Prêk Thum

I had forgotten the south-east Asian propensity for REALLY hard bed – so it wasn’t the best nights sleep but still lovely to be able to stretch out and lie down in a real be not a aeroplane seat. Breakfast at the hotel was simple but quite nice – freshly cooked omelette and the usual selection of fruit, pastries and the like and then at 07:45 it was off to reception where we were met with our guide for our visit to Kulen Mountain
It took about an hour to get to Kulen (which means Lychee) Mountain and the another perhaps 30 or 45 minutes to drive up it – the area is a national park about 48 or so km from Siem Reap and has a maximum elevation of 487m. It was used as a sandstone quarry for many Buddhist carvings across Cambodia/
On the bus trip we learned that roofing material in this area of Cambodia must be either blue or red my Government mandate and that …
One of the highlights of the visit – on what was a VERY soggy morning - was viewing the statue of the reclining Bhudda at the Pagoda of Preah Ang Thom which was built in the 16th century and is over 8m high. Religion in Cambodia seems to be an odd mix of Bhuddism, Hinduism and Spiritualism (land, water, air and fire) plus a dash of ancestor worship or at least veneration and hence we were also shown what are known as Linga which are Hindu symbols meaning a complex combination of life-death/decay-fertility/mother-father. There are 1000 carved into the rock which is the bed of the river. We also walked to a couple of lovely waterfalls .. the second being 25 metre high and safe for swimming. However I have to be honest when I say that although I would have quite liked a swim, I really couldn’t be bothered with the whole wet bathers … getting changed palaver afterwards and so decline to jump in… it wasn’t cold, just kind of rainy and tepid.
After the temple and waterfall we headed down the mountain with a brief stop at a place where you had great views of the mountain. There were also lots of large red, legged centipedes (which the locals like to catch and roast apparently – ew!) and beautiful butterfly’s which were challenging to photograph.
Back on the mini bus it was off to lunch… to be honest I was hoping we would be taken to some “local” eating places owned by a friend/relative of the guide but we ended up at the very generic tourist restaurant – the food was fine (Khmer fish curry) but … yeah… just not what I was hoping for.
Back in Siem Reap we had a formal “team” meeting at 1600hrs – great to see Brett again after almost and year and meet the “team” with whom we will be riding. There was the handing out of Jerseys, a general briefing and then the fitting of the bikes – they are mountain bikes and mine is a bit old and I hope it will be ok – the set up isn’t great but I think it will ok (fingers crossed).
After “happy hour” 2 for one drinks and a bit of work (2x local beers for USD $3 also inc beer nuts) we all met in the lobby at 1845 for the minibus to Marum Social Enterprises Restaurant where we enjoyed a most delicious and filling meal (although I confess to NOT eating the beef and ant salad… but only because of the beef!) …. To quote their website

Marum is run by Kaliyan Mith, an NGO that has been working with street children and other marginalized young people since 2005 in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Marum features a winning mix of creative local cuisine, and is named after the Moringa, or 'Tree of life' - very appropriate, as customers will be enjoying a fantastic dining experience that helps build a new life for the students in training there!

Absolutely satiated we waked back along the river … past the numerous street vendors … to our hotel ready for bed and an early (0445hrs) start cycling to Angkor Wat for the sunrise.Read more