SE ASIA ON A TANDEM

  Cycle Route Khon Kaen to Nong Bua Lam Phu  We arrived in Khon Kaen on the 23rd of December and would be staying for 3 nights. After four days of fairly tough cycling we were both really looking forward to a relaxing couple of days.

Route map - days 7 to 10  We set off from Ryan's Resort down some lovely country lanes. Today's ride was only about 20 miles so we intended to make it a very leisurely pace all the way to Surin. We were even pretty relaxed about where the route would take us, particularly as we had already noticed that the roads in Thailand (even the side roads) seemed to be much better quality than those in Cambodia.  So when the route continued in this vein for quite some time we were happy to go with the flow. We even went off road for a short while and Max was happy to get the chance to test the tandem on some gravel path too (me much less so 🫣). As well as helping us to avoid the worst of the sun's heat, one of the advantages of the early starts is that we get to see all the beautiful sunrises. I keep trying to capture them on camera but it's not as easy as it might sound. It's lovely to experience though and seeing everything and everyone slowly coming to life. Th...

  Day6 cycle route After 4 days of luxury r&r at the Golden Temple hotel we felt ready to set off again, heading for the border with Thailand and with our next adventure awaiting us 😉 We set off bright and early - 6am - 78 miles lay ahead of us and (unbeknown to us) our toughest ride yet!! It wasn't long before the temperature really started to rise and, as if that wasn't challenging enough, we faced a strong headwind all day. That saying "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" kept coming to mind 😂 Setting off from Siem Reap bright and early  We didn't really have a master plan coping strategy - keeping cool and trying to get miles under our belt seemed to be our dual aim though. Unfortunately the roadside offerings weren't quite as good as we'd enjoyed thus far but as we became more desperate the kindness of strangers came to our rescue and we were given free water and ice. One lovely lady, without speaking any Englis...

Sunrise Ankor Wat We'd planned to stay 4 nights in Siem Reap allowing us enough time to rest and recharge our batteries but also have time to explore some of the many temples this area is so famous for. We spent the rest of our first day relaxing and enjoying all the comforts and luxury the hotel had to offer - in abundance 🤩 In the evening we ventured out to explore the town. Sunset is quite early around 5.45pm and it's still a balmy 28 degrees. There's a river running through the town with a series of bridges crossing it. It's pretty enough by day but at night has a completely different vibe - all lit up and lined with some of the most amazing street food stalls.  The street food market from across the river Egg noodles or rice balls?  Street food - riverside dining is free 👍 Walking away from the river and further into the heart of town we soon found ourselves on Pub Street. It's really vibrant but chilled at the same time an...