Day 15 – Wed 30 Nov: Sihanoukville

Walk:15km; total: 56km

Rest day today. That meant waking up about 7am for a 7:30 breakfast. We had agreed last night that we would meet at 9:30 am to catch a Tuk-Tuk into town for a wander which is what we did at a cost of USD6 between the 5 of us. He dropped us at the huge roundabout with the Two Golden Lions and we walked from there. Bill needed contact lens solution, sunscreen and an ATM, Bob needed an ATM and Mark needed an ATM and sunscreen. We all needed a decent coffee so first order was finding a French cafe and had really great coffee but stale croissants.

Bill found his lens solution (not the ideal, but better than water), everyone found sunscreen and money, and we had a wander through the local market, again like Paddy's, only different. 8km later we found ourselves at Serendipity Beach, found a beach bar and had a cool drink. We then rang the man with the Tuk-tuk and he took us back to the hotel first, and then to the Secret Garden restaurant for lunch. This restaurant is 1.5km from the hotel and after lunch we walked home. We were all feeling a tad exhausted (from yesterday) so had LLDs.

A late afternoon swim was followed by beers on the room patio and then dinner at a local place right next door to the hotel. We were a bit dubious as to the quality of the dishes, but gave it a go anyway and were not disappointed. A little further down the road was a 7-11 type shop and some of the boys had ice-cream for dessert.

And so ends another great day on our bike tour. We have our biggest day tomorrow with about 100km ride (if you believe the itinerary). A 7:30am start tomorrow, so having a relatively early night. 

Two Goldne Lions roundabout

Main street at Sihanoukville

Crispy crickets -yummo!

Drief frogs with flies - even more yummy

Some rather large mangoes

The fruit the cashew nut grows off

!!!!

A flash-looking house

Lunch venue - Secret Garden Restaurant

Beach near Secret Garden

Dinner Venue

Mark, Wendy, Greg, Bob and Bill

Petrol station near our dinner venue

Day 14 – Tue 29 Nov: Sihanoukville to Ream Beach return

Listed:50km; actual: 65km; total: 600km

We had a little sleep in this morning as we were not starting until 8:30am. Unfortunately, Lucky was still trying to fix Bobs bike so we left a little late, but it didn't worry us. We were off to Ream Beach today to do nothing in particular except chill out on the beach.

This is a very hilly area and we were amongst them almost from the start. The first one, on a dirt road, had a monster of a downhill with lots of washouts so whilst the boys rejoiced, Wendy was a bit more cautious. For the next 10km or so it was pretty flat. Then we got onto the main road and that's when we struck more hills. They were undulating so we were able to get decent downhill runs to ease the pain on the uphill. We were told at the start of the ride it was about 25km; that 25 became 33! Oh well, we were at the beach with beautiful white sand, beach lounges (minus cushions) and an esky full of cool drinks - non-alcoholic of course. We were able to order our own meals and lunch was had at 1pm after arriving about 11am. We left the beach to return home about 2:15pm and did the first 15km in 41 minutes which was not too bad given the undulations. From there we went home a different route to the outward one; this time via the highway as we wanted to avoid the big dirt hill. Well, what a silly idea that was?! Two monster hills later we were finally on the last 5km, 1km of which was almost vertical downhill. That was nice - Wendy's highest speed was 52.5 km/h but the boys would have been a little faster. The hills were character building to say the least. It was also quite hot, and even the bitumen was melting on some of the hills!

We arrived back at the hotel about 4:30pm with enough time to wash, have a swim, have a cold beer and relax before being picked up at 6:30pm for dinner. Tonight we went into Sihanoukville and had dinner at the Ecstatic Pizza Restaurant. Mark had an ecstatic pizza (basically pizza with the lot) whilst the rest of us had pasta with various toppings. Instead of buying bottled beer for USD2, we decided to try the draft beer for USD0.50 and it was good. The glasses were chilled and the beer was cold.

After a short drive around town and a stop at the ice cream shop for the boys, it was time to head home. We have a "rest day" tomorrow so can have a proper sleep in. 

An appropriate decoration in the breakfast room

One of the lovely orchids at the Resort

The Resort this morning

Views from the top of the monster hill

A rather large crack in the road

Duck breeding facility

Ream Beach

Busy but smooth main road

Bill, Mark, Wendy, Greg and Bob at Ecstatic Pizza

Day 13: Mon 28 Nov - Kirirom to Sihanoukville

24 degC 87% humidity 

Listed: 75km; actual: 59km; total: 535km

A very restless night for both of us. 

