Why Cambodia? Why Now?

Cycling Cambodia to Vietnam in November 2023

Hello, I’m Mare Schumacher. My husband (Luis) and I took a 12-day bike tour with Vietnam Cycling Tours in November 2023. We traveled from Siem Reap, Cambodia (home of Angkor Wat) to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. We rode about 300 miles total.

We fell in love with Cambodia and its people. That’s why I want to convince you to consider a biking tour that includes Cambodia (or any travel in Cambodia). So, here are some of options, what to expect, and travel tips.

Traveling to Cambodia (General) – Why you should go and more about life here

The countryside is beautiful. Rice fields, cute cows, water buffalo, fields of lotus flowers, duck ponds, sunset over a rice paddy, school kids, houses on stilts (not to protect the house from floods but rather to provide a shady place for women to work around the house during the day and yes, I’m told that women do such work. But men do the laundry!)

There is much to learn and/or experience with the ancient and modern cultures. In the temples and architecture, you’ll see a mix of Buddhism and Hinduism. At times you can hear the music of a family giving offering to the temple. Yesterday we passed by a ceremony and stopped in to celebrate with a family. But there are also the visual and performance arts, agriculture, politics and much more. Link for more below.

https://www.touropia.com/tourist-attractions-in-cambodia/

The people here are welcoming. Kids yell “Hello!” as we cycle by, but almost everyone is happy to see you. The people in rural areas see us as quite the anomaly – foreigners in helmets riding bikes (bah-rang means foreigner) -- but again, they are welcoming and open.  

Outstanding and cheap massages. And just sort of the Zen approach to wellness in the spas. You can also experience a Khmer massage which is different from an American (really Swedish) massage. (Khmer is the name of the Cambodian people.)

Cambodia may not stay like this for long. I’m guessing this may be the last decade that Cambodia will be like this. There is relatively little western influence now, but it looks like change is coming.

There are many quiet hotels and resorts to relax and enjoy Cambodian hospitality. For example, one night we stayed at Peam Snea. The hotel is on an island in the middle of a small river so you take a 3-minute boat ride from the dock to the hotel. The hotel has a big infinity pool filled with salt water (ecologically more friendly) and walkways to rooms are wooden. The room had air con but the bathroom was open to the elements although screened to keep mosquitos out. The shower water was hot, which it is in almost all hotels. (Most other countries (including Europe) are hit or miss on this.) Link to hotel (now at $51/night on TripAdvisor but may go up): https://peamsnea-resort.asia/

There are also lovely beaches. These are on the ocean and it is safe to swim in the saltwater. Beaches here: https://www.touropia.com/best-beaches-in-cambodia/

What Concerns You? Allaying your Fears, Removing the Barriers

When we first considered this trip, I had some concerns about traveling to this far-away place. In this section, I’ll talk about barriers you may have and honestly give you the facts as I know them. Some of these aren’t really barriers at all and some can be mitigated.

Barrier: The heat. If you are riding bikes in the heat of the day when the sun is blazing down, I’m not going to lie, it’s brutal. But some routes are shady and there are always cool-off times for coffee, fruit, or lunch.

Also, you could ride bikes for a few hours in the morning. Or not ride bikes at all. And you don’t have to do it for 12 days straight. In fact, now that we’re in the middle of it, we would suggest a shorter time or taking a break in the middle.

Doing as the locals do (not only here but in just about every hot region of the world), people shut down during the heat of the day and take a rest. Some restos have air con so you can choose those. In the evening, lots of people eat outside and with a nice fan (and of course no sun), it’s quite pleasant once you sit down and relax for a minute or two. It’s humid but comfortable.

Barrier: Illness concerns. You have to get a lot of shots before you leave and take anti-malarial pills while traveling to avoid tropical diseases. So far, we’ve had no side effects to any of this, but it is a little bit of a hassle to get it all done. Start 2 months before, call local public health (they may have to order some vaccines for you) and your insurance company to pay for it. See CDC Cambodia page.

Once you are in Cambodia, there are some dos and don’ts with eating. Mostly, we made sure that things were cooked, and we were fine. Fruits are delicious here but you need to cut them yourself or wash with filtered water. Absolutely no tap or well water. No swimming in fresh water in some areas.

Barrier: Food/Gastrointestinal Challenges. Food in Cambodia can be spicy or not. It is not spicy by definition. There are lots of new foods you can try but if you just want some chicken fried rice, just like the kind you get at the corner Chinese resto, it’s there. If you like spicy, you can add lots of superhot peppers or sauce (see Mr. and Mrs. Tum in Siem Reap – your guide knows where he is!)

