Bike Tour of the Cambodian Countryside

We booked this through Klook. Arrived early at 0715 hrs to find we were the only guests, so off we went with our guide Sat Po. It was our first time using e bikes and we were glad we had them; not being avid bikers, there were aspects that were challenging when we were on road with bus/cars (thankfully that part did not last long), thick sand, bumps and stones and a hot 30 minutes back on the wide shoulder of a highway to get back. Despite all this, we enjoyed it and got a chance to walk through the market in Angkor that we had driven by the day before, stop to visit two local Cambodian country side families: rice noodle making and sampling sticky rice with mung beans packed into the hollow of bamboo and cooked over open fire. Local country people live extremely modestly and like they have for centuries likely: a house made of various materials on stilts (upper area of sleeping away from poisonous insects and animals, lower area during the dry season for activities, cooking is outside on charcoal, the bathroom is a privy, water purity through a clay filter and can not necessarily be trusted. Garbage is burned at the road side (sadly and expectedly we see the effects of plastic everywhere). The people we visited are actually on UNESCO sanctioned property; seems they are "squatters" even though they've lived there for years, what will happen to them in future seems uncertain. Sat Po who is likely in his late 40s has two children and a wife who works in retail sales for an electronics company. They live with her 60 something year old parents who retired from teaching. As his wife is the youngest daughter, they have the responsibility to support them now.. Sat Po was raised by his grandmother when his parents separated as father wanted the country and mother the city and both formed new families. His family was directly impacted by the Khmer Rouge with two uncles dying of starvation. He put himself through university with the help of several people from the sounds of things including doing chores including massaging of a monk. We stopped at a Buddhist temple and discussed further the role of spiritual thought for people who have endured much suffering. He hopes for better education and health care in Cambodia.Læs mere