Most Inspirational Moment
The visit to the Jungle temple in Angkor was fabulous. It's called Ta Prohm and it was one of those sights that you dream of when you travel which makes you just go 'wow'. Everywhere you looked was a photo and I had to try really hard to not live the visit though my camera. It was the first temple we visited, having cycled from Siem Reap, so we were fairly early. Seeing all the trees having grown into the walls with enormous roots somehow connected and running through the buildings is just amazing to see. Lonely Planet's description was the best I'd read - (paraphrasing) - it's the closest anywhere in the world you can experience the origional wonder and awe that the first European explorers must have experienced when they happened upon these discoveries. I found it was one of those experiences that reminded me why I love travelling so much and it inspired me to want to do more, for those moments when you see stuff that takes you by surprise and makes your head spin with what you see. It's cheesy but you really do go 'wow' when you're there!
Thoughts on Group Leader
She was fabulous. Her name was Moh and she was just such a kind, funny and entertaining leader. She never once appeared tired or annoyed, even though I think her job must be very hard - she was up before us each morning, looked after 18 of us at meal times to make sure we had everything we could possible want before sitting down herself to eat. She chatted to everyone to make sure that everyone was ok and to keep spirits up (some people struggled with the heat or the biking distances). She was happy to answer any question and had excellent english so there was never any difficulty in communicating what we needed. At one point in the cycling one of the group swerved to avoid something in the road and hit Moh, she fell off ripping her cycling trousers and bleeding a little. But she was fine about it, smiled and was so kind. A few members of the group also had a couple of minor medical issues (including myself - on day two I had a leech attach itself to my knee after paddling in a leech free lake!). She was always happy, calmly sorting out the problem. She also helped us organise some of the minor things like getting laundry done and arranging small extra outings like booking a taxi to see Angkor Wat at sunrise. We couldn't have hoped for a kinder, friendlier and more entertaining guide.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Overall the trip was fabulous. No complaints. As always there are several small bits which, if you're aware of, it'll make the trip that bit more fabulous. Take your own water bottle for the bike and try to make sure it's got a lid over the mouth piece - some of the roads get very dusty and so swigging from a bottle that has dirt around the mouth piece somewhat takes the refreshment out of the drink. Also take a pair of 'Sealskin' waterproof socks. It will rain torrentially at least once while you're on the bike and in that weather after 5 mins you are drenched head to foot. Which is fine as clothes can dry and be changed. But you shoes might not. If you can wear your sealskins the next day you can wear you wet shoes and they can dry in the sun as you cycle. Otherwise you either have to wear wet shoes or leave them soaking wet in a carrier bag on the bus without being able to dry them out. Also make sure you have padded cycling shorts. For those long distances cycling in Thailand your bum will go numb, even with the shorts, but it'll be unbearable if you don't have them. Try to make sure you find out clearly from your main guide who is and isn't covered by the 'Kitty'. Everyone pays $60 into a kitty at the beginning to cover water & fruit stops, and tips at the hotels. However some of the other guides are covered by this kitty while others aren't. This led to some embarrasment on our last night when we had to hurredly collect an extra tip for a guide who we were meant to tip but we had all thought he would be tipped from the kitty. Finally, consider adding an extra day on your trip to spend in Ho Chi Minh City. We went to the Cu Chi tunnels which was brilliant (I got to shoot live rounds from an AK47 - a real highlight!) but then we had 2 more days afterwards in HCMC to see the sights, war museums, roof top bars and the Jade Pagoda. All of which were fabulous. The one day left at the end of the trip isn't enough to see all of this.