Cambodia
Day 8 (Sunday – 1/4/2026): We started the day riding over the Kampong Kdei bridge. This particular bridge has been in use since the 1100’s. We passed several other smaller bridges from that same era as we traveled. Pretty incredible when you think about. That was also a sign that we were getting closer to the historic center of the ancient Khmer empire.
The other sign was the large English language billboard advertising tourist activities that have nothing to do with temples or ancient history. Yay tourism! One other visible change was a transition from open fields to forest canopy. The shade was very welcome.
We had our sights set on Siem Reap since leaving Phnom Penh. Two hundred some miles later, we arrived. It is modern, smaller, and less claustrophobic than Phnom Penh. Per our usual practice we sought out inexpensive, air-conditioned rooms after our steamy ride. Our chosen hostel, the Lub d’Siem clearly caters to a hip, young, cosmopolitan crowd. At last! We found our people! We ignored the admiring, envious stares from the youngsters who no doubt wanted to hang with cool oldsters. Instead we went upstairs and took a shower. We enjoyed some quiet time…and quite possibly a nap! “Party on Garth!”
Refreshed, we explored our little corner of the city. Street food vendors set up shop next to fine dining restaurants. Hostels jostled for space next to posh hotels. Higher end stores and T-Shirt shops all competed for attention. A quick stroll by the shops and hawkers was enough though. We grabbed dinner and headed back to the hostel to make plans for the morrow. Time to visit the ancient sites that have put Siem Reap on the map.
Day 9 (Monday – 1/5/3026): At its height, the Khmer Empire ruled not only modern day Cambodia, but also Thailand, Laos and southern Vietnam. It lasted from 800 to 1400 AD. The area around Siem Reap was the capital. Our excellent tour guides over two days did a massive data dump. Here is the brief take away. Khmer kings observed either Hinduism or an earlier form of Buddhism. Each king set out to build elaborate temples reflecting their beliefs. They built the largest and most elaborate for their own personal use. They built temples in honor of parents. They built temples for common people to use. Some kings wanted to cover all the bases and built temples with both Buddhist and Hindu elements. And often, when they died, successive kings of different faiths would deface the temple and change it to reflect their faith. And finally, ego clearly played a part. Kings seemed obsessed with trying to show that theirs was biggest! It can all get a tad overwhelming since there are over 300 temples within the Angkor Archeological Area. We were in a constant state of awe, looking at what people were able to accomplish with rudimentary tools, passion, ingenuity, and, one would guess, massive amounts of slave or forced labor.
Sok, our first day guide, gave us the history and context of Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm, and Bayone temples. Not only did they build on a massive scale, they also paid attention to the tiniest of details. It seemed every square inch was covered with decorations or details that added beauty and had meaning for those visiting.
The Ta Prohm temple is famous for making an appearance in the Lara Croft: Tomb Raider movie. It is also famous for the trees that grew up, around and through the temple. After the fall of the Khmer Kingdom the temples were abandoned and largely forgotten for centuries. Now these trees have become an integral part of the structure.
The Bayon temple was built with fifty-four towers. Each tower had the face of Buddha on four sides – north, south, east and west.
Of course no one knew what Buddha looked like. No problem! They used the face of the king as the model. Did the king mind seeing his face 216 times all over the temple? Did I mention ego?
Our day started early so we could experience the Instagram inspired Angkor Wat sunrise photo op. By 2:00pm we were back at the hostel and ready for some AC and quiet time.
Day 10 (Tuesday – 1/6/2026): Today tour guide Sam showed us several more temples. We heard more fascinating stories about the kings who had them built. Equally interesting were the stories Sam told us about himself and life in Cambodia. Because his family had little money, he attended a Buddhist school. It was more difficult than regular schools, but he loved it, and allowed him to become a teacher. He taught for many years before becoming a state certified tour guide. He made more money as a teacher, but loves sharing the history of his country and meeting people from all over the world.
Speaking of people. Our group today was awesome. They hailed from Bulgaria, Hungary, France, China, Russia, Australia, and Seattle! The conversations between temples and at lunch made a great day even better.
We ended the day at the oldest temple in the Siem Reap area, built high stop a hill in the 800’s. Like sunrose at Angkor Wat, it has become an extremely popular place to observe and photograph the sunset.
Day 11 (Wednesday – 1/7/2026): The plan today was simple. Bike forty miles to a small village at the foot of Kulen Mountain. Next day explore Kulen National Park on top of the plateau and return to the small village for a 2nd night. We were excited to get get away from the city and back into the coutryside. However, as Poet Robert Burns famously said, “The best laid plans of mice and men gang oft aglee.” Roughly translated, “Sometimes things go to shit!” Sorry for the rough language but in this case – it is appropriate.
We were making our way north out of town. An adorable young man (Javid), possibly four years old, was riding behind grandma on her scooter. As they pulled alongside Sharon and Katy, Javid asked in perfect English, “Are you happy?” That led to the most precious conversation between Sharon and Javid that carried on for several minutes. It was a magical moment.
It was magic right up to the point where Sharon clipped a tree next to the road and went down HARD! Once the dust settled, Sharon was showing symptoms of a concussion. Her elbow was a mess. Clearly, going forward was not an option. At the very least we needed a place for Sharon to rest while we evaluated the extent of her injuries. Trooper that she is, Sharon managed to ride several miles back into town.
Steve pulled into what looked to be a luxury hotel and asked the price of a room. $40!!! Yes please! Turns out we chose well. The people at the Angkor Regency could not have been more helpful. One staff member helped clean Sharon’s wound. Another saw to our bikes and gear. The manager himself walked us to a small, but clean and modern clinic literally next door. He explained our situation to the staff and left us in their capable hands.
