Bicycle day 2 from Kampong Thom, Cambodia to Phnom Penh, Cambodia 7 Feb 2016

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  Breakfast at the bungalow hotel in Kampong Thom. We eat hearty before bicycling. Pancakes, jam, honey, fruit compote, yogurt. Boats on the river. Small river here, looking downriver. And upriver.

 
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  We start the day with a van ride down to Oudong Mountain with a hilltop temple. The view out the van window is similar to yesterday - dry rice fields. A few houses dotted among the dry fields. A few trees off in the distance - a small rubber tree plantation. Kinda sad to see all the dry fields. Just no infrastructure for irrigation canals here. Explains part of the poverty. Rows and rows of rubber trees. This is a big export for the country.

 
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  Houses up on stilts like near Siem Reap. Some are only a little bit up on stilts Some are a bit higher More dry fields, though these don't look like rice. rows of planted trees

 
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  roadside stuff We get a restroom break at an area which also has a local market. More bugs for sale! Really they are tasty (according to Bob) and great protein for folks on a mostly-rice diet. Chicken and duck eggs, again don't need refrigeration because they don't wash off the protective coating here like the US does. All sorts of stuff for sale. Group is looking at the bugs.

 
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  Lot shows how harmless a live tarantula is (its fangs have been removed) They're very cute. Sue takes it next. Sue with tarantula. It's very slow moving, sleepy or tired. Joelle next.

 
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  Joelle with live tarantula. Live tarantulas in a bucket for tourists to go "oooh ahhh" over :-) Piles and piles of fried bugs. A can of them (a couple cups worth) is 5,000 Riel, about US $1.25.

 
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  Back in the van, more dry rice fields stretching to the horizon. Jet-A fuel truck on the road... seems odd. A tiny pond surrounded with un-irrigated fields. And yet we're crossing a large river. But no canals for irrigation :-(

 
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  Village on the other side of the river. Houses still up on stilts. More green here right next to the river. Cell phone tower. We go by some pretty temples.

 
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  Free for locals, tourist tax to go up to the hilltop temples on Oudang Mountain. Hammocks! We'll relax here after lunch, but first we walk through the street vendors and go hike up to the very top of the hill to the temples. More sticky rice for sale, carried on the ladies head ;-) These coconut-like fruits have a brown seed in the middle. They chop out the brown seed

 
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  Then slice it open for the white innard part. Lot gets some for us to try - mild coconut flavor, flaky, a little drier than I'd expected. Good! More of the palm juice for sale here too. Lot explains some of the history. We're going to hike up the original 620 stone stairs, and come back down on the new stairway. The old stairs are not steep at all.

 
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  A few minutes of cardio later, we're at the top at one of several hilltop temples.

 
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  Sawing blocks of ice - the local vendor will chill pop and water to sell to tourists. The green and yellow flowers are not carvings, they're ceramic. Also a new temple built in the last decade.

 
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  We take off our shoes and go inside the new one. Lots of carvings for sale. The carvings really are all unique if you look at the details. Lord Buddah. View of the countryside.

 
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  Below is a monastery where monks are trained, like a university. Another cute bug Flags proudly flying - Buddhist on the left and the flag of Cambodia (featuring Angkor Wat) on the right.

 
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  Three elephant heads on each corner of the temple. Since we're going down a different way we're all carrying our shoes (normally you'd leave them at the temple entrance). Lower level of the new temple.

 
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  As we start down the new stairs, Lot points out a cute snake on the tree. Harmless green snake. It looks at us then slithers up the tree to safety.

 
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  Buddhist flag used world-wide, colors symbolize kindness & peace, avoiding extremes, blessings, purity, wisdom (see wikipedia for details and variations) Beautiful flowering trees. Monkeys here too. This one stole a water bottle right from Lisa's hand, knew how to twist off the cap, and took a drink. Smart!!

 
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  These are the new stairs we came down. These are the old original steps we went up. Lots of street vendors.

 
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  Monks here. The other bicycle group with Grasshopper on the same tour - they split us up into 2 groups of 9 with separate vehicles, separate guides. We run into each other every day which is fun. Another new fruit/veggie - this is a seed pod from the lotus flower. Each bump is a seed that is edible.

 
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  First tear off the side covering, exposing the individual green seed pods. Each seed pod has a bit of fibrous cover around it. Pull that away to expose the green seed pod inside. Tear off the green skin, exposing the white seed. The seed can be further broken open if desired, there is a tiny slightly bitter dark green bit inside that you can remove and only eat the white seed, or just eat the white seed whole. Mild flavor, slightly nutty. Row of bikes with all different seat heights :-)

 
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  Picnic lunch, lots of food left as we go back for seconds. Dan After letting lunch digest a bit, we get ready to ride.

 
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  Cows wander the roads with us The calf jogged along with us for a bit :-) Dirt roads are smooth and wide, and little traffic aside from the cows. Another roadside stop with stuff for sale.

 
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  Kids out in the field. Kid tending the herd of cows Another rest break. The support vans for our two groups. Which means we're not just at a water break but we get another yummy fruit and munchie break!

 
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  We then cycle on a short rough section to get here - a railroad with perfect timing as a train just went by. As that one rolls away, we will cross the tracks and be in position for photos of the next one. Water break and pull out the cameras. Dan puts his helmet cam on the ground in a good spot for the next train.

 
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  train with billowing black smoke. Hauling logs.

 
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  We then bicycle a short distance and catch up to where the trains have stopped. The last couple km into Phnom Penh are busy traffic so we transfer in on the van and get a few photos from the van. The Palace in Phnom Penh.

 
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  Scooter pulling a trailer-load of kids. Sunset over the Palace. The hotel in Phnom Penh has palatial rooms - kitchen as we enter with stove, sink, microwave, and refrigerator Fridge is well-stocked.

 
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  Lots of munchies on the mini-bar too. dining table with free fruit in foreground, then two chairs for watching television (on left), and huge bed. Balcony is large and great view. Work desk, and tv. Hallway to the bathroom has suitecase rack and way too much closet space

 
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  3-way splitter with univeral plugs is provided, no need to carry a splitter and adapter plugs. Map of today - our van ride from top, then the closer-together tracks are the bicycle trip. MapMyRide from today.

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