo District.

A wet start

Downtown Yi-Ngo ยี่งอ (Pattani Malay: ยือรีงา), population 10,000

This was my first time in a really local area, and people seemed really surprised to see me. There were may shouts of “Hey you!” and “Hello!” along with plenty of smiles. Some people pulled up beside me on their scooters to ask where I was from and how long I’ve been in Thailand. I’ve heard from others that Thai is not spoken much in these parts—there are many people who are fluent only in Patani Melayu.

The town gates give a friendly hello. Jawi script, based on the Arabic script, is traditionally used to write the Patani Melayu

A country mosque

A fellow cyclist

After a few villages and country mosques, I made it to my first destination: 300 Years Mosque (Taloh-Manoh Mosque or Wadil-Husen Mosque). I’ve heard that the mosque will be 400 years old next year. It incorporates Chinese, Malay, and Thai elements in its construction and uses no nails or screws, but rather wooden bolts and pins.

The 300 Years Mosque, Wadil-Husen Mosque, มัสยิดวาดี อัล ฮูเซ็น, completed in 1634

The 300 Years Mosque

I hopped on Highway 42, one of the main thoroughfares in the Deep South, connecting Bangkok to Malaysia. The left shoulder was pretty wide, giving some space for slow-moving vehicles, but the traffic whizzed by fast and close, and there were scooters constantly traveling in the opposite direction to reach a turnaround in the median. It was always a relief to get off that.

Some interesting architecture at a goldsmith’s

Crossing over the Koh Toh Canal, I was in Pattani Province.

Welcome to Pattani Province. The sign celebrates the province’s Malay, Thai, and Chinese heritage.

I stopped for breakfast at a small shop, had some fish and rice for 20 baht. A little spicy, but not too bad.

I passed through Sai Buri, a fishing town that was once one of the seven Pattani Provinces (there’s even a Sai Buri Street in Songkhla).

There was an old palace there, and a sign said to call Mr. So-and-So to see the inside, and it didn’t seem like anyone was there.

The palace in Sai Buri.

Taking the coastal Highway 4157, I had great views of the Gulf of Thailand on my right. At the small town of บ้านน้ำบ่อ Ban Nam Bo, I saw many scooters parked and heard a lot of noise near a community center and fairground. I pulled off to see what was happening and met a police officer at the gate. He saluted me and pointed to the ground. I thought he wanted me to dismount and park my bike there, but actually he was pointing to a slice of watermelon that he wanted to give me. I thanked him and pushed my bike into the festival while munching on a slice.

Children’s festival.

There were hundreds of parents and children, loudspeakers, food stalls, games, and kids’ attractions. Many people surrounded me and started talking to me, but very few spoke English. Eventually I met Mr. Sue and Mrs. G, who I think were in charge. They gave me a drink and offered me food. They told me it was a children’s festival.

Children’s festival.

Children’s festival drinks. From left to right, orange, corn, and grape. Never would have guessed.

Children’s festival.

With Mr. Sue at the children’s festival.

Beaches

หาดแฆแฆ Khae Khae (Pronounced "KK") Beach, a justly famous area attraction. The whole beach was covered with these cool stones.

หาดปะนาเระ Panare Beach, another famous one. The neighboring town of Panare looked interesting, but not enough time.

One of the foods on my checklist was pisang goreng, or fried bananas. A woman at stall gave me a huge bag of them along with some fried sweet potatoes for free.

หาดปะนาเระ Panare Beach, holding the pisang goreng.

หาดปะนาเระ Panare Beach

Krue Se Mosque

มัสยิดกรือเซะ Masjid Kerisek/Krue Se Mosque

I made it to Pattani, checked in to a new and comfortable hotel, and then went into town for some dinner.

Narathiwat

Mon, 30 Jan 2023 23:54:08 +0700

Meaung Narathiwat (or Menara in Pattani Melayu) is the capital of the eponymous Southern province bordering Malaysia. The town has about 40,000 inhabitants and is around 85% Melayu Muslim.