We were picked up at 7:40am and travelled for two hours before starting the ride. About half way we stopped at Pichnil to pay our respects and ask for good luck for the rest of the ride. When we eventually stopped to ride, Greg decided he was better enough to ride, however Wendy stayed in the van. We both hope she only has a 24hr bug.

Yesterday Bob had all sorts of troubles with his bike but managed to keep riding. About 15km into today's ride his rear brake decided to seize up in the "on" position thereby making it very difficult to ride. We stopped seemingly in the middle of nowhere at someone's home and tried to do some repairs. Despite the efforts, it was not possible to repair the brake so Lucky swapped bikes with Bob and on we went. Unfortunately for Lucky, Bob's seat post could not go down any further so he is now riding a very ill-fitting bike. And, to make it even worse, he is also sick with a head cold!

Lunch, another cold box, was had overlooking the sea on the outskirts of Sihanoukville on someone's back yard under a nice shelter from the sun. Lucky reckoned it was only another 10km to the hotel so everyone agreed to keep riding. It turned out to be 20km and it was quite warm. When we arrived at the Legacy Resort it was a pleasant surprise as it was very resorty. We were allocated a room which is almost directly opposite the pool. Bob and Mark got a double bed instead of two singles so had to swap with Bill who got the two singles!! 

After unpacking and settling in, we all went for a swim; the water was quite warm, just how Greg likes it. Whilst Wendy had a LLD, the boys went shopping for beers, and then went for a walk to the beach (10 mins walk) to see the sunset.

We were picked up for dinner at 7pm and went to a very local restaurant on Otres Beach called Mein Mein Restaurant and Bar. Seems to be “pick on Bob day” today as his meal was the last to arrive and then it was incorrect. He was very "hangry" by this time so ate it anyway. The staff must have realized their mistake and just after he'd finished they presented him with what he actually ordered!  After discussing tomorrow's events it was time to return to the resort for teeth brushing and bed. 

Some cheeky monkeys at Pichnil

View from Pichnil

The Boys - Greg, Mark, Bob and Bill

Road undergoing repairs and not one stop-go man in sight

Mornos stop - also a petrol station

Trying to fix Bob's bike

Lunch stop

Sign on the gate of a fuel depot adjacent out lunch stop

Beach outside of Sihanoukville

The pool at our resort

Sunset from Otres Beach

Dinner venue

#213 Legacy Resort

The ensuite - door is either a shower door or a loo door

Day 12 – Sun 27 Nov: Phnom Penh to Kirirom

27 degC 95% humidity

Listed: 70km; actual: 39km; total: 476km

Walk: 6km; total: 41km

It rained early this morning so it was very nice and steamy. Greg had a very restless night coughing and spluttering, his fourth day of not feeling too flash, and subsequently did not ride with us today.

A 7:30am start to be bused out of Phnom Penh to avoid the traffic. Two hours later we stopped, unpacked the bikes and put them together and off we went. 16km later we stopped for mornos on the side of the road and made ourselves comfortable in someone's front yard. One of the kids was quite perturbed and her father had to take her away. She was smiling and waving at us as we left though.

We then went to a rice farmer's place where our guide Mr Lucky wanted to show us the stages of processing the rice from when it is picked to when it is ready to be sent to market. However, the farmer was not there so Lucky did his best to show/explain the process to us. It was then onto lunch at a little kampong in Chambok in the Kirirom National Park. The meal was a packed lunch which was not the best we've had but it filled the gap and sustained us. We (minus Greg, he had seen it in 2012) went for an almost 6km walk to view Chambok Waterfall. It was more of a hike than a walk, and there were some pretty steep steps which are difficult to negotiate when you have short legs. A bit like Carnarvon Gorge. The boys went for a swim at the lower waterfall.

Lucky had misread the itinerary and thought we were staying at a Homestay in the vicinity of the rural village where we visited the rice farmer. We were however staying at Hillside Resort in Kirirom National Park. So, after the walk and a pit stop, we were bused to the resort. It probably was a "Resort" it its day, however it is looking a bit sad and tired. The pool was good though.

Dinner was had at the resort and whilst it fed the worms, it was not the best meal. Everyone was pretty knackered so it was back to the rooms for the bed time routine. Lights out at 9:15pm. 

Waiting for the late people

Getting the bikes ready after the bus ride out of Phnom Penh

Finally rocking and rolling

Different traffic

Riding with the cattle

Little piggy at mornos stop

Pork chops at the rice farm

Roadside butcher shop - yum!

Entrance to Chambok

Lunch stop

Chambok waterfall

Bob, Mark, Greg, Wendy, Bill, Lucky

Entrance to Kirirom Hillside Resort

Part of the Resort, our rooms

Interesting landscaping at the Resort

#820 Kirirom Hillside Resort