Cambodia | Dec 22-24 2022
This leg of the journey was the most daunting of the trip thus far. I wanted to ride through the Cardoman Mountains. But there was not a lot of clear information on how to do it. Google Maps and Maps.me each provided different routes. Online groups offered vague info. I set out using Google Maps. Pretty quickly was on a dirt road under construction, basically the template for the whole mountain segment of the ride. The roads ranged from ok to bad to awful, with severe potholes, dust, single lane, creek crossings, etc. I lost my cell connection, and Google Maps froze. There were no road signs in English, and many forks in the road. Had to stop and ask people for directions frequently (receiving some wrong directions...). I dropped my bike on a narrow road while giving way to a truck. After about 4 hours of this, I was back on pavement. Rode longer than planned, right on to Battambang.
Battambang is a nice off grid colonial town. One highlight was stay at the Royal Hotel, a real throwback to old-school accommodation. Another was the trip to an Angkorian site and nearby bat cave, where 20 million bats exit the cave each day at sunset - an epic spectacle indeed.
Ride: 261 km | 7 hrs
Stay: Royal Hotel | $13 | 4/5
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