Re-blog from Inspired Adventures 2!

Sun 9 Mar: Banteay Srey and Beng Mealea

The final day of cycling had snuck up on us! We all couldn’t believe that our adventure was coming to an end. Despite some very sore bums, backs, wrists and legs, hardly anyone had complained over the six days riding so far, and I wasn’t surprised when some were asking if we could make today an 100 kilometre day.
The ride began with 35 kilometres in the morning, with a stop off to see how palm sugar is made (it tastes delicious, we all brought some to take home). Pre-lunch riding was fairly in line with what we had been experiencing throughout the adventure. Flat roads, humidity and heat. This was our last opportunity to drink in the Cambodian countryside and enjoy the cycle, so we took it easy and made sure to take in the surroundings. It was quite funny actually, as today of all days, on our last cycling leg, the children were saying “bye bye” to us instead of “hello”. It was like they knew we were leaving! Groups of kids would be waiting at the side of the road to jump up and down and say “bye bye”. We were receiving a fantastic send off!

Our first temple experience today was Banteay Srey or the ‘Citadel of Women’, believed to have been made by women due to the intricately exquisite detail which would have required incredible patience (a trait Cambodians feel is feminine). This temple also had different colours to others we had seen before. It used a very high quality pink sandstone. At over 1,000 years old, the carvings on this structure were mind-blowing and the conservation was very impressive.

After what felt like a 10 course meal (which Marty commented was the biggest lunch he’d ever had), we unfortunately had to get back on the saddle and waddle the remaining distance!

The countryside was littered with cows, rubber trees, mango orchards, rice paddies and watering holes in which children were playing. Beside the road, for long stretches, were chopped pieces of cassava, drying to be made into powder. We rode past farmers cutting the cassava with machetes, laborious work in the heat of the day.

We completed 52 kilometres in the afternoon heat and this was definitely the most intense riding we had endured. It was HOT, it was dusty, it was bumpy (with 5 kilometres of unpaved roads). It was definitely a test of endurance. Three team members showed incredible spirit today: Cheryl who was quite ill, but rode anyway, David, her fiancé, who rode by her side the whole way, and Jane who was also sick, but who hopped off the bus to experience the team crossing the finish line under the Cycle for Girls banner!
The team dismounted from their bikes, cheered, clapped, hugged and congratulated each other for a mammoth 87 kilometre ride in high heat, and for finishing their full cycle challenge for Plan International Australia.

The afternoon was spent exploring Beng Mealea, an impressive site of jumbled ruins surrounded by octopus-like trees.

A farewell dinner included some celebratory drinks and speeches, where a few tears and many laughs were shared. All in all, an inspirational effort by the 24 riders and an experience we will never forget!

Sat 8 Mar: Angkor Temples

We enjoyed a sleep in today, and a plentiful buffet breakfast overlooking a quiet street with impressive French colonial architecture. Setting off at 8:30am for a short drive to the South Gate of the Angkor complex, there were big smiles from the team as we got snapped for our temples passes.

We walked to our bikes lined up past the gate and set off, ducking and weaving through more traffic than we’d seen on the highways! There were so many cars, buses, tuk tuks and motorbikes banked up, loaded with tourists eager to see the world famous temples that were built between the 4th and 9th century, when the Khmer civilisation was at its peak of its creativity. We cruised past on bikes and pulled up outside the gateway to Angkor Thom, the largest city in the Angkor complex. It is 7 metres high with walls 3 kilometres square around. Interesting, its five gates served specific purposes—for villages, soldiers, royals, criminals, and removing the deceased.

We rode on, past the diva (good) and demon (evil) statues lining the entryway. A slim ancient doorway was expertly managed by traffic controllers and we were through! Leafy, flat road curved around and brought us to the Bayon temple. With a quick stop off to capture the family of monkeys along the way. The group enjoyed a walk amongst the ruins, and our knowledgable guide, Sokly, explained the detailed freezes.
We jumped back on the bikes and continued for another few kilometres, before a quick fruit and snack stop, enjoying the juicy tropical fruit to reenergise us. We headed to the “Tomb Raider” temple next. Made famous by the Lara Croft movie filmed here, Ta Prohm is an awe inspiring sight, with nature reclaiming its land, trees twisted and embedded into ancient crumbling structures. Our guides led us around a hidden dirt track surrounding the walls and it was amazing to ride beside the ancient temple walls through the trees and enter via a deserted gate. Even if some did get slowed up in the often sandy track.

After another delicious lunch we finally got to see Angkor Wat, the most famous set of temples in Cambodia and a UNESCO World Heritage-listed site. Despite the blistering hot day, everyone wandered around the temples and admired the dedication and detail that went into building these incredible structures.

Most agreed today was the easiest day of cycling because we had so much to see and we stopped all throughout to walk and visit temples. 50 kilometres over the course of a day felt so manageable, we could have done it twice!

Dinner tonight was at Morum, another restaurant affiliated with Friends, the organisation that trains street kids to work/cook in their restaurants, where the last of the bracelets were awarded:

• Tammy, a quiet achiever who made riding look so effortless
• Tim, for having such an inquisitive nature and genuine interest in learning more about the local culture
• Claire, for pushing through her intense spider fear and cycling past hundreds of spider webs near Ta Prohm
• Josie, nominated by her dear friend Karen for their 22 year friendship and the love that they share
• Cheryl, for battling bad food poisoning and continuing to be upbeat, enthusiastic and cracking jokes. She also continued to ride the full 50 kilometres, determined to finish what she started
• And, last by not least, Willa, for her gentle attitude and compassionate spirit, bringing a lovely sense of peace to the group

Fri 7 Mar: Project visit

Our day began with a 4am wakeup call which was a real test for the team; even more of a test than the challenges of cycling! As we left Phnom Penh behind, we were greeted with some incredible sights – fog and mist ascending towards the sky from dark rice paddy fields and the view of the country coming into life as we passed markets setting up and men sitting on motorbikes, the steam from their coffee rising. The bus drove through dusty towns already bursting with activity – we passed by a wholesale fish market with crowds of people buying and selling energetically in the coolness of dawn. Sunrise finally met us in a dark shade of orange, a stunning side effect of pollution.

