*Getting there: Flights between Saigon and Siem Reap. Buses or private taxis. We just chose to cycle most part of it.

*Getting around: Tuk-Tuks are the most prevalent form of transport in Cambodia

*Money: Visa/MasterCard accepted in most major establishments. Most Cambodian banks charge anywhere between 3-5USD per transaction at ATMs. Bank of China was an exception to this rule

*Language: English not widely spoken in the countryside. Though you will come across plenty of kids with the brightest smiles welcoming you with a ‘Hello’ and many waves as you pass by.

*See: The many temples around the Angkor Wat complex. Don’t miss Beng Mealea (offers a quite spot away from the tourist crowd). Local handicrafts being made. Apsara dance

*Tips: Avoid the mid-day sun!

When this trip was first being planned, the idea was to do most if not all of it over land and ferries.But as the finer details of planning showed up it was clear that on most stretches it was much cheaper traveling by air than otherwise. However, this stretch provided us an opportunity to go with an organized tour from Saigon,Vietnam to Siem Reap, Cambodia. It was opportunity to get close to the country and people. The experiences have not disappointed us.

We chose Cambodia cycling, though there is still some room for improvement on the tour planning and coordination part and we faced some obstacles in the planning phase itself, the organizer Mr.Dara was proactive and ensured we had a safe and enjoyable journey.

The start of the trip was in Saigon with Mr.Trong as our tour guide for the Vietnamese leg of the journey. He is a very passionate cyclist and also has a very good command on English. We start our journey with a day trip to the Cu chi tunnels where the Vietnamese Communists and Americans waged a brutal drawn out battle against each other. The tragedies experienced in this place are immense. The exhibits describe how the local population fought with the limited resources available to them against a much more powerful combat force. Some ingenious methods like tunnels for housing whole villages, booby traps, reusing undetonated munitions, creating ‘smokeless kitchen’ underground ..

The next day we bike to Tra Vinh over a total distance of about 50km. Biking along this route of the Vietnamese countryside is extremely pleasant. There is ample shade from all the coconut groves around us and this with the canals keep the surroundings cool. The cycling path is generally over village pathways lined with concrete slabs.

There is an abundance of coconut in the Mekong delta. We get to know that the Mekong originates in Tibet flows through Myanmar,Thailand,Cambodia before reaching Vietnam. Mekong literally means mother river. These waters really nourish the coconut plantations and produce some of the healthiest coconuts I have seen. The vietnamese make the most of this gift. Every part of coconut tree is made use of from using the nut itself for its water, making sweets, oil to using leaves to build shelters, to using the husk to produce fibers and in turn mats, to using the shells to make cooking vessels and heat containers and even furniture.

Some glimpses of local life

Cycling in the hot sun with temperatures touching well into 35C. Its a feeling of gratitude for every tree that provides shade along the way. It can be extremely refreshing to have some fresh fruit. So we stop regularly to have some fruits, drink some sugar cane juice. After meals on most days we rest like the locals by just taking a nap in hammocks!

On most days we get to eat like the locals from a street side noodle shop. Our guide also takes us to his former college to meet up with students from the English club. All experiences that make you feel like you are moving amongst the people.

After Tra Vinh we proceed to Cantho the next day with a cycling distance of about 80km. Cantho is apparently the biggest city in the Mekong Delta. At least from initial impressions, it is less crowded and chaotic than Saigon. If I were to go to Vietnam again it would definitely be on my list.

On the way we visit a temple. Many Buddhists monasteries here help people in whatever capacity they can, providing accommodation to students (our guide himself had stayed in a monastery during his college days), providing language classes and of course providing counsel for distressed persons.

Rice is extensively cultivated in the Mekong Delta and apparently they continuously grow the crop due to abundance of water

The welcome one gets from the kids is just heartwarming, be it Vietnam or Cambodia you can see them just getting so excited to a see a bicycle with tourists passing by and they come running into the courtyard with a bright smile and the most enthusiastic wave and big ‘Hello!’, few greetings get more genuine than this!

Some days we also need to cross over channels with a ferry (extremely basic sometimes)

We visit the floating markets of Cairang, the next day and finish off with 75km of cycling. Nowadays mainly reduced to merchants buying items wholesale and of course as tourist showpiece. The goods being sold are advertised on a long pole at the front of the boat.

The next day we transfer to the border of Cambodia, where Trong hands us over to the Cambodian team and we meet Mr.Lucky who will be our tour guide till Siem Reap. Not before having to pay bribes on both sides of the borders and clearing the immigration process. If somebody in Vietnam and Cambodia who can change this is reading, bribes not nice!

Transferring into Cambodia we notice the temperatures are already much hotter, not as much shade and the trails are dustier. Still excited to be in Cambodia, here is a picture of two happy cows!

Lucky is a very people person and takes us to meet villagers along the way. We just make an impromptu stop at a local house and we warmly welcomed by a teacher who teaches English at the local school and is hosting the prayer and meals for the villagers. He is a very cheerful and warm person, and conveys the grim history of the country, followed by its dire poverty and current situation of lack of educated young people all with a smile.

We next stop by a local handloom place and are greeted by the woman who runs the place. Her house and workplace are in the same shelter. A very empowered person!

We are visiting Cambodia in March and the temperatures and mid-day sun is something one is better off avoiding.

The next day we transfer to Siem Reap and I’m so looking forward to visiting and taking in the temples around the Angkor Wat complex. But before that here are some quirkiness on the road that make you wonder what is going on!

