The resort we stayed at in Kep is set in the forest overlooking the sea. It had amazing views, and an equally amazing breakfast for the hungry riders.
After lunch the riders headed on a boat to Rabbit Island to relax their tired muscles on the beach.
When they returned, there was more relaxing to be had with cocktails by the infinity pool overlooking the sea. It was a good way to spend the rest day.
This was our longest day, but thankfully the temperature remained fairly mild early on. We set off down the main highway, so the road was fast and sealed. The day got progressively hotter but the riders were well fed and watered by our support crew. We had a picnic lunch at a small shelter, before setting off on the final 40km. The ride finished at the beachside town of Kep, and after a long day of riding we were glad to see the sea coming toward us. Cambodia is very flat, but the last 300m to the resort was up a steep gravel climb, which was enough to turn all our legs to jelly by the finish. The ride was exactly 100km, which was the longest distance many of the riders had ever ridden.
We had a delicious meal at a seafood restaurant in town.
We started the day with a visit to another sombre memorial to the genocide committed by the Khmer Rouge. Choeung ek, was one of many ‘killing fields’ which ended the lives of millions of Cambodians during Pol Pots rule.
The ride today started off on the backroads again, but unfortunately it was a busy route so we spent the first hour dodging big trucks on a dusty potholed road. Once we turned off into the back roads the ride became more interesting. Children would run out to meet us, and we were waving and giving high fives constantly as we went past. We rode through many villages and the reaction was the same, with constant string of ‘hello hello’, ‘what is your name’ from the kids. The last part of the ride was the prettiest, as we traversed rice fields and then followed the lake around to Takeo.
Today was our first rest day, and involved a long transfer to the capital city of Phnom Penh. It was fairly uneventful except for a midway stop at a the local market, where the riders got a chance to try local delicacies like deep fried tarantula, cicadas and fried maggots. The more adventurous riders sampled all three, while other riders were chased around the parking lot by kids walking around with live tarantulas. There were also a variety of interesting fruit at the market- from palm fruit, mangosteins, dragonfruit, jackfruit, milkfruit, and many others.
After arriving in Phnom Penh we went out to explore on our own. Most of the riders visited Tuol Sleng, a prison camp used during the Khmer Rouge era. It was a somber memorial to the horrors that happened here over 40yrs ago.
On a happier note, we enjoyed drinks at a rooftop bar before celebrating Josef’s birthday in a amazing restaurant by the river.
We had a hearty breakfast before setting off from our hotel at a more respectable hour of 7am. The ride out of Siem Reap was busy, but it wasn’t long before we were on the backroads out of town. We rode on red clay roads through lush rice paddies and picturesque countryside, enjoying the cooler morning temperature. Unfortunately, it was not to last as the sun came up, and we got back onto sealed roads with very little shade. The riders were well watered by our support crew, but we were very glad to make it to our lunch stop in a shady restaurant overlooking the forest.
After a hearty meal we set off for a walk up a hill to an ancient Angkor site known as Kbal Spean. This is a stream with many carvings on the sandstone stream banks, predating Angkor Wat. The hike to the Kbal Spean was hot and sweaty, so many riders took the opportunity to cool off under the waterfall.
The riders visited one last temple on our Angkor tour, Banteay Srei, which was a favourite for many. It was the most intricately carved of all the temples we’d seen, and a beautiful example of Khmer architecture.
Day 2 of Cambuni would start at an unseemly hour of 4.45am. The riders were heading off early to catch the sunrise over Angkor Wat. As the bleary eyed unicyclists arrived, they were amazed at the scale of the temple complex, built 900yrs ago at the height of the Khmer empire.
We walked over to the ponds at the front from the temple to watch the temple reflecting off the water as the fiery sun rose from behind the towers of Angkor Wat.
After spending a couple of hours exploring the temple, we rode out to the the Angkor Thom city wall. There is a trail which follows the 8m high wall as it flanks the moat. Taller riders had to duck under the many low hanging branches but it was a fun ride and we made it round with our heads intact.
Tourist and locals alike were taking photos of us as we cycled the temple circuit. Our next stop was the Bayon temple, at the heart of Angkor Thom city. This temple is well known for it’s many carved faces on the towers, looking out in every direction.
After getting back on the bikes and unicycles our next stop would be the final temple for the day, Ta Prohm. Ta Prohm is like something out Indiana Jones, with the jungle reclaiming many parts of the structure. Huge tree roots wrapped around the walls, pushing down the giant blocks of stone. We climbed through the ruins, marvelling at how quickly mother nature takes over once civilisation has moved on.
After lunch we had a fast but very hot dusty ride back to the hotel. The sun was baring down hard on the riders so we were glad to make it back to the hotel just in time for happy hour. There is nothing quite like sipping cocktails by the pool after a good day’s ride.
In the evening, many of the riders went to ‘Phare’, a famous Cambodian circus with incredible acrobats. It is well worth going to if you are in Siem Reap.
The Adventure Unicyclist tour group trickle in to the Frangipani Hotel in Siem Reap throughout the day. Anna, Gryffin and I had spent the night at a hotel down the road, along with Gilby and Itzel. We arrived just as Sean, Tom, Gen and Vonny were checking into the rooms. The riders were in varying states of jet lag, having just arrived from Europe, US, Australia and New Zealand.
After assembling our unicycles, those of us who had arrived headed off for lunch. It was interesting dodging the crazy traffic in Siem Reap as we walked to the old market. We managed to avoid getting run over by the Tuk Tuks, bicycles, stray dogs, motorbikes and cars on the way there.
The tour officially started with a group briefing at 5pm. Jason introduced us to our local guides, Phea and Art, and gave us an overview of the tour and what to expect. After that we headed out to a local training restaurant for dinner.
We take our son Gryffin on a unicycle ride along the Hutt River Trail in our mountain buggy. It was a beautiful day and a great way to get him used to riding before the Cambodia Unicycle tour.
November generally means one thing…Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge!
Our next unitour will be in one of my favourite countries, Cambodia! I unicycled from Vietnam to Cambodia as part of a charity cycle tour in 2004, which is where I first met Jason Williams, just before he went on to start Grasshopper Adventures. Since then, we have organised tours through Laos, Vietnam, India, Mongolia, China, Uzbekistan and Nepal. After a 4yr break from unicyclists, Jason is back to lead our next tour!
The tour will start in the UNESCO World Heritage area of Siem Reap/Angkor, where you get to unicycle amongst thousand year old remnants of the Khmer empire. We ride through the Cambodian countryside, visiting more recent parts of Cambodia history, including the sobering site of Choeung Ek (The Killing Fields). From there we unicycle to the coastal retreat of Kep/Rabbit Island, and finish off the tour in Kirirom National Park.
For more details go to the Cambuni Unitour page