I picked this place because it was at the bottom of Thailand. In my previous two trips, I went North (Chiang Mai, Lamphun, Nan), and this time I wanted to see what was in the South. (Yala Province has the brand new Betong International Airport, but there currently aren’t any flights.)

NAW

We landed at Narathiwat Airport (NAW) in light rain. Two sets of boarding stairs pulled up, and we deplaned and walked from the parking apron across the tarmac to terminal, supplied with umbrellas.

Narathiwat Airport, ท่าอากาศยานนราธิวาส

My bicycle came back intact on the luggage carousel, and I bought an 80 baht “limousine” ticket (actually a ) for the 18km ride to the Imperial Narathiwat.

80 baht to town

After putting my bike together, I took it across the street to Ikhlas Cycle for a final tune-up to make sure it was roadworthy for the tour.

20 baht for the tune-up

My first order of business was to ship my bike bag that I had brought on the airplane and a few things I wouldn’t need on my ride. I went to the post office, bought a box, and mailed it ahead to the hostel in Songkhla. Surprisingly, everything went smoothly and it arrived the next day.

Mailing my bike bag from Narathiwat Post Office

Across the street was the excellent Narathiwat Museum. A lot of the information was in English, and I spent a few hours there. The lower level was about the history and area of Narathiwat Province, and the upper level was dedicated to the Thai Royal Family.

At the museum entrance

The teacher told everyone (in Thai) to say hello to me. I was surprised.

I saw some coin-operated washing machines last night outside a shop, and used one to wash my clothes this morning. One load was 20 baht, but the lady told me there was no dryer. It started raining heavily, so I waited most of it out in an excellent coffee shop a couple blocks away. I used Google Translate to decode find what I wanted from menu, then copied the Thai text to the order slip.

Coin-operated washing machines

At the Rim Khuean Market ริมเขื่อนมาร์เก็ต, I met an industrial engineer named Abdul who used to live in Sydney, Australia. He seemed happy to use his English after many years. He told me about picking up a Siberian hitchhiker and dropping him off at a temple at the Malaysian border, as the traveler was solely relying on free rides and accommodation. He also met a Frenchman who was walking the world, on his way to Myanmar, Bangladesh, India, and eventually back to France.

Abdul

Rim Khuean Market ริมเขื่อนมาร์เก็ต

Market scene

He told me now that the troubles have subsided, there was a great demand for English, but there was no English school in the province. I asked him if there were any foreigners living here, and he mentioned a couple Africans and people from the former Soviet Union who were playing for the Nara United soccer team.

I thought monsoon season would have been over, but it’s been raining since I landed yesterday, sometimes very heavily. Both days it stopped in the mid-afternoon, so I had a chance to sightsee between showers, but it was difficult to stay dry in the sudden downpours, hopping around under shop awnings.

Many people smile and say hello to me. I haven’t seen any other Westerner here, and judging by the guestbook at the city museum, there aren’t many who make it this way.

Friendly smiles

I met a poet and musician who confessed he talked a lot and ran the Southern Coffee café next to my hotel. His wife and sister-in-law (a journalist) also talked a lot, but he said he was a glad they didn’t speak English because then we would really be in trouble.

Southern Coffee

He had shelves of books, a good collection. He wanted the shop to be a place not where customers take Instagram photos, but a community center where people talk about ideas. I asked him about local writers, and he recommended Zakariya Amataya, Thailand’s first Muslim to win the prestigious Southeast Asian Writers Award ( ). He also showed me his own English poetry and played some music he recorded.

A well-stocked shelf

Many people here ask me what I think of Narathiwat and the troubles. To be honest, I don’t know a lot about the conflict, and hadn’t heard much about it other than warnings to stay away. Over the past two or three years, the number of incidents has neared zero, according to . It seems that things are safe again, and that is what everyone is telling me.

