Eight Hundred Kilometers Later: Siem Reap to Surin

National Highway 68: The Road to Uncertainty

November 9, 2013. There is this newly paved stretch of road from NH6, about 52kms after Siem Reap. It's so unknown that if you search for it in Google Maps, the road stops and leads to nowhere. This was the road to the Osmauch/O'Smach border of Cambodia, which would lead us to Surin, Thailand.

A few kilometers on NH68, I felt something snap from my bike. The shock made me lose control and I ended up crashing into Pen. We both fell on the side of the road. Luckily, neither of us were injured. LA, who was pedaling behind us, saw the whole thing. My pedal detached itself from the crank! He tried to remedy it as best as he could but the bearings were frozen stiff. I was afraid that if I clipped myself on again, another crash would be imminent, so I removed the cleats from my left shoe.

The aftermath of our crash. LA is trying to fix my pedal, while Pen looks on.

The road is remotely eerie and quiet. It was well-paved and little to no vehicles passed this way. On either side of us were the endless rice paddies that made up the Cambodian landscape. We were in good spirits for the first few kilometers but we soon realized our predicament when midday hit. Where were the roadside stalls and red coolers that we were so used to seeing? Where were the children who would run out of their houses and run and greet after us? We made a pitstop at every town regardless of whether we were hungry or not just to refuel. We didn't want to starve along the highway!

This is a well-paved road with nothing much around it.

We had another problem. Because the towns were so far apart, there was a possibility we might not have a place to stay for the night. For lunch, we stopped at this little town of Stoung. While searching for a bike shop in the hopes of replacing my broken pedal, we met Jeff, a Peace Corps volunteer from California. While having lunch with, he taught us helpful bits of Khmer vocabulary and informed us that the nearest guesthouse would be in the town of Samreoung, 60kms away from Stoung. We reluctantly set off in the heat. 

The day was slowly winding down as we pedaled endlessly along that highway. We joked about the possibility that we would spend the night on the road. Hey, there's always a first time for everything.

We had lunch with Jeff, a Peace Corps volunteer who would be spending two years in Cambodia teaching English

The sun was slowly setting and we were still pedaling silently. Somehow we couldn't even find the energyto talk to each other. A rainbow made itself visible in the horizon, but even that wasn't enough to lift our spirits. What do you do in times like this? I don't know what the others were thinking but Disney movies and the Sound of Music popped in my head. I found myself humming songs from Beauty and the Beast, Alladin, Lion King and Mulan, as well as most of the soundtrack of the Sound of Music. 

The sun was setting and there was a rainbow.

Tired and hungry faces.

Finally, after 127kms, we made it to Samreoung. Thankfully, there was a guesthouse in town! The best part is, it only cost us $5! Our cheapest guesthouse. From here, things cold only get easier. It was only 60kms to the O'Smach/Osmauch border!

We took a chance on an uncertain road and didn't know where we would end up. We were rewarded with $5 room and a hot mediocre meal at the end of the day. I'll take it.