The gods weren’t smiling on us today, more like crying on us instead. The weather brought us back down to earth after an amazing day yesterday. The rain started in the middle of the night and pretty much kept going until lunch. We were glad the tent held up well and kept most of the rain out. Being close to the international airport combined with the wind and rain, and our first night in the tent, none of us got much sleep.

We rode south down the coast, but the conditions were cold and blustery, so we headed inland.

The route took us through many rice paddies and we got to see a machine planting rice. Below was an interesting temple with dragons that caught our eye.

Check out my ride on Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/913283633/

So good to be back on the bikes. Even better when cycling in perfect weather, with a tail wind and most of the time on dedicated cycle paths. Cycling from Taipei to Bali was cycling nirvana. 

It was so picturesque I couldn’t stop taking pictures. Normally that would make Paddy chuck a paddy(he hates to stop and doesn’t like being photographed), but he and Robert were in BeyBlade heaven because we rode past a shop that specialises in them, so both of them were in a great mood.

It was a slow and late start today, but we weren’t stressed because the maximum temperature is mid twenties rather than mid thirties, so we can ride in the middle of the day. By the time we were leaving Taipei after getting everything ready and necessary purchases (BeyBlades, orange juice and blankets) made it was midday. We came across a robotic orange juice vending machine for a cup of fresh juice for under $2.

Leaving Taipei via a dedicated bike/motorcycle lane to cross the river.

Once across the river we rode on a wide and smooth cycle path that followed the river all the way to Bali (approximately 20kms)

We had never heard of Bali, Taiwan, but it had a holiday feel and busy boardwalk markets at the mouth of the river. 

 Sunset at  Zhuwei Fishing Port. We set up our tent in the structure just behind Patrick’s head for our first night of camping on the tour. 

Check out my ride on Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/912291705/

The boys were really keen on the medieval knife making course. As you can see below,  the conditions and occupational health safety well represent the medieval age. When we rode past the blacksmith it was basically a shanty town looking building with no doors. 

In the afternoon I took a solo ride to see Angkor Wat in sunset for the last time.

Then climbed a hill that had a temple on top called Bakheng that had views of the whole area.

Check out my ride on Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/908673218/

Up before dawn to see Angkor Wat at Sunrise. Left the boys in bed, so Julie and I relived times of touring on a tandem together. 

After breakfast we ventured out again with the boys in tow. Visited Angkor Thom, Ta Keo and Ta Prohm.

Check out my ride on Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/907030122/

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Two good rides visiting Angkor area today, one in the morning and the other at sunset.

To start we visited Angkor Wat. Julie is far more eloquent so check out her Angkor Wat post.

Banteay Kdei temple just before sunset.

Pre Rup temple at sunset.

Srah Srang as the sun fades. Pity the phone camera isn’t up to showing the actual light. It was an amazing purple colour.

Check out my ride on Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/905601363/

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Not the ride we planned today. We started off slow, but all feeling okay after the big ride yesterday. It was close to 9am by the time we really got going and it was already really hot. We rode through rice paddy fields for about 15kms and Julie and Robert were not feeling great.

We had a break near a pagoda to recover, but Julie was still feeling weak.

I thought that because we hadn’t had a good meal in 24 hours that Julie may be needing some extra nutrition, so we stopped at a Khmer village store and purchased a couple of mangos.

Julie kept deteriorating and after another 5kms could not continue and had to lie down under a tree. We still had another 50kms to Phnom Penh and Julie was too sick to continue, so after a little research online found a phone number of a taxi driver from Takeo (the closest town – 15kms south). Even though the taxi driver spoke a little English it was hard to explain exactly what we needed, but enough to order the taxi and we had an hour wait.

While we waited the restaurant owner where we stopped was very hospitable and served us drinks and food. Including mangos and bananas that he grew himself. Robert entertained himself and the owners children playing BeyBlades.

When the taxi arrived it was a standard sedan. In Australia this would have been a concern, but in Cambodia not a problem. Ten minutes later with the help of the driver we had the bikes secured on top of the boot.

The trip into Phnom Penh was interesting and probably a good thing we were in a car. Traffic lights are pretty rare in Phnom Penh and the ones that are operational don’t seem to be followed. For the whole trip through the city we didn’t fully stop once.

We safely arrived at the hotel and the bikes no worse off from the trip. Once in our room Julie collapsed into bed and I organised dinner with Camila and Matias, Chilean touring friends who arrived a day earlier. Patrick wasn’t feeling well either, but was excited to catch up with Camila and Matias, so we left Julie in the room and walked four blocks to a restaurant. On arriving at the restaurant Patrick vomited at the entrance, so I carried him back to the hotel and got Robert to order for me. In the end Robert and I had a good meal with Camila and Matias, while Patrick and Julie recuperated in bed.
Check out my ride on Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/899428753/

Feeling very tired after our longest day yet, so will keep it short. We have been following the coast since Surat Thani, which is over 1000kms, so it was a bit of a shock to the body to head inland. It was much hotter all day, so we had lengthy breaks in the middle of the day. Luckily we had a good tailwind so we made good progress and everyone was keen to make the most of it. 

At our lunch stop at a roadside vendor the boys were a big hit as per usual. 

At the 65kms mark we decided to start looking for a guesthouse. We had passed a few in the previous 5kms so thought it wouldn’t be long. One kilometer later we spotted an impressive looking building, but it had closed down. At the 72km mark we called into a busy car wash and was told that there was not one for another 16kms. Rather than backtracking we pushed on and arrived at our destination at 6pm with the sunseting.

Check out my ride on Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/898643986/