There are some checkpoints, but most are unmanned. The soldiers don’t seem to be stopping anyone, and they don’t give me a second glance. Some checkpoints still have sandbags and barricades.

Beach

Looks like a scene from an Aphex Twin video

Boats

Test Ride

I rode out to the

In the morning, I’m hoping it won’t be raining so I can see the “300 Year-old Mosque,” which is actually more than 400 years old. I don’t think I can go inside, but it looks like it will be good from the outside too.

I’m a little sad to leave Narathiwat. Two days isn’t enough time. A lot of the interesting details are easy to overlook, and there is a quiet subtlety to the place. I am looking forward to Pattani tomorrow though, and am hoping for a good ride.

Narathiwat Food

First meal. This place was popular with students. Not so spicy.

Not so spicy.

Narathiwat City Scenes

New Year's Ride through Yaotsu

Tue, 10 Jan 2023 13:21:22 +0900

A new year’s ride from Ena to Tajimi. We rode the Chuo Line up to 武並駅 Takenami Station, and were a bit worried to find frost on the ground. Snow and ice necessitated a slow, steep decent to the Kiso River. The temperature was around -3℃.

武並橋/View from the Takenami Bridge

After a short break at a rural fire station, we started our climb up to 坂折棚田 the Sakaori Terraced Rice Fields (Sakaori literally means “folded hills”), at around 500m. There was a New Year’s celebration going on at the shrine here, hence the どんど焼き dondoyaki, the purifying spiritual bonfire.

坂折棚田 the Sakaori Terraced Rice Fields

After this, the climb intensified, topping out around 700m, and some grades of over 13%. A lot of snow on the ground. I felt a little pain in my knees from the cold.

The downhill on National Highway 418 was pretty good, with smooth, wide roads and little traffic. A tunnel spit us out on the 462m-long rigid-frame 新旅足橋 Shin-Tabisoko Bridge (2010), which also happens to be the place of the highest bungee jump in Japan, 220m above the Tabisoko Gorge. I tried looking over the edge while crossing the bridge, but it was a little nerve-racking.

The Shin-Tabisoko Bridge, looking down into the eponymous gorge

From there, it was down, down, down to the retro downtown of 八百津町 Yaotsu, and across the Yaotsu Bridge and Kiso River once again. After a few long tunnels and rolling hills through 御嵩町 Mitake Town and 可児市 Kani, we made it to Tajimi Station for a well-earned okonomiyaki.

Wチーズお好み焼き "W Cheese" Okinomiyaki. The "W" apparently stood for quadruple cheese.

After lunch and packing up our bikes at the station for the train, a punctilious station master chased us down and made us remove our bicycle saddles before boarding the train. This required groping around for packed tools and moving bike parts around in not-so-ideal conditions (i.e., the middle of a busy train station). Technically, it’s the rule, but that’s the first time I’ve been called out for it in a decade of rinko-cycling across Japan.

Toyota ride

Sun, 10 Oct 2021 06:54:21 +0900

I put in a good 30km on Thursday meeting CBC and riding out to his new place, mainly along an old commute route. I was a little spent from all the climbs in Nakatsugawa the previous day, but managed nonetheless. We tried out a pizza place nearby run by a Brazilian family. I left my bike at the station and went back on Friday to retrieve it, tracing my old Friday commute path along the Tempaku River. Friday afternoon traffic in Nagoya reminded me I should have gotten on the road earlier.

Nakatsugawa

Wed, 06 Oct 2021 20:46:50 +0900

A bit of a later start than I hoped for, and I was off to Nakatsugawa by the Chuo Line. My original intention was to climb past Chubu Gakuin University on 413 and descend to Agi, but after a significant climb, a warning sign blocked the road due to a landslide. I checked the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism's (MLIT) website, and the road is out of commission for the foreseeable future.

Back into town, I found the old , and traced it between Nakatsugawa-juku and Ochiai-juku. There were some extremely steep climbs that had me pushing my bike.