We check into Golden Butterfly in Siem Reap, its a very comfortable, luxurious place with helpful,competent staff. Definite worth a recommendation. A much needed place of rest from all the days of cycling and heat.

And good food keeps following us! One thing that was definitely new to me was the use of Lotus in dishes.. yummy!

In the evening we bike around the countryside of SiemReap in relatively cool temperatures. Meeting local farmers with our guide Lucky, we get to taste palm wine, taste palm fruit, eat some palm sugar. Palm trees seem to be the symbol of Cambodia and the Cambodians make the most out of it.

We are now primed and ready to take in all the temples of Angkor Wat complex. But first, a 3 day pass of 62USD must be purchased. Transactions in USD are ubiquitous in Cambodia, and in the touristic city of Siem Reap all transactions are done in USD including for the laundry. Siem Reap is definitely not cheap and is in stark contrast to the rest of Cambodia, even locals agree that Siem Reap is ‘easy money’

We first visit the temples of Banteay Srei. It is constructed largely from red sandstone. The temple is in contrast to Angkor Wat temple in the sense that it is not a towering structure. But the grandeur shows up in the very intricate carvings throughout the complex. It was originally dedicated to the Hindu God Shiva

We then head cycle to visit the Kbal Spean (River of thousand Lingas). The riverbed is carved with many lingasand the then Kings of Angkor thought that lingas carved into the riverbed sanctified and blessed the waters which eventually flows into Siem Reap. The area and the area has many beautiful carvings which depict the multitude of Hindu gods Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Like most archaeological sites in Angkor complex they have also fallen prey to extensive smuggling. To get to the site, one has to walk through well paved forest of about 2km.

The next day we set out on the so called Grand circuit covering the temples of Pre Rup, East Mebon and Ta Som, Neak Pean and Preah Khan. All the temples have their own unique characteristics. The scale of the constructions and dedications never fail to impress.

Pre rup was originally constructed as a temple for Shiva and is thought to be a site of cremation for the royal family. It is characterized by a high central platform housing five towers

The Ta Som complex is a Buddhist temple with occasional change to Hinduism and back, which seems to be a recurrent theme in the history of the region. The temple has a lot of trees that have grown into the complex, giving the very first feelers of the famed jungle temples.

Neak Pean is a temple built on an island and the temple itself is partially submerged. The central platform is on a sculpture of two intertwined serpents. It is a Buddhist temple with a statue of Avalokiteshwara in the form of a horse who rescues sailors caught in bad sea. The temple has four worship corners for the four elements of earth, water, fire and air. Traditionally it was used to perform healing rituals for the wounded and the sick. Each of the corner was thought to have balanced the imbalances in the sick and wounded.

Preah Khan meaning ‘Royal Sword’ was built as a war memorial to honor the father of King Jayavarman 7 for defeating the Chams. The entrance to the temple has a grand sculpture of devas and asuras churning the ocean of milk with Vasuki the serpent. Such Hindu symbols are very prevalent in most of the temples. It was also thought of as a political tools used widely by the then kings to balance their perception among Hindus as well as Buddhists.

There are big intricately carved statues of Garuda on the outer walls of the temple.

Most of the temple complex is unrestored and natures seems to have made its home amongst the Gods.

The next day is planned for the so called small circuit covering temples like Angkor Wat, Angkor thom, Bayon. We decide it might be a good idea to catch the sunrise over the Angkor Wat. How was it? Not a must do in my opinion. You are likely to be hoarded amongst the tourist crowd like here

To catch glimpses like these

In any case, you cant escape the grandeur of this mega complex of a temple. Which in spite of its grand scale does not overwhelm, there is a certain characteristic that exudes harmony. It was originally built as a temple to Vishnu and has gradually transformed into a Buddhist site of worship over the many decades of change.

The temple complex is separated into different layers. It was also used a method of allowing or denying entry for different classes of the society. There are many intricate carvings on the level accessible to common people as well. These carvings depict the power of the army of the then Khmer kings, their victories in war, mythological stories as well as depiction of hell and heaven and the associated actions which take people there. Platform of mass education?

We later proceed to cycle along the moat of Angkor Thom, the last enduring city of the Angkor times. Taking a deviation from the very busy road of the south gate we ride along the moat.

We end the cycling trail at the east gate which is almost deserted and just as well preserved as the south gate.

We continue onwards to Bayon, the temple which stands at the center of Angkor Thom.

At first glances the many mysteriously smiling faces are not clearly visible

As you approach the temple, you are surrounded by them looking over you from about 37 towers. It is not clear as to whose face is depicted on this tower, but the serene mystical characteristics are not asking the question.

We cycle down to the Ta Phrom temple. It is one more temple where nature and human architecture have agreed on harmony and peace with each other. The trees at the site are as much a symbol of the temple today as is the architecture.

On the final day we explore Beng Mealea and we are blessed with some cloud cover for the 60km ride from Siem Reap. Just when you think you have seen it all, Ben Mealea surprises you. It was originally built as a temple dedicated to Vishnu. The site is largely unrestored and one can really appreciate the hard work that goes into restoration. For the layman it is basically staring at a mound of stone blocks trying to re-imagine the glory seen through the eyes of the designer. The surrounding vegetation has generously grown into the complex and become part of it. Coincidentally, the center of the complex supposed to house the worship deity has completely collapsed and now has a giant tree growing right in the middle of it. Maybe a sign of what new age divinity should be for the times we are approaching?

Orkun tomtom and Lea sun howey Cambodia!