Takeo to Phnom Penh

Wednesday December 13, 2017, 48 miles (76 km) - Total so far: 2,559

miles (4,119 km)

Quite a different ride from yesterday! It started busy and bumpy, then lulled us into a false sense of security with a lovely quiet patch, teamed with a smooth road. We stopped for an iced coffee and, once we restarted, everything changed. Lots of traffic including lots of trucks, bumpy road, gravelly road, narrow road, road works.....fun times! We stumbled upon Cafe Amazon at the end of the worst section (which, to be fair, was probably only about 10km) which pretty much saved the day.

The ride into Phnom Penh was also a little bit crazy - not quite as busy as Saigon, definitely fewer mopeds, but the traffic is far more lawless! Not actually THAT bad to ride through if you've ridden here for a little while.....but still pretty 'exciting'. We turned off highway 2 after Cafe Amazon, and that proved a good move as the road quietened down (a bit!!) and became wider. Still plenty of road works and craziness though.

Not sure I would recommend our route as such, but here it is - not sure any route is brilliant to be honest!
https://www.strava.com/activities/1312272412

We are staying at The Grey Guesthouse. It's away from the main touristy bit, but there are plenty of other guesthouses nearby (and plenty of tuktuks!), but also lots of local colour. The guesthouse is basic (cold shower, fan, a bit council-flat-like) but very clean and well proportioned, and an absolute steal at $7. There's a small indoor garage just off the lobby, which our bikes are occupying of course. The owners are kind and speak a tiny bit of English.

We had lunch at The Backyard which is pretty pricey but it is Ed's birthday :) and the food was delicious ('cleansing' salads and the like). We are now having coffee at Founan, just around the corner from the guesthouse.