Some of the views were great though. I didn't have the time or energy (it was 31°C today) to make it over the pass to Magome-juku; I'll have to wait until next time.

The road was well-marked and dotted with historical signage. This spot was a collection of Buddhas that were found along the way, along with descriptions and resting benches.

This was my first time on the Nakasendo. It is obvious that the locals take a lot of pride in it and have kept at least this section very well-maintained. Here is a pedestrian underpass crossing National Route 19.

I'll remember to reapply more sunscreen next time.

Mikawa Bike Ride

Mon, 04 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000

I rode the JR Tokaido line out to Okazaki today, and headed toward Nishio. The ride today was completely flat, and it was warm and sunny. I had a low battery on my phone, so I conserved power by following the main roads. Traffic was not too heavy, the roads were wide, and I was surrounded by farmland all day. There were plenty of stoplights.

I made it to 金蓮寺 Konren-ji, home of Aichi’s oldest wooden building 弥陀堂 Amitabha (Buddha) Hall, and one of Aichi’s three national treasures (the other two are in Inuyama).

a wooden Amitabha Triad, dating from the Kamakura Period (1185–1333)

I was greeted with a cup of tea, and a monk explained the history of the area. He recommended some other famous sites. There are many temples in the vicinity. Inside the main building, there were illustrated Meiji-era boards of local youth being sent off to war.

The 御朱印 temple’s seal stamp. The image on the left is 国宝弥陀堂 kokuhō midadō "National Treasure Amitabha Hall" stylized to look like a smiling Amitabha Buddha.

There were many temples and historical sites in the precinct.

I crossed the Yahagi River and was in Hekinan. There were tall silos, great ships smelled like grain.

The purpose for my visit here was to investigate the , Japan’s first (1973) tunnel that used pre-fabricated box culverts that were buried under the sea. It connects the East Wharf of the Kinuura Port in Hekinan（碧南市東埠頭）with Handa’s Central Wharf（半田市衣浦港の中央ふ頭）. The pedestrian/bike tunnel plays an AM radio station as you descend the 11 flights of stairs. I think the sign said the length was 480m.

衣浦トンネル（歩行者・自転車用トンネル）Kinuura Tunnel (1973)

Overview of the crossing

Oudong to Kampong Thom

Tue, 09 Feb 2016 23:39:03 +0700

Day 6: Oudong to Kampong Thom 140km/87 miles

The hardest day so far. I awoke to the call for prayers playing on loudspeakers at the minaret across the road starting at 4:30.

Garment factory workers streamed by, packed like sardines in the back of in the back of trucks on their way to Phnom Penh.

On the way to work

We crossed the Tonlé Sap River on the Prek Kdam Bridge out of Kandal Province then fought a tough headwind for the first two hours.

Crossing the Tonlé Sap River. The river reverses course during the rainy season as the Mekong swells, filling up the lake. In the dry season, the lake empties out back into the Mekong.

Crossing the 981m Prek Kdam Bridge (2010) over Tonlé Sap River.

Entering Kampong Cham. កំពង់ចាម [kɑmpɔŋ caːm] Kampong Cham means "Port of the Chams."

After crossing the river, we entered Kampong Cham Province and joined National Highway 6. The road was well-paved at this point.

So far, National Highway 6 road was good.

Smooth tarmac

Many Cham or Champa People (Cham: ꨂꨣꩃ ꨌꩌꨛꨩ, Urang Campa), practice an indiginized form of Shi’a Islam or an indiginized form of Hinduism. Mosques were more common in this area.

Every stop is interesting. We met two young Cambodian English teachers at a tiny noodle restaurant. The TV was blasting a kungfu movie dubbed in Khmer (a popular genre here). We had a nice chat about their lives, from what I could hear (the TV was LOUD). It seems that more people speak English the closer to Phnom Penh you get.