We stuck closely to the guidelines from CDC and had no problems while on the tour. Guides are very good about following your needs and will ask for what you want. (We went fish and vegetables but often did vegan.) Try street food at your own risk, but as long as it’s cooked well, I’d say try it. I did not cover all of “the rules” here, so see CDC.

Barrier: Crime. Watch out for pickpockets, they tell us, but we did not experience. Violent crime is not that common and rarely if ever against foreigners. (I could not easily find statistics on this, but most sources mentioned how safe Cambodia is). Bike and road safety are much more important to be aware of than crime.

Barrier: Language. All menus are in English as well as Khmer and many signs have English and Khmer on them. Many young people speak a little English and of course our guides were fluent in English, which is helpful in the countryside where there isn’t as much English acquisition.

Barrier: Traffic. Let’s talk about bike/vehicle/ped safety a little bit. Both of our excellent guides (Poleak in Cambodia and Huong in Vietnam) were always watching us and were careful to move us around out of traffic. We also do not ride in the big city. That is “transfer” time. We load up bikes on the van and drive in. Luis and I are both very aware of the dangers of traffic and bikes and I thought about it before embarking on this trip.

The big differences here are the speed, amount, and types of vehicles. In the places we are riding, there are mostly motorbikes with a few cars mixed in and very few trucks. Some paths are for bikes only, but most aren’t. Traffic moves quite slowly and there isn’t much of it. This doesn’t mean that it is completely risk-free, let’s be realistic, but you will have more challenges crossing the streets of Hanoi as a pedestrian than riding a bicycle in the rural areas.

Barrier: Expense. Flights are not particularly cheap but not particularly expensive (ours were $1300 round trip which is close to what we’ll pay for Ireland, and we probably could have gone cheaper if we were more flexible) and may involve multiple stops. Of course, you can probably do better on this price by booking earlier and/or taking different routes.

Layovers in Korea are very civilized – bathrooms with fancy bidets, sleeping lounges and showers (all free), massages (cost). If you arrive and leave at the right times, you can take a free tour sponsored by the Korean government to a site or sites in Seoul. They bus you to and from the airport! (Google Free “Korea Transit Tours”, book in advance.)

Once you get to Cambodia, both hotels and food are particularly inexpensive. Like very. Our most expensive dinner was, I think, $25 for two, with appetizers and non-alcoholic drinks (beer is about $2/can if you want to add that in). Very nice hotels are $60-70/night but you can get less and still get A/C. Almost all include breakfast, wi-fi and air con. (Of course, check which features are available. I’d imagine that eventually you get to a really low price that doesn’t have these things.) All transactions here are done with the good ol’ Yankee Dollar. No need to convert.

Tips for Going on Cycling Tours

Here are a few tips for getting the most from your cycling trip:

Seat – You need a comfortable bike seat for a ride like this. If you have a favorite seat, you may want to take it with you. (I know people who do this.) This is particularly pronounced for women, as bike seats appear to have been designed by men, for men.
Shorts – Take biking shorts or tights that have padding around the crotch. Worth the cost.
Comfort – Dress for comfort. If you want to bring one nice top and bottom for the big cities’ dinners, go ahead, but not necessary.
Dress for heat. Mostly you need very light clothing that will protect your skin from sun. Synthetics best and you can wash them out at night if you need. (We take a small dish detergent with us which works for handwash.)
Pack light – You’ll be moving your luggage every day and even though the driver and guide help a lot, it’s easier for you if you don’t have a lot of luggage to deal with.

Buy sunscreen there. You can get it in many stores.
Take mosquito repellent with you as stores there are less likely to have it. Remember you can only take 3 oz. in carry-on but that will last you at least a month. You probably won’t even notice the mosquitos (like we did in Michigan last summer – drove us off Grand Island), but they carry some diseases there, so avoid bites.
Work with your guide to make the best schedule ahead of time. Although you love biking, you may want to have a “no ride” or “no move” day in the middle of the trip. The hotels they pick are very nice and it might be nice to just relax for a day and stay in one place for two nights. You may also be able to get a massage and/or send laundry out. You will need to communicate this well ahead of time because they book all of the hotels. We particularly liked the eco-lodges which would have made good stayover locations. Remember that if some members of your group want to ride on that day, they could go for a ride, but just ride in the area.
Work with your guide to make changes. If you want to add or subtract an activity or part of a ride, let your guide know. We asked to go to a museum in Phnom Penh a couple of days before we got to that city and the guide and driver took us there, waited for us, and took us to the hotel. (Of course, we paid our admission as this was not part of the package.) Alternately, a few times we subtracted a planned activity because we couldn’t squeeze it into our day.
Authored by:

Mare Schumacher

Flagstaff, Arizona

maretempe@aol.com

Feel free to email me if you want more info!

I do not get any financial or other benefit from Vietnam Cycling Tours, just want to share the experience.