The reason for our early start today was to go and visit a Plan community and school project in Kampong Cham province. This was an invaluable opportunity to meet some of the Cambodian girls who our fundraising was supporting. The team have raised a phenomenal amount, over $121,000 (–> support the team to raise more)! These funds were directed into the “Because I am a Girl” campaign, which focuses on preventing child marriage, promoting gender equality and empowering girls through education. Everyone has dedicated more than 6 months of their lives to fundraising and raising awareness about the plight of girls in other countries and the need to keep girls in school. Now we finally had a chance to see what that looks like in action as some of our funds had gone directly to this community. Imran, from Plan Australia, introduced us to some Plan Cambodia staff at their Kampong Cham office and we briefly walked around to visit different sectors of Plan.



Some of the key points for this province are the following;

• Poverty is a critical factor that significantly influences the effective access to education
• Young women in rural areas suffer more from domestic violence
• 84% of children aged 3-5 years to not have access to preschools
• Girls are less likely to enrol and complete secondary school compared to boys

After a slight delay with a broken down bus, we were soon on our way again and we finally made it to our bike collection point. The school wanted to see the Plan Australia Cycle for Girls team on their bikes so we rode 2km through the local village which was rural and then onto the school for a grand entrance. On approach, we could hear music and see crowds of people, I remember thinking that they couldn’t be there for us could they?! We dismounted our bikes and walked across the road where we were warmly welcomed by what had to be over 100 children and adults from the community – they were all clapping for us! What a moment, after 5 days of cycling and crossing two countries by bike, bus and boat, we were greeted like celebrities – even the Cambodian national newspaper was there filming us!

The team were sat down and introduced by the country Program Director of Plan, who explained that the gaggle of smiling teenagers wearing pink Plan t-shirts, were teen leaders who spread awareness about preventing child marriage in schools.



They ran a short Q&A with Sokly our guide (and a former teacher) who was a gracious translator for us all. Admittedly we were a little underprepared but it was great to swap some ideas through broken Khmer and English.

A tour around the primary school was next, where some gifts that the team brought from Australia were presented to the teachers. We all had an opportunity to have conversations and share a smile with the teenagers and young children who taught us some Khmer words and asked us our names, how old we were and if we were married. After a few rounds of photos and some more stories we said our goodbye to the school, its children and teachers and the curious nearby villagers.



We cycled back out with a chorus of “bye bye” and huge smiles. It was a surreal few hours and felt very special to be a part of. It was wonderful to meet incredible people who were so keen and eager to practicE their English with us. One thing that was surprising was the amount of mobile phones the teenagers had, I guess teenagers are the same everywhere in the world. I’m sure our Team Plan Australia cyclists will find themselves on some Cambodian Facebook pages today!

Our lunch stop today was at a Buddhist monastery where we ate packed lunches amongst the temples and inquisitive young monks. Next up was a long transfer to Siem Reap where we will spend our final days in this amazing country. Stay tuned for more exciting updates as we cycle through the temples of Angkor…



Today’s bracelets were given to:

• Mark: for always sticking with Jane when we cycle, epitomising team work they appear to be riding a tandem bike!
• Karen: for always having a smile on her face and for sneakily filming us through her inbuilt sunglasses camera
• Linda: for her positive attitude and genuine enjoyment when cycling. Whenever you pass Linda she is looking left and right with a wide grin, taking everything in
• Shannon: for her endurance through being sick and pushing through it while always looking out for others and continuing to cycle after a day of rest
• Deidre: for always asking how everyone is doing whenever she cycles past you
• Marty: for loving cricket as much as Jason does, and watching it in bars with him!

Thu 6 Mar: Exploring Phnom Penh & Cambodia’s history

Today we enjoyed a free day in Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital city. We split off into small groups and hired tuk-tuk drivers to take us around town. Some of us chose to head to the Killing Fields, the Tuol Sleng (S21) Genocide Museum, The Royal Palace, Central markets and the Russian markets.



Those who went to The Killing Fields and/or the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum were able to bear witness to some of the horrifying atrocities that occurred during the Khmer Rouge rule during 1975 and 1979, where over 2 million people were killed. Our local guides, Sokly and Mr Vath have been informing us about the history and seeing these sites really brought it home.

Bou Meng, a Tuol Sleng survivor, was present at the museum and was selling copies of his story. Some of the team took photos with him and shared a touching handshake. What an incredible man, to go through so much hardship yet he continues to raise awareness and speak up on a daily basis.



Phnom Penh is a bustling city, alive and full of noises, smells and sights. You could get lost in the laneways and spend days exploring the different monuments and temples around the city. The traffic is typical of southeast Asia, with motorbikes and tuk tuks ducking and weaving across lanes and footpaths. Poverty is a real issue in the city and it is visible, raw and tangible with beggars and homeless people present on most streets. It’s a strange juxtaposition to the large car dealerships and electronic stores, huge government buildings and ornately designed monasteries.

Sokly told the team that the average yearly wage for a Cambodian is $950. It’s hard to forget this figure when you go shopping and spend $50 in 5 minutes. I think we are all realising how blessed we are to come from a prosperous country like Australia and England. Despite all this, the Khmer people are some of the nicest people I’ve ever met and they warmly welcome us wherever we go.