ស្គន់ Skun

Skun or Skoun is a busy market town at the intersection of National Highways 6 and 7. “A-ping” tarantulas, are a local delicacy here, tossed in MSG, sugar, and salt and fried with garlic. I tried a couple but Masuda-sensei declined. The legs were crispy, but the head and body had soft white meat inside. Some other bugs were on sale as well.

Dirt Roads

From here, the road got worse. The pavement was patched, pitted, and inconsistent. I felt like I was riding on a jackhammer. Then the pavement disappeared. It was a packed dirt road from now on. Yes, this is National Highway 6, the main highway connecting Cambodia’s two largest cities. Semi trucks and buses flew by, kicking up so much dust that cars had their headlights on in the middle of the day. This continued for a long, long time. I saw a truck spraying water from a questionable source to mitigate the dust, but it was hot and the dirt dried out quickly.

National Highway 6 in February 2016

Outside សន្ទុក Santuk

We had lunch in a village along the highway. There was garbage all over the entire town. Flies everywhere. I saw man buy a bottle of water from a vendor, drink it, then throw the empty bottle on the ground in front of him. Apparently, many people did the same. The restaurant we ate at had discarded napkins under every table and refuse out front.

Finally we reached pavement again. We took a break at a gas station. The woman said she could speak French, but not English. She brought us some chairs, a couple bottles of water, mangoes, and starfruit.

We were grateful for her hospitality.

People from tropical countries have amazing knife skills when it comes to fruit.

Our support driver carving up some mangoes. We dipped them a palm sugar/salt mix.

Mangoes

This break and the Khmer hospitality was a blessing that sustained me to the Steung Sen River and the provincial capital of Kampong Thom, reaching there before dusk.

Made it to the hotel in ក្រុងកំពង់ធំ Kampong Thom ("Great Port"), sometimes labeled ស្ទឹងសែន Stueng Saen "River of Soldiers" Sanskrit: sena (सेना), after the eponymous river that flows through it.

Oudong

Mon, 08 Feb 2016 23:55:49 +0700

Leaving Pursat early in the morning.

Entering ខេត្តកំពង់ឆ្នាំង Kampong Chhnang Province. Kampong Chhnang means "Port of Pottery"

Stopped in a small town in ខេត្តកំពង់ឆ្នាំង Kampong Chhnang Province. The provincial slogan is sweet pomelos, delicious rice, beautiful young ladies. While looking for some breakfast, a small man came up to me and started speaking colloquial American English. He recommended a place: “Ovah deh. Ovah deh. I eat deh every day.” I did not expect to hear a Boston accent in such a place. We had a chat with him and I filmed a short interview. He was the most dynamic character that I have met on this trip.

Collecting alms in the morning. Many boys are temporarily ordained and serve as monks, usually less than a year.

Entering Kampong Speu កំពង់ស្ពឺ

\[kɑmpɔŋ spɨː\]

Province. The meaning is "Port of Starfruit".

We stopped at a roadside stand for some coconut juice where an elderly Muslim woman hacked open coconuts with a machete. She was also baking something like cupcakes using a clay pot with charcoal burning above and below, but could not get the right temperature on both sides. She ended up burning the batch a couple times.

Charcoal-fired Cambodian cupcakes

ក្រខុប [krɑkʰop], governor’s plum/Madagascar plum/Indian plum/ramontchi, Flacourtia indica

Stopping for some coconut water

It was Chinese New Year, and we ended up with front row seats at a gas station. A touring dragon dance group was performing for the owner. She put red envelopes in the dragons’ mouths.

Today’s goal was ឧដុង្គ Oudong, the old capital of Cambodia from 1618–1866, about 35km northwest of the modern national capital of Phnom Penh. According to Wikipedia, the city’s name is derived from the Sanskrit word “uttuṅga” (Sanskrit: उत्तुङ्ग), meaning tall, which probably refers to the mountain.

