30 November 2022, Wednesday

We started our day later today, with breakfast at 7am instead of the usual 6am. That meant we got to sleep in an hour longer, which was great because I was starting to feel the fatigue building up from the past five days. Maybe some of it was self-induced from sleeping late due to editing of the daily highlights reel, but that was something that I enjoyed doing so no complaints there. Today’s breakfast was so-so – not bad, but not that great either. We checked out of our rooms and left Chau Pho Hotel at 8:13am.

The bus journey from Châu Đốc to the Vietnam/Cambodia border took around 40 minutes and we arrived at 8:55am. Immediately after alighting from our bus, an immigration official checked our passports individually, before we were allowed to walk to the immigration building a short distance away.

The immigration building was very simple. There were soldiers were playing darts openly and dogs walking around the premises freely. Only one immigration counter was open. As a Singaporean, I didn’t need a visa to enter Vietnam so it was quite straightforward for me. However, the rest of the group required visas so I let them go first. The official on duty took some time to check through their documents. The locals also used the same counter as us and they jumped in and cut our queue occasionally. Understandably so because it took a while to clear the 22 of us.

One of our group members AK had a minor issue where the authorities mistakenly stamped the visa on his passport twice upon arrival in Vietnam six days ago. Hence, the official here said that if things were not done properly now, AK would likely have a problem trying to leave the airport in Cambodia later on, and he might be denied exit. Of course, that would be a big problem that we wanted to avoid. Our Vietnamese guide, Linh, came to help and he talked to the officials to find a solution. It took a while before we “smoothened things out”.

Over at the Cambodian border, most of the others had already cleared immigration, while a few were still in the process of applying for a visa on arrival. Once again, as a Singaporean, I didn’t require a visa to enter Cambodia. However, I needed to fill up an arrival form. The official here wanted to charge me a fee for the form, but the other group members told me that the form was free if I obtained it from another counter next door. So I went next door to get the form, filled it up and returned to the first booth. The same official gave me a look but didn’t say anything. It was slightly hairy, but that’s the way things are.

We finally cleared both sides of the immigration at 10:11am. A different bus was waiting for us over here at Cambodia. It was smaller than the one we had in Vietnam moments ago so we had to share seats. Thankfully, the air-conditioning in the bus was working well so it was all good. After a short ride, we arrived at our bike ride starting point at 10:32am.

Besides having a different bus, we also had different bicycles for Cambodia. Whereas the ones we had in Vietnam comprised of many different brands and makes, the bicycles here in Cambodia were generally of the same brand (Trek and Marlin) and model. Best of all, they appeared shiny and new. As usual, we went for a toilet break and set up our bikes and gear. I was itching to start riding again. After taking a group photo and performing the prayer chant, we were off at 11:10am.

It was a very hot day and the sun was blazing down on us. For the first 13km or so, we cycled along the main road. It was immediately noticeable that Cambodia was much less busy compared to Vietnam, and friendlier for biking. Even on the main road, there weren’t that many vehicles. The scenery was also sparser, with large swathes of farmland dominating the landscape. The coconut plantations and fruit orchards in Vietnam were nowhere to be seen here.

Around noon time, we turned off the main road and into a side road that took us through the local villages and farm areas. Rice was the main crop grown here and the rice fields stretched for hundreds of metres on our left and right. The road was smooth and well-paved, and it was a joy to ride on it.

At 12:15pm, we stopped for a break by the side of the road, in front of a compound housing many stupas. I gleefully grabbed a can of ice-cold Coke and slurped it down, providing cool relief from the midday heat.

After the refreshment break, we moved off at 12:40pm. There was another 23km to go before lunch. The scenery along the way comprised of more farmland and village houses. Rice was one of the main crops grown here. The farmers would lay the harvested rice grains on a big sheet by the roadside to dry. I stopped to admire the rice plants. Rice is something I eat almost every day but I rarely have the chance to look at the plant and the grains with the husk on.

We also cycled on some sandy and bumpy roads through the villages, which made the progress slow. But once we were back on the smooth paved roads, we could go a lot faster. Some of the good riders sped off like the wind. I tried my hardest to chase them but gave up after 10 minutes. I was super impressed with our guide Hun, who hit a top speed of around 45km/hr, no less on a mountain bike. You couldn’t tell from his small frame that he was a speed demon! Equally impressive were UJ and AC, who managed to keep up with him. I huffed and I puffed but I could only max out at around 28km/hr. Those peeps are machines!

As it was very hot, we took another water break at 1:51pm to cool down. We resumed at 2:14pm, and finished our day’s cycling 40 minutes later. We covered only about 43km today. I wished we could cycle more, but it was very hot and I was famished. Thankfully, lunch was good. Hun had whetted our appetite by saying that the prawn will be the biggest and sweetest one, and he was right. It was good.

After loading our bicycles onto the lorry, we hopped on our air-conditioned bus at 4pm and took a long, 2 hour 10 minutes ride to Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia. I sat beside JNV and we had a good chat during the ride.

At 6:12pm, we arrived at Frangipani Royal Palace Hotel. It was an elegant, colonial style hotel with beautiful white marble floors in the lobby. I particularly liked the staircase in the middle of the building, which gave off a European, old-school vibe. The room was spacious and nicely furnished. Luckily, it was a good hotel because we would be sleeping here for two nights.

Some of the group members went to the rooftop bar for a swim but I opted to have a good shower and take the opportunity to do some laundry. At 7:30pm, we all gathered at the restaurant on the rooftop for our dinner. It was an outdoor setting with a nice view of the Tonle Sap River and the bustling riverfront below.

One by one, members of the group streamed in and we took seats at the long table that was specially laid out for us. Everyone looked relaxed and fresh after their swim and showers. Almost everyone was dressed smartly (except me), a total contrast from their usual cycling attire and look.

Dinner was wonderful, comprising steamed rice with green curry, salad and fish. To celebrate the midway point of our trip, we also ordered beers and had a toast. Everyone was in great spirits and enjoying each other’s company. That was a great night.

At 9pm, we finished our dinner and headed out for some R&R. We broke up into smaller groups (I went with DP and JNV) and explored the area around our hotel’s vicinity. We walked past the Royal Place, which was just a short walk away. I had visited the Royal Palace before during my first visit to Phnom Penh a decade ago, but I had never seen it lit up at night. It was beautiful.

We didn’t venture too far as it was rather late, so we turned around and walked along Sisowath Quay, the waterfront area beside the river. Despite it being already past 9pm, there were still quite a lot of locals out and about. We were still hungry and had room for dessert. We had a craving for ice-cream, and found a place called Scoop. I had a double scoop ice-cream on a cone, and it cost US$4.50 (around S$7), which wasn’t cheap.

After ice-cream, we headed back to our hotel around 10:30pm, and called it a night. It had been a good day overall, even though we didn’t cycle that much and the weather was very hot. We’ll be taking a break from cycling tomorrow so it will be a good time to recover from the past four days of sitting on the saddle. Good night, Phnom Penh!