I’m on the worlds slowest internet connection this will have to be brief.
As you may or may not know, I’m cycling across Vietnam and Cambodia to raise money for the charity OXFAM . There’s a group of about 36 bicyclists and yep, one guy on a unicycle.
We set off from Saigon last week and have so far ridden about 400km. (Saigon-Tay Ninh-Cambodia/Vietnam border- Svey Rieng-Prey Veng- Kampong Cham- Phnom Penh).
It is $%#^! Hot! Every day it’s been somewhere between 36-40 degrees. Our first day was the worst- 44 degrees (that’s celcius). ARGH!!! We’ve been averaging about 66-96km/day, and setting a good 20-24km/hr average speed on my Coker (125mm cranks). Luckily we have two days off our before we ride to Siem Reap and Angkor. My bottom is getting really sore.
Yesterday was the most awesome ride- we went along this dirt road past all these villages alongside the Mekong River. It was like a mini Tour De France- all these kids would run out and line the side of the road waving and cheering as this big group of cyclists go past- and then when the unicyclist (ahem…) goes past…there were giggles and laughter all the way to Phnom Penh. We were mobbed by a kids and villages everywhere we stopped. Absolutely amazing- you’d think they’d never seen a unicyclist ride past their village before.
We visited the OXFAM project yesterday- it’s a joint OXFAM/UNICEF school project where they are offering scholarships to help village/poorer families to attain an education.
We’re about to head off to Choeung ek- the killing fields- one of many extermination camps where 17,000 men, women and children were tortured and bludgeoned to death during the Pol Pot regime. Will be a sobering experience.
Anyway, I’ll post a report when I get back to New Zealand. This is actually the second time I’ve typed out this message- the computer crashed- so I’ll send this before anything happens.
Thanks Ken for the update/report. It sounds wonderful and I can say with absolute certainly that each and every one of my vicarious globetrotting excursions as reported here has been absolutely fantastic!
Whooohoooooo! Go Ken! Slow internet, but fast unicycle! You will be hard to beat once you get back from this ride, you should build plenty of endurance. I’d be keen to come with you next time maybe if I have a Coker by then, and if the cops haven’t taken it.
Made it up the Tonle Sap river today on a very smelly, very fast, and very noisy ferry. We visited Angkor Wat which was absolutely amazing! We’re getting up again at 5am tomorrow to ride out there and catch the sunrise. (Well, actually just me and three others- everyone else has piked out).
Dave, the Killing Fields at Choung Ek was certainly an eye opening experience. It is something which you must see if you are ever in Cambodia. It is difficult to believe that such cruelty and brutality could exist in the 20th century. There were bones and teeth still scattered all over the grounds and hundreds of skulls piled up in the memorial- most with fractures from prisoners being bludgeoned to death.
On a more positive note- yes- I was keeping up with the bicyclists- there is a huge range of people on this trip. I spent the first part of the second day riding with the lead bunch. We were averaging 28km/h before I decided that that was ridiculous and dropped back to ride with the slower cyclists. You see so much more when you are not riding your legs off! I had a couple of unfortunate UPD’s which just about took everyone else down with me.
John, it’s been pretty darn hot but not as humid as I expected. However, my helmet straps is all white from all the salt crystals precipitating on them.
We have three days in Siem Reap to explore all the temples. Then I’ll have about three days in Auckland to go riding with Tony Melton, Peter Bier, et al before flying back to Wellington. I’ll have some photos up next week.