The manager at the guesthouse leaned English at a pagoda from a monk. He showed us our rooms. They said “VIP” next to the room number above the doors and on the keys. The rooms cost $15.

VIP Rooms.

The support car driver from Pursat and I were really curious about this kind of fishing.

At the top of ភ្នំឧដុង្គ (Phnom Oudong) Oudong Mountain, the whole surrounding plain was visible. The Buddha here mysteriously faces north rather than east. Some think it is an homage to the older capital at Angkor, looking back toward the ancient capital across the Tonlé Sap.

Stupa on top of Phnom Oudong. This is a tentative World Heritage Site

On top of Phnom Oudong

Lowering the ទង់ជាតិកម្ពុជា Tóngchéatĕ Kâmpŭchea [tɔŋciət kampuciə] Cambodian flag at sunset on Phnom Oudong. The Cambodian flag is one of only four state flags (along with Portugal, San Marino, and Spain) to feature a building.

At the summit, I met a man from Chongqing who invited me for a Chinese New Year celebration, but I had to decline as I had 140km to ride on February 9th.

Decked out in red for Chinese New Year.

The chili sauce was always mild, quite a bit different from other countries in Southeast Asia.

Kampong Luong

Sun, 07 Feb 2016 23:49:11 +0700

After the visit to the past and future well recipients, we drove a Toyota HiLux (aka Tacoma) truck out to Kampong Luong (កំពង់លួង), a floating village on the Tonlé Sap. As the place name suggests, most of the inhabitants were Vietnamese. I saw a school, a church, a barbershop, and a karaoke parlor. It didn’t seem to get many foreign visitors, judging from the police ledger book I had to sign before going out on the water.

Kampong Luong

I saw a lot of written Vietnamese. Obviously, it was harder to talk to people. When something happened, like a boat bumping into someone’s house, neighbors would instantly relay the information between houses.

A floating market

A supermarket. This was around Chinese New Year, a holiday that is celebrated in Cambodia as well.

Billiard hall

A gas station

At the Fair

After that, back on land, we stopped at a local fair. I always enjoy these kinds of fairs in foreign countries, as the atmosphere is grounded in something so universal, but it’s easy to see the local nuance, and a fun way to meet local people.

At the fair

Snacks at the fair.

Angkor Beer was about 50¢ a can.

ពងទាកូន or paung tea kaun, otherwise known as balut, is a fertilized developing egg embryo that is boiled or steamed and eaten from the shell. It is usually incubated for 18–20 days. The father gave me a beer, but I politely declined the balut.

Games and prizes at the fair

A kind of rolled crèpe that was popular with kids.

Riding into the sunset on the Highway 5 back to Pursat

Pursat, Part 2

Sun, 07 Feb 2016 23:39:11 +0700

Day 4

This is the purpose of this cycle tour. We got in a truck and went down a rough road, about 40km into the countryside. The houses got simpler and red dust from the road covered the trees and the fields. The land had once been jungle, but it was cleared and the land titles were given by the government to poor farmers.

We finally reached our destination, and were greeted by a smiling family. Their house was surrounded by a beautiful garden. This was all thanks to a well provided by Hope International Development Agency. The mother said before they got their well, she was in tears every day, exhausted and sick from the hours of fetching water from a dirty stream. She had to send her son to live in a temple as she did not have enough food to give him.

Now, instead of a thatched roof house, she has her own sturdy home and can sell her fruits and vegetables at the market. Her children can go to school. Her life was completely changed by having the basic need of clean water met. Although they were still very poor by most measures, their quality of life improved exponentially.

We them visited two families who were scheduled to receive their wells this year. They were truly living on the edge. They could not smile. The children were sick and could not go to school as they were needed to work at home. Their land was completely barren. The mother spent two or three hours a day carrying water back. They only had rice to eat. I have never seen such terrible poverty.