Sharon had X-Rays. Had her wounds cleaned and bandaged. Met with the doctor. Received some meds. Total cost: $65. That was the good news.
The bad news diagnosis: Pack your bags, you are going home! The concussion would get better with time and rest. The broken bones around her elbow would not heal as quickly and will almost certainly require surgery. We were gutted! Imagine being invited to a smorgasbord filled with unfamiliar, but delicious looking food. You sample a few items and are blown away by how good it is. You can’t wait to try more. Then someone pulls the fire alarm and you have to leave. Yeah. It’s kind of like that. We had just begun to sample all that Cambodia has to offer. We loved it! We were eager to try more. That was no longer going to be possible.
We also had a difficult decision to make. What does Dave do? It would be possible to get Sharon sorted and safely on her way home – alone. Katy and Steve were awesome through the entire ordeal and were willing to stay as long as necessary to help us. But they obviously were going to continue the journey. I could continue the trip with them. Almost immediately Sharon was pushing for that option. I would have their company all the way to northern Vietnam until they turned toward Laos on their way to Chiang Mai, Thailand. I could make a right turn and make a solo journey the rest of the way to Hanoi, almost per our original plan.
While Sharon rested and let her brain unscramble I did some soul searching. I had done a month long solo ride last summer. I felt comfortable riding alone. I very much wanted to continue sampling the ‘smorgasbord’. However, after a long heart to heart with Sharon, it was clear we both felt strongly about returning to this part of the world. Given the choice of continuing now or returning with Sharon, the latter is by far the better option. Sharon and I would travel home together.
Day 12 (Thursday – 1/8/2026): More tears today as we said good-bye to Katy and Steve. Thanks for the wonderful company on this too brief trip. Enjoy the ‘feast’! Watch out for trees.
We spent yesterday afternoon, and most of today organizing the details of our return. Would our travel insurance pay for our return due to Sharon’s accident? Thanks for your premium payments – but “No!” Can we rebook our Hanoi to Durango flight two months early out of Siem Reap instead? Without going broke on last minute tickets? “Yes!” Thank you United. To the front desk: can you help us arrange a ride to the airport an hour away? “Yes! We have a shuttle here at the hotel. Ratana will drive you. It is $35.” Well that was easy. How about bike boxes somewhere in town? “Yes!” Thank you kind lady at Cyclo Velo. And thank you Tuk Tuk driver somehow fitting me and the boxes in your tiny vehicle.
Thank you everyone at Angkor Regency for being so incredibly attentive and helpful.
Day 13-14 (Friday/Saturday – 1/9-10/2026): We left our hotel at 7am Friday morning. After 30+ hours of travel time and layovers, we arrived in San Francisco 14 hours later! At 9pm Friday night!!!
Not much to say about the travel. Turns out the world is a big place. It takes a long time to fly across the Pacific Ocean, and all the way to our little corner of southwestern Colorado. The longest leg was from Singapore to San Francisco. We spent fifteen hours in a metal tube. Everyone did their part to make it as pleasant as possible. At San Francisco we were even comped a room at a nearby hotel because of their inability to check our baggage through to Durango until the following morning. We didn’t sleep much because our days and nights are now backward. Even if we couldn’t sleep, it felt good to be supine, in a quiet room, with our eyes closed. We finally arrived in Durango on Saturday afternoon, 42 hours after leaving Cambodia. It was the very definition of “bittersweet.” Having to cut our trip short and leave Cambodia left a bitter taste in our mouths. It was definitely sweet being greeted with hugs, smiles and laughter from Oliver, Kiri, Aaron and Ethan.
Final Thoughts
We arrived home exactly two weeks after leaving, rather than the two+ months we had planned. That was massively disappointing. Yet – we recognize how fortunate we are to be able to visit a place few ever get to see, and travel in a manner that few people have the interest or ability to consider. As the BLE folks in Flagstaff like to say, “Don’t be sad its over, be glad it happened!” We are.
It’s all about the people. The world is filled with areas of great natural beauty. We regularly seek out those places. However, the enduring memories from our travels are of the people we meet. When I close my eyes and think of Cambodia, I see smiles! Big, beautiful, joy-filled grins. Smiles so wide it squeezes the eyes shut. I see the waves and hear countless lilting calls of “Hello!” We fell in love with the people of Cambodia.
Cambodia is a developing country. Google tells me the average income is between $250-$500 per month. Obviously, we were there a very short time. It would be the height of arrogance to assume I know anything about the country. It would be foolish to make generalizations. From the people we did talk to, from observing how people interacted with each other and with us, it sure seemed as though people were happy. I contrast what we witnessed in Cambodia with what I witness daily here in the wealthiest country in the world. We who have so much, find so many reasons to be angry and dissatisfied with… everything! It would be great to see in our country more of the concern for others, the kindness and generosity that is so evident in Cambodia and so many of the places we have traveled. I always return from these trips committed to let this little light of mine shine a little brighter. Let’s all do our part. Amen. Here endeth the sermon!
That’s all for now! I sincerely wish I had more to share. As you might imagine, plans are already afoot for more adventures. And I will happily share as soon as there is an adventure worthy of putting pen to paper, as it were. In the meantime, if Cambodia piqued your interest, I suggest you get the Polarsteps app (https://www.polarsteps.com/login) , set up an account and request to follow “katy abrams Traveler” and follow Katy and Steve’s excellent adventure title “From Cambodia to Thailand.” This time we get to be the ones living vicariously through them, to see what we missed. It is good stuff.
Until next time, Be Kind! Be Generous! Seize the Carp!
