Exploring...

One of the best things about living in an unfamiliar place is exploring. I love exploring new 'hoods, new suburbs, new cities and beyond. And there is no better way to explore than on a bike; you can go at your own pace, stop in here and there, go slow enough to smell the roses, and go fast enough to skip over the boring bits.

And if there's anything better than exploring a place on a bike, it's exploring a place on your own bike. When you're on your own bike, you feel a little bit at home even when you're not. Your bike is something you know so well, so to be on it in a foreign land is refreshing and comforting.

22km to Phnom Penh

Today, I went out exploring in the countryside surrounding Phnom Penh. As I think I've mentioned before, it's not necessarily a relaxing place to ride, but that said, I never felt unsafe and was impressed by how much room I was given by passing vehicles.

Every kilometre or so, a Khmer child would yell out "hello!", to which I would respond, "hello!" (very imaginative of me). I must have been a strange sight rolling along in my lycra and other cycling paraphernalia. I figure I'm already a strange white man, so it's only a matter of degrees. I probably could have been riding along naked without attracting much more attention.

Anyway, it was a really nice ride. Phnom Penh changes to rice paddies and fields pretty quickly, which are pretty pleasant to pedal through.

Here's where I went;