These two families are not so different, although their life conditions are different by several orders of magnitude. I was attracted to this project because clean water is so basic and so fundamental to life that without it, the struggle just to survive overpowers anything that we can relate to as living a life.

Battambang to Pursat

Sat, 06 Feb 2016 23:52:03 +0700

Day 3: Battambang to Pursat 106km/65 miles

We started at 6, in the dark. Breakfast was rice noodles at a country market. Mangoes for a dollar a kilo (2.2 lbs). I bought a baguette with jam for 25¢.

The landscape became more jungle-like and the people more outgoing. Children shouted hello from the side of the road or from houses behind the bushes 50 yards back, and people smiled more often.

A Westerner passed me. He was drafting behind a tractor pulling sacks of rice. The guys on top of the bags were relaying to the driver to keep a decent pace so the cyclist could trail them. I accelerated and caught up with him, cruising at speed and very little effort. He was casually sipping a Coca Cola. We chatted for a minute; he was from France and on his way to Phnom Penh. I realized I was leaving Masuda-sensei far behind, so I let them continue on.

Crossing into Pursat Province. ពោធិ៍សាត់ [poːsat] Pursat means "floating banyan." According to Wikipedia, the root word ពោធិ៍- Poŭthĭ [poː], a Khmer word derived from the Sanskrit and Pali word for the bodhi (बोधि) tree (which is where the Buddha became enlightened), and -សាត់ săt [sat] which comes from the Khmer word រសាត់ rôsăt [rɔːsat] meaning "to float."

We checked into the KM Hotel in downtown Pursat. Rooms with a pool and river view for just $18. I asked someone why it was so cheap. She said she didn’t know the English word, but it was probably because of “washing black money.” Nevertheless, I was glad we were staying here two nights. Some Cambodian Americans were down by the pool blasting Little Richard and Chuck Berry. Later, I saw an American exercise equipment infomercial dubbed in Khmer on TV.

View from my room of the KM Hotel pool and the Pursat River

Next door to the KM Hotel

Sisophon to Battambang

Fri, 05 Feb 2016 23:34:03 +0700

Leaving Sisophon at daybreak

We left the Nasa Hotel in Sisophon at daybreak. The scenery became more lush as we continued south. I was happy to have some shade. Breakfast was fried rice and soup at a roadside restaurant, along with a stick of roasted bamboo stuffed with sticky rice, coconut, dried fruit, and sugar.

ក្រឡាន kralan, glutionous rice in roasted bamboo. It also had beans, coconut milk, grated coconut, and palm sugar.

We passed a wedding procession. The parade streamed down the side of the nation’s busiest highway (two lanes) to a wedding venue. A photographer was lining up the parents outside the front door. Cambodian fashion is serious business when it comes to wedding attire.

One thing I was concerned about when planning a cycling trip in Cambodia was the quality of roadside toilets. Every one I have seen, even behind the most humble house, is immaculately clean. They are of the squatter variety, with a water reservoir and a bucket to flush it. Masuda-sensei told me that he saw one man taking his shoes off to clean it.

On one pit stop, we had some fresh coconut juice and were invited into a family’s home. The mother went out back and took a long pole with a net on the end and pulled down a few sugar apples. They were delicious. Sugar apples, along with lychees, tamarinds, coconut, and tiny bananas have been my favorite fruits on this trip.

Picking ទៀប (tiep) sweetsop/custard apple/sugar-apple/Annona squamosa

I saw a roadside vendor selling barbecued rat. We stopped to talk with her. Behind her was a thatched roof hut where locals can buy beer and chow down. Our guide said he had never tried it, but our driver said he was a big fan. They catch the rats in the rice paddies. Some were quite large. Masuda-sensei asked the vendor why she was wearing a red sweater. She said that red was her favorite color.

Grilled ricefield rat

Grilled ricefield rat. The platform and thatched roof hut in the back is where men knock back spirits and enjoy.

