Cycling Day 9: Steung Treng to Preah Vihear — 38 Miles (UPDATED)

We saddled up at 6:30 this morning, and headed to breakfast about a mile from the hotel. And by 7:30 we were on the road, hoping to get most of the miles in before it got too hot. The road was straight and paved, but with rolling hills, the first we’ve seen on this trip, and despite the early start the day heated up quickly.

We were in a very rural area in the north — much more so than we’ve been in before — with no shade at all.  The area had been deforested in the late 90’s and early ’00’s by the government, and the trees, many of them teak, sold to Thailand and the money pocketed by those in power.  So while the land has become more green, there were few farms to speak of, and many of the homes were occupied by military. We passed a couple of orchards — mango and cashew — but mostly it was nothing but vast areas of not much, and houses with no running water or electricity.  This was the most poverty-stricken area we’ve been through, but still the people called out hello and the children flashed us big smiles.

At the end of our miles, we transferred by van to the Preah Vihear Temple complex, which is a Unesco World Heritage site.  Built over 2 centuries by 3 different kings, it is over 1,000 years old, and is finally being protected by the Unesco designation.  It is only 15 meters from the Thai border and Cambodia and Thailand have been to war over the area. Cambodia won the battle for the site with the help of the UN, but both countries continue to keep military on the border.  Cambodia actually occupies and polices the complex, while Thailand keeps military within sight.  It’s a large and very impressive set of gates and temples, 5 sites in all, and while most areas are tumbling down, much has been done to protect it as it is.

On the way to the Temple, our Cambodian guide, Rith, told us about his personal history.  Born in 1970, he was separated from his parents when he was 7, and placed with other children in another town. This was a common practice during the Khmer Rouge insurgency. There was little to eat, but he apprenticed with a man who was processing sugar cane, and so he was able to stay alive.  At the age of 10 he followed a family who was returning to Siem Reap, where he was from, and once there he discovered that his parents and the rest of his family had been killed by the Khmer Rouge. With sheer force of will and some tenacity, he was able to connect with Unicef, and was raise by them in an orphanage and educated through high school.  Without money for college he joined the military for awhile, and after his tour he began hanging around the temples and helping the monks, and at the same time learning what the tourists wanted to know.  Because he had surreptitiously learned English (which was not allowed), he became a desired guide to the various temples. He saved enough money to go to college, where he studied economics. And eventually he realized how he enjoyed and was desired as a guide, so he’s made this his career.  The way he told this story had me near tears; I was so moved by the struggles, but impressed by his strength and ambition and his desire to build a life.

We are staying in a lovely little boutique hotel in Preah Vihear, other than the internet limitations, which given how remote we are, shouldn’t be surprising.  We have another long day of riding tomorrow, so we all have chosen an early night.