Cycling in Cambodia

Cambodia is a relatively small country situated in the heart of Southeast Asia. Angkor Wat and the Killing Fields are usually linked to Cambodia. What most people know about Cambodia comes from the guidebooks, the news or the Internet. What people don’t know is that there is a complete different culture to explore beyond the temples of Angkor and Phnom Penh.

Cambodian people are a people of friendliness and warmth and will always welcome you with a broad smile. They will ask you questions that you thought you would never encounter. Very few tourists actually get to know the real Cambodians and their tenderness. In the tourist overridden centers of Siem Reap (Angkor) and Phnom Penh you will have a very different perception of the country then you would come across in the rest of Cambodia. In between the two cities simply lies a different world.

The flat landscape, limited traffic on the roads and beautiful back roads that lead through paddy fields, small villages and to hidden temples all are a magnificent experience. Just imagine that you are cycling over a small dirt track with on your left hand side the cool breeze coming from the Gulf of Thailand. You can see the blue water through the palm trees while on the other side you look over endless paddy fields. A small group of young children awaits you curiously a couple of meters ahead and smile and wave to you while saying “Hello Mr.” you pass an ox cart with on top an amount of load you have never seen before. Amazed and amused at the same time you look over your shoulder and you only see a few teeth smiling at you from under the rice hat the driver is wearing.

Your next stop is a Pagoda, where monks are eager to meet you and strike up a conversation to practice their English. They will ask you what you think of their country and explain you about their lives in a monastery. In the meantime you enjoy the tranquility and beauty of the religious structures around you. After a while we continue over small roads and through green fields before we finally arrive at the white sand beaches where you take a dip in the empty sea and late afternoon sunlight.

You have not seen a single tourist, you have met countless local smiles, seen everything other tourists will never see and stored memories that will never leave your mind. When you leave Cambodia, you are simply captivated and determined to experience this all, not one, but many more times.

Cycling through Cambodia simply captivates and on top of that all you challenge yourself to do something you’ll be proud of once you tell the story back home!

Exotissimo has been operating cycling tours through Cambodia for nearly 4 years and uses professional equipment and staff for each cycling tour. Our guides are members of the National Cambodian Cycling Team and all speak English. No matter which path you decide to follow, Exotissimo and its guides will look after you!