This is Day 4 in Cambodia but Day 2 of cycling. Our aim is to cycle another 30 kms today and then ride in the bus for another hour or so to reach our destination of the seaside town of Kep.
We awoke from our "5 star hotel" in Takeo and went to a local restaurant for breakfast. We had noodle soup for breakfast. The noodles were really light and fluffy, not so filling. This was the first place we had come across the most amazing coffee. It was iced coffee made with sweetened condensed milk and was delicious. One of the girls - Beccy who is a coffee fiend, drank about 3 cups before we left.
Today's cycle was not as challenging as the first day. The first leg of the cycle we encountered a very bumpy road. This was a bit hard on the bum and shook every ounce of fat and wobbly bits. Again, through each village we cycled, the kids yelled out hello. We were now used to calling back "helloooo" every one hundred metres or so. We cycled past glorious green paddy fields. At one stage i saw Monks building a brick wall.
The second leg of the cycle was a dusty road. It was bring improved but was just red dust. It was a bit scary every now and again when big buses hooned past and about an inch away from my shoulder. I was used to cars and bikes but the big trucks and buses still scared me.
The third leg of the cycle was the most enjoyable as it was a smooth road. I had time to enjoy the beauty of the country side surrounding me. Today i had spent the most time cycling by myself. There were times when i couldn't see anyone in front nor anyone behind me. It was nice to be alone for a bit. I stopped to take lots of photos on the way. At one stage there was a bike with a big tray on the back and lots of people sitting on top. I took a photo. They were visiting different houses and picking people up. Not quite sure what they were doing but perhaps they were even selling things. I cycled along them side by side. They looked at me and smiled. Such a precious moment.
After an hour or more on the bus, we arrived for lunch in Kep. Then were taken to what Nak had described as the "7 star hotel". This hotel actually went beyond our expectations and was a glorious hotel called The Beach House. This was luxury and it had a pool.
The rest of the day, we indulged in laying by the pool with cocktails in hand, swimming, followed with a massage in the room. Aahh bliss !
The Beach House is owned by an Australian lady called Diane who works for the australian embassy or perhaps its the Australian Federal Police.She has lived in Cambodia for 9 years. The Beach House is on teh side of a mountain and overlooks the ocean. The Beach House has lush tropical plants and palm trees surrounding it. There is also an abundance of my symbol - Dragonflies. The Dragonflies were all different colours, brown, green and blue. They gave this place something extra special. The accommodation is the best we stayed in so far. It took them 2 years to build the hotel. There are small geckos here that camoflage themselves - almost like albino geckos.
Our room overlooked the infinite ocean and i could see the curvature of the earth. Simply spectacular.
Dinner again at 7pm was at The Verandah restaurant. This is a resort complex also owned by an Australian too. It was too dark to really appreciate the views which apparently are spectacular too.
Some of the business chicks went by boat to Rabbit Island and explored that. For the rest of us, we were content on remaining poolside with cocktails in hand. We didn't explore anywhere but the pool and bar, but apparently there isn't much in Kep anyway.
