Cambodia Cruisin!

Well, took a quick detour on the European travel to Cambodia! An offer to travel across Cambodia by bicycle with 12 friends was too good to pass up and definitely lived up to my expectations.  The tour, mainly on back roads, consisted of approximately 60-80km a day with a Cambodian guide and two support vehicles, a great way to travel.

Ice cold beer after a dusty trail!


While the scenery and temples were magnificent, it was the people that really stood out for me.  I can still hear the children shouting "Hello" and running out to wave to us. We always made a point to respond with a hearty Hello and a wave back as we were impressed by their enthusiasm to try out some English.
Kids sneaking away from class to see the foreigners


A few of the kids from a small village out to see the strange visitors!

Some shy girls walking home from school with their portable shade branch

A young girl patiently waiting for her mother to finish working the salt fields
Ok so this one was not so excited to see us!



The adults were equally kind throughout the country. I was amazed how some of the people had so little yet they seemed so happy, really should be a lesson to all us in the commercialized western countries and our desire to reach happiness through purchases of material goods.

Four fishermen pausing to see the boat full of foreigners on the Tonle Sap river



Two women and a man that were in the Temple came out to see the strangely dressed foreigners



A blog post about the people of Cambodia wouldn't be complete without a couple of shots of the Buddhist Monks that you would see throughout the country. The Monks wearing their orange robes always stood out in a mystical way and I would always stare and wonder about their lives. They were also very gracious and unassuming.

Two Buddhist Monks on a hiking trail to visit a waterfall


4 Buddhist Monks relaxing in the shade near a temple




Great people in a great country. In the next blog post, I'll focus more on the scenery and temples, again spectacular in this beautiful land.  Stay tuned!

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