Along the Mekong: To Kampong Cham
Having now lived in Cambodia for several months, I noticed that many of the expats rarely ever leave the city on weekends, thinking that two days is not enough time to go anywhere. However, there are some pretty great places within a day's ride from Phnom Penh. Kampong Cham, a city of around 40,000 people, is 100km up the Mekong River, in an area where the river widens, and you find some pretty big islands.
In early February I decided that I needed to get away from the city for the weekend. I couldn’t imagine a better way to spend a weekend, other than to do it on my bicycle. My wife was gone to Malaysia for a week on a visa run, so it was the perfect time for this little trip. I decided to just pack the bare necessities into my handlebar bag, and to take nothing else. While many people think that all Cambodian roads are utter crap, there are lots of ways to go places that take you off the beaten path. For this trip, I decided to use the Naga Ferry to cross the Mekong and ride most of the way through rural Cambodia. This seemed the better alternative than riding out of the city and taking the main road on the West side of the Mekong (North in my area). To plan my route, I simply used Google Maps and set it to walking, which at times gave me some fun off-road and paddy field riding.
The 93 km route took me through all kinds of villages, at a pace where every kid had the chance to yell “hello” and “how are you”. I got the feeling that foreigners didn’t ride their bikes through these villages too often, as it twice requires crossing the Mekong by boat. I started at 8am on a Saturday, but it would have definitely been better to leave around 6:30am. Since this was the middle of the hot and dry season, by 10am it was blistering hot. I managed to cover the distance fairly quickly and reached the Bamboo Hut Guesthouse near to Kampong Cham after 5 hours of riding, including the 7km stretch of dusty gravel road, and my few off-road escapades.
Bamboo Hut Guesthouse, owned by a French couple, has a series of gazebos with hammocks situated throughout. For $5 a night, there is no cheaper option other than camping somewhere. As I was planning on going as light as possible, this fit the bill perfectly. This place was really popular with French backpackers, but I also met a few Germans, S. Africans, and even a few other cycle tourists. We had a great night of drinking beers, playing card games and eating pizza which we ordered from a restaurant in Kampong Cham. Unlucky for me, I left my cycling shirt on a fence line to dry overnight near the path that runs through their property, and in the morning, it was gone. The staff were shocked that this happened, but there was nothing we could do. Lesson learned. Leave clothing to dry inside the fence-line, where it is less likely to disappear.
When I went back three weeks later with my wife, we took the time to check out the town. Even though the town itself is not the most interesting town we've ever been to, there were a few things of note that people can check out. The most obvious is the Nokor Bachey Pagoda, an 11th century temple dedicated to Bhahmanism. The best part is that it’s free and you don’t need to pay to go explore. My wife and I did give the buddhist nun inside some money and she did a prayer for us. I figure that any old person in this country needs respect and a bit of help. They’ve been through a hell of a lot. The bamboo bridge between Kampong Cham and Koh Pen is also really cool and worth checking out but be aware that there is a tourist fee you must pay. I think it was 5000 riel, or $1.25 USD. Also, noteworthy things to see are the Phnom Bros and Phnom Srei temples just north of the city. They have an interesting story, as the Phnom Bros temple was used as a prison by the Khmer Rouge, and you can well imagine what must have gone on there. Lastly, head on over the Kizuna Bridge and check out the French lighthouse. I think it’s the first lighthouse I’ve ever seen on a river.
For the ride back to Phnom Penh, I decided to follow the same route home. I couldn’t imagine the west of the river being better, as it would have been so much busier with traffic. I did explore the western route a few weeks later with my wife when I took her to Kampong Cham by motorbike, and, as I had predicted, it was a long, dirty route with a ton of gravel sections and lots of potholes and traffic. I heard the highway was a nice ride, but I generally avoid those if I can. While cycling back to Phnom Penh, I didn’t do the off-road sections but just stuck to the cement road that went through all the villages. When heading south to Phnom Penh, there is a strong headwind, which made my 93 km ride a much tougher ride. I also left quite late, as I was watching the hockey game (I know, very Canadian). This was a terrible idea, as I was in the beating sun for the entire 4.5-hour ride.
All in all, it was an excellent little weekend away from Phnom Penh. If you are a cycle tourist going towards Kampong Cham or coming from there, I highly recommend riding on the east side of the river. It gets you away from the busier west side, and best of all, there are a lot less trucks flying by.
