Riding 2Up

January 14, 2009

This day's ride of 370kms would be a day in the life of a pilot fish along with a few close shaves.

We rode from Siem Reap to Kampong Thom where we stopped for lunch then 30kms north to the 7th century ruins of Sambor Prei Kuk and Prasat Tao. We were met by amazing red brick rubble from which emerged several partly intact towers lost in amongst the forest. The oldest sections predate Angkor Wat by three centuries which is truly amazing; but to learn that much of the ruins were destroyed during the Vietnam war by American bombs is devastating.

On the way back along the dirt road we managed a reasonable pace of around 80kms/hr and this is only due to the recent grading of the road. It was around a slight bend to the right where it nearly all came unstuck. The road was good firm gravel on compacted soil and I was riding in the tyre groves but I was forced to change line to overtake a slow moving mophead, as we approached the bend I prepared the bike to turn by leaning it into the curve slightly and keeping my body and head vertical. This is good practice on dirt roads and allows best possible control except when hitting a patch of sand as we did. I don't know what saved us whether we passed through the sand and hit gravel again or if I did something to recover from the front wheel slide in the sand, either way we managed to keep it together and the handle bar straightened from it's complete right-lock position from the sand and we continued on our merry way.

Pilot fish is the term I used when following a larger fast moving vehicle closely in order for it to create safe passage for us. To understand why you first need to know the dangers faced on Cambodian roads when you're a lone motorcycle... (to complete). By following the bus or 4WD we were able to progress faster and safer than alone and as we were hovering behind the bus quite closely we felt a bit like a pilot fish must feel like when shadowing a shark or whale.

We met two frogs Jacky et Brigitte from southern Bretagne that are riding a motorbike honda shadow outside the Indochine2. They recommended Golden Mekong Hotel behind the royal palace as a good place to stay. Outside the hotel Pascal parked the bike and without turning his head said 'it's your turn' to Arja. Doing this after spending all day on the bike is always a chore as it is at the time of the day when we both get a bit cranky at each other as we’re both exhausted and tired. Somehow summoning her inner relentless bargaining mode , Arja hoped off the bike and went inside to ask the price for a double. She was determined not to settle for any room more than 10 US dollars a night, as she was extremely tired of having to pay inflated tourist prices. Luckily for us this time she was successful!

January 16, 2009

Phnom Penn, Cambodia

We've had a tense couple of days since arriving in Phnom Penn on the 14th. We really have been struggling with the lack of personal space and not openly acknowledging the need for it in our relationship too. There are people absolutely everwhere in Cambodia and whereever we go on Francois, they stare. They've never seen a bike like Francois before. They can't stop themselves from studying the bike, touching it, and fiddeling with bits and pieces. But worst of all for Pascal on the road is that other drivers have no respect for our space on the road; our safety buffer. So we had a few close shaves coming into Phnom Penn, and the bitter feeling mixed with a sense of anxiousness has built-up inside of both of us to yield an overwhelming sense of negativity.

Instead of talking it out between us, we've been petty arguing and bickering. Despite being in desperate need of some time-out we still persisted yesterday with sightseeing and stubbornly walking around in the heat of the day. It all erupted last night after dinner on our walk back to the hotel, with accussations over the lack of communication and enthusiasm and the inability to convey our experiences of our journey. Perhaps we both weren't cut out for this adventure.

Both of our moods and state-of-minf seem improved for the better today, although I'm not certain they have all been resolved. A quiet, more settled talk last night after we aired our differences greatly helped and today we are also taking time to do our own seperate things. But with the issue of China looming over heads, it is still difficult to relax and enjoy our time in Cambodia. At the moment, we feel like we may have to abandon the thought of entering China altogether.

Aside on China.
Contrived, doubting our inner convictions, misdirected anger and mixed emotions.

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