The plan

Travel OCD has kicked in. I've checked the travel folder no less than four times today to make sure my passport is in there.  I'm also rechecking flights and times.  One part of this adventure involves a one week bike ride from Saigon or Ho Chi Minh City to Siem Reap home of the Angkor temples.

This is what the plan looks like.  And take note of the back to back 90 km days.  I don't expect to have the energy to type those days.

Tour organized by www.spiceroads.com

Day 1 - We meet at Northern Hotel, Ho Chi Minh City. We spend the day unboxing and testing bikes and give you some time to explore the city. In the evening we dine at the enchanting Temple Club Restaurant.


Day 2 - Ho Chi Minh City – Tra Vinh
After breakfast transfer a couple of hours out of Ho Chi Minh to Cai Be - the gateway to the Mekong Delta. Today’s ride will lead you right into the heart of rural Mekong, as you pedal down narrow roads and lanes, past banana plantations and fields of sugarcane. A section of biking takes us off road onto gravel and dirt lanes, weaving through hamlets, across rivers and through quite thick vegetation, this makes for superb biking. A final ferry crossing takes to Tra Vinh a pretty tree-lined town with many ethnic Khmers.
Ride 45 km.

Day 3 – Tra Vinh – Can Tho
The route today is peaceful and the road is scenic all the way to our destination of Can Tho. There is plenty to see along the way from contrasting architectural styles of Khmer homes and temples to the rich and colourful river scenes when crossing many small bridges. Ride 92 km.

Day 4 – Can Tho – Chau Doc
Visit Cai Rang Floating market before transferring approximately one hour to the start of the ride. Once more the scenery is completely different. From Tri Ton the cycling starts to gently undulate (I read this as hills and lots of them) and mountains begin to loom as you ride closer and closer to Chau Doc. The presence of Thot Not trees indicates the growing proximity to Cambodia and the local people speak Vietnamese as their second language. We cycle to the Killing Fields of Vietnam at Ba Chuc, where Pol Pot’s regime massacred over 3,000 Vietnamese in 1978 (I guess we have the Vietnamese tour guide not the Cambodian one). We then loop around Ba Chuc along the border and ride the rest of the way to Chau Doc along incredible country roads. Those with energy to spare can climb Sam Mountain for sunset! (hahahaha!)
Chau Po Hotel. Ride 90 km.

Day 5 – Chau Doc – Phnom Penh
Cruise up the Mekong River to Phnom Penh from our overnight stopping place Chau Doc. We get a chance to rest our legs as we see many scenes of local daily life along side one Asia’s great rivers. As we head into Cambodia we stop at the capital Phnom Penh before heading north to cycle among 1000 years of Khmer history.

Day 6 – Ride to Oudong
Today we start by taking the back roads out of the modern capital of Cambodia – Phnom Penh for about 45 km to the town Oudong where we branch off towards Phnom Prah Reach or Oudong Mountain, once the capital of Cambodia. The 400-plus steps to the top will get the legs working overtime (or at least the legs of the person carrying me), but the view is worth it! This ride gives us a chance to see rural Cambodia - stilted houses, rice paddies, ox carts, waving children and of course the friendly Khmer people. After the ride we head back to Phnom Penh and lunch. The rest of the day is free to explore this fascinating city.
Almond Hotel. Ride 45 km.

Day 7 – Phnom Penh – Siem Reap
We start the day with a transfer to near Kampong Thom and the ancient temple site of Sambor Prey Kuk. We saddle up and ride between the temples by bicycle. This temple site was constructed in the 7th century and functioned as the capital of the Chenla Empire. It is one of the oldest temple sites in Cambodia and is mainly covered in vegetation. After our guide assisted tour through the temples we enjoy a local picnic lunch prepared by the local community in small wooden huts along the Stung Sen River and are able to absorb the local sights and sounds. After lunch we have a beautiful ride through rice paddy fields and small villages with many locals greeting you warmly. It is then a 2 hour transfer to Siem Reap.
Steung Siem Reap Hotel. Ride 36 km.

Day 8 – Angkor temples
This morning we start our bike ride to the entrance of Angkor Wat and head to Ta Prohm, famous from the film Tomb Raider, and deliberately left by French conservationists in the same condition as it was discovered; overgrown by strangler fig and silk-cotton trees, giving the temple a mystical and romantic appeal. We continue to Angkor Thom, Bayon temple and the Terrace of the Elephants. We enjoy lunch at the Angkor Café before we explore the biggest religious Hindu edifice in the world - Angkor Wat. Considered the masterpiece of Khmer architecture, this Vishnuite temple is the King’s funerary temple, which is why the temple is orientated to the West. Inside the temple the walls are covered by carvings and bas-reliefs depicting Hindu mythology and the wars Suryavarman II fought during his reign. After our visit to these magnificent temples we cycle back the 7 km to Siem Reap.
Steung Siem Reap Hotel. Ride 30 km.

I am super excited about this but I won't lie to you I'm a little worried.  There will be pain.
I'm pretty sure of it.