We reached Battambang at noon. It’s Cambodia’s second city and it retains a French colonial atmosphere with the old Art Deco buildings and riverside promenade. It would have been nice to spend a couple more days there. At the restaurant next to my hotel, they were playing a Khmer version of “Achy Breaky Heart.”

Beer is often sold with ice. The pitcher was just $1.50 if I remember right.

Downtown Battambang, along the Sangker River

Checking in to the hotel, I spoke to a fellow American for the first time in a while. He said he was from Northern Michigan. I asked if he was a Yooper (from the Upper Peninsula, aka, the U.P.). He laughed and said not quite; he was a Troll. Sometimes you have to go to Southeast Asia to learn about the Midwest of America.

A gas station, also selling coconuts and riding gloves

ផ្សារធំបាត់ដំបង Pasar Nat Battambang Central Market.

This Art Deco central market was built in the 1930s under the French Public Works Department, French architect Jean Desbois and engineer Louis Chauchon, the same people responsible for Phnom Penh Central Market and Ban Thanh Market in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. It was similar to the Central Market in Pursat as well. Read more about it at .

Snacks at ភ្នំសំពៅ Phnom Sampeau 762m/2500ft, also spelled Phnom Sampov

Surrounding fields from Phnom Sampeau

ស្វាត្រោស Northern pig-tailed macaque (Macaca leonina) at Phnom Sampeau

នរក [nɔrʊək], (Sanskrit: नरक Naraka, Pali: 𑀦𑀺𑀭𑀬 Niraya) Buddhist hell

ចេតិយ chedei, or stupa at Phnom Sampeau

Siem Reap to Sisophon

Fri, 05 Feb 2016 08:11:03 +0700

Departing Siem Reap

A shot with our guide (left) and support driver (right). They were both pros.

We started out from Siem Reap along Highway 6 around 7am. Streaming into the opposite direction were thousands of scooters and bicycles, their riders in the way to work or school. As we got further away from Siem Reap, the traffic thinned out and more people waved and shouted, “Hello!” The scenery is flat, dusty, and hot. Some tall coconut trees or occasional hill dot the horizon. Village and temple entrances are marked with elaborate gates that travel down a red dirt path.

Crossing into បន្ទាយមានជ័យ Banteay Meanchey Province. Banteay Meanchey means “Fortress of Victory.”

My deepest impression yesterday happened in a small village by the highway. I saw an interesting temple and we decided to stop and take a look. I doubt few, if any foreigners had been here. A woman passing by struck up a conversation with us. I was immediately struck by her smile and quiet strength.

She told us she was taking some food and drinks to a sick man who lives nearby. She invited us to visit him. He was only 35 years old, and his legs were covered in sores. He could not walk or speak or even sit up, so he lived on a mat on the ground in a shed. He had no family, so this woman with a big smile took care of him every day. She said that he became that way just a year ago. As for her life, her husband had run away to Thailand, leaving her alone with her two children. She was thankful for our visit and had sincere answers for all our questions. I was amazed by her positive attitude and confidence, although she faced so much hardship in her life.

After biking 106km, we arrived in សិរីសោភ័ណ Serei Saophoan (commonly known by the Thai pronunciation Sisophon), a market town at the junction of Cambodia’s two biggest highways. The name means “glorious and auspicious” in Khmer. According to Wikipedia, សិរិ Serei is derived from the Sanskrit word śrī (श्री) meaning “glorious”, and សោភ័ណ Saophoan is derived from the Sanskrit word śubha (शुभ) meaning “auspicious.” The town is also known as Svay, which means mango in the Khmer language. Our guide wasn’t sure why. This is the capital of បន្ទាយមានជ័យ Banteay Meanchey Province, which means “Fortress of Victory.” This land has changed hands between Cambodia and Thailand many times throughout the centuries.

Beer in the hotel room.

Sisophon at night.

Getting ready for Chinese New Year.

A Chinese shrine in the hotel lobby.

Today it’s off to another delightfully named